Presentation by Jean Wilcox Hibben

Our annual seminar and meeting had a very interesting daylong presentation. The speaker was Jean Wilcox Hibben a board-certified genealogist who has recently earned her Ph.D. in Folklore. Her dissertation project on "Family Folklore" can be found on her website at circlemending.org.

The first of the four sessions led us through various stages of her research in "Tracking a Family over Time and Miles". Jean walked us through the steps of working from what we know of our families back to our unknowns. She described the various libraries and websites that might prove usefull in our research. From several lesser known locations she found genealogical gems that are found nowhere else.

Which brings me to a personal comment - I grind my teeth when I hear "newbies" to genealogy bemoaning that they cannot find everything on the net. Jean told about smaller genealogical societies that have only one or two volunteers available who have collected local information for decades. These small repositories don't have the money, time or expertise to put it on the web. Pardon me, "newbies" is a derogatory term. I meant "less experienced".

Her second session was an interesting description of "Deliveries in the Rear! Getting Family History Information through the Back Door." It is amazing the seemingly minor tidbits of family information that is stumbled upon in unrelated research. A search of a pension application can contain facts concerning a different family member. Wills and probates will often mention children and spouses that were previously unknown. Census records might have a surprising relative living in the research targets home. Jean described several of the backdoor items that significantly aided her research.

After lunch we had a discussion on "Communicating in Your Ancestors' Homeland: Understanding Other Cultures can Make or Break Overseas Research". The audience discussed the various definitions of Culture, Intercultural communication and Ethnocentrism. There were numerous examples by the audience of verbal and nonverbal communications and examples of how a person can unconsciously offend someone from a different culture.

The final session of the day drew the most interaction from the attendees. I'm speculating, but I think this was probably Jeans favorite session too. She spent the hour discussing the music and effects of the music on the lives of our ancestors. She concentrated on the music lore from our "Appalachian Ancestors: Their Lives, Legends, & Lyrics". Along with an interesting presentation, Jean and her husband Butch presented a number of songs from the Applachian areas. Many of these songs had morals and warnings incorporated into the lyrics. These songs have been passed down over generations and our audience joined in on most of them.

If you weren't able to attend the meeting, you missed a very enjoyable day! There are some photos of the meeting at SDGS Photo Albums

64th Annual Seminar & Luncheon

We had our annual meeting and installation of new board and committee members yesterday, Jan 9, 2010. The day long affair was at the Crowne Plaza Hotel & Resort. I'm sure a good time was had by all. I will have another entry about the day long seminar.

President Marna Clemons presented the Societies Presidents Recognition award to Peter Steelquist. Peter is a past president, past newsletter editor, does the society taxes, and handles the genealogical queries. The queries job is one of the big "money makers" for the society. Good choice Marna and thanks Peter for all you do for the society.

The society officers and board members were announced and their new jobs began. I will list all that were on the meeting flier. Not all of the positions are listed here. There is a complete list on the SDGS Website on the About Us page.

Officers:
President	Marna Clemons
1st Vice President	Penny McBride
2nd Vice President	Carol Ulrey
Secretary	Diane McClure-Lott
Treasurer	Dwight Edwards
Directors:
Program Director	Suzette Aprea
Special Events	Kristeen McCollough
Membership	Marie Boozel
Librarian	Pam Journey
Director at Large	Terry Mahaffey
Historian	Mary Card
Publications and Committees
Leaves & Saplings	Marna Clemons
Circulation	Pat Allen
Hospitality	Adeline & Larry Shaw
Queries	Peter Steelquist
Nominating	Kristeen McCollough, Jean Jones, Jackie McMasters, Donna Swink (alternate)
Honors & Recognition	Marna Clemons

A good time was had by all

A great turnout for the Ancestry.com Seminar today at the Handlery Hotel. Over 300 people interested in genealogy attended the event.

Suzanne Russo Adams from Ancestry.com presented four sessions on different areas available. The first session was on the best strategies to do research, with primary attention to the new search. The second session was an overview of Rootsweb and Ancestry's collaboration functions. These included the mailing lists and message boards at Rootsweb and family tree sharing at Ancestry.

A pretty decent box lunch was provided at the noon break.

In the afternoon she explained the Ancesry World Archives Project. This is an effort to attract volunteers to digital images of records that Ancestry.com has created. As the documents are indexed our genealogical research is made considerably easier. The final session was on using a new service of Ancestry called "My Canvas". My Canvas is an online publishing function which helps you construct the books you want to publish. You can create family history books from your Ancestry.com family tree or other photo books. My Canvas has numerous ideas and guides to help you create your book. The finished product can be printed on your computer or you can have them print and bind your work.

Randy Seaver will present his views on the seminar later this evening, he will probably have a more thorough synopsis as he attended each session. If you want to check out his entry hop on over to www.geneamusings.com and take a look.

I spent my time helping scan pictures for the attendees. We had one high speed scanner that copied about 1000 images. There were two stations that took digital images of family photos. Our attendees brought old tintype photos, diplomas, funeral guest books, high school annuals and even family snapshots. There were a few glitches in the scanning but we were able to create over 2500 images.

You can view some pictures at SDGS Picasa Web Albums

All in all it was a very good day.

Ancestry.com Seminar SOLD OUT

If you didn't register to attend the SDGS sponsored Ancestry.com Seminar, you missed a great opportunity. I have just received notice that the event is sold out. The early birds got the worms.

14 November Ancestry.com Seminar

There are only 16 days until the Ancestry.com Seminar. This is an excellent opportunity to learn the best strategies for doing research at Ancestry.com. The event is a full day of presentations by representatives from the company.

The event is at the Handlery Hotel and Resort at 950 Hotel Circle North, San Diego. Presentations begin at 8:30 a.m. and will end at 3:00 p.m. Registration forms are available at the SDGS Website. Cost is $30 per person for SDGS members, $35 per person for non-members. A box lunch is provided with admission.

The seminar is divided into 4 sessions:

1. The best strategies for getting the most out of Ancestry.com
2. Tapping into the Ancestry.com and Rootsweb community
3. The Ancestry World Archives Project
4. Publishing and printing using "My Canvas"

There is an added benefit for SDGS Members! The Ancestry.com personnel, along with SDGS volunteers will provide document/photograph scanning services for free. There will be two high speed scanners available. All kinds of photographs can be scanned including old tintypes. If the document is relatively new and in good condition a scanner will be used. If the document is in a frame or fragile a digital photo will be taken. It's recommended that you bring a flash drive of your own, but usb flash drives will be available at the event.

Scanning services will be assigned in 15 minute increments and scheduled at the start of the event. The 15 minute period generally allows for the scanning of about 50 images. The images scanned are NOT retained by Ancestry.com.

The Handlery Hotel & Resort charges $3 for all day parking so make sure you have 3 bucks when you arrive.

Get your registration form and check in now.