Phew!
I had to remind myself that a 4-day national conference is a marathon, not a sprint. Slow down. Get more rest. Try not to completely fry my brain.
The classes I took were all very informative. I feel motivated to tackle some of my brick wall ancestors by doing some more in-depth research and looking at the facts from a different angle. I’m also very interested in becoming certified now.
The number of products available on the market was almost overwhelming. Better than being “under”-whelmed though – wouldn’t you agree? Every single time I walked through the exhibit hall, I came across something that I had missed before.
Here are the classes I took on days 3 and 4 (in case you’re interested):
- Reporting the Facts : Record As You Go, by Pamela Boyer Sayre, CG, CGL
- The Genealogical Proof Standard: What It Is and What It Is Not, by Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS (A lot of letters behind his name, don’t you agree? He’s a very good speaker.)
- Kinship Determination: Are They Really My Ancestors?, by Kay Haviland Freilich, CG, CGL
- Turning Information Into Biographical Events: How to Build Historical Content, by John Philip Coletta, PhD
- Framing the Problem for Field and Overseas Research, by David E. Rencher, AG, CG, FIGRS, FUGA
- The General Session for Saturday morning was a speech by Jay Verkler, President and CEO of FamilySearch entitled “What’s New”. The second portion was a very interesting program by Senator Glenn F. McConnell, The Hunley: Where Science and History Come Together to Tell Time. I really wish that I had more time to spend in Charleston, because I would definitely make it out to see the Hunley.
- The Jones Jinx: Tracing Common Surnames, given by Thomas W. Jones (see above for all of his letters. :))
- Identity Crisis: Right Name, Wrong Man? Wrong Man, Right Name?, by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA
- The County Courthouse: Your “Truck in the Attic”, by John Philip Coletta, PhD
Besides the great classes, it was really nice to get to know some other geneabloggers “in real life”. (As opposed to “in social media life”.) I really want to thank FamilySearch for getting us together the night before the conference started. There was always someone to sit with in each session – and we were a lively bunch! Some of us even got together for dinner again on Friday night – and had quite the adventure when we realized the restaurant we were meeting at had closed the year before. You’re never going to live that down, Liz. 🙂
On Friday, Ellie and I were interviewed by the PBS crew that came through the exhibit hall.
Have you ever been interviewed by a camera crew before?
When the lady approached us, I thought “No way!”, but what came out of my mouth was “Sure”. I’m not sure how that happened.
It was like a deer in the headlights after that. I don’t know what I said, but I babbled a LOT. And I don’t think that I ever actually looked into the camera. And I’m sure that there must have been something stuck in my teeth. Or my nose. Or maybe I had some toilet paper on my shoe. 🙂
And when it was all over, I realized that there were so many things that I wish I had mentioned!!
Like the fact that I blog. And that I like to use our family history in our homeschooling studies. Really, anything remotely interesting, because I don’t think I said anything that made any sense at all. That’s the beauty of editing though. I’m hoping that they can pull out one small phrase I said that they can use. So, this is just a warning that if you watch that PBS show and see me on it, I really cannot be held accountable for whatever I may have said.
Well, it’s time for me to get some rest, before I start on a couple of days of cross-country driving and research. I’ll let you know what I find.
Wish more of you would have been at NGS! Maybe we’ll get to meet up next time.
