NGS Conference Recording Packages

Are you attending the NGS Family History Conference next week? I am excited to be there in person, but I always miss some excellent sessions because I can only be in one place at a time.

Are you unable to attend the NGS conference in Florida? Would you like to hear some of the conference sessions from home? Well, here are your options.

Option 1 --
There is still time to sign up to watch the live-streaming of ten of the sessions on Thursday and Friday, May 5th and 6th. If watching live does not fit into your schedule, you will have three months to watch the sessions at your convenience. Here is the link to register.

Option 2 -- 

You can purchase a pass which will include audio recordings of ALL 140 sessions of the conference! See the three package options in below, and click here to order online from PlayBack. This is a great deal, and if you act fast you can save $100 on the package by ordering before May 7th. After that date the prices go up.  

Option 3 --

If you just have a few sessions you are interested in, you can order them individually for $10 each. Click here to see a listing of all of the sessions by topic or presenter. I have ordered individual recordings of my favorite sessions for each of the last eight years. It is a great way to hear some of the best presenters in genealogy while you drive to work or take your daily walk. 

I hope you enjoy these options for continuing your genealogy education!

Angela

2015 NARA Virtual Genealogy Fair Schedule

Mark your calendars for October 21 & 21, 2015 so you don't miss the NARA Virtual Genealogy Fair. The schedule has been released, and is listed below. These free classes will be live broadcast via YouTube, and you can send in your questions for the presenters. If you do miss the live sessions they will be archived for viewing later. 

Handouts and session descriptions can be found here.

Day 1: Wednesday, October 21 (Eastern Time)

Session 1 at 10 a.m. ET
Introduction to Genealogy at the National Archives by Claire Kluskens.

Session 2 at 11 a.m. ET
Preserving Your Family Records:  Conversation and Questions by Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler.

Session 3 at 12 p.m. ET
Personnel Records of the National Archives– St. Louis. By Bryan K. McGraw. 

Session 4 at 1 p.m. ET
It’s in the Cards: Finding Family Members in National Archives–St. Louis’ Card Series by Daria Labinsky & David Hardin. 
Session 5 at 2 p.m. ET
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Personnel Records by Ashley Mattingly.


Day 2: Thursday, October 22 (Eastern Time)

Session 6 at 10 a.m. ET
Where’d They Go?  Finding Ancestral Migration Routes by Jean Nudd.
Session 7 at 11 a.m. ET
Access to Archival Databases (AAD): Looking Down, From Above, to Look it Up!  by John LeGloahec. 

Session 8 at 12 p.m. ET
Finding Your World War I Veteran at the National Archives at St. Louis by Theresa Fitzgerald. 

Session 9 at 1 p.m. ET
Women in War Time Civilian Government Employment by Cara Moore.

Session 10 at 2 p.m. ET
Broke, But Not Out of Luck: Exploring Bankruptcy Records for Genealogy Research by Jessica Hopkins. 

Watch live video stream on YouTube

Family History Library Sponsors Free Webinars on U.S. Research

The Family History Library is offering 15 free webinars as part of it's week-long seminar on U.S. research. The event will be held October 12 - 16, 2015. The classes at the Family History Library are full, but the webinars are free and open to the public. The focus of the sessions is on U.S. research including different types of records and various FamilySearch resources. For full details on the seminar you can download the brochure. There is no need to pre-register for the webinars, just use the links below to attend. 
(Photo credit: Claudia Heaston)

Webinar Schedule and Links

12 October, Monday: (Times listed are Mountain Time Zone)

• 1:30pm-2:30pm, Tips and Tricks for Using FamilySearch's Historical Records Collection
• 2:45pm-3:45pm, FamilySearch Research Wiki
• 4:00pm-5:00pm, Using the Family History Library Catalog

13 October, Tuesday:

• 8:30am-9:30am, United States Census
• 9:45am-10:45am, United States Census Techniques and Strategies for Finding Elusive Ancestors
• 11:00am-12 Noon,Finding Your Ancestors in Vital Records

