Discovering Family Treasures
Tenth New England Regional Genealogical Conference 22-26 April 2009
Expo Center of New Hampshire and Radisson Hotel
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester 2009 E-zine #1
Permission to email, copy, and print this E-zine in part or whole is granted.
WELCOME TO THE MANCHESTER 2009 E-ZINE
DISCOVERING FAMILY TREASURES
FEATURED SPEAKERS FOR 2009
EXHIBIT HALL
SOCIETY FAIR
ANCESTORS ROAD SHOW
WHAT’S A NERGC?
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
ABOUT THIS E-ZINE
WELCOME TO THE MANCHESTER 2009 E-ZINE
Welcome to the first New England Regional Genealogical Conference 2009 E-zine! Between now and April 2009, we’ll be providing updates on the Tenth New England Regional Genealogical Conference through periodic E-zines like this one. Please share them with your friends and associates – and anyone else you feel may be interested in attending the Conference.
DISCOVERING FAMILY TREASURES
Discovering Family Treasures, to be held April 22-26, 2009 at the Expo Center of New Hampshire and Radisson Hotel in Manchester is the tenth New England Regional Genealogical Conference and will build on NERGC’s tradition of excellence in providing genealogical lectures, seminars and workshops; the Ancestors Road Show; a Society Fair; and banquets and luncheons for new and established genealogists alike at minimal cost.
Pauline Cusson, Melinde Sanborn, and Allison Ryall will Co-Chair the 2009 Conference, and Program Co-Chairs will be Christine Sweet-Hart and Barbara Mathews.
In keeping with the Conference theme, National speakers James L. Hansen, F.A.S.G; Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, GLC; and Megan S. Smolenyak and over 40 other speakers will help genealogists unlock “family treasures” though sessions covering:
- General genealogical skills and techniques;
- Family history writing and publishing;
- Forensic genealogy;
- Ethnic genealogy of all types, including French-Canadian, Acadian, and Native American;
- Treasures found in regional or local repositories and libraries;
- Techniques for finding and utilizing specific record sources (such as religious, civil, cemetery, military, newspapers, city directories, etc.) and the treasures they contain;
- Accessing resources using technology; research strategies; research pathways; and online resources;
- Finding and preserving family treasures of all types.
In addition to the wealth of knowledge shared by expert genealogists, there will be opportunities to discover additional treasures in the Exhibit Hall -- and meeting hundreds of other attendees at the Conference who share your love for genealogy may be one of the greatest rewards of all!
The excitement for Discovering Family Treasures is already building. Watch our Website: www.NERGC.org for developing information.
FEATURED SPEAKERS FOR 2009
Discovering Family Treasures 2009 is pleased to announce three nationally known featured speakers for our conference:
THOMAS W. JONES
Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL, FASG, is joint editor of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, former trustee and a past president of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, and board member of the Association of Professional Genealogists. An active genealogist since his teens, Tom’s research encompasses records of every state east of the Mississippi and France, Germany, Italy, and Ireland. Half his maternal ancestry passed through New England, and the other half is Irish. (His paternal ancestry is Southern.) His information-packed lectures cover methods applicable across geographic areas, time periods, and levels of expertise. Editing, teaching, writing, and tackling “brick-wall” genealogical problems, he works full-time in genealogy.
JAMES L. HANSEN
James L. Hansen, F.A.S.G, has been since 1974 the reference librarian and genealogical specialist at the Library of the Wisconsin Historical Society, where he assists several thousand researchers a year in their genealogical and historical research. He has taught beginning and advanced genealogical research courses over Wisconsin's Educational Telephone Network. Among his publications are articles on a variety of genealogical topics, a bibliography of territorial Wisconsin newspapers, and a guide to the library in which he works. He is a nationally-known speaker, having lectured on genealogical topics at numerous conferences in the U.S. and Canada, including 21 National Genealogical Society conferences and 14 Federation of Genealogical Societies conferences. He was the 1994-1995 president of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and in 1995 was named a fellow of the American Society of Genealogists. In 2002 he was awarded the Filby Prize for Genealogical Librarianship at the National Genealogical Society conference in Milwaukee.
