Monday, May 20, 2013

The Organized Genealogist - My New Blog and a Discussion Group

Note: This is a duplicate post from my new blog, The Organized Genealogist.

It has been quite a week at The Organized Genealogist! What started out as "just another blog" and Facebook group has created a life of its own.

In addition to this blog, I've created a Facebook Group, also called The Organized Genealogist. I posted about it on my Facebook timeline and invited a few friends to join in the discussion. On Saturday my friend, Judy Shutts from Voices in Time, posted about the group in Facebook's Ancestorville community. Ancestorville has more than 30,000 participants and they began flocking to The Organized Genealogist like crazy.

Other Facebook friends and blogs started mentioning the group and as of this morning, we are approaching 1,000 group members! One of them commented this morning, "you've created a monster!" I feel like it. I immediately had to get by with a little help from my friends and fellow bloggers Becky Jamison (Grace and Glory), Deb Ruth (Adventures in Genealogy) and Linda McAuley (Documenting the Details) stepped up to help me administer the group and stay on top of membership approvals. I could not have made it through the past two days without them!

In addition to the tips offered and advice sought, I am LOVING all of the photographs that people are posting of our genealogy spaces. Some have commented that the group name should have been The DIS-organized Genealogist or Hoarders: Genealogy Edition. What's fun about this is that we can post the photographs of our mess and clutter, and then in a few weeks be able to display, with pride, our transformation.

We had some good natured fun with Drew Smith of The Genealogy Guys. He posted a photo of his bare naked desk, nothing on the bulletin board, nothing on the white board, no papers to be seen anywhere. After we voiced our amazement, Drew then posted the photo of the OTHER side of the room. Relief! He's just like the rest of us, but his piles and boxes look a bit more organized.

So, we are having a great time and the support of the membership is already providing inspiration and motivation to those who need a little extra push in getting their genealogy under control.

Where to find The Organized Genealogist:

Blog: http://organizedgenealogist.blogspot.com/

Facebook Discussion Group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/organizedgenealogist/

Facebook Page (notifications from the blog): http://www.facebook.com/TheOrganizedGenealogist

The link to this post is: http://longlostrelatives-smp.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-organized-genealogist-my-new-blog.html

Monday, May 6, 2013

What I learned at the NSGS state conference

The Nebraska State Genealogical Society (NSGS) had yet another exceptional speaker at last weekend's annual conference with Beth Foulk. Beth is a volunteer instructor at the Midwest Genealogy Center in Independence, Missouri.

Beth is my kind of conference speaker with her enthusiasm, passion and knowledge. All of her sessions were great and my favorite focused on using timelines to help with your genealogy research. I've used the timeline feature on Ancestry.com on several of my direct ancestors. Not just listing events that are associated with a document, I would add the births and deaths of family members, so I could put together a bigger story of my ancestor's life.

Beth showed many examples of timelines she has created in Microsoft Excel. I love Excel for data management and her samples gave me a lot of new ideas on organizing timelines outside of Ancestry and my genealogy software. I can hardly wait to get started on these!

I especially liked how she had a column to reference the sources for data items. I envision having a separate tab in Excel with complete source citations that is linked from the data field in the main timeline. She also demonstrated how a person could color code specific events, such as property transactions, as a visual method of identifying what information needs to be gathered. I also plan to use a timeline in Excel to track the migration patterns of family members through each year's census.

One of the other gems that Beth discussed was the Hathi Trust digital book site. http://m.hathitrust.org/ This site provides a search of digital books available online, or an entry showing where to find the book in a library. This will become another item in my toolbox for finding books, alongside Google books and World Cat.

I always leave genealogy conferences with a wealth of new ideas, excited about trying new things. This year's conference was no exception.

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Genealogy Abundance in Nebraska

Can you say Genealogy Abundance?! If you have an itch to continue your genealogy education, there a plenty of classes, workshops and conferences to select from during 2013. Below are upcoming events for March and April. For a list of other upcoming events throughout 2013, visit this page.

To add or update an event, please email me at sooznebr@gmail.com.

