Join Me in Searching the Deep Internet!

I've cut back on my speaking engagements this year while I pursue some education, classes and genealogy conferences for my own personal growth and development. However, I remain committed to the Omaha Public Library's (OPL) summer sessions and I'm always thrilled to be invited back! This summer marks my fifth speaking engagement at OPL as part of the genealogy series in the summer reading program.



On July 18, I'll be speaking about the "Deep Internet" and the various web sites you need to be searching to find information about your ancestors. Google doesn't do it all and there are other web sites where genealogy information can be found. You can think of this as a Scavenger Hunt - or "Nebraska Jones" on a vast treasure hunt for family history information!

I'm still in the process of creating this presentation and I'm excited about the adventures we will share together!

July 18, 2015
W. Dale Clark Library
215 S. 15th St
Omaha, NE
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Register here

It's Free! So reserve your space today!

Watch Live Streaming from Jamboree - Free!

One word that attracts all genealogists is "Free." Here is an upcoming education opportunity that you won't want to miss!  The Southern California Genealogical Society (SCGS) is hosting its annual Genealogy Jamboree in June. If you can't make it in person, this is an outstanding opportunity for you to hear some great genealogy speakers.

SCGS is offering several of the sessions via online streaming during the conference. Not only that, if you are unable to view them all live, you can watch them online for the month following the conference!

Blogger Randy Seaver lists all of the live-streaming sessions, topics and speakers on his Genea-Musings blog, so I won't repeat them all here. Click this link for more information. 

I may have taken a few criticisms for my post last month regarding genealogy societies, but SCGS is one of my societies that is doing it right!

NGS Summary - Part Seven - In Conclusion

In Conclusion . . .

Overall, I had a ball at the 2015 conference of the National Genealogical Society! Kudos to all who put this together. I've been the coordinator for a 10-state (non genealogy) conference, so I have a pretty good idea of what goes in to the planning.

Ann Fleming tossed out the first pitch
of the StL cards v. Detroit Tigers game
and got chased by FredBird!

First of all, KUDOS to Ann Fleming for taking on overall responsibility for organizing the conference! Whoo Hoo! I was so proud of you at the game between the St. Louis Cardinals (my fave MLB team!) and the Detroit Tigers on Sunday evening. Well Done!

Even though some of the so-called genealogy "Rock Stars" were a disappointment to me, I still had a great time and learned a lot!

The social aspect of the conference remains the high point of my week. I loved getting to meet my friends from Facebook and FB groups, who I've only known in an online capacity for a few years. Finally meeting in person totally Rocked!

The iPhone app for the NGS conference was Uh-Maze-Ing! Before I left home, I had entered my schedule for the conference. Even though I changed my preferred sessions on a daily basis, I LOVED being able to pull up the app on my phone to see where I was supposed to be next. NGS gets 10 stars for this!

BUCKET LIST!
The Cards are my favorite MLB team, so it really was
a thrill to attend the game on Sunday evening.
Thanks to my friend, Diana Ritchie, for scoring great seats
behind the Cardinals dugout!!!!
ICING ON THE CAKE!

I also LOVED having the syllabus in PDF format prior to the conference. Even though I had downloaded the syllabus to my Kindle Fire HDX before I left home, I only referred to it a couple times during the conference. It was nice that you gave me a USB drive with the syllabus, but - I really didn't need it. In fact, it still hasn't surfaced during my unpacking from the conference.

Meals . . . I managed. I applaud NGS for offering options for vegetarian and gluten-free meals. It's a start. I'm a "wheat-free, grain-free" eater. I'm easing off the foods that wreak havoc for a diabetic - such as potatoes and sweets. So the menus that included taters and desserts created an issue for me. But - I survived and brought in my own snacks that fit my eating plan. I gained 4 lbs on my trip, which wasn't really a surprise. Two of those are already gone, so I'm okay with that!

Those who know me well know that I do NOT want a lot of paper! I could easily have done without the majority of the "Stuff" that was in my registration bag. Sadly, I left the majority of the promos, bookmarks, etc behind at the first hotel I stayed in. I wasn't even that enchanted with the USB drive with the syllabus as I had downloaded it to Dropbox and my Kindle HDX. But, no doubt, I'll find another use for it. Planning ahead, I brought along my own Bright Pink tote bag! Had I misplaced anything, it was certainly going to be easier to find than looking among all of the Green Totes!

Seating .... OUCH! Yes, you really crammed us in together. This was almost like airline seating.Seriously, would an additional 6" between rows have been that much to ask for? Many of us take notes on our mobile devices and for those of us who have a bit of a tummy - well, it's difficult to take notes when we don't have a table. It would be REALLY nice if the last three (or so) rows of each room were chairs with tables so we could easily type or take notes on our mobile devices. I brought along my own "butt cushion," but still, a bit more comfort would have been nice.

Food options: Must say, I give you points for the Food Trucks, even though I didn't make use of them. Friends gave them high marks. I attended a conference in Denver in April (4,000 participants!) during which the food options were limited to roasted nuts and coffee. So NGS scored high in this regard. For the meals/banquets I didn't pay for, I was able to get a decent salad option. I thank you for offering choices!

This was my first national genealogy conference. I adapted to meet my own needs. It could easily have been a day or a day and a half shorter, with fewer choices of sessions. But I had a good time and learned a lot.

I conveyed my pros and cons regarding the sessions to NGS via the IOS app. While I still may be considered "the Cranky Genealogist," I really did enjoy my time in St. Charles.

Will I attend another NGS conference? Probably.

NGS Summary - Part Six

It is with great appreciation to my friend (and fellow fan of the St. Louis Cardinals!), Susan Clark of the Nolichuchy Roots blog, that I share these photos from our last night and blogger get together in St. Charles, Mo. Thank you, dear Susan, for arranging this wonderful send-off to unwind and celebrate the days we had together at the conference of the National Genealogical Society!

NGS Conference Summary - Part Five

The Exhibit/Vendor Hall

When I wasn't attending a session, I wandered around the vendor exhibit hall, checking in with friends and organizations with which I'