MEGAN SMOLENYAK SMOLENYAK
Attendees of the NERGC 2007 conference in Hartford will remember Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak (yes, that's her real name), for her outstanding talk, “Cases That Made My Brain Hurt” at the Friday luncheon and for two standing-room-only lectures, “Trace Your Roots with DNA” and “Beyond Y-DNA: Your Genetic Genealogy Options.” She has been an avid genealogist since the 6th grade and is skilled in many aspects of family history research. Megan is honored to serve as Chief Family Historian and North American spokesperson for Ancestry.com, the largest genealogical company in the world. She is also co-founder of Roots Television, a pioneering and popular online channel of genealogy and history-oriented programming. She also made news when she discovered a startling connection when requested by Austin Fenner of the New York Daily News to research the roots of Rev. Al Sharpton. Much to her astonishment, she learned that Rev. Sharpton's great-grandfather had been owned by relatives of Strom Thurmond. She is the author of several books and numerous articles, lectures widely, and conducts research for the U.S. Army and television programs. Her website is Honoring Our Ancestors.
EXHIBIT HALL
NERGC’s Exhibit Hall has always been one of the “best liked” features of the conference, providing the opportunity to find that book, CD, or other genealogy-related product between lectures and meals.
For 2009, there will be a total of 74 booth spaces, with invitations to purchase booth space going out in April or May. Exhibits Co-Chair David Mishkin reports, "This year we are going to take advantage of the Exhibit Hall being open to the general public. We are currently planning a new marketing campaign to bring lots of new and unaffiliated folks into the Exhibit Hall. This will be very advantageous to not only the commercial exhibitors, but the society exhibitors as well. By bringing new people into the Exhibit Hall, people that are not familiar with genealogy but have an interest in their family history will have an opportunity to explore what genealogy is all about and how it will be a benefit for them to become a member of a local genealogical society."
SOCIETY FAIR
All interested societies or organizations wishing to participate in the NERGC Society Fair on Thursday, April 23, 2009 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. are invited to contact Ralph Wadleigh at whplar@comcast.net to register their interest and reserve a space. Participants will have a display table, chairs and signage. Sales of merchandise are not allowed, but promotional material may be distributed and orders taken. The Society Fair is a great way to promote your organization in front of lots of potentially interested folks!
ANCESTORS ROAD SHOW
The Ancestors Road Show returns to NERGC in Manchester. The Road Show will be held Friday and Saturday April 24 + 25 from 9:00 a.m. - noon and 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Think about the challenging research problems that you can bring to the Road Show. Pre-Conference sign ups will be available for Conference attendees beginning in March 2009. Information will be posted in future issues of the E-zine as well as on the NERGC website, www.nergc.org.
As always, this event is possible only through the kindness of the many volunteer genealogists. We are looking for consultants with experience in any aspect of genealogy including translating. If you are willing to volunteer for an hour or two either Friday or Saturday please contact Margaret Dube (CommonFolk@Comcast.net ) or Pam Eagleson (peagleson@yahoo.com), co-chairs of this event.
WHAT’S A NERGC?
While many think of “NERGC” as a Conference, it is really much more. Formed twenty years ago to bring cutting edge genealogical education within the reach of New England genealogists and family historians, the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium, Inc. has produced nine conferences in every state in New England. The most recent Conference, held in Hartford, Connecticut in April 2007, was attended by over 700 genealogists from more than twenty states, Canada, and England. Each Conference is made possible by many hours of work by volunteers from the Participating Societies. For 2009, those societies are:
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Participating Societies are reminded that they must supply at least one volunteer for committee work prior to the Conference and must provide required on-site volunteer hours during the Conference.
But anyone planning to attend the Conference can help. At the Conference we’ll need volunteers to assist the exhibitors, and to help with registration, hospitality, and more. As you begin to make your plans to attend, think of areas where you can lend a hand.
One committee that will need volunteer help is Signage, which at the last Conference saw a new set-up, which is now in place for future Conferences. If you are very comfortable with using computer software, the Signage Committee would love to have you volunteer for an hour or so at the Conference, here and there, to give other workers a break. Typically, this would mean typing in, printing out, and replacing the title or room number of a program when there is a last-minute change in that information. Also, periodically, someone needs a new sign for a special feature. For more information, please contact Signage Chair Jay Sage jay@sagefamily.org.