Updated: 3 March 2013

Date & Location
Description


February 27- March 6, 2013
6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Wednesday evenings
Southeast Community College Continuing Education Center
301 S. 68th St Place
Lincoln, NE
Intermediate Genealogy: Research Your Family Tree
Instructors: Marcia Stewart, Cynthia Monroe
$29


March 5, 2013
7:00- 8:30 p.m.
Family Search Center
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
3000 Old Cheney Road
Lincoln, NE
Beginning Genealogy – Getting Started
Presented by Audrey Nitz


March 7, 2013
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
St. Paul United Methodist Church
12th and M Streets
Room 155
Lincoln, NE
LLCGS - Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society
First Thursday Discussion Group
Facilitated by Bob and Arlene Houser


March 9, 2013
9:00 – 11:00 am
Unadilla Community Library
Research Room
700 G St
Unadilla, NE
Otoe County Genealogical Society
Genealogical Open Lab
Assistance in research – free for class attendees


March 10, 2013
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Walt Branch Library
6701 S. 14th st
Lincoln, NE
LLCGS – Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society
Help session for genealogy and idea exchange


March 10, 2013
2:00 – 4:00 pm
Palmyra Memorial Library
535 Illinois Place
Palmyra, NE
Otoe County Genealogical Society
Genealogical Open Lab
Assistance in research – free for class attendees


March 10, 2013
2 p.m.
Swanson Conference Center
Institute for the Culinary Arts
Metropolitan Community College,
32nd and Sorensen Parkway
Omaha, NE
Extreme Weather: The 1913 Easter Sunday Tornado
Panel discussion


March 12, 2013
7:15 p.m.
Eastridge Presbyterian Church
1135 Eastridge Dr
Lincoln, NE
LLCGS – Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society
Monthly Program
Hiring a Professional Genealogist; Presented by Kathy Buhrman


March 12, 2013
7:00- 8:30 p.m.
Family Search Center
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
3000 Old Cheney Road
Lincoln, NE
What’s in the Family History Center?
Presented by Tina Wells


March 14, 2013
7:00 pm
Talmage Public Library
405 Main St
Talmage, NE
Otoe County Genealogical Society
Village Tour – pioneer stories from the Talmage area, historic photos, books and more


March 16, 2013
9:15 a.m. – Noon
Mormon Trail Center
3215 State St
Omaha, NE
GOGS – Greater Omaha Genealogical Society
Making Sense of the Census – Using U.S. and International Censuses


March 17, 2013
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Walt Branch Library
6701 S. 14th St
Lincoln, NE
LLCGSLincoln – Lancaster County Genealogical Society
All Things Irish – come celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Irish music, artifacts, memorabilia, Irish genealogy resources, light refreshments. Erin Go Bragh!


March 19, 2013
7:00- 8:30 p.m.
Family Search Center
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
3000 Old Cheney Road
Lincoln, NE
Genealogical Communications
Presented by Tina Wells


March 20, 2013
7:00 p.m.
Nebraska Methodist College
87th and Burt Sts
Omaha, NE
GOGS – Greater Omaha Genealogical Society
Bill Henry will discuss the veterans project he will be doing.


March 20, 2013
2:00 p.m.
Great Room
Chatelaine
6201 Normal Blvd
Lincoln, NE
LLCGS – Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society
Third Wednesday Discussion Group
Facilitated by Lila Garner


March 21, 2013
12:00 Noon
Nebraska History Museum
15th and P Streets
Lincoln, NE
Nebraska State Historical Society
Brown Bag Lecture Series
Rob Bozell examines evidence on where the Pawnee people came from and when.


March 23, 2013
9:00 a.m. – 3:30 p.m
Nebraska Methodist College
Josie Harper Campus
87th and Burt Streets
Omaha, NE
GOGS – Greater Omaha Genealogical Society
All Things German: Roger Minert
·         Surnames in German-language Regions of Europe
·         Research in Other German-language Regions of Europe
·         Troubleshooting in Germanic Family History Research Case Studies


March 24, 2013
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Walt Branch Library
6701 S. 14th St
Lincoln, NE
LLCGS – Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society
Technology Interest Group: Using OneNote for Genealogy
Presented by Susan Petersen


