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EOGN:

Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Standard Edition

A Weekly Summary of Events and Topics of Interest to Online Genealogists

Vol. 9 No. 18 – May 3, 2004

This newsletter relies solely upon "word of mouse" advertising. If you enjoy reading these articles, please tell others to go to http://www.eogn.com.

Some of the articles in this Plus Edition newsletter are restricted to your personal use.

Search previous issues of Standard Edition newsletters at: http://www.eogn.com/search.

Plus Edition subscribers may gain access to a reserved section of the Discussion Board. Details are available at http://www.eogn.com/plus/messageboard.

All opinions expressed in this document are those of Dick Eastman and his alone, unless otherwise attributed. None of his statements are to be interpreted as endorsements by his employer, by the other authors or by advertisers.

Copyright© 2004 by Richard W. Eastman. All rights reserved.

IN THIS ISSUE:

- Notice
- News from the Family History Fair in London
- New Products and Services Seen at the Family History Fair
- Embla Family Treasures Version 5
- New Commercial Online Genealogy Service Announced
- Update: Government Inquiry into Statue of Liberty Foundation Gifts
- Family History Week
- Ancestry.co.uk to Sponsor FFHS Event
- Family History Library Remodeling 2004
- On to Bombay
- Upcoming Events

Items marked with a Plus Sign (+) appear only in the Plus Edition newsletter.

"Our DNA does not fade like an ancient parchment; it is not rust in the ground like the sword of a warrior long dead. It is not eroded by wind or rain, nor reduced to ruin by fire and earthquake. It is the traveler from an antique land who lives within us all."

- Dr. Bryan Sykes, writing in his book "The Seven Daughters of Eve"

- Notice

Due to my travel schedule to three counties in or near three continents this week, there will be no Plus Edition articles in this edition of the newsletter. Look for extra articles in future Plus Edition newsletters.

[Return to Table of Contents]

- News from the Family History Fair in London

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend the Society of Genealogists’ annual Family History Fair. For the first time, this year’s event was sponsored by 1837online.com, a company that specializes in placing U.K. records online. The company’s sponsorship and public relations efforts both factored heavily in the obvious success of this year’s conference.

This event was the third Family History Fair that I have been able to attend, and I must say that I enjoyed it as much as the previous two. The place was crowded all day Saturday and Sunday. The organizers will not tally an official attendance count for a few days. (I think this is a very tired group of organizers for very obvious reasons.) However, a quick examination of ticket sales shows that about 3,800 attendees traveled to the Royal Horticultural Hall on Greycoat Street in Westminster. From the smiles that I saw on faces at this conference, I’d say that all 3,800 attendees enjoyed themselves.

I arrived at the New Horticultural Hall a few minutes before the 10:00 AM opening on Saturday. The first thing I saw was a very long line of genealogists queued at the door waiting to get in. There were hundreds of people patiently standing in line up the sidewalk and around the corner. Their patience was soon rewarded; the doors opened at exactly 10:00 AM, and the several hundred were able to gain entrance within a very few minutes. I later was told that 1,100 genealogists entered the building in the first hour alone. That number is especially impressive since the 10:00 AM start on Saturday traditionally is not the busiest time of the day for admissions. The Society of Genealogists reports that admission tickets sales usually peak at late morning or early afternoon.

The Family History Fair in London is quite different from the typical genealogy conferences that I have attended in the U.S. and Canada. This different business plan has demonstrated success as the Fair consistently draws 3,000 to 4,000 year after year in a country with a much smaller population than that of the United States. I also find it interesting that quite a few younger adults attend this show, some of them pushing baby carriages and strollers. Also, most attendees do not stay for the entire show; many arrive, stay two or three hours, and then leave. Many attend on either Saturday or Sunday but not both days.

The London conference is primarily a vendors’ event. Most of the attendees spend the bulk of their time in the large exhibition hall, examining the offerings of about one hundred commercial and non-profit organizations. In fact, more than half of the tables, or "stalls," are rented by non-profit genealogy societies. The crowd is amazing to someone used to the sedate North American conferences; all day long on Saturday, the crowds remained at three to four people deep in front of almost all the exhibitors’ tables. Sunday was the quieter of the two days; the crowds were only one to two deep all day long. I never saw a "quiet time" in the exhibitors’ hall. The average noise level in the exhibition hall has to be heard to be appreciated.

