D-OGS Newsletter – April 2008

News & Articles of interest to Durham-Orange genealogists

D-OGS MEETINGS FOR APRIL 2008

The next D-OGS Meeting will be held on Wednesday evening, 2 April 2008 at 7 p.m. at the Duke Homestead Visitor’s Center, 2828 Duke Homestead Road, Durham, NC 27705. Phone: (919) 477-5498 – One-half mile from I-85 and Guess Rd (Exit 175), Follow the brown historic site road signs.

The program for April’s meeting is “Stories of the Common Soldier”. The speaker is Kent McCoury. Kent holds a B.A. in History from Appalachian State University. He has worked for the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources for almost twenty years. For over 10 years, he has been the assistant site manager at Bennett Place State Historic Site in Durham. He has taught at North Carolina State University and has published book reviews for The North Carolina Historical Review.

The D-OGS Computer Interest Group (CIG) Meeting will NOT meet in April. The next meeting will be on 17 May. Details will be in the May newsletter.

D-OGS MEETING MINUTES – MARCH 5, 2008

The president called the meeting to order at 7:10 PM.

Paul introduced the new member, Mr. Boyd Daniels who said that he had few local ancestors as most were from the northeast, including the name “Pedley”. He will submit other surnames to Paul.

Paul mentioned that the vice president and program chair, Elizabeth Hamilton, is immobilized with a broken foot and not able to be with us tonight.

The program headed up the agenda, “Roots of Resistance – A Story of the Underground Railroad” a PBS Video in The American Experience series. Following the video there was discussion of the topic and Richard Ellington asked if those present had visited Somerset Place, the Colonial plantation on Lake Phelps in coastal NC that was mentioned in the video. It is set in isolation in the midst of sixty thousand acres bordered by the Dismal Swamp and only a visit can bring home the “terrible beauty” of the place. It is impressive to consider how many lives were spent in its construction and maintenance. It is south of NC 64 from Creswell about seven or eight miles due south. He mentioned that one of the women in the video is now the director of the historic site at Somerset Place. He also referred to Stagville Plantation north of Durham that was the largest plantation in North Carolina and was owned by the Bennehan and Cameron families

Paul Hollinghurst spoke of growing up in northern New Jersey in Boonton, an area where the Underground Railroad was well known. He told about going to a classmate’s home as a child to see the “railroad in the basement”. What he saw was an area containing two rooms that were not readily visible on casual inspection, but could hide runaways during the day until someone came to take them on to the next stop the following night. We will post the information on the CD/video of tonight’s program on the D-OGS website so the “distant D-OGS” can access copies from their local public libraries.

The February minutes were approved as printed in the newsletter. The secretary, Tonya Krout is ill and not able to attend tonight so the minutes are being recorded by Carol Boggs.

Committee Reports:

Newsletter – Richard Ellington

Richard asked if the newsletter announcements of local events he includes are of use to people. He tries to provide a wide range of activities of interest in our area that members might like to attend. He noted several that are occurring soon, and offered copies of the listing of them on the publications table. He cited the “Annual Guilford Courthouse Revolutionary War Lecture Series” March 11 through March 14, 2008, in conjunction with the 227th Anniversary Observance of the Battle of Guilford Courthouse (March 14, 1781). Historic lectures on four consecutive nights cover various aspects of this historic event and are presented by historians, authors and professors. Although free, reservations are required.

Note: the Veasey family reunion will be held from June 13 – 16, 2008. Their newsletter with info on the reunion is on the publications table.

The NGS brochure is available for the Conference of the States in Kansas City this May.

The Old Orange County Family History Day will be held this year on 10 May, and you can read about in the NC Festivals Newsletter that comes to D-OGS. He passed around a copy to the audience.

