Texas State Family History Conference: Saturday, November 3, 2018
Conference: Home • Registration • Exhibits and Sponsors
Program: Topics & Speakers • TxSGS Live! • Speaker Bios
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The Exhibit Hall is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Morning Concurrent Sessions
Included with conference registration.
10:30 a.m.
Looking for My Babies: Freedmen Searching for Family
Ari Wilkins
African American; B
Countless African American families experienced the traumatic displacement and loss of family members during slavery. In the wake of Emancipation, African Americans from all over the country desperately searched for their missing family members, using such resources as the Freedmen’s Bureau and newspapers.
Using Collateral Genealogy to Find Immigrant Origins in U.S. Records
David Passman
Ethnic
Determining Russian Jewish immigrant origins can be quite challenging. This lecture will discuss the importance of incorporating collateral genealogical research in locating Eastern European roots and provide resources for researching immigrant ancestors.
Finding and Placing My Ancestors in History
Mary Esther Escobedo
Hispanic; B, I
Learn strategies for obtaining information about people who left few documents. Along with techniques for locating documents, this presentation will cover events in Mexico that impacted the decision to leave home and come to a foreign country, the United States.
Tracing a Woman Named Smith by Researching a Collateral Line
Bernard N. Meisner
Methodology; B, I
Collateral research can reveal information not discovered through the direct lineage, add to the overall historical story of your family, lead you to others researching the family, and break down brick walls. Research techniques are illustrated in a search for Margaret Smith Meisner through her niece Agnes Joyce, then Agnes’ parents Sarah and Thomas Hogan.
12:00 p.m.
I Have My Ancestor’s World War I Record! Now what?
Debra Dudek
Military; All
You’ve received your ancestor’s WWI service file! What do you do next? This presentation will take you through the resources and search strategies available to you online and in archives and show how to plot your ancestors’ wartime experiences.
What Shall I Do with Grandma’s Papers?
Sharon Gillins
Publishing and Preservation; All
It’s not uncommon for family history researchers to “inherit” an eclectic collection of personal, business, or organizational records; the often-unwitting recipient of the collection is left to decide what should be done with the items. This session will explore options to help genealogists make reasoned decisions about the final disposition of a family or organizational manuscript collection.
Researching Your Urban Ancestors
Michael L. Strauss
Methodology; I
Genealogical research in larger metropolitan and urban areas is not without challenges or rewards as genealogists need to familiarize themselves with a broad range of research topics. By researching urban records such as city and business directories, maps, census, tax records, and other primary sources, documenting your urban ancestors can be done more effectively.
Organized Genetic Genealogy
Debbie Parker Wayne
DNA; All
DNA analysis overwhelms researchers with many megabytes of data. This session helps researchers of all levels to organize DNA data and documentary data for efficient analysis. Learn what DNA data needs to be archived, how to choose an organizational structure for the data, and tools and tips for efficient data management and analysis.
12:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Lunch
As the conference hotel is conveniently situated among a large variety of restaurants that meet a range of dietary needs, TxSGS opted to forgo lunches and provide an extended lunch break. Attendees can step away from intensive learning, stretch their legs, chat with other genealogists, and form new friendships. Click Here for a map of some of the restaurants within a mile or so of the conference hotel.
Workshops
$30.00 add-on to conference registration for workshops. Limited seats available.
3:30 p.m.
Anything I Can Do, You Can Do Meta: Metadata & Digital Archiving Your Family History Photos and Documents
Carl Smith
All Levels
In the exciting era of 21st century Genealogy, the need to stay organized has never been greater. This workshop provides a hands-on opportunity for attendees to begin to leverage the power of Metadata in organizing their family history photos and documents on their personal computer. Attendees will learn the basic principles behind metadata, some common tags to use to stay organized, as well as software solutions to help organize photos and documents digitally.
6:00 p.m.
Spreadsheets 101 Workshop – An Excel-lent Hands-on Tutorial
Mary Kircher Roddy
All Levels
This 2-hour workshop will cover setting up a worksheet and some basic commands including formatting, adding rows and columns, adjusting column widths and row heights, and setting up worksheets for printing. As participants gain skills and become more comfortable navigating the world of Excel, we can work on stepping up their game by utilizing color in worksheets, splitting columns, wrapping text, freezing panes, sorting, filtering, and more. Participants should bring their laptops loaded with Excel.
Afternoon Concurrent Sessions
Included with conference registration.
3:00 p.m.
The Genealogical Gems Found in Manuscript and Archival Collection Holdings
Diane L. Richard
Records and Repositories; All
Have you explored private and little known archival collections? They are full of ledgers and account books, membership lists, and so much more! Store, business, and physician ledgers can link family members and provide many interesting details invaluable to your family history narrative. Using Archivegrid as a resource will also be discussed.How a Non-German Speaking Texan Can Trace Their German Ancestors
Bernard N. Meisner
Ethnic; B, I
Discover how to identify your German ancestor’s home town and religion in U.S. records by using finding aids to identify where civil and church records might be located in Germany. Examples of online resources for correspondence and reading/interpreting German printing and handwriting assist in this search.Roosevelt’s Tree Army: Your Ancestors in the CCC
Michael L. Strauss
Methodology; I
The New Deal response to the great depression focused on the “3 Rs:” Relief, Recovery, and Reform. Genealogists today can record the personal experiences of their ancestors who sought help from the Federal Government through these programs. Concentrating on the Civilian Conservation Corps, numerous genealogical resources are examined including official personnel files, discharge certificates, accident reports, camp and district reports, photographs, and motion pictures.