The vendors in the exhibition hall varied widely. Conference sponsor 1837online.com had a large booth with quite a few staff members in attendance. The employees seemed busy almost all the time. I was told that, upon becoming an employee of the company, all call center staff members are expected to trace their own ancestry for a number of generations, using both the records that the company supplies and other, traditional genealogy sources. The result seems to be successful; each employee is able to speak with customers with authority and understanding. I wish that all genealogy-oriented companies would have similar policies for their call center staff members!

The exhibitors included almost all the commercial companies involved in genealogy in the U.K. along with others from Ireland, the United States, Germany, and New Zealand. A sampling includes 1837online.com, Ancestry.co.uk (the U.K. services of Ancestry.com), S&N Genealogy Supplies, Origins.net, the Society of Genealogists, Eneclann (from Ireland), the Francis Frith Collection, the LDS Family History Library (with a mix of employees from the U.S. and England in attendance), Family History Monthly magazine, the Genealogical Research Directory (from New Zealand), Oxford Ancestors (specializing in DNA technology), Phillimore & Company, fampres.de (from Germany), Your Family Tree Magazine, Origins.net, and Wholly Genes Software (from the U.S.).

The exhibit tables are not all for commercial companies, however. Thirty-three non-profit genealogy societies had one or more tables each. These societies covered most of England as well as the Anglo-Italian Family History Society and the Families in British India Society. Other non-profits that exhibited include the Guild of One-Name Studies, the History of Parliament Trust, the Ulster Historical Foundation, and the LDS Family History Library (from Salt Lake City).

Several government offices also exhibited, including the Family Records Centre and the National Maritime Museum. The full list of exhibitors may be found at: http://www.sog.org.uk/events/exhibitors.html.

As an example of how busy the place was, I wanted to speak with Nigel Bayley, owner of S&N Genealogy Supplies. However, I was unable to do so until closing time on Sunday as there were too many people standing in front of the S&N tables all the rest of the time. I didn’t want to interrupt his business, and there were always customers standing in line!

Twenty-six lectures were also offered to attendees. These talks were mostly on introductory genealogy topics, such as how to find various online genealogy records, an introduction to the Family Records Centre, the Society of Genealogists and Its Library, and similar topics. There were no advanced topic presentations.

The show attracted a large number of attendees from foreign countries. I met about two dozen Americans at the show, a couple of Canadians, two from New Zealand, and one person from Norway who flew to London just to attend this event. I suspect there were other foreign nationals as well.

The Family History Fair is always a successful event, and this year’s edition certainly was no exception. Throughout the year I hear stories that attendance at genealogy fairs and conferences in many locations is dropping. Yet, the Society of Genealogists’ annual Fair is holding its own. In fact, attendance at this year’s fair was a bit better than last year’s event. The reasons for the continued success of this major genealogy event seem simple to this writer:

  1. Admission is cheap: £6.00 (roughly $12.00 in U.S. funds). There is an additional admission fee of £2.50 (roughly $5.00 U.S.) for some of the lectures. A few lectures offered free admission.
  2. Exhibitors’ booths are more expensive than booths at equivalent events in the U.S.
  3. The format is simple and cost-effective: a large exhibitors’ hall, supplemented by a few lectures on introductory topics. There are no (expensive) sponsored lunches, no (expensive) banquets, no (expensive) guaranteed blocks of hotel rooms, and no (expensive) speakers’ fees.
  4. The event is held only on Saturday and Sunday, never on a weekday.
  5. The event is held in the same location every year (although there is a possibility that it may move to a new location within London next year).
  6. Essentially the same people do all the work year after year. To be sure, each year sees a few organizers drift away for various reasons and a few new ones added to the group. However, the majority of the organizers of this year’s event have several years’ experience in producing these Family History Fairs.
  7. Excellent publicity. In fact, this year’s sponsor, 1837online.com, bolstered the advance advertising to even higher levels than before.
  8. England has an excellent public transportation system, making it easy for attendees to reach this inner-city location.

To this year’s Family History Fair organizers, I wish to say, "Thank you for holding this excellent genealogy event. I know that I enjoyed myself and am sure that about 3,800 other people did likewise."