“Trading Path” – Rob Elias

The recent edition generated mail on the history of the Presbyterian Church and David Craig, and Richard was able to send the entire three-part series to the writer. Many of the topics featured by D-OGS either on the web site or newsletter often gain the attention of people far away who have roots in old Orange County, and we are happy to pass along copies and answer questions when possible. Another example is a request from a soldier writing to request a copy of a birth certificate that we were able to assist with. Rob said the next “Trading Path” will arrive in May as the second of four quarterly editions followed by ones in the fall and winter. He called for articles on a variety of subjects, saying they would also appreciate topics on genealogy and related subjects. He requested ideas for new features, and more member participation in the publication. Distant members are encouraged to participate here.

Jay Stobbs mentioned that on May fourth, the SAR will commemorate with a fife and drum corps, color guard etc. the life of Rev. James O’Kelly, whose headstone states he died at age 92 in 1828. Jay found the grave while hiking in the countryside. See details in the newsletter and on the web site, everyone is invited to participate. He noted several web sites feature O’Kelly’s life and work.

Upcoming programs

CIG

The Computer Special Interest Group (CIG) will be meeting on March 15th, the third Saturday of the month due to the library’s book sale. We will discuss creating context for our ancestors.

D-OGS

The next meeting will be on Wednesday, 2 April 2008. The program will be “Stories of the Common Soldier”. The speaker will be Kent McCoury, assistant director of the Bennett Place state historic site. Refer to the D-OGS web site for further details on the subject and the speaker.

Paul showed a genealogy sources checklist he has found very helpful, it can be downloaded from Rootsweb at http://www.rootsweb.com/~rwguide/lesson1.htm . He suggests using it during interviews to elicit more information from family who think they may have nothing to offer in information.

Treasurer’s Report

Ann Hamby reported that we have a total of $4,282.01 in our RBC account. This does not include an outstanding donation to The NC Room at the Orange County Library so the net total will be $3,782.01.

Paul announced that the new director of the Family History Center in Chapel Hill is Connie Burns, replacing Lucy Whitehead.

New Business

D-OGS member Bill Reid of Hillsborough, also a member of the Friends of the Library <http://www.co.orange.nc.us/library/friends/> there, was asked to speak about some of the changes taking place at the Orange County Library <http://www.co.orange.nc.us/library/orange/index.htm>. He explained that there are widespread changes in the location of the city and county offices there, resulting from some new construction and rearrangement of various facilities in the new buildings. The library will be housed in a new building but there is discussion under way about what will become of the North Carolina Room when the changes occur, as there is no plan to house the North Carolina Room in the Library. During a recent joint Hillsborough and Orange County Commissioners meeting, the question where will the North Carolina Room be located was asked, and the answer remains “We don’t know”. Bill has been attending these meetings regularly and will continue to keep us posted in each meeting.

For a number of years Nat Clark, an amazing expert on the history of Orange County, has spent Wednesdays in the room, assisting patrons with their research and caring for the materials shelved there. He is no longer able to do that, due to illness. As in many such historical or genealogical libraries, providing for the safety and accessibility of such materials is a struggle as towns try to provide full access to the materials representing their heritage. When compared with children’s rooms, or popular books and publications, these historical libraries are rarely at the head of the line for funding, and that is the case here as well.

Fortunately, there may be something of a silver lining as Rebecca B. Wall a benevolent donor, left a bequest of $50,000 in 1984 with stipulations in her will that it be dedicated to preserve the history of Orange County in a location to “be named and designated as the Rebecca B. Wall Room”. As that bequest remains untouched to date with no plans to use it, it has grown over the years to a sum of $120,000 today and can be of significant help to protect and preserve these precious historical materials in the future so they do not end up in boxes, inaccessible to citizens for research. That seed money, in addition to the $340,000 per year that the commissioners designate to the Orange County Library could potentially provide for both protection and access to documents. How that may happen is entirely unknown at this time. There have been discussions of a plan for an Orange County Heritage Center that would serve the needs of the Burwell School, the Orange County Historical Society and Museum as well. How those agencies will work together to merge, share, or provide access to those records is not known.

