2012 NGS Conference in Cincinnati, Day 3

One optional feature for this conference was the Guidebook app. What a great idea! I have not used something like this before and it is so very handy.

This app gives the latest conference news, several versions of the schedule, speaker and exhibitor information and has maps of the conference center and Exhibit Hall. I was easily able to make my own schedule of sessions and a to-do list. And I have all this with me at all times on my phone. I got the app for my Android phone from the app store and chose the 2012 NGS Conference. I highly recommend this app for future conferences.

 

 

Exhibit Hall 2012 NGS Conference

Sessions I attended today (Friday):

  • “Okay, I Got the Neighbors, Now What Do I Do with them?!” by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA. Elizabeth gave us some very good information and some great research methods that I will definitely use in my general research and for my brick walls. One thing I learned is that in census records I should look at 15-20 families in both directions from my person of interest.
  • “Tracking Pennsylvania Ancestors: Keys to Successful Research” by Kay Haviland Freilich, CG, CGL. This was a very good session detailing where and how to research in Pennsylvania.
  • Shaking the Myth: Proving/Disproving Family Legends” by Jean Wilcon Hibben, PhD, MA, CG. I really liked this lecture where she explained the reasoning process to analyze family myths. The only problem with the lecture was the projected images. She used a small projector (about the size of a deck of cards) and the images from it were faint and very difficult to read. I’m sure the very small projectors are good for traveling but this one just didn’t have the brightness for the large room we were in. It was about 20 feet from the screen. Perhaps the images would have been clearer if the projector had been closer.
  • “German Language Skills for the Genealogist” by John Humphrey, CG. Another good session by John although I feel as though I took a crash course in German grammar. His explanation about verbs was very helpful.
  • “Lost in Pennsylvania? Try the Published Pennsylvania Archives” by Christine Crawford-Oppenheimer, MLS. Back to Pennsylvania again. In this session Christine explained how to use the 138 volumes of the in the 10 Series of the Pennsylvania Archives. The whole series is available on Fold 3 (www.fold3.com) for free. Her tips will surely help to search these records.

We attended the National Genealogical Society Quarterly 100th Anniversary Reception this evening. They provided a nice buffet and it was good visiting with friends.

I now have HappyFeet. After hearing several people talk about how good these insoles make their feet feel, I went down to the Exhibit Hall at the last minute and purchased a pair. Now I feel as though I’m walking on water! I even convinced fellow blogger Ruth to get a pair. Ruth, The Passionate Genealogist, http://blog.familyhistorysearches.com/ . (Thank you Ruth for the shiny Canadian penny. It is special to me because they just quit minting pennies.)

There is also a Junior Olympics competition going on at the Duke Energy Convention Center. It is fun to stop and watch them as we pass by on our way to sessions.

We’ll be saying good-bye to Cincinnati tomorrow.

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