For more information about the Society of Genealogists’ annual Family History Fair, look at: http://www.sog.org.uk

What Do You Think? Comments and discussion are available on this newsletter's Discussion Board at: http://www.eogn.com/discussionboard

[Return to Table of Contents]

- New Products and Services Seen at the Family History Fair

The exhibitors’ hall at the SoG Fair in London is always and interesting place. This year was no exception. Some of the products that I saw may have been available for some time, but all of these were news to me:

Wholly Genes Software introduced the U.K. version of The Master Genealogist. Differences in this U.K.-specific version include:

The UK version of The Master Genealogist was being shown this weekend but will not be available for a few weeks yet. Stay tuned to http://www.whollygenes.com for the latest news about this product.

S&N Genealogy Supplies displayed a number of new CD-ROM products at this show, including Slater’s 1850 Directory (alphabetical lists of the inhabitants of larger and more populous towns), the London 1852 Directory, and the London 1869 Post Office Directory, which includes an alphabetical list of streets with residents’ names and a Court Directory with an alphabetical list of people by surname.

The Chartists is a company that offers very nice-looking pedigree and fan charts, suitable for framing. The charts are blank; you fill in the blanks. These are very attractive and modestly priced from £4.95 to £14.95. Those prices include postage within the U.K. The products are so new that they are not yet listed on the company’s Web site. However, keep an eye on http://www.thechartists.co.uk. I suspect you will soon find the info there.

RootsMap offers surname distribution maps for the United Kingdom. The maps each show the incidence of a particular name in a given area. RootsMap Infill maps are based on the 1881 census and show the distribution of the surname, by county, throughout the mainland U.K. Maps of Ireland are also available based upon Griffith’s Valuation 1847 to 1864. RootsMap has a number of other genealogy-related mapping products available also. Look at http://www.rootsmap.com for further details.

Ancestry.com introduced several new 1891 British Census Index CD-ROM data disks on Saturday, the first day of the SoG conference. The new disks include census indexes for Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Surrey, Cheshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, London, Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. TWR Computing sells these disks in the U.K. More information can be found on TWR Computing’s Web site at: http://www.twrcomputing.com.

Oxford University offers an advanced diploma in local history via the Internet. The course offers an opportunity to study for an Oxford University qualification, using teaching material over the Internet with the support of a personal tutor. A significant advantage is that you will be able to study at home and in your own time. Details are available from http://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/localhistory

Fampres is not exactly a new product: this German company exhibited at the U.S. National Genealogical Society’s annual conference in Pittsburgh nearly a year ago, and I wrote about their gorgeous wall charts the following week. These charts are about the most attractive ones I have seen. The customer sends a file to fampres, and the company then prints the charts and sends the results to the customer in cardboard tubes. These charts include pictures of each individual, when available.

Fampres representatives report that they are expanding the product line to include simpler charts at a lower price. The results are not yet ready for display, but they are getting close. It is difficult to describe the beautiful charts in words, so I would suggest that you look at the company’s new Web site at http://www.fampres.com

The Federation of Family History Societies is preparing a second edition of the National Burial Index for England and Wales. Many new records have been added to this version, scheduled for release on August 26. The price will be £45. Those who already own the first edition can upgrade for £25.

What Do You Think? Comments and discussion are available on this newsletter's Discussion Board at: http://www.eogn.com/discussionboard

[Return to Table of Contents]

- Embla Family Treasures Version 5

Embla was not an exhibitor at this year’s Family History fair, but company representatives were attendees at the conference. I was able to obtain a brief look at this new Windows genealogy program, and it looks good. I hope to write about it in depth in the newsletter within a few weeks.

I can give you two "quick insights: (1.) it is quite different from other genealogy programs that I have seen, and (2.) it has a very low price. Very low. Stay tuned…

What Do You Think? Comments and discussion are available on this newsletter's Discussion Board at: http://www.eogn.com/discussionboard

[Return to Table of Contents]

- New Commercial Online Genealogy Service Announced

This is late-breaking news. I do not yet have all the details but do want to include a quick mention in this week’s newsletter. Just as I was about to send this newsletter (at 4:00 AM from a London hotel room), I was informed that Pearl Street Software a few minutes ago announced a new commercial online genealogy service.

You may know Pearl Street Software that produces the Family Tree Legends genealogy program that I have reviewed in the past. I consider it to be an excellent program; easy to use and yet it has a long list of features that serious genealogists demand. Now Pearl Street Software has announced the Family Tree Legends Records Collection. It's a collection of more than 400 million records that will become available in June 2004. Please note that the new service does not require the Family Tree Legends software for use.