D-OGS has long had a relationship with the North Carolina Room and Nat Clark, and we have held meetings there in the past. The materials there are priceless to the history of the county, but they are presently at risk to loss due to theft, mishandling and misfiling because of the lack of a designated librarian to work with them and aid researchers in their work. The assistant librarian Pam Sholar has been extremely helpful to patrons in finding their materials, but she has other duties in the library and cannot be there all the time. Digitization of records is a technique whose time has come and it may be an even greater asset as the search for space and support becomes more of an issue. Many records have been digitized, but far more need to be addressed. Some books are under lock and key and are presently protected, but others suffer at the hands of unscrupulous individuals who deface or remove entire pages from them.

D-OGS is really the only group that addresses these issues directly and has long supported both the Durham and Orange County Library with annual financial contributions, but now we do not know what will happen and are reluctant to continue to contribute until more is known about the planning. The National Genealogical Society will be holding its national conference in Raleigh in 2009, and as is customary all the local historical and genealogical societies will be preparing their facilities and their offerings for the anticipated numbers of people who will want to do onsite research while in the state. [These conferences usually number in the thousands of participants.] We hope that we in Orange County have something to offer them. We must continue to be informed on the subject, and work to see that it is successful.

Paul asked what is the potential role for D-OGS here, and a variety of questions and suggestions arose.

• Who makes the decisions regarding the plans and the spending? How can we contact the County Commissioners to express our support?

• What else can we do?

• Are the contents of the NC Room catalogued? No, but reference librarian Kim Sholar is working on an inventory

• Could D-OGS have a role there?

• Could we have a table on Churton Street to publicize the project for each of the “Last Friday” events in Hillsborough?

• The best method is to keep the interested parties well informed on the progress of the discussion and planning.

• How can we best spotlight the situation and demonstrate the need for concerted action in time?

• Can we have a list of names and addresses of County Commissioners to write to Bill will provide them for the newsletter and the web site.

• For years these various agencies have discussed sharing resources, but nothing has happened, how can that collaboration move forward?

• Could we discuss the topic at the next D-OGS meeting and perhaps form a committee and an action plan?

A motion was made and seconded to adopt the North Carolina Room and its holdings as a project for D-OGS to support until the May 2009 NGS meeting, and at that time reassess future involvement.

At the April meeting, we will discuss forming a committee to plan a strategy for working on the subject.

The meeting adjourned at 9:00 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Carol Hubbell Boggs for Tonya Krout, Secretary

D-OGS CIG AGENDA – 15 March, 2008

Humor:

Based on the cartoon of the day, we talked about how difficult it is to try to put ourselves in the shoes of our ancestors, and yet how important to try to learn and be as realistic as possible as we represent them.

Questions and problems you’re having:

Tracing the immigration records and the land transfers of our ancestors can fill in many of the details of their lives. In some cases, court houses hold immigration records, but if they do not, the National Archives would be a first step to inquire about the location of the Federal records. The Virginia Archives have a wealth of land records and other things making a visit worthwhile. One way to trace property transfers is through the use of software such as Deedmapper.

Direct Line Software – http://www.directlinesoftware.com/

TMG Questions:

What’s New?

Best Free Software – http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2260070,00.asp & http://www.genopro.com/genogram/

Discovering Family History Magazine – http://www.discoveringfamilyhistory.com/freepreview.htm

Eclectic Web Sites:

Walking the Berkshires – http://greensleeves.typepad.com/berkshires/

Neat things from the web that any genealogist can use:

Topic Du Jour: Google Alerts – http://www.google.com/alerts/

Google keeps coming up with something new all the time, and one of their newer features is Google Alerts. You can take advantage of this useful feature by signing up for iGoogle and then clicking on Google Alerts. You’ll see a form on the right that asks you to enter a search term for the kind of news you’d like to have delivered to your mailbox. The sky’s the limit when it comes to subjects, but just for fun, I have used my home town in Connecticut, the county seat where the court house is located, the name of a current descendant I’m looking for, the word “genealogy”, the name of a more or less famous ancestor, and many other combinations of terms. For fun I put in my own name and had to change it fairly soon as there were so many hits from my many bulletin board postings.

