Fresno Genealogy Happenings

Things That I Loved About the SCGS Jamboree Membership to SCGS allowed me an all-access-pass to the SCGS Library in Burbank. Spent 3 days before the Jamboree in their library having fun!!! Attended 14 1-hour sessions over 3 days. What a variety of topics. Attended 2 evening meals with interesting keynote speakers. Met 2 tables full of interesting fellow genealogists each with a different, yet similar story to tell. Volunteered to help monitor 2 sessions, thereby ensuring that I could attend a couple that I really had my eyes on. I got to introduce and chat with Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective. Enjoyed several sessions presented by Megan Smolenyak-Smolenyak. She really knows how to stir up the detective juices in her audience members! Attended sessions to see the latest updates on Family Tree Maker and Ancestry.com. I was able to talk directly to their representatives about some of my frustrations with the same. Trade floor that has the latest and greatest in Genealogic...

I Learned that while I enjoy working with Legacy and some of its cool features, I still really LOVE ROOTS MAGIC. I learned that you can find amazing things in old newspapers. Try searching for "Infomation Wanted" in papers between 1870-1930 and find people looking for lost family members or old friends. To get around the "burnt Courthouse" especially in the south, use Tax records and Land records copies of which were usually sent to the state. If you aren't watching or listening to genealogy podcasts you are really missing out! DNA research and genealogy are getting ready to make some big leaps forward. What better way is there to spend a weekend, learning new things about genealogy with some really good friends! Hope to see you there next year!!!!! Melissa

The things I enjoyed about the conference: 1. The top thing was my room mate. She made the conference very enjoyable . 2. I liked hearing about records specific to a state-Indiana & Pennsylvania. 3. Mr. Humphrey the speaker from Pennsylvania was very knowledgeable. I plan on hiring him to work on my German-Pa line when I get my paper work up to snuff. 4. The opportunity to increase my understanding of various software and its usage was a positive. 5.. The conference prices by the vendors were tempting. I would have liked to see a wider variety of merchandise among the vendors. Not all the book sellers however, had reasonable prices on their used books. 6.. The syllabus is a great help now that we are back from the conference. Especially concerning in regard to the web sites. Will I go again. YES because each year has different pluses. Carolee

Top 5 Jamboree Moments 1. Being inspired by Megan Smolenyak’s fantastic genealogical sleuthing stories 2. Learning how to overlay maps & photos in Google Earth 3. Hearing how “Super Bloggers” use their sites to share genealogical information 4. Networking with new friends and spending time with old friends 5. Eagerly looking at genealogy books and products in the Exhibit Hall I had a good time! Ruth

Having attended conferences of various kinds for the last 35+ years, I always tell myself that if I can come away from the conference with one or two good tips, I will be satisfied with the opportunity. The first thing I did when I arrived Friday was to head to the Exhibitor's area, to check it out, while I waited for my first session. One of my first encounters came when I approached the New England Historical and Genealogical Society's booth. I wasn't prepared for the conversation I had with John "What's His Name", from "Who Do You Think You Are," who assisted Sarah Jessica Parker to find out about some of her ancestors. We didn't discuss that, but got into a conversation about my family legend. John took a breath and told me exactly where I might garner the information I needed to break that proverbial "brick wall." I was amazed and thrilled as he told me the name of a publication I had never heard of, the year, and name of the artic...

The FCGS is trying to get a group together to go to the Jamboree in Burbank, June 11-13th. There are well known speakers, vendors, etc. It is a lot of fun and you can learn a whole lot in a short amount of time! If your not sure what a Jamboree is check out their blog. http://genealogyjamboree.blogspot.com/ Let us know if you are interested in going. Shoot me an email. We are planning to take the train down Friday morning and come back Sunday afternoon.