According to Cliff Shaw, President and CEO of Pearl Street Software, "The competition is really what got us into this market. Subscription prices have continued to rise for several years now. Personally, I don't feel like the existing services have improved enough to justify their increase in cost. So many of our customers have expressed frustration about the rising cost of genealogy data on the Internet. Some even say that they just can't afford to do genealogy any more, especially some of our users on fixed incomes. In my mind, the genealogy subscription market has become inflated because there's no competition to the existing services. We plan to restore some healthy competition to the subscription market and FAST!"

The collection reportedly will contain birth, marriage, and death indexes from most states, military records, land records, court and probate records, biographies, cemetery transcriptions, and hundreds of books. Cliff Shaw reports, "We're going to be investing in our service heavily and adding new databases frequently. 400 million is only a starting point. We'll be adding new collections and features to enhance the value of our service. Our main goal is to make our service as user friendly and powerful as possible, while remaining very affordable."

For a limited time, Pearl Street Software is offering a special pre-order price of $19.95 per year to become a charter member. The regular price will be $29.95.

You can find more information about this new service at http://www.familytreelegends.com/records

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- Update: Government Inquiry into Statue of Liberty Foundation Gifts

In the April 12 edition of this newsletter, I wrote a short article that referred the reader to an article on the New York Times' Web site. The Times article describes an investigation by the inspector general of the Interior Department, which oversees the Park Service. That department is investigating how the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation spent donations it raised for projects at the monument and whether it followed federal guidelines on competitive bidding for certain contracts. The article is available at http://www.eogn.com/archives/news0415.htm.

The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation has responded by posting an "Open letter" to donors and the American people. The letter, signed by Stephen A. Briganti, President and CEO of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, is available at http://www.statueofliberty.org/letter.htm. A longer collection of documents can be found on the "Setting the Record Straight" page at http://www.statueofliberty.org/setting_record.htm.

What Do You Think? Comments and discussion are available on this newsletter's Discussion Board at: http://www.eogn.com/discussionboard

[Return to Table of Contents]

- Family History Week

Family History Week is celebrated in England this year on the week of May 8 to May 14. The experts at the National Archives are holding special lectures all week for beginners and seasoned experts alike. For instance, the lectures vary from "An Introduction to Family History" to "Pathways to the Past," the latter of which demonstrates the new online Palaeography tutorial (1500 – 1800) to help you read old documents.

All the lectures are free of charge. You can read more at http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Seating is limited and may fill up quickly. To book a seat, call 020 8876 3444.

What Do You Think? Comments and discussion are available on this newsletter's Discussion Board at: http://www.eogn.com/discussionboard

[Return to Table of Contents]

- Ancestry.co.uk to Sponsor FFHS Event

The following is a press release issued jointly by the Federation of Family History Societies and Ancestry.com, the owners of the Ancestry.co.uk Web site:

Ancestry.co.uk sponsors the Federation of Family History Societies Flight of Yesterdays conference with $10,000 cheque

Saturday 1 May at Society of Genealogists Family History fair, the Federation of Family History Societies was presented with a cheque for $10,000 by Ancestry.co.uk as their sponsorship for the Flight of Yesterdays Conference.

Brian Edwards, Senior Product Manager, Ancestry.co.uk, presented the cheque to Alec Tritton, Executive Committee Chairman of the Federation of Family History Societies.

Brian Edwards said, "We value our customers in the UK and have a long term commitment to making records available to them at a reasonable cost. We are delighted to be able to support the Federation’s conference in this way and so help with its educational role.

Paul Blake, Chairman of the conference organizing committee, added, "The federation is extremely grateful for this considerable and generous gift. This now allows many more family historians to attend the Flight of Yesterdays conference. It also enables the organizers to obtain the services of extremely high caliber and internationally renowned speakers who would not normally be seen together at such a prestigious event."

For more information about the Flight of Yesterdays conference, visit: http://www.flightofyesterdays..org.uk

What Do You Think? Comments and discussion are available on this newsletter's Discussion Board at: http://www.eogn.com/discussionboard

[Return to Table of Contents]

- Family History Library Remodeling 2004

The following is an announcement from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City:

The Family History Library is currently undergoing extensive remodeling, including: 1) Family Histories and Biographies have been moved to the Library, 2) the Family Group Records Archive is now a film only collection, 3) added computer work stations with the addition of a computer training area, and 4) additional patron research space.

