The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) announced today that presentation proposals are now being received for its 2017 Conference, “Building Bridges to the Past,” to be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania August 30 – September 2, 2017. The conference will be held in cooperation with the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society as local host. The deadline for submission of presentation proposals is Wednesday, 1 June 2016.
“Building Bridges to the Past” references not only the many bridges in Pittsburgh, but the bridges between old world and new, as well as our journeys to discover our past.”
To learn more about the suggested topics, how to submit proposals, and about the speaker compensation package, visit the FGS website for the full request for proposals. The FGS compensation package for conference speakers is the best for such conferences.
That’s my personal financial opinion and I am a member of the Board of Directors of FGS. Board members are volunteers and I am serving my second term on the board.
While you are on the FGS website, be sure to check out information on the 2016 FGS Conference that will be held in the Land of Lincoln, Springfield, Illinois at the end of August.
It was the late 1990s at a genealogy conference in some city. After so many years of attending them, it’s tough to remember which one I was at, but I do remember meeting this Cyndi who was in charge of Cyndi’s List.
I had owned a computer for at least a dozen years at that point, including my first laptop. I had heard about Cyndi’s List and checked it out, but didn’t know the woman behind it. I am happy to say that changed. Then we talked at several more conferences. I remember when she got to meet her teenage idol at a conference. That was Donny Osmond. He was more excited to meet her, the Cyndi of Cyndi’s List! I have met many of her family members and she has met my daughter. Her son accompanied her to many genealogy events as a young boy. Today he is a tall man in college.
I do use Cyndi’s List to find websites of interest and I send her link updates and try to find links she doesn’t have. As the website’s home page states, she has added almost 331,000 links. That figure is somewhat off, for most of those links include many other links. She doesn’t toot her own horn enough.
Today, March 4th is the start of the 21st year of Cyndi’s List. I appreciate all that she has done to keep it going, including many hours each day updating links that go bad. I know it’s not cheap to maintain all that is needed for it to stay online. I know it cost her a bundle to update all the technology in recent years. She does this just for us. Read more about Cyndi and the way Cyndi’s List began under the “About Cyndi” tab on her home page. Please let her know how much we appreciate what she does for us!
She has no idea that I am writing this. I count her a good friend. She stepped up to the plate and was a great friend when I was in the midst of a personal crisis. She let me spoil her Boston Terriers. She is a friend to many colleagues. Thank you, Cyndi for helping my research
Tomorrow, March 2, is the opening of online registration for the 2016 second week of the Genealogical Institute of Pittsburgh. This week takes place from July 17-22. Things get going early on Sunday evening. Get your fingers ready so you get the course you want! In fact, look at the GRIP registration NOW in order to cut down the time you expend tomorrow. Be ready at noon EST.
In 4.5 months, join about 200 other genealogists to learn in air-conditioned comfort. I choose to stay in the dorm because it’s just a 1minute walk to the classroom and cafeteria building. There’s something for every level of experience with 7 courses offered in July.
I coordinate and teach in Intermediate Genealogy: Tools for Digging Deeper. For my course, you also get to interact with Debbie Mieszala, CG, and Josh Taylor, MA, MLS. We all have some special things planned for the week. Students registered for this course will hear from me in May with an opportunity to participate further in the course by submitting a research problem that they have encountered. Four of the course days feature an end-of-the-day opportunity for open discussion and further learning. The course ends at noon on Friday.
Your presence will add to a great week of learning, sharing, and fun. Yes, we have fun, too. A great camaraderie develops in our classroom and with other GRIP Students. It’s not old-fashioned Summer School, but adult learning at its best. This is the 5th year of GRIP and the 5th year I have coordinated this course. Not quite at the intermediate level yet? We will guide you along in between classes. Beyond the intermediate level but need a refresher? We will reopen your eyes and mind during the week.
A computer, iPad, or other tablet is not a requirement for the Intermediate Course but it is helpful if you bring one to class. You may wish to check websites, look at your own family in whatever genealogy software you use, or work along with the instructor on a website that is being discussed. Bring along pen and paper too, as there will be some other hands-on work.
By The Pullman Company, Chicago-imprint on lower left front of photo. – eBay back, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21248643
This past Tuesday, February 23, the Chicago Tribune carried an article titled “Pullman porter recalls his days on the railroad.” I love it when the media covers one of my favorite genealogy topics, railroads. Benjamin Gaines personal story is about his nine years as a Pullman Porter. His story is interesting and worth reading.