14 October, Wednesday:

• 8:30am-9:30am,United States Court Records
• 9:45am-10:45am,Immigration Into the United States
• 11:00am-12 Noon, United States Naturalization

15 October, Thursday:

• 1:30pm-2:30pm, United States Newspaper Research: News You Can Use
• 2:45pm-3:45pm, Overview of American Indian Resesarch
• 4:00pm-5:00pm, Beginning African-American Research: Post 1865

16 October, Friday:

• 8:30am-9:30am, Descendancy Research
• 9:45am-10:45am, Solving Tough Research Problems
• 11:00am-12 Noon, Some People Really Need to Get a Clue! Document Analyzation and Evaluation

Instructors

Danielle L. Batson, AG, MLS spent 13 years working as a U.S. and Canada Reference Consultant at the Family History Library and her current assignment is working on content projects in the FamilySearch Research Wiki. Her research experience includes African-American research, the Midwest, South, and Mid-Atlantic States. She has also taught genealogy research classes at the Family History Library as well as various genealogical conferences including FGS in San Antonio and BYU’s Conference on Family History and Genealogy.

David Dilts, AG has been employed with the Family History Library since September 1975 first as a cataloger of German, Austrian, Swiss and Polish records then reference consultant. He earned his Master’s degree in Library Science from BYU and completed three years of doctoral work in history at the University of Utah. He is accredited in German and LDS research and has great experience in researching, writing and lecturing on genealogical topics.

Jason Harrison, CG is Supervisor of the Family History Library’s United States & Canada Research Specialists. He received his B.A. in Family History from Brigham Young University, is a Certified Genealogist, former New England Historic Genealogical Society intern, and National Genealogical Society conference lecturer. His research specialties include New England, Mountain states, and LDS research.

Joan Healey, AG is a native of Salt Lake City and earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah. Joan worked with the U.S./Canada/LDS Reference of the Family History Library since 1976, taking a short break to be the record attendant supervisor in British and European Reference She nurtures an interest in American Indian and African American research, and has contributed information to the FamilySearch Research Wiki.

Joni Kesler, BS, AG has been with the Family History Library for 30 years She has worked in the United States, British, Hosting and VIP units. Besides spending personal time on her own family history, Joni helps individuals in her ward to find ancestor’s names to take to the temple. She also enjoys spending time with her family of four daughters, four granddaughters, and one grandson. She loves reading and spending time with her family.

Nathan W. Murphy, MA, AG a United States and Canada Senior Research Consultant at the Family History Library, has been quoted by History Detectives, How the States Got Their Shapes and The Generations Project have sought his expertise for their TV shows. He has completed four years of Ph.D. studies in Colonial American and English history at Leicester and the University of Utah. Nathan is passionate about tracing immigrant origins and promoting DNA. He has published articles in scholarly genealogical journals in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Ken Nelson, AG is a collection manager for FamilySearch, and member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and Society of Civil War Historians.

Tim Bingaman, AG has worked at the Family History Library since 1990 acquiring his AG in Mid-Atlantic States in 1991. A member of the Historical Society of Berks County, Pennsylvania and the Berks County Genealogical Society, Tim has made numerous trips to Pennsylvania where he spends a great deal of time visiting societies, courthouses, cemeteries and the neighborhoods where his ancestors lived.

Free Live Streaming of the SCGS Jamboree

The Southern California Genealogical Society has announced the sessions that will be streamed live on the internet next week. Thanks to diamond level sponsor Ancestry.com these sessions will be available for free. The email I received stated that session descriptions, speaker bios, and schedule details are provided on the registration site and will soon be posted on the Jamboree website. Click here to register. 

Here is the lineup of presentations that will be broadcast:

Friday, June 5

FR007: Be Prepared with a Genealogy Disaster Plan - Denise May Levenick.

FR018: Five Tips for Successful Research in a New Location - J. H."Jay" Fonkert, CG.

