It's been a while since I've had any time to post a new blog. Some might be happy about that but then again, some might be waiting at their computers, anxiously awaiting more words of wisdom from Old Bones. But for what it's worth, here goes!
The Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society conducts monthly meetings from September through the following June. I've been the Vice President for about a year now and as I see it, we've made some great progress. First, I offer membership applications to everyone who attends my genealogy classes. That has garnered for us at least a dozen new members in the past few months. An conversely, some of the members have signed up to take some classes with me! To make our program more interesting, we've been conducting a few of our meetings via Google+ Hangouts. Actually, the first real "virtual" meeting with Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective, was via SKYPE. We've had 2 others so far, one with Dick Eastman author of Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter and the other with Dear Myrt, your friend in genealogy. Dick gave us a very comprehensive look at MyHeritage.com, a very competent competitor for Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. It's worth a look. Dear Myrt challenged us in an interactive night of learning how to completely organize your genealogical research in 3 months. Really! 3months!!
Next up is the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists, better known as (and easier referred to) NEAPG. This group is composed of members of the parent association, the APG, who live in New England and find it worthwhile to meet and network with other professional genealogists throughout the region. As of January 1, 2015, I will move from the Vice President seat to President of NEAPG. This one's a little nerve wracking for me. Although I operate as a professional and have several years of professional experience, I find many of the members to be people that I've known and respected for many years, some with national or even international reputations. Nice to be rubbing elbows with this crowd!!
Another aspect of my role in NEAPG is as the delegate to the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium's biennial conference. The next NERGC convention will take place in Providence, Rhode Island April 15th through 18th. If you're interested in attending, click here for a conference brochure and registration form. And I suppose I should mention that I will be speaking there on Saturday, April 18, 2015. Not that you'd come just to listen to me, but I'll be presenting "Search Strategies You Haven't Tried - Search Sites You Never Thought Of." There'll be plenty of "BIG" name genealogists giving presentations in many areas of genealogy and genealogy research. Some of the tracks include Colonial New England, Skill Building, Telling Family Stories, Researching Women, Technology, Heirlooms, Migration (from other countries and across the US), Photographs, Military Research, Immigration/Naturalization, Ethnic Genealogy, DNA, Advanced Methodology and a great deal more!
Quite a bit more to talk about, but I think I need to save a few items for another day.
"Climb YOUR tree!"
Showing posts with label NEAPG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NEAPG. Show all posts
22 November 2014
28 July 2014
MGC Annual Seminar
The Massachusetts Genealogy Council (MGC) held their Annual Seminar this past Saturday in Mansfield, Massachusetts. As usual, there was a great crowd of genealogists from all over New England and a few "foreigners" from New York who I ran into. As members of the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (NEAPG), Kate Lowrie and I attended representing NEAPG as a Gold Sponsor. I also moderated a discussion group at lunch. My topic was learning interview techniques to build family history "right from the horse's mouth" so to speak!
The day consisted of a number of presentations from some highly respected genealogists. It's too bad we all couldn't attend every session. Although it was my responsibility to greet people and answer their questions about NEAPG, I snuck into 4 of the presentations right around the corner from our booth. I listened to Walter Hickey twice. He spoke about immigration and naturalization from a very informed view. He had a career at NARA, the National Archives and Records Administration, and could give us some interesting tips on getting to the right sources quickly. Later in the day, his presentation concerned census records. While I'm pretty knowledgeable myself in that area, he brought up some good ideas. Julie Michutka instructed us with her expertise in my next favorite software application, Scrivener. And finally, I always like to hear Morehead's DNA presentations. She had a very interesting analogy on distinguishing the role of Y-DNA versus mtDNA by comparing it to a space shuttle! The rockets represent the energy of the mtDNA driving the rest of the cell towards its goal of fertilization while the shuttle itself represents the Y and all the other autosomal elements. That's a really short version of her explanation!
Between Kate and myself, we talked with dozens of people who, we hope, will consider joining NEAPG! We were definitely a busy group!
Here's a shot up the lobby in between sessions.