March 26, 2013
7:00- 8:30 p.m.
Family Search Center
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
3000 Old Cheney Road
Lincoln, NE
Census Records
Presented by Carrie Pierson


March 28, 2013
5:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Palmyra Memorial Library
Palmyra, NE
Otoe County Genealogical Society
Genealogical Workshop Series
$10 for class, workbook and software CD


April 4, 2013
1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
St. Paul United Methodist Church
12th and M Sts
Lincoln, NE
LLCGS – Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society
First Thursday Discussion Group
Facilitated by Bob and Arlene Houser


April 5, 2013
7:00 p.m.
LDS Family History Center
11027 Martha St
Omaha, NE
GO-PAF meeting
Program to be announced


April 9, 2013
7:15 p.m.
Eastridge Presbyterian Church
1135 Eastridge Dr
Lincoln, NE
LLCGS – Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society
Monthly Program:
Census Substitutes: Mired in Fraud and Politics


April 13, 2013
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Nebraska Community Blood Bank
100 N. 84th St
Lincoln, NE
LLCGS – Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society
Part 1 of 2
Putting the Pieces Together genealogy workshop
Presented by Phyllis Ericson
Fee $20 for two sessions (April 13 and 20)


April 14, 2013
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Walt Branch Library
6701 S. 14th St
Lincoln, NE
LLCGS – Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society
Display Your Family Tree with Charts and Posters
Presented by Phyllis Ericson


April 14, 2013
2:00 – 4:00 pm
Palmyra Memorial Library
535 Illinois Place
Palmyra, NE
Otoe County Genealogical Society
Genealogical Open Lab
Assistance in research – free for class attendees


April 17, 2013
7:00 p.m
Nebraska Methodist College
Josie Harper Campus
87th and Burt Streets
Omaha, NE
GOGS – Greater Omaha Genealogical Society
Monthly Meeting
Blogging Your Family History


April 17, 2013
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Great Room
Chatelaine
6201 Normal Blvd
Lincoln, NE
LLCGS – Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society
Third Wednesday Discussion Group
Facilitated by Lila Garner


April 18, 2013
5:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Palmyra Memorial Library
535 Illinois Place
Palmyra, NE
Otoe County Genealogical Society
Genealogical Workshop Series
$10 for class, workbook and software CD


April 18, 2013
12:00 Noon
Nebraska History Museum
15th and P Streets
Lincoln, NE
Nebraska State Historical Society
Brown Bag Lecture Series
Jeff Barnes, author of “The Great Plains Guide to Custer” discusses regional sites associated with the Boy General


April 20, 2013
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Nebraska Community Blood Bank
100 N. 84th St
Lincoln, NE
LLCGS – Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society
Part 2 of 2
Putting the Pieces Together genealogy workshop
Presented by Phyllis Ericson
Fee $20 for two sessions (April 13 and 20)


April 20, 2013
9:15 a.m.
Mormon Trail Center
3215 State St
Omaha, NE
GOGS – Greater Omaha Genealogical Society
Part 1 – Searching the World’s Records
Part 2 – the Name Game


April 17, 2013
7:00 p.m.
Nebraska Methodist College
87th and Burt
Omaha, NE
GOGS – Greater Omaha Genealogical Society
Monthly program to be announced


April 20, 2013
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Nebraska Community Blood Bank
100 N. 84th St
Lincoln, NE
LLCGS – Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society
Part 2 of 2
Putting the Pieces Together genealogy workshop
Presented by Phyllis Ericson
Fee $20 for two sessions


April 20, 2013
9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Lincoln Family History Center
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
3000 Old Cheney Road
Lincoln, NE
Family History Conference
Details to be announced



April 27, 2013
9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Nebraska Methodist College
720 N. 87th st
Omaha, NE
GOGS – Greater Omaha Genealogical Society
Spring Conference: Paul Milner, Irish Research
See web site for registration fees


April 27, 2013
7 a.m. Bus loading at
Southeast Community College Campus parking lot
8800 O Street
Lincoln, NE
Additional pickups in Beatrice, Tecumseh and Auburn
Shake Your Family Tree bus trip
Trace Your Family Tree at the Midwest Genealogy Center in Kansas City.
$89