Missouri State Genealogical Society Conference

Not only did the genealogists come to town this summer, but I got to meet up with some of my long time genealogy friends at the annual conference of the Missouri State Genealogical Society (MoSGA) in Columbia, Missouri in August.

The keynote speaker was D. Joshua Taylor, president of the Federation of Genealogical Societies and on-air talent for Genealogy Roadshow and Who Do You Think You Are? I had not heard Josh speak in person before, so that was a real treat. The conference was also an opportunity to meet up with my fellow bloggers, Jenna Mills of Desperately Seeking Surnames, Diana Ritchie of Random Relatives. Also part of the "Genealogy Girls Gone Wild" weekend were Beth Foulk (Genealogy Decoded) and Diana's friend, Nancy Knight. I also got to spend a few minutes catching up with Kathleen Brandt of A3 Genealogy, another researcher on Who Do You Think You Are?

Beth Foulk

Beth Foulk has been speaking about genealogy regionally for quite some time. I first met her when she spoke at the state conference of the Nebraska State Genealogical Society a couple years ago. Beth is knowledgeable, energetic and enthusiastic. Many of us have commented that she should be on the national genealogy speaking circuit. That is going to happen when she speaks at the conference of the National Genealogical Society in St. Charles, Missouri next May. If you are going, make sure you attend Beth's sessions. Beth totally rocked it in Columbia with her pre-session. Even though I heard her speak about timelines at the Nebraska conference, I learned even more this time around.

Josh Taylor shares some "behind the scenes"
stories of genealogy on TV

Josh Taylor's conference sessions were informative and interesting. However, the talk I enjoyed the most was his after dinner presentation with some "behind the scenes" stories from Genealogy Roadshow and Who Do You Think You Are? While contract provisions don't allow him to tell all of the secrets, he was able to share enough to give us a glimpse that it's not always like you see it on TV!

It's always a treat when you find something in the book sale that relates to your family.
My Revolutionary War ancestor, Johannes Bellinger,
is included in this volume I found on Early Families of Herkimer County New York.

The highlight of the weekend was hanging out with my friends and talking genealogy.

Me and Diana Ritchie
I still don't have that "selfie" thing quite figured out!

Jenna Mills - probably Tweeting about the conference

Diana, Nancy and Me
Diana and I were winners in the prize drawings.
Apparently I didn't understand the "rules" so I dropped my ticket in any old basket I found.
So my prize was donated to the library of my local society.
Photo (c) Jenna Mills 2014

After enjoying a wonderful meal with friends,
overlooking the Missouri River at sunset.

Coming Up in 2015!
Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist
will be the featured speaker next year.
I'll be there!

Sometimes I don't always make it to the conferences I register for, but when I do, it's well worth it! I'll be making two trips to Missouri next year - for the NGS conference in May and the MoSGA conference in August.