The thing that intrigued me the most though was news from my home town, right to my computer every day. I feel that now I know what is happening there, and how much the city has changed over all these years. It helps me understand what happened there years ago much better. I’d like to hear from people about what they have success with and what unusual uses they can put the feature to. You know where to find me.

Carol

OLDE ORANGE COUNTY FAMILY HISTORY DAY IS COMING!

Mark your calendars for 10 May 2008. This year we are alternating this event with the annual workshop we usually hold at the Family History Center. We will be holding the Olde Orange event again at the Century Center in Carrboro. We will open the doors at 10am and be there until 3pm. Of course, there will be a lot of setup before, helping out during and cleanup afterward so please offer your services to: 1) setup our D-OGS tables, 2) assist with registration, 3) look after the D-OGS tables, 4) help visitors with resources and 5) clean up our displays at the end. Please consider spending some time working for your society.

If you have a laptop with wireless access, please consider bringing it with you to use in helping the visitors who will be there looking for assistance. Details can be found on our website at http://www.rootsweb.com/~ncdogs/oldeorangeday/oocfhd.html. Contact Richard Ellington at 919-967-4168 or richard_ellington@unc.edu for more details.

SPECIAL INVITATION TO D-OGS FROM OLIVIA RANEY LIBRARY

The Staff of the Olivia Raney Library in Raleigh invite you to come on Saturday, March 29th at 8:30 am for a special “D-OGS only” research time. In the hour and a half before the library opens to the public you’ll be able to browse the closed stacks to your heart’s content, and we hope that you’ll be able to stay well past 10:00 to continue your research. We will also offer a mini-tour of the library at 9:00 for any first-time users. The library will be open until 5:00 pm.

Directions to the Olivia Raney History Library, which is located in the Wake County Office Park on the east side of the Raleigh Beltline:

Take the I-440 Beltline to the Poole Road exit (#15).

Turn east, away from downtown.

Take the first left (at a stoplight), into the Office Park.

Take two immediate left turns, and you’ll be in the library parking area.

The phone number there is 250-1207

THE WORLD’S EASIEST QUIZ

1) How long did the Hundred Years War last?

2) Which country makes Panama hats?

3) From which animal do we get catgut?

4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?

5) What is a camel’s hair brush made of?

6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?

7) What was King George VI’s first name?

8) What color is a purple finch?

9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?

10) How long did the Thirty Years War last?

LOOK BELOW THE HUMOR ENTRY TO FIND THE ANSWERS. NO CHEATING!

(Thanks to Paul Hollinghurst for providing this quiz)

GLOSSARY OF COMPUTER FILE FORMATS

We’ve all received a computer file we didn’t know how to open. The secret to identifying a compatible software program lies in the three- or four-letter extension at the end of the file name—which, for many of us, is a meaningless alphabet soup. This glossary will help you unscramble some of the mystery letters.

• AVI: Audio Video Interleave. Most often played on Apple QuickTime or Windows Media Player, this format for sound and video clips is becoming obsolete.

• DOC: If you use Microsoft Word to type genealogy notes or correspondence, the resulting files are DOCs.

• FDB: Legacy Family Tree genealogy software’s native file format.

• FTW: Family Tree Maker software’s native file format.

• GED: GEDCOM (short for Genealogical Data Communication). When genealogists who use different family tree programs want to share family files, they can convert their data to this standard file format any genealogy software can open.

• GIF: Graphics Interchange Format. Most image-editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop Elements or Jasc Paint Shop Pro, can open this graphics format for still and animated images. Excellent for simple images that contain text, it’s most often used for simple Web graphics with a small number of colors (not photos).

• HTML: Hypertext Markup Language. This is the predominant programming language for Web pages. Open an HTML file in Internet Explorer or another Web browser to view the “finished” page; use an HTML or plain-text editor such as Notepad to see or change the coding.

• JPG: Also JPEG, it’s short for Joint Photographic Experts Group. JPG has become the most widely used format for static photographic images because it can display millions of colors. Any image-editing software can read a JPG.

• MOV: Apple Quicktime Movie. MOV is probably the most common multimedia format for saving video or movie files, and is compatible with both Macintosh and Windows platforms.

