Georgia Family History Expo - Day Two

I got a relaxing start to Day Two with a nice breakfast at the hotel and a nice, leisurely stroll through the book vendors.  I bought a couple of books and headed toward the blogger's table.  I had no sooner walked into the area when I was forced to pose for a photo (for the record, I'm usually allergic to cameras, but I think these ladies are pretty cool, so I made the sacrifice):

L to R: Me, Ruby Craft, Valerie Craft, DearMYRTLE, Linda McCauley, and Tonia Kendrick

At 10 a.m., we headed to our sessions.  Here are the sessions I decided to take today:


The Tired, the Poor, the Huddled Masses and the Wretched Refuse: U.S. Immigration from 1820 to 1954 (Joan Healey, A.G., FamilySearch)
This was a beginner course, but I really needed some answers about Canadian border crossings, which I got.  I wasn't pleased.  Turns out that no border crossing records exist before  1895, and no records for Canadian border crossings before 1906.  The ones I need are from 1875, so I'm out of luck.


The Campaigns Forgotten: American Wars After the American Revolution and Before the Civil War Record (Robert S. Davis, M.Ed., M.A.)
The focus was on the Indian Wars, War of 1812, more Indian Wars, and the War with Mexico.  I haven't found any direct ancestors in any of these wars, but I'm so glad I went to this class anyway.  Mr. Davis is such a wonderful speaker and really knows his stuff!  He was so full of useful information ... and it was all in his head.  I can't even imagine what that's like.


After lunch, I went to my next two classes.  They go together, so I'm lumping them into one item:


Google Earth for Genealogy - Rock Your Ancestor's World (Lisa Louise Cooke, GenealogyGems) and
How to Create Awesome Interactive Family History Tours with Google Earth (Lisa Louise Cooke, GenealogyGems)
This class was fascinating!  I had used Google Earth a little, but after this class I realized I was only using a small percentage of it's full capacity.  Let's just say that the things Lisa showed us we can do with Google Earth were AMAZING!  So amazing, in fact, that between classes, there was a mob of people at her booth to purchase her CDs and Google Toolbox book.  I managed to get a set of CDs before she sold out (whew!)  I can't wait to get started with my new toy!


It's always a sign of a good conference when you leave with twice as much stuff as you came with.  Logic dictates that this must have been a good conference.  Look at the new stuff I got today!

BCG Genealogical Standards Manual, Genealogy Gems 1st Season book, Google Earth for Genealogy (Vols. I and II), and History of South Dakota (c) 1968

Plus, I made 5 new friends!  Nothing beats that ... AND I won another prize!!

You can't really tell from the photo, but there's a sparkly picture frame, a cute little pencil and lots of sticky arrows!

Overall, today was also a great day.  My brain is so full now I'm afraid it will pop!  I have decided that I need to start buying lottery tickets so I'll have time to work with all this new information without a pesky job getting in the way.


Kudos to Holly Hansen and all the folks at Family History Expos for organizing another great conference!  Nothing is final yet, but it looks like the Georgia Family History Expo will be on November 9-10 next year, same bat place, same bat channel.

Georgia Family History Expo 2011 - Day One

I made the decision to travel to the Expo this morning because registration didn't start until 1 p.m. I arrived in Duluth around 10:15 and grabbed breakfast at Chick-fil-A (I love Chick-fil-A, but never get a craving until Sunday when they're closed, so this was a special treat for me). And this is what makes CFA so awesome: as I was leaving, one of the servers asked if I would like a refill of my sweet tea to go. Well, of course I would! Sweet tea runs through my veins! She must have seen it in my eyes, and I didn't even have to ask!


So, a chicken biscuit and 45 minutes later, I headed over to Gwinnett Center for the Expo. I found a warm spot indoors to wait out the next 2 hours and try to make some final decisions on what sessions I would attend. 


Incidentally, after I got registered and spent some money on some books, I ran into fellow Geneabloggers DearMYRTLE, Linda McCauley (a Blogger of Honor), Valerie Craft, and Tonia Kendrick; as well as Valerie's mom Ruby and Linda's 23-and-Me cousin Christa.  I also ran into Kathy, a fellow member of the Delta Genealogical Society.


There were so many choices for classes, it was difficult to choose! This is how it ultimately turned out: 


The Power of DNA in Unlocking Family Relationships (Anna Swayne, GeneTree)
I've heard about a lot of people using DNA as a research tool, but never quite understood how it could help except in a very broad sense.  After this class, I not only have a better understanding of how it works (thanks to Anna for taking the time to explain it to me with colorful pictures and stuff), but also how it can help my research - particularly where my adopted grandfather is concerned!  (Heads up, family -- I'll be calling on you very soon!)


Census Techniques and Strategies for Finding Elusive Ancestors (Joan E. Healey, AG, FamilySearch) 
I really didn't need this class except as a refresher.  We learned the several reasons why a person can't be found on the census, and ways to get around them.  So basically, unless your person didn't exist or the census records don't exist, you should be able to find them by the time you employ all of these techniques!


How to Plan and Organize a Family History Book (Biff & Nancy Barnes, Stories to Tell Books) 
I didn't think I was anywhere near ready to start writing a book about my family history yet, but I just might be closer than I thought!  Biff & Nancy did a great job explaining the different ways to present your history and how to determine whether you have enough information to get started.  I'm feeling very motivated now ... I'm going to need another to-do list.


The Clothesline Approach to Documentation and Analysis (DearMYRTLE)
This was probably the most interesting concept on analysis I've seen yet.  Leave it to Ol' Myrt to put an interesting spin on such a mundane task.  I can't wait to get home and put this technique to the test.  It should really help out while I'm creating my research logs!  In case you're wondering ... here's how my notes looked:

I was so jealous of Laura when she won the big prize at the FGS conference in Springfield.  But turnabout is fair play.  I'm a winner too!  Take a look:

Seriously though ... after day one, I finally got back to my hotel room with a pile of loot that would make Cap'n Jack Sparrow jealous:

It would have been perfect, except that I realized I forgot my pajamas.  Good thing I won a t-shirt.  It was a long day, but tons of fun.  I can't wait to get up and do it all again tomorrow!