If you have any questions, contact Library Public Affairs at (801-240-1054 or 800-346-6044 ext. 1054 or by e-mail at fhl-publicaffairs@ldschurch.org.

Following is the tentative 2004 Remodeling Schedule

Floor

Starting Date

Completion Date

B2 British

April 2004

June 2004

Br Special Collections

April 2004 (closed)

June 2004

B1 International

June 2004

July/Aug 2004

Main

June 2004

September 2004

2nd US/CAN – Films

No Major remodeling

  

 

What Do You Think? Comments and discussion are available on this newsletter's Discussion Board at: http://www.eogn.com/discussionboard

[Return to Table of Contents]

- On to Bombay

This week’s seven-hour flight to London was only a "warm up." About the time you are reading these words, I will be on a longer flight, from London's Heathrow Airport to Bombay, India. I will be in India on a business trip for almost a week. The return trip will be even longer, traveling from India to the U.S. in one day; a total of about sixteen hours in the air with only a few hours on the ground in the middle of that time to change planes in London.

While I expect to have plenty of time to write next week's newsletter while flying, battery life in the laptop PC may be an issue. Also, Internet connectivity from hotel rooms in India will be an interesting challenge. In short, I am making no promises about delivery of next week's newsletter. It probably will be late or possibly even skipped entirely.

[Return to Table of Contents]

- Upcoming Events

The Upcoming Events section of this newsletter is published once per month, usually in the first newsletter of each month. Each event will be listed very briefly: date(s), location and brief details, followed by either an e-mail address or a Web page that you can use to find more information. Since detailed information is available via e-mail or the Web, I will not list the details in this newsletter. If you do contact any of these organizations, please tell them where you heard about the event.

If you would like to see your event listed in future newsletters, send an e-mail to: meetings@eogn.com. You must include either a Web page that gives details or an e-mail address for the organization or for someone within the organization who is willing to supply the meeting details upon request. Please limit your listings to events where you expect 100 or more people to attend.

Here are the listings, arranged by date. An asterisk indicates a new listing that has been added since the last time this list was published:

May 8 - Boston, Massachusetts: The New England Historic Genealogical Society will sponsor a one-day Irish Genealogical Seminar. This one-day seminar will focus on Irish research methods and resources (many of which may be found at the New England Historic Genealogical Society). Speakers will include Irish experts Eileen and Sean O’Duill from Dublin; the Society’s library director and nationally-known Irish research scholar Marie E. Daly; and George Handran, JD, CG. This seminar is cosponsored by TIARA, the Irish Ancestral Research Association. http://www.newenglandancestors.org/events/events/Default.asp?id=310

May 8 - Santa Clara, California: the Silicon Valley PAF Users Group and the Santa Clara County Historical and Genealogical Society will co-sponsor a genealogy seminar offering more than 40 classes covering beginning to advanced research methodology and computer skills for tracing and preserving your family history. Volunteer presenters from throughout northern California will join Keynote Speaker, Beth Maltbie Uyehara, author of The Zen of Genealogy, and Chuck Knuthson, a popular Sacramento area teacher and long-time researcher. For further information and registration details, go to http://www.svpafug.org

May 8 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society's monthly meeting will feature Christy Venham, Library Associate, who will discuss resources for Virginia, West Virginia, and Southwestern Pennsylvania families in the West Virginia and Regional History Collection of the West Virginia University Library. http://www.wpgs.org

May 8 – Mayfield Village, Ohio: NEOCAG, the NorthEast Ohio Computer-Aided Genealogy Society will be present a special program featuring Elizabeth Kelly Kerstens, the creator of Clooz® and the co-creator of Geneweaver®. For additional information, look at: http://neocag.net

*May 8 - Idaho Falls, Idaho: Preserve Your Family Heritage Day will be presented at the Idaho Falls, Idaho, Regional Family History Center. Lectures will be presented on preserving family heirlooms and stories. Sharon Harleman Tandy of Boise will discuss antique quilts, how to date and care for them. Anyone with an old quilt is encouraged to bring it to the event. Classes are free and open to the public. For more information, go to http://www.rootsweb.com/~idsrfhc/May2004.html.