• MP3: One of the most popular audio formats, MP3 compresses sound clips into small files without losing quality. You can play MP3s on a portable device such as an iPod, or software such as iTunes and Real Player.

• MPEG: Moving Picture Experts Group. Any Mac or Windows video player can read this video format, popular for creating movies that get distributed over the Internet. The related MPEG-4 format uses separate compression for audio and video tracks.

• PAF: Data files created by Personal Ancestral File software. Several other genealogy software programs, including Family Tree Maker, Legacy and RootsMagic, can import PAF files directly.

• PDF: Portable Document Format. Created to ease document exchange, PDF lets you view a file exactly as designed without the program that created it. All you need is the free Adobe Reader.

• PJC: The extension for files created by The Master Genealogist software, which can directly import the native file formats of most popular genealogy programs.

• PNG: Portable Network Graphics. Developed as a replacement for GIF—and used for the same types of files—PNG compresses better, resulting in a smaller-size files of equal quality. Most image-editing software can open PNG files.

• RMG: RootsMagic genealogy software’s native file format.

• SIT: A file compressed by StuffIt software. SIT files were originally Mac-only, but now Windows can create and open them, too. Note that SIT and ZIP (below) shrink down other file formats for exchanging or archiving. You still need the applicable software to view the original files once you’ve “unstuffed” them.

• TIFF: Tagged Image File Format. Good for bitmap (pixel-based) images, such as photographs. Since TIFF produces large files, it’s excellent if the end use is print (not Web) or archival.

• TXT: Refers to plain-text files with little formatting; for example, no bold or italics. This format is most commonly used in simple text editors such as Windows Notepad and Mac TextEdit, but you can open them in almost any program that that can read a plain-text file (including word processors), making them good for file sharing.

• WAV: Short for waveform, WAV is the standard format for storing audio on a PC. You can play WAV files on Windows or Mac in a program such as Windows Media Player or iTunes.

• WMA: Windows Media Audio. WMA produces smaller files than WAV, but you can listen to them on similar software, including Windows Media Player and RealPlayer.

• ZIP: Similar to SIT, ZIP format uses Zip compression to compress a document or documents into one smaller file for sharing or archiving. Windows users can create ZIP files using a program such as WINZIP, while Mac OSX users can simply Control-click a file and select Create Archive of “file name”.

(Reprinted from the Family Tree Magazine newsletter of February 2008)

GOT RELATIVES IN SHELBY COUNTY, TENNESSEE?

The Register of Deeds in Shelby County, TN (home of Memphis) has a plethora of genealogical records available on the Register’s Web site.

If you’ve got Tennessee ancestors, stop by and look for:

• Property records – Indexes and images dating back to 1812

• GIS – You can search by name or address and see an aerial property photo linked to property data.

• Archives – Search Shelby County birth (1874-1906), marriage (1820-1910), and death (1848-1956) records — and most matches are linked to record images.

You also can search indexes for Tennessee marriages (1980-2005), divorces (1980-2005) and deaths (1949-2005), with links for ordering copies. Circuit (1893-2000) and chancery (1945-1997) court, naturalization (1856-1906) and Memphis 1865 census indexes are there, too.

Search each record set from the home page. Now staff is scanning Memphis city directories from 1859 to 1924.

NEW ONLINE RESOURCE FOR AFRICAN-AMERICAN GENEALOGY

(The following article is from Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter and is copyright 2007 by Richard W. Eastman. It is re-published here with the permission of the author. Information about the newsletter is available at http://www.eogn.com. )

The Missouri State Archives, a division of the Secretary of State’s office, has created a new online resource for anyone researching African-American ancestry in the state. While the focus is on Missouri, most of the information in this video applies to other states as well.

African-American Genealogy: Putting Together the Pieces of Your Past is a five-part video featuring Family History Research Consultant Traci Wilson-Kleekamp. Traci provides tips on accessing the best Web sites, which records are most beneficial, and how to get the most out of original records.