FR019: Genetic Genealogy and the Next Generation - Blaine T. Bettinger, PhD, JD and Paul Woodbury.

FR032: Finding and Utilizing German Church Records - Dr. Michael D. Lacopo.

 

Saturday, June 6

SA007: Google Tools and Procedures for Solving Family History Mysteries - Lisa Louise Cooke.

SA014: Tho' They Were Poor, They May Have Been Rich in Records - Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FMGS, FUGA.  

SA021: No Easy Button: Using Immersion Genealogy to Understand Your Ancestors - Lisa A. Alzo, MFA.

SA033: Plotting, Scheming and Mapping Online - Cyndi Ingle.

SA035: Midwestern and Plains States Level Census Records - Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FMGS, FUGA.

SA047: Update: Google! Everything New that You Need to Know for Genealogy - Lisa Louise Cooke.

 

Sunday, June 7

SU005: Family History Adhesive: Science and Simple Tech 4 Binding Families - Janet Hovorka, MLIS.

SU015: The Hidden Web: Digging Deeper - Cyndi Ingle.

SU022: Who, What, When, Where? Using Journalism Techniques to Write Your Story - Anita Paul.

SU030: Get to Know Your Geezers - Matthew Hovorka.

NGS Conference to Live Stream Two Tracks

I was excited to receive an email from the National Genealogical Society today announcing their live streaming program for the NGS Conference in May. I love to attend the NGS conference in person, but will be unable to do so this year so I am excited to participate in some of the sessions from the comfort of my home. NGS will provide live streaming of two tracks of the conference:

May 14th -- The Immigration & Naturalization Process
May 15th -- Methodology Techniques

These tracks include some of my favorite presenters, including Elizabeth Shown Mills, Thomas W. Jones, Warren Bittner, John Colletta, David Rencher, Julie Miller, Alison Hare, Angie Bush, Michael Ramage, and Jeanne Bloom. These two tracks can be viewed in real time, or later at your convenience over the next three months. You can register for the live streaming sessions on the NGS website.

In the past when I have missed and NGS conference I have ordered copies of some of the lectures on CD. While this option is still available, and I may order CDs of some of the lectures not available on the live streaming, I am excited to be able to see the video of the presenter and his/her slides, rather than just hear the audio. For NGS members you can purchase both of the live streaming tracks for $115. This is a great deal as it is about the same price as ordering the ten lectures on CD. 

Here are the track descriptions from the NGS website:

Day One: The Immigration & Naturalization Process

Day one offers information on immigration and naturalization records, uncovering the immigrants story, and useful hints on how to discover their home town.

Thursday, 14 May 2015

8:00 a.m. T205 — The Journey to America: Federal Passenger Ship Records, Jeanne Larzalere Bloom, CG
As immigration legislation in the United States became more restrictive, the information on passenger-ship records became more robust.

9:30 a.m. T215 — Becoming an American: Naturalization Records, Julie Miller, CG
This lecture will examine naturalizations in the United States. It will discuss the naturalization process, records that were generated, and how to locate them.

11:00 a.m. T225 — Discovering the REAL Stories of Your Immigrant Ancestors, John P. Colletta, PhD, FUGA
Three 19th-century case studies demonstrate the original records and published materials available to discover the particular facts of each immigrant ancestor’s story.

2:30 p.m. T245 — Bads, Bergs, Burgs, and Bachs: Finding Locations in Germany, Warren Bittner, CG
German localities are tricky as many towns share similar names, or the name has changed, or the place no longer exists. Learn to find localities.

4:00 p.m. T255 — A Methodology for Irish Emigration to North America, David Rencher, AG, CG, FIGRS, FUGA
Lacking a location in Ireland to begin research may necessitate learning to use the sources and methodologies for solving the problem with Irish resources.

---

Day Two: Methodology Techniques

Join us for day two, which includes learning methodology techniques for use with historical context, forensic genealogy, DNA, and problem solving using a combination of resources.