The day consisted of a number of presentations from some highly respected genealogists. It's too bad we all couldn't attend every session. Although it was my responsibility to greet people and answer their questions about NEAPG, I snuck into 4 of the presentations right around the corner from our booth. I listened to Walter Hickey twice. He spoke about immigration and naturalization from a very informed view. He had a career at NARA, the National Archives and Records Administration, and could give us some interesting tips on getting to the right sources quickly. Later in the day, his presentation concerned census records. While I'm pretty knowledgeable myself in that area, he brought up some good ideas. Julie Michutka instructed us with her expertise in my next favorite software application, Scrivener. And finally, I always like to hear Morehead's DNA presentations. She had a very interesting analogy on distinguishing the role of Y-DNA versus mtDNA by comparing it to a space shuttle! The rockets represent the energy of the mtDNA driving the rest of the cell towards its goal of fertilization while the shuttle itself represents the Y and all the other autosomal elements. That's a really short version of her explanation!
Between Kate and myself, we talked with dozens of people who, we hope, will consider joining NEAPG! We were definitely a busy group!
Here's a shot up the lobby in between sessions.
It was a long day for me. I left Chicopee at 5:15 in the morning, got to the hotel to set up around 7. Non-stop until it was time to go home around 4:30.
I always appreciate the opportunity to "blend in" with my fellow genealogists. Always something to learn, to share, and to experience. Other than local events and meeting, the next "big one" is the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium's conference in Providence, RI affectionately referred to as NERGC or "NERK". That's in April of 2015. And the big news for me is that I'll be one of the speakers!
Speaking of speaking, I need to start getting ready! It'll be April before you know it! See you there!
Related articles
05 April 2014
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.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="75"]
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!
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="75"]
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!!
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="75"]
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!
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="75"]
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!!
Related articles
29 September 2013
When all else fails, hire a professional genealogist
Great advice...Interesting interview! Hire a local, New England oriented professional genealogist, Old Bones! Visit my site at Old Bones Genealogy or contact me directly at dave@oldbones.info!
12 December 2012
Lots happening
Last night was Session 2 of a 4 part class I'm holding at the Wilbraham Public Library on the basics of genealogy and family research. The first session went very well and everyone in attendance seemed to get a lot out of it. Well, I guess it was a good session because last night, about twice as many people as the first session showed up!! A wide variety of participants in the group: Some have done a substantial amount of research but most have only dabbled or are just beginning. We spent most of the night discussing web sites and went to a few so I could show them some shortcuts to their research. Lots of great interaction and we actually went over by about 45 minutes in the Q&A!!
Next, I finally registered to attend NERGC, the New England Regional Genealogy Conference. Karen and I went to the last conference which was held down the road in Springfield. Next year's conference will be in Manchester, NH. I really got a lot out of the last one and I'm looking forward to this one. Many speakers, many subjects covered and much to learn. The easy part is registering; the hard part is trying to pick the sessions to attend. There are probably 5 or 6 different subjects being covered in each time frame such as DNA/genetics, the National Archives, immigration and naturalization, writing and publishing your work, advanced on-line research techniques and many more. I'll also be leading one of the discussion groups at a luncheon on Saturday sponsored by the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists.
And at last, I was able to register for the on-line “Certificate in Genealogical Research” course at Boston University. It begins January 16, 2013 and runs for 15 weeks. When that's complete, I'll begin the official certification process through the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG). As I get deeper and deeper involved in specific areas of research, I discover that I don't know what I don't know! Basically, it ain't easy!
Next, I finally registered to attend NERGC, the New England Regional Genealogy Conference. Karen and I went to the last conference which was held down the road in Springfield. Next year's conference will be in Manchester, NH. I really got a lot out of the last one and I'm looking forward to this one. Many speakers, many subjects covered and much to learn. The easy part is registering; the hard part is trying to pick the sessions to attend. There are probably 5 or 6 different subjects being covered in each time frame such as DNA/genetics, the National Archives, immigration and naturalization, writing and publishing your work, advanced on-line research techniques and many more. I'll also be leading one of the discussion groups at a luncheon on Saturday sponsored by the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists.
And at last, I was able to register for the on-line “Certificate in Genealogical Research” course at Boston University. It begins January 16, 2013 and runs for 15 weeks. When that's complete, I'll begin the official certification process through the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG). As I get deeper and deeper involved in specific areas of research, I discover that I don't know what I don't know! Basically, it ain't easy!
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