The video guides researchers through the process of identifying ancestors from the era of slavery through a variety of records and documents. Watching the video requires Windows Media Player. Therefore, it is not available to Macintosh or Linux users unless you use a Windows emulator, such as the ones I have described in previous articles. However, transcripts of the video are also available online.

African-American Genealogy: Putting Together the Pieces of Your Past is available online at http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/about/presentations.asp.

WANNA TAKE A CRUISE AND DO GENEALOGY?

Fly Away Travel is now taking reservations for the 2008 Genealogy Seminar at Sea, October 25 to November 1st. The seminar at sea will be hosted on board Royal Caribbean’s brand new, unparalleled, Liberty of the Seas, which will be sailing to the warm Eastern Caribbean islands of Puerto Rico, St Maarten & Royal Caribbean’s private paradise of Labadee.

This Seminar at Sea stands to be the best of the best in terms of its stunning array of some of the most sought after speakers in the Genealogy community today, including John Phillip Colletta, Laura G Prescott, George G Morgan, Donna M Moughty, Stephen J Danko, Paul Milner and Paula Stuart-Warren.

Passengers will have the opportunity to learn the latest and greatest techniques in areas such as: methodology, writing & publishing, internet research, problem solving and geographic areas around the world. Guest’s will have the opportunity to choose up to 15 lectures that will take place in Liberty of the Seas four state of the art conference centers over a period of three days during the seven day cruise. The authored speakers will be featured for book sales and autographs during a special group activity.

Check out our exciting all-star line-up of topics for this event at www.GenealogyCruises.com

The cost of experiencing this week long seminar/vacation begins at just $864 per person, including all port taxes and seminar fees. Traveling companions not attending the lectures qualify for a rate reduction, as well as the 3rd & 4th passengers sharing one cabin. (Ask for details)

Contact: Cindy Lorenz, Fly Away Travel at 2829 Whipple Ave NW, Canton OH 44708 – 330-478-0295 – 800-837-0295 – 330-478-8800-FAX – www.flyawaytravel.net

WEBSITES OF POSSIBLE INTEREST

GenealogyBank: The Official Blog – http://blog.genealogybank.com – Love random snippets inside history? You’ll enjoy blogger Tom Kemp’s observations on interesting articles from GenealogyBank’s databases.

GermanOriginality – http://germanoriginality.com – This German-American heritage site has information on different regions of Germany, interactive maps, tourism information and more.

Polish Origins – http://polishorigins.com/document/home_page – This blog from a researcher with Polish Roots offers tips, anecdotes, traditions and links to resources.

CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS

WAKE COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY – the March meeting will be held on 25 March at the Olivia Raney Library. Topic: “Land Records 1650–1950” – Featured Speaker: Dr. Larry Odzak

TRADING PATH ASSOCIATION APRIL FIRST SUNDAY HIKE – On April 6th we will hike along the remnants of a packhorse road atop Mount Tirzah in Person County, NC. This is, we believe, the course of the upper trading path, the high road, so to speak, of the original Petersburg trail. Packhorsemen crossed the Roanoke River north at Moniseep ford, in Brunswick County, VA and proceeded on virtually a straight line to Mount Tirzah, crossing the Tar River in its higher reaches, and crossing the east fork of the Neuse, the Flat River just above its forks. We will walk from the top of Mount Tirzah down to the ford over the North Fork of the Flat River. The Google view to the right shows the intersection where we’ll meet and the beginning of the line we’ll walk.

Mount Tirzah is a few miles east of Highway 501 at Timberlake, NC, north of Durham, south of Roxboro. We will meet and park at the little store just east of the intersection atop Mount Tirzah at 2 PM and we’ll return to that point by 4 PM. The hike itself is mostly along unprepared and uneven surfaces. The terrain is slightly sloping and, with luck, the leaves will not yet have burst the buds and we’ll be able to see quite a bit. Be prepared for insects though. Wear footwear appropriate to open woodland.

This may be the last time we will visit this site as the property recently came out of an estate and is being sold off to developers. There are already new houses crowding the trail at its top, and it is only a matter of time before neighbors begin reclaiming the “old gully” for their yards and preventing strangers from passing through.

