Join Me at the Ventura County Genealogical Society

Saturday, 17 November 2012 I will be speaking at the monthly meeting of the Ventura County Genealogical Society in Ventura, California. Our topic will be one that all genealogists and family historians can relate to: The Paperless Genealogist, Organizing Our Genealogy Research with Digital Files.

From pedigree charts to priceless heirloom photos and documents, we've all got paper, and lots of it. If you are in the area, plan to join us Saturday as we discuss the secrets to scanning success, efficient filenaming, and moving toward a paperless office.

For directions and more information, please visit the VCGS website here. The meeting begins at 1 pm.

GRIP Pittsburgh Day One Recap

We aren't in California anymore!

After a full day of travel that began in the wee hours of the morning, I finally arrived at La Roche College in Pittsburgh for the inaugural session of the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP). And, if the student and faculty buzz is any indication, GRIP will become a popular annual event along with long-established programs IGHR (Samford) and SLIG (Salt Lake City).

The program opened Sunday evening with dinner and a short orientation. Course booklets distributed along with dorm assignments and keys gave a glimpse into the week's program. Some notebooks were noticeably heavy -- in particular, those books for Tom Jones' Advanced Methodology Course.

Four courses were offered this year --

Intermediate Genealogy with Paula Stuart-Warren

Advance Research Methods with Thomas W. Jones

Beneath the Home Page with D. Joshua Taylor

German Genealogical Research Research with John T. Humphrey

I knew I wanted to attend GRIP when I first heard about the program. It was scheduled during a "slow season" for genealogical events, and the program offerings were all great.

My only dilemma was deciding what course to attend. Ultimately, I chose Intermediate Genealogy because my personal research has been in a bit of a slump for the past few years, and I was pretty sure Paula Stuart-Warren's enthusiasm would give it a real boost of energy. I was also interested in the sessions that would be taught by Josh Taylor throughout the week.

Dawn Comes Early

Although I had been "in training" for the past few days, waking up earlier each morning, my alarm went off way too soon this morning. There's no room service in Bold Hall Dorm, so I made my way to the cafeteria for a hot breakfast and a few cups of coffee before class. 

The morning session began promptly at 8:30 with Paula on "Analyzing Documents: Self-Judging Your Expertise," followed in the afternoon with Josh Taylor on "20th Century Compiled Genealogies" and Paula on "Vital Records and Substitutes." Five hours of solid genealogy instruction followed by dinner, Maia's Books sale, and the evening talk presented by Pamela Stone Eagleson on writing a family narrative. 

Now that it's evening I've caught a second wind and that California inner clock is ticking loud and strong. In fact, it feels like late afternoon. I've got time for a few more hours of online research. . .