May 14 - St. Peters, Missouri: Michael John Neill will present an all-day computer workshop on Family Tree Maker at St. Charles Community College in St. Peters, Missouri. This event is co-sponsored by the St. Charles County, Missouri Genealogical Society and St. Charles Community College. For more information visit http://www.rootdig.com/stcharles.html

May 15 - St. Peters, Missouri: Michael John Neill will present an all-day computer workshop on Online Genealogy Methods at St. Charles Community College in St. Peters, Missouri. This event is co-sponsored by the St. Charles County, Missouri Genealogical Society and St. Charles Community College. For more information visit http://www.rootdig.com/stcharles.html

May 18 - Sacramento, California: A FREE "German Family History SLAM" will be presented by the Sacramento German Genealogy Society as a prelude to the opening of the National Genealogical Society Conference, which begins the following day. All persons interested in their German ancestry, including NGS attendees, are invited. This free event will include a speaker from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, freebies, handouts, advice, and refreshments. The main feature will be a presentation on "Eleven Commandments for Conducting German Family History Research." For information, go to http://www.SacGerGenSoc.org/calendar.htm.

May 19-22 – Sacramento, California: The U.S. National Genealogical Society's annual conference will be co-sponsored by the Genealogical & Historical Council of Sacramento Valley. This national event attracts genealogists from all over the U.S. Details may be found at: http://www.eshow2000.com/ngs/

May 20-22 - Dearborn, Michigan: The Henry Ford Community College is sponsoring three days of hands-on genealogy computing workshop. Topics include: Census Research Online, Genealogy Potpourri, and Family Tree Maker. Presenter will be Michael John Neill, columnist for the Ancestry Daily News and Part I Studies Coordinator at the Genealogical Institute of Mid-America. More details are available at: http://www.rootdig.com/dearbornmay2004.html.

May 20-22 - Dearborn, Michigan: The Henry Ford Community College is sponsoring three days of hands-on genealogy computer workshops presented by Michael John Neill. Topics include Family Tree Maker, Census Research Online and Genealogy Potpourri. For more information visit: http://www.rootdig.com/dearbornmay2004.html

May 27-30 – Toronto, Ontario: The Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society will host the Society's annual seminar with a theme of "The 3 R's of Family History: Resources, Research, Results." The seminar will feature different streams of interest: Methodology; Technology; Toronto, Ontario, and Canadian research: and a miscellaneous stream which could include topics related to such things as Society Management, genetics/DNA, and others. Speakers include Helen F.M. Leary and Dick Eastman. http://www.ogsseminar.org

*June 5 - Spokane, Washington: the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society is sponsoring a German Seminar with Sabine Schleichert from Munich, Germany, who is a professional genealogist and member of the German Association of Professional Genealogists. She has worked in the Germany Archives, covering the 14th through the 20th centuries. The topics will be "How To Find that Elusive German Emigrant"; "What is Where in the German Archives?"; "German Research by Remote: How Do I Get These Records?" and "German Sources Beyond the Church Records". Information is available at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~WAEWGS/Flyers/GermanFamilies.pdf

June 13-20 - Boston, Massachusetts: "Come Home to New England #1" - This weeklong program will fully acquaint you with the New England Historic Genealogical Society's world-class genealogical research facility and expert staff. Throughout the week you will receive guided research assistance, personal consultations, informative lectures, and much more! http://www.newenglandancestors.org/events/events/Default.asp?id=311

June 18-19 ­ Braintree, MA: A reunion of the descendents of Lt. Alexander MARSH (1628-1698) of Braintree, MA. For further details contact Ken Marsh at fcchurch@ffni.com

June 18 - 20 - Sandwich, MA: The Wing Family of America is hosting their annual reunion. You do not have to be a member of the WFA to attend the reunion. Many activities planned, and the first volume of the new Wing Genealogy will hopefully be available. For more information see the WFA's Web site at http://www.wingfamily.org

* June 19 - Woodville Plantation, Pennsylvania: the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society's 30th Anniversary Celebration (1974-2004) Tour of the Woodville Plantation, and lunch at Peter's Place Restaurant. Guest speaker will be John Humphrey, former Director of the NGS Learning Center. Details may be found at http://www.wpgs.org