NCGS SPEAKERS FORUM – 12 April 2008 – Raleigh, North Carolina – The North Carolina Genealogical Society & the Olivia Raney Local and Family History Library are sponsoring the Third Annual Speakers Forum. General, intermediate and advanced level presentations include “Writing Your Ancestor’s Story: a Civil War Case Study” (Catherine Elias); “Using the Neighbors to Find your Ancestors” (Monica Hopkins); “Using ‘Web 2.0’ to Share and Collaborate on Genealogy” (Jordan Jones); “Orphans and Scholars: Genealogical Records Relating to Children” (Victor Jones); “Raleigh in the War Years 1861-1865” (Kevin Milus); “ The Digital CSR: Saunders and Clark (and Weeks) in the Internet Age” (Jason Tomberlin); “Explore NC through maps from the comfort of your home!” (Diane Richard); “People Finders for North Carolina” (Jeffrey Haines); and “Money in 18th Century Colonial America” (Jim Jones). Information and Registration: http://www.ncgenealogy.org/Events/2008/2008%20Speaker’s%20Forum.pdf

COMPUTER GENEALOGY COURSE – 12 April 2008 – Held at St. Charles Community College, St. Peters, MO. Co-sponsored by the St. Charles County Genealogical Society and St. Charles Community College. Presenter: Michael John Neill, columnist for Ancestry.com. Michael has led research trips to Ft. Wayne and Salt Lake City and lectures nationally on a wide variety of genealogy topics

During the workshop, you will discover original records on FOOTNOTE.COM and how to access them.

Each person will have a computer and free access during the workshop.

Registration Fees: SCCGS Member, SCC students, faculty, staff: $30 – General Public: $40.

For more information: http://www.rootdig.com/stchas2008.htm. Questions? Email Michael John Neill at mjnrootdig@gmail.com or Jo Schnare wschnare@mail.win.org

UNITED POLISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES SEMINAR – April 18-21, 2008 – Salt Lake Plaza Hotel – Salt Lake City, Utah

We are holding the UPGS 2008 Seminar in Salt Lake City. Join fellow Polish researchers to locate records and documents that identify your ancestral village. Once located, access the thousands of microfilm held at the Family History Library, next door.

Visit our UPGS blog. It includes a map pinpointing the ancestral villages of the attendees – http://upgs.wordpress.com/. Registration information is available at http://upgs08.eventbrite.com/

For more information contact: upgs08@gmail.com

MID-ATLANTIC AFRICAN AMERICAN GENEALOGY CONFERENCE – Saturday, April 19, 2008 – Cherry Hill, NJ

On Saturday, April 19, 2008, nationally known specialists will gather to convey the wealth of resources and techniques available for African American genealogical research. Sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), and co-sponsored by African-American Genealogy Group, Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society and the African American Museum In Philadelphia, the Mid-Atlantic African American Genealogy Conference (MAAAGC) will feature notable figures and key topics in African American genealogy.

Mark April 19th on your calendar now and share it with your friends. You can find us on the web at www.maaagc.com. For advance registration information for you or your organization, contact Sudie Bradley – maaagc@gmail.com/ 856-468-7564

WAKE COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY – the April meeting will be held on 22 April at the Olivia Raney Library. Topic: “Digitized Colonial Records” – Featured Speaker: Jason Tomberlin from the UNC North Carolina Collection

THE ONTARIO WELSH FESTIVAL will be held in the beautiful community of Stratford, May 2-4th, at the Arden Park Hotel and at Parkview United Church.

It will feature a traditional ‘noson lawen’(amateur evening) on Friday, children’s activities, a seminar and poetry reading on Saturday, a concert by the renowned Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir and their award winning young soloist, Catrin Davies from Washington DC on Saturday evening, and two sessions of hymn singing conducted by Mari Morgan, director of the North American Welsh Choir, with Alan Thomas of Ottawa as organist, at Parkview Church on Sunday morning and afternoon.

