Old Bones Family Research of New England: Join! Genealogy Tip of the Day

The inspiration for this tip comes from what I've been doing all day today. It'll need a little background. You know that I'm a genealogist; I work with, teach, lecture and learn genealogy. As a result, I believe it's important to make as many "connections" in the field as possible.

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The coat of arms of the Committee on Heraldry of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

I belong to the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), the New England Chapter of APG (NEAPG), the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists (MSoG), the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), the Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society (WMGS), the Connecticut Society of Genealogists (CSG) to name a few and yes, there's more!

A couple of things I should mention: I've been the Treasurer of WMGS for a little over a year and recently became the vice President of NEAPG. I was very interested in these positions as I believe it will help me in my professional pursuits. And so far, it's been a great year!

AS the VP of NEAPG, I also became the delegate to the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium (NERGC). NERGC puts together a very large convention on a biannual basis in various cities in New England. So for me, being a delegate is a big professional deal! I'm involved in putting together the largest genealogical conference anywhere in the Northeast!

So other than going to a lot of meetings, what am I getting out of all this? First, I get to meet some very talented genealogists with interests in many phases of the field. Genealogy is certainly not just searching on the Ancestry.com web site. It is a broad and challenging field. Family histories require a familiarity with numerous resources which are not available on the internet. Forensic genealogy is a highly specialized field that only a very few genealogists get involved with. In my single foray in "forensic genealogy" I was able to prove that an estate worth over $170,000 rightfully belonged to my client! That was rewarding.... Then there's teaching, lecturing, writing.... It just doesn't stop!

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English: Logo/Seal of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania; in use since 1892 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)[/caption]

And that's where the networking with other professionals comes in. NERGC will provide a forum for professionals from all these areas of expertise to gather and exchange their knowledge.

Now I've said all that to say this...if you're still with me here! This is the "Tip of the Day": Join a local society! The camaraderie alone is worth the time and effort. You'll not only learn but you'll be able to share your knowledge and experiences. Because you don't know what you don't know!!