June 24-26 - Albany, NY: Palatines to America will hold its 2004 national conference "Palatine Footprints" for the German genealogist. Speakers include: Conrad Weiser, John Humphrey, Diane Snyder Ptak, Jay Webber, and Richard N. Pawling. Topics: Developing Skills to become a Genealogist, Hessian Ancestors, An Erie Canal Boat Captain, Chasing Those Elusive Loyalists, Locating That Elusive Link, What a Genealogical Researcher Needs to Know to Make the Best Use of Colonial Church Records. For more information go to http://www.palam.org

June 26 - Boston, Massachusetts: "Electronic and Online Genealogical Resources." This special one-day seminar sponsored by the New England Historic Genealogical Society will acquaint you with technological tools that will greatly aid your genealogical research. Dick Eastman, NEHGS Assistant Executive Director for Technology, will discuss and demonstrate modern devices that will assist the genealogist in locating records, finding old (and even abandoned) cemeteries, plotting grave locations, locating ancestral homesteads and more. NEHGS resources, including new CD-ROMs and the NewEnglandAncestors.org website, will be surveyed in detail by Michael J. Leclerc, director of electronic publications at NEHGS and a frequent contributor to New England Ancestors magazine. Researching U.S. and Canadian military records online will be presented by David Lambert, NEHGS Library microtext & technology manager. http://www.newenglandancestors.org/events/events/Default.asp?id=313

July 7 to 11 - South Portland, Maine: the 6th National Reunion of Jordans will feature a theme of "Getting to know you." Some 250 members of The Reverend Robert and Sarah (Winter) Jordan, AKA The Family Jordan, will travel from many parts of America to Maine, the state where their roots in this country were originally planted. Their goal is to explore, discuss, and expand knowledge of family lineage which has been traced to early England. A busy agenda is planned for the 4-day gathering that will include educational forums, DNA tracking, regional meetings, board meetings, elections, and establishment of a Board of Trustees for their newly formed Scholarship Foundation. Mr. Thomas Roderick of the Jackson Laboratory at Bar Harbor, ME, will be the featured speaker on the DNA study on the Jordan name. http://www.familyjordan.com

July 10 - Whitewater, Wisconsin: The German Interest Group-Wisconsin is sponsoring a German genealogy workshop, "Insights in Your German Past." Roger Minert will speak on four German research topics. For more information see the GIG web page at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~wigig/index.html

*July 10 - Hawley, Pennsylvania: GENEALOGY FAIR 2004 will be hosted by the Wayne County Historical Society. The topic will be "Looking for Work: Tracing Your Ancestors through Their Occupations." Several regional historical societies, speakers, workshops. For information, contact wchspa@ptd.net

*July 10 - Asheville, NC: The North Carolina Genealogical Society and co-host Old Buncombe County Genealogical Society are sponsoring a one-day workshop, George G. Morgan, speaker. Mr. Morgan will give four lectures: "Genealogy Orienteering: Using Maps to Find the RIGHT Place", "Bring 'Em Back to Life: Developing an Ancestor Profile", "Immigration and Naturalization Research" and "Pursuing Your Genealogical Research on the Internet." Details and registration information are available at http://www.ncgenealogy.org

July 11-17 - Washington, D.C.: The National Institute on Genealogical Research (NIGR) offers on-site and in-depth examination of the common and less-known federal records. This intensive week-long study opportunity is for experienced genealogists and for archivists, historians and librarians interested in using federal records for genealogical research. It is not an introductory course in genealogy. Details may be found at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~natgenin/

*July 22-25 - Bismarck, North Dakota: The 34th International Convention of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society will include approximately 50 workshops, the annual business meeting, three sing-a-long sessions, entertainment, kuchen tasting, and many other events. Much of the society's library will be available for researchers, and the bookstore will have its stock of books and research materials for sale. Information is available at: http://www.grhs.org

August 1-5 - Richmond, Virginia: The Virginia Genealogical Society will host the 7th Virginia Institute of Genealogical Research. The 4-day retreat and intensive immersion will offer two tracks: 1) Introduction to Virginia Research, and 2) Virginia and Their Land. For details, contact VGS at mail@vgs.org

*August 5-7 - Richmond, Indiana: The Pennington Research Association's 2004 Annual Reunion/Meeting will dedicate the new Research Library/Archive at Earlham College. For more information, go to: http://www.penningtonresearch.org/library/researchlibrary.htm

*August 6 & 7 – Duxbury, Massachusetts: The Alden Kindred of America will hold its 104th Annual Meeting at the Alden House Historic Site in Duxbury, Massachusetts on August 6-7, 2004. Details will be published on the website: http://www.alden.org.