For more information call 519-681-8995 or 613-725-2704 or visit our web site at www.ontariowelshfestival.ca

SALT LAKE CITY RESEARCH TRIP – Rootdig.com is sponsoring the 3rd annual Family History Research Trip to the Salt Lake City Family History Library with Michael John Neill, genealogist and columnist for Ancestry.com.

Our trip runs from 13-24 May 2008. Participants can stay at the Plaza next door to the library or in other lodging of their choosing. Preparation for the trip is a part of the package and begins upon registration. Michael is also in the library for the duration of the trip for personal consultations and one on one help.

For more information, visit our website at: http://www.rootdig.com/slctrip.html

Questions can be directed to me at mjnrootdig@gmail.com.

2008 NGS CONFERENCE AND FAMILY HISTORY FAIR – 14 – 17 May, Kansas City, MO – It’s not too early to make your reservations for the 2008 NGS Conference in the States in Kansas City, Missouri 14-17 May 2008. A link about the conference and hotel information can be found at http://www.eshow2000.com/ngs/2008/. The Hyatt Regency Crown Center is offering the discounted conference rate of $129 per night from 8 May 2008 through 20 May 2008.

While you are in Kansas City, Missouri there is lots to see and do. Highlights of the “Show Me the Records” conference include lectures on the following topics:

• Adoption Research

• African American Research

• BCG Skillbuilding Track

• Computer Topics

• DNA Lectures

• Genealogical Essentials

• German Research

• Homesteading Records

• Land Records

• Methodology

• Midwest Resources

• Migration

• Military Records

• National Archives Records

• Native American Lectures

• Research in the States

• Writing Lectures

• and more…

The local societies, which include the Missouri State Genealogical Association, the Mid-Continent Public Library, the Northland Genealogy Society, the APG Heartland Chapter and the Johnson County, Kansas Genealogical Society, are putting together an exceptional program for you.

• Research Day: Mid-Continent Public Library, Midwest Genealogy Center, Independence, Missouri, Monday 12 May.

• Librarian’s Workshop, Tuesday 13 May.

• Research Day at the National Archives, Tuesday 13 May. For more information about the records collection in Kansas City see http://www.arcives.gov/central-plains/kansas-city. Although NARA in Kansas City will not be moving to their new location until Fall 2008, NARA will be open at the current location during the NGS conference.

• “Show Me Missouri Wines” Reception, Tuesday Evening, 13 May for an additional fee of $15 per person

• Reception at Mid-Continent Pubic Library’s New Midwest Genealogy Center, Wednesday evening 14 May.

• Reception at the National World War I Museum, Thursday evening, 15 May sponsored by the WWI Museum and the National Archives in Kansas City. For more information see http://www.libertymemorialmuseum.org

Additional local tours include:

• The Hallmark Visitors Center of the Global Headquarters of Hallmark Cards is only two blocks from the Hyatt Regency Crown Center.

• Truman Presidential Museum and Library in Independence, Missouri

• National Historic Trails Museum

• Arabia Steamboat Museum

HUMOR

Friend to other Friend: “I have always wanted to have my family history traced, but I can’t afford to spend a lot of money to do it. Any suggestions?”

Other Friend: “Run for public office.”

(Thanks to Paul Hollinghurst for supplying this bit of humor)

EASIEST QUIZ ANSWERS

1) 116 years, from 1337 to 1453.

2) Ecuador.

3) From sheep and horses.

4) November. The Russian calendar was 13 days behind ours.

5) Squirrel fir.

6) The Latin name was Insularia Canaria – Island of the Dogs.

7) Albert. When he came to the throne in 1936 he respected the wish of Queen Victoria that no future king should ever be called Albert.

8) Distinctively crimson.

9) New Zealand.

10) Thirty years, of course. From 1618 to 1648.

PARTING THOUGHT

“I don’t know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.”

-Abraham Lincoln

If you have any items of interest that you would like to submit for future publication, please contact Richard Ellington at mailto:richard_ellington@unc.edu or 919.967.4168

D-OGS, P.O. Box 4703, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-4703 –

Copyright (c) 2008 D-OGS All rights reserved

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