Write, Cite, Spotlight, Excite: Documenting DNA Analysis
Debbie Parker Wayne
DNA; I
The right article or report can help excite potential relatives and encourage them to test to advance genealogical research. Researchers with a basic knowledge of DNA data, terminology, and analysis will receive tips to write, cite, and use charts to properly document and share DNA analysis.
4:30 p.m.
The Other Side of Jewish Genealogy: Sephardic Resources
Schelly Talalay Dardashti
DNA
In recent years, interest in Sephardic genealogy—those whose roots are in Spain and Portugal—has experienced a remarkable proliferation. Learn about Sephardic geography, customs, traditions, history, immigration languages, documents, online and archival resources, as well as Hispanic research as it intersects with Jewish genealogy.
To Have and To Hold: Marriage Records as a Link to Your Ancestors
Kathy Strauss
Records and Repositories; All
Marriage records are considered the oldest of the vital records. This presentation will consider the jurisdictions governing these records, the types of marriage records available, and how to locate these records.
Building a Research Plan
Janice Lovelace
Methodology; B, I
Do you have a plan or goal before you start researching? Careful planning can lead to greater success. Learn steps to build a plan to answer a specific question.
Freedmen in Southern Claims Commission – Filing, Testifying, Being
Sharon Gillins
African American; I
After the Civil War ended, the Federal Government formed the Southern Claims Commission to provide a mechanism of redress for those who gave or lost property to the Union during the war. More than 220,000 people provided testimony in the claims, including former slaves and free people of color. Discover this vast amount of historical and genealogical information, often in first-person narratives.
6:00 p.m.
Getting the Most Out of Evernote for Genealogical Research
Colleen Greene
Technology; All
Colleen Greene has a horrible memory and an obsession with staying organized—Evernote helps with both. This session covers the basics to get you up and running, but also includes features, tips, and use cases from which experienced users will benefit.
German-Texan Research at the GLO
Kevin Klaus
Records and Repositories; B, I
This session is sponsored by the Texas General Land Office (GLO).
An overview of the history of the Adelsverein in Texas provides background for German-Texan research. Learn techniques for tracing your ancestor using GLO land grant files. A case study of the early German immigrant Adolf Fuchs will illustrate methods for discovering your ancestors in Germany.
Digital Preservation
Eric Wells
Publishing and Preservation; B, I
A large part of preserving a family’s heritage is preserving the physical objects associated with times, people, places, and stories. Learn how to digitally preserve photographs, letters, and heirlooms along with the pros and cons of current digitizing techniques and options.
Are Your Ancestors in the Draper Manuscripts?
Kelvin Meyers
Records and Repositories; I, A
Lyman Draper began working on his manuscripts in order to write a book on western history and tentatively titled Sketches of the Lives of the Pioneers. He never published his work. Like many genealogists and historians, Draper always had one more person to interview, or a new piece of the puzzle to find. This lecture will give an overview of the collection, its finding aids, and how to use them.
TxSGS Banquet
$45 add-on to conference registration.
Awards Banquet Features Andrew Carroll and War Letters
Lines of Fire – One Man’s Search for the Greatest War Letters Ever Written
Words to family penned in a soldier’s hand—Revolutionary, Civil War, Desert Storm—illuminate the soldier, the conflict, and American ideals at the time of war. Andrew Carroll, a New York Times best-selling author, has dedicated himself to collecting and archiving these priceless pieces of American and personal history at the Center for American War Letters (CAWL). Along with showing the banquet audience extraordinary, original letters from CAWL’s collection, Carroll will discuss his latest book, My Fellow Soldiers: General John Pershing and the Americans Who Helped Win the Great War. Veterans and others with war letters they’re willing to donate to CAWL (either originals or photocopies) are encouraged to bring them to the event.
To date, Andrew has collected more than 100,000 previously unpublished letters and emails from every war in U.S. history and he donated the letters, free of charge, to Chapman University in Orange, California. The university has set up the Center for American War Letters to archive these correspondences forever and bring in more letters as well. Serving as the Center’s founding director, Andrew is currently embarking on the “Million Letters Campaign” to find at least 1,000,000 war-related correspondences, including everything from handwritten missives penned during the Revolution up to emails sent from Iraq and Afghanistan.
Please join us at the 2018 Awards Banquet for a fascinating look at U.S. soldier’s personal experiences and thoughts as they fought for America over the centuries. Banquet attendees do not require conference registration; friends and spouses can attend as well. Tickets can be purchased alone or with conference registration.
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