Friday, 15 May 2015

8:00 a.m. F302 – The Time of Cholera: A Case Study about Historical Context, Alison Hare, CG
A cholera epidemic in London, England, in 1854 is the backdrop for a memorable lesson in how to develop historical context.

9:30 a.m. F311 — The Problem-Solver’s Great Trifecta: GPS+FAN+DNA, Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS
Can you really “prove” a maternal line when, for four straight generations, absolutely no document identifies a parent or sibling? This session shows you how.

11:00 a.m. F321 — When Does Newfound Evidence Overturn a Proved Conclusion? Thomas W. Jones, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS
Even thorough research can miss relevant sources. What are the options when useful information or DNA test results appear after a researcher establishes a conclusion?

2:30 p.m. F342 — Forensic Genealogy Meets the Genealogical Proof Standard, Michael Ramage, JD, CG
Learn how a $22 million estate case involving same name/age/place ancestors was solved using the Genealogical Proof Standard.

4:00 p.m. F352 — Using DNA as a Genealogical Record, Angie Bush
Using DNA testing as part of an exhaustive search in conjunction with traditional records can provide new evidence to answer genealogical questions.

You can register for the live streaming sessions on the NGS website. 

RootsTech Live Streaming Schedule

If you are like me and are unable to be in Salt Lake City this week for RootsTech, then you may like to watch some of the sessions LIVE on the internet. Here is the schedule of sessions that will be streamed live on the home page of RootsTech.org. After the conference, recordings of these sessions will be posted on the website for a limited time.

Day	Time	Class Title	Speaker
Thursday:	8:30 a.m. -10:00 a.m.	Thursday General Session
	11:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m.	30 Pieces of Tech I Can't Live Without	D. Joshua Taylor
	1:30 p.m. -2:20 p.m.	You've Mastered the Census and Basic Search, What Next?	Karen Auman
	3:00 p.m. -4:00 p.m.	What's New at FamilySearch	Devin Ashby
	4:30 p.m. -5:30 p.m.	Getting Started in Genetic Genealogy	Diahan Southard
Friday:	10:30 a.m. –11:30 a.m.	Innovator Summit Challenge Event
	1:00 p.m. -2:00 p.m.	Building a Genealogy Research Toolbox	Thomas MacEntee
	2:30 p.m. -3:30 p.m.	Bring Your Ancestor Back to the Future	Anne Leishman
	4:00 p.m. -5:00 p.m.	The Write Stuff. Leaving a Recorded Legacy: Personal Histories, Journals, Diaries, and Letters	Valerie Elkins
Saturday:	8:30 a.m. –10:00 a.m.	Saturday General Session
	10:30 a.m. -11:30 a.m.	Finding the Living among the Dead: Using the Internet to Find Your Living Cousins	Amy Archibald
	1:00 p.m. -2:00 p.m.	Family History on the Go Using Phones and Tablet Apps	Crystal Beutler
	2:30 p.m. -3:30 p.m.	Personal History Triage: How to Tell the Best Ten Stories of Your Life	Alison Taylor
	4:00 p.m.- 5:00 p.m.	Finding Your Family on Newspapers.com	Peter Drinkwater

Streaming Help

The stream will automatically refresh at the beginning of each session. If it does not, you will need to refresh the page manually by clicking the Refresh button on your browser.

14 FREE Jamboree Sessions to be Live-Streamed

The Southern California Genealogy Society has asked that we spread the word about their FREE live-streamed sessions coming up next week, and I am happy to post them here. I love live-streaming  events, and free is even better! You need to register to participate, so click through to the Jamboree website to see the schedule and sign up.

Genealogy Jamboree Live Streamed Sessions 

The schedule of live-streamed Jamboree class sessions has been announced, with a total of 14 FREE live-streamed classes available for 2014. In addition, 5 of the Family History and DNA sessions are available on a pay-per-view basis. The sessions and registration directions are listed on the Jamboree website.