August 20-21 - Denver Colorado: The Colorado Council of Genealogical Societies presents: "Connections...With Your Families, With Your Friends", a two-day seminar featuring Thomas Jones, Ph.D., CG, Gladys Friedman Paulin, CGRS, and Pamela Boyer Porter, CGRS, CGL, with noted regional speakers supplementing the lecture schedule. Two tracks of lectures, regional exhibitors, local societies, all will be present to provide an outstanding genealogical experience for area researchers. Details may be found at http://www.rootsweb.com/~coccgs/dCalendar.htm

Sept. 8 – Plano, Texas: The Genealogy Friends of Plano will host an all-day seminar at Gladys Harrington Library in Plano, Texas. The speaker will be John Humphrey. The topics will be "Reconstructing Families on the Colonial Frontier," "Researching Pennsylvania Ancestors," and "Researching German Ancestors: The Agony and The Ecstasy." For more information, go to http://www.rootsweb.com/~txgfpl

Sept. 17 & 18 – Lebanon, Ohio: The Descendants of William Lee will meet in Lebanon, Ohio. The program includes touring the Genealogy and Historical Society. For information, contact rufpeg@aol.com or torchh@peoplepc.com

Sept. 18-24 - Miami, Florida: Legacy Family Tree is sponsoring a genealogy cruise this fall. Sail away on a seven-day Western Caribbean cruise aboard Carnival's stately Triumph. In addition to cruising through the Caribbean, you will have the opportunity to visit the ports of Cozumel, where you can tour the Mayan Ruins, Grand Cayman's seven mile beach, or Ocho Rios, Jamaica, where you can climb the famous Dunn Falls. While sailing, you will learn professional genealogical techniques and how to apply them by using the many powerful features of Legacy Family Tree and other programs. Details may be obtained from KenMcGinnis@MillenniaCorp.com

Sept. 25 – Oxford, England: The Oxfordshire Family History Society's Open Day 2004 will feature a demonstration and workshop on the scanning of old photographs, an assortment of visiting societies, dealers in second hand books and postcards, sales of microfiche readers and the like, the society's library and search services, a beginners' helpdesk, computing demonstrations giving advice on such topics as which genealogical software package to choose, and the use of the internet in family history, and more. Details are still developing; keep a watch on http://www.ofhs.org.uk

*September 25 - Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania: the second Family History Genealogy Conference will be sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For registration and class information, contact nnaiello@ptd.net

*September and October – Quebec and Maritime Provinces: the French-Canadian Heritage Society of California is sponsoring a 24-day historical, scenic, and personalized research tour. Participants will spend approximately 14 days in the Maritime Provinces or 10 days in Quebec City and Montreal. While these are two separate tours, participants certainly may join both. For more information, contact jimesther@aol.com.

October 2 - Grand Rapids, Michigan: The Western Michigan Genealogical Society (WMGS) is celebrating its 50th anniversary from October 2003 - October 2004. This celebration will culminate in a one-day Conference – "Got Ancestors?!" along with a banquet. Speakers include Dick Eastman, Joan Griffin, and Shirley De Boer. Dick Eastman will also speak at the Saturday evening banquet. Details are available at: http://www.GotAncestors.com

*October 23 - Bristol, Indiana: The Elkhart County Genealogical Society Fall Workshop will feature speaker Curt Witcher speaking on "Historical Research Methodology: Engaging the Process to Find all the Answers," "Using Military Records for Genealogical Research," "An Ancestor's Death - A Time for Reaping," and "'Pain in the Access: Getting More from the Internet for your Genealogy." Details may be found at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~inelkhar/ecgs.htm

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dick Eastman is employed by the New England Historic Genealogical Society, serving as Assistant Executive Director for Technology. He is a frequent presenter at major genealogy conferences. He has published articles in Genealogical Computing and Family Chronicle magazines and for a number of Web sites. He was an advisor to PBS' Ancestry series and appeared as a guest in one of the episodes. He is a past Director of GENTECH and of the New England Computer Genealogists. Dick is the author of YOUR ROOTS: Total Genealogy Planning On Your Computer published by Ziff-Davis Press. He can be reached at: Richard@eastman.net. Due to the volume of e-mail received, he is unable to answer every e-mail message received.

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