The activity surrounding the Pullman Porters and the Pullman Company in general has really grown in the last decade. A museum dedicated to the Porters is the A. Philip Porter Pullman Porter Museum, located in Chicago.
It will soon have a new website that will include the “Pullman Porter National Historic Registry of the African-American Railroad Employees.” I am excited by this endeavor. The museum has already been involved in An Anthology of Respect: A Pullman Porter Book The Pullman Porter National Historic Registry (1st ed.) by Lyn Hughes (Hughes-Peterson Publishing , 2007). The book included a registry of African American Railroad employees who worked for the railroad between the late 1800s – 1969.
As with any list or registry, there are always additions to be made and that is happening, If you were a Pullman Porter, a Dining Car Waiter, other job, or are a relative of one, you can now add your information to the online registry that will be on the museum website. The Chicago Tribune also had a recent article about the museum and the registry.
These workers fought for rights and better working conditions. They formed their own union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, with A. Philip Porter as the leader.
A quick check on ArchiveGrid, a free online finding aid for manuscript collections, shows 174 collections across the U.S. with that exact union title. Many of these have membership applications, listings, and other details. Divisions existed across the country. Related unions also flourished and so did one for the women. To learn more about the Pullman Porters and related jobs, read the history mentioned above or one of the many articles and other books found via a search on WorldCat. ArchiveGrid is connected to WorldCat, but I like to do some separate searching.
The Newberry Library in Chicago is one major repository that holds many records of the Pullman Palace Car Company, as it was originally called. The company not only built many railroad cars, but employed people who worked on them. The Encyclopedia of Chicagohas a short history of the Pullman Company.
A future blog post will tell more about researching other railroad workers. Stay tuned
Burbank. Airport across the road from the hotel and convention center. Free airport shuttle. Great speakers on a wide variety of topics. Free consultations. DNA Day. Hands-on workshops. Sunny days. People willing to talk genealogy. Delicious conference meals. June 3-5, 2016.
The site’s home page says “Digital Horizons is an online treasure house of thousands of images, documents, video, and oral histories depicting life on the Northern Plains from the late 1800s to today. Here you’ll find a fascinating snapshot of the lives, culture, and history of the people who shaped life on the prairies.”
Of course, I had to spend time looking at the images. Some topics it suggests are Aerial Photographs, Badlands, Bonanza Farms, Civilian Conservation Corps, Homesteading, Native Americans, Nonpartisan League, Parades, Postcards, and Weddings.
A variety of organizations compose the contributors. See the list here.
I did a search for cousins from each side of my family and found a gold mine of images.
Anne H. Carlsen, for whom the Anne Carlsen Center in Jamestown is named. It’s a place that provides care for for individuals with special needs from throughout North Dakota. Anne was a teacher and then head of this great place and now it is named for this outstanding woman. I will tell more about Anne in a future post.
James M. Hanley, (father and son) is not as well represented but I still found items.
This news release was received from the Southern California Genealogical Society today. I have met some of the past winners at the SCGS Jamboree and they are great as is Denise Levenick.
The Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Grant Committee and the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree are pleased to announce the 2016 Student Grant and Jamboree Scholarship. Student genealogists between the ages of 18 and 23 are eligible to apply for the $500 cash award and full registration scholarship for the 2016 SCGS Jamboree to be held in Burbank, California June 3-5, 2016.
The Student Grant was established in 2010 by family and friends in memory of Suzanne Winsor Freeman, family historian and life-long volunteer, and an enthusiastic annual attendee at the SCGS Jamboree. The 2016 Southern California Genealogy Jamboree sponsored by the Southern California Genealogical Society will provide a full conference registration to the SCGS Jamboree in June where the award will be presented. This is a unique opportunity for a young genealogist to attend a premiere regional conference and meet genealogists from throughout the nation.
Past recipients include Elyse Doerflinger (Lomita, California), A.C. Ivory (Salt Lake City, Utah), Anthony Ray (Palmdale, California), Michael Savoca (Toms River, New Jersey), and Paul Woodbury (Provo, Utah).
“The Student Genealogy Grant pays tribute to Suzanne Freeman’s dedication to youth volunteerism and family history by awarding the annual cash grant to a young genealogist attending the SCGS Annual Genealogy Jamboree, Southern California’s premiere regional genealogy conference,” notes Denise Levenick, committee chair and Freeman’s daughter.
“We are especially grateful to Jamboree for providing a three-day conference registration to the grant recipient,” she adds. “SCGS is truly a leader in conference organizations by encouraging youth involvement in genealogy through the student conference scholarship.”
Born in Olathe, Kansas, Suzanne Winsor (Brown) Freeman moved to Orange County, California with her family in the early 1930s where she attended school and lived most of her life. She developed a strong interest in family history sparked by the stories of her mother’s early life in Colorado and Kansas. After retirement Suzanne moved to Green Valley, Arizona where she was active in the local genealogy society. She enjoyed returning to Southern California each year in June to attend the SCGS Jamboree. Suzanne passed away after a brief illness in Tucson, Arizona August 28, 2010.
The $500 cash award pays tribute to these interests by awarding the annual cash grant to a young genealogist attending the Jamboree. In addition, a student scholarship for conference registration to the Annual Southern California Genealogy Jamboreewill be provided by the Jamboree conference.
Any genealogist who is between the ages of 18 and 23 as of June 2, 2016 and a current student (full-time or part-time) is eligible to apply. The award will be presented at the Jamboree Scholarship Breakfast Sunday, June 5, 2016; the recipient must be present to receive the award. See the Grant Application for eligibility details.
Funding for the cash award is provided by the family grant program; Jamboree registration is provided by the conference. Individual contributions to the grant program are welcome at the Student Grant Webpage.
Application deadline is March 20, 2016 midnight Pacific Daylight Time.
TODAY, Wednesday, February 10, at Noon EST is when registration opens for the first week (June 26-July 1) of the 2016 Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. GRIP takes place at LaRoche College in Pittsburgh.
Then, on Wednesday, March 2, noon EST, registration opens for the second week of GRIP (July 17-22). This is the week that includes the course I coordinate, “Intermediate Genealogy: Tools for Digging Deeper” and this year the hands-on work is expanding. In this course only, students will be able to submit one of their family history research issues for discussion and direction on what to do next.
Survey the several courses offered during each week, read the helpful details on the registration page, and get your computer ready for Noon today for the first week. Early registration and tuition payment gives you a $25.00 savings. http://www.gripitt.org/
I knew that more records from the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway and the Chicago and North Western Railroad were coming to Ancestry.com. Many years ago I had obtained information on great granduncles Louis Frederick Slaker and Frederick Slaker. At that time the Chicago and North Western Railroad Historical Society folks were not able to find a record for my Grandfather Earl James Stuart. Grandpa retired from the “Omaha” and thus I was disappointed.
Today I checked the New and Updated records at Ancestry. I access these via my home page on Ancestry. I clicked on this railroad collection and did a search. THERE HE WAS!
That’s his signature. I would recognize it anywhere. My Dad (his son) had a very similar signature. I believe Grandpa’s father’s given and middle names are reversed. Grandpa’s Social Security number begins with the 700 series, which signifies a Railroad Retirement Board number. For more on these numbers see here.
For those of you who want to check this collection, here’s the full citation from Ancestry:
Ancestry.com. U.S., Chicago and North Western Railroad Employment Records, 1935-1970 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. This collection was indexed by Ancestry World Archives Project contributors. Original data: Chicago and North Western Railroad Employee Records. Chicago & North Western Historical Society, Berwyn, Illinois. Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha Railway Employee Records. Chicago & North Western Historical Society, Berwyn, Illinois.
If you have an Ancestry membership, click here to search in this collection.
Creating and updating PowerPoint slides and handouts and then presenting at classes, institutes, conferences, and seminars is a time intensive endeavor. I strive to find record examples that pertain to place where I will be presenting the lecture. It’s a bit more difficult when doing a webinar that will be viewed by people around the world.
Doing all this brings me a certain sense of accomplishment. I feel good when I find just the right images for the presentation. When the audience ooh and ahs at something, I know I did it right! When they laugh at the points where I hoped they would, I also smile. When I hear from someone with a thank-you for the presentation or that they took my advice and found great grandpa, I am thrilled. That’s why I keep doing this part of my genealogy business.
This year my presentations booked so far take me to Salt Lake City, Utah; Green Bay, Wisconsin; River Falls, Wisconsin; Mason, Ohio (Cincinnati area); Burbank, California; Tacoma, Washington; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Springfield, Illinois; Rapid City, South Dakota; and on a genealogy cruise to Texas, Mexico, Grand Cayman, Jamaica, and Costa Rica. Via several webinars and Ancestry Academy courses, I will be transported across the world.
Could I add more places to my speaking calendar? Of course, it’s a joy to meet audiences everywhere.