We are very grateful for the support of our Diamond Sponsor, Ancestry.com, for underwriting a portion of the cost of the Jamboree sessions. Because we accept no sponsorship support for the Family History and DNA conference, those streamed sessions are provided on a for-pay basis. Viewers can purchase access to individual sessions, or they can obtain a Full-Day Pass to view all sessions at a discount. The DNA sessions will be available online for 30 days for those who pay for viewing.

This is an exceptional opportunity to share in the skill and knowledge of Jamboree speakers. Advance registration is required at any time before the session begins. 

Please help us spread the word about these free sessions. They are offered as part of our ongoing mission to provide educational opportunities for family historians and genealogists around the world.

Many of the Jamboree sessions will eventually be available in the webinar archive, which is accessible to SCGS members as a benefit of membership. The DNA events will not be added to the webinar archive.  

NGS Announces Live Streaming Sessions for 2014 Conference

I am excited about this announcement from the National Genealogical Society! I knew they were planning to offer live streaming of two conference tracks, as the time of the lecture I am giving at NGS was changed to accommodate the scheduling, but I could not say anything until the announcement was made public. If you are unable to travel to Richmond for the NGS conference this  May, you can now participate in a portion from home.

March 5, 2014

NGS announces the live streaming of ten lectures from the NGS 2014 Family History Conference, which will be held 7‒10 May 2014, in Richmond, Virginia.  The upcoming conference will be the first time NGS has provided a portion of the conference to NGS members and others across the United States and overseas who are unable to attend the conference in person.

Details of the live streaming program can be found at on the NGS Conference website at http://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/attend/live-streaming-at-ngs2014gen/.  NGS has selected some of the most popular topics and nationally known speakers for the two featured tracks. Registrants for live streaming can select either track or the bundled package that includes both tracks. 

Track One: Records and Research Techniques can be viewed on Thursday afternoon, 8 May 2014, and Friday morning, 9 May 2014. Join the conference from home and learn about best practices and research sources.

Track Two: Virginia Resources and Migration Patterns can be viewed on Friday afternoon, 9 May 2014, and Saturday morning, 10 May 2014. Learn about Virginia’s records and her people who moved south and west to new lands pushing the frontier ever forward.

Registration for live streaming will close at midnight 30 April 2014. All registrants will receive an electronic version of the NGS 2014 Family History Conference Syllabus. Registration is discounted for NGS Members.  

Track Selection	Included Formats	Member Price	Non-Member Price	Track Descriptions
Track One or Track Two	Live Streaming and three months access to  Track One or Two	$65.00	$80.00	Records and Research Techniques. Five lectures on Thursday afternoon, 8 May 2014, and Friday morning, 9 May 2014, or Virginia Resources and Migration Patterns. Five lectures on Friday afternoon, 9 May 2014, and Saturday morning, 10 May 2014.
Bundled Package Track One and Track Two	Live Streaming and three months access to both Tracks	$115.00	$145.00	Records and Research Techniques. Five lectures on Thursday afternoon, 8 May 2014, and Friday morning, 9 May 2014, and Virginia Resources and Migration Patterns. Five lectures on Friday afternoon, 9 May 2014, and Saturday morning, 10 May 2014.

Once registered, you can watch the event live, or if you have other commitments on those dates, you can view the sessions as many times as you want for ninety days following the conference (through 10 August 2014). NGS has selected PlayBackNow to broadcast the live sessions and to provide the recorded sessions for later viewing. Instructions for viewing the live streaming will be sent to registrants before 6 May 2014.

For those fortunate enough to be able to attend the conference in person and chose from ten tracks and more than 175 lectures over four days, a reminder that the discounted Early Bird registration will close on 24 March 2014. Conference attendees may also benefit from NGS live streaming by registering to the view either track or the bundled package, which they will be able to view after they return home. By selecting different lecture presentations to hear live at the conference, they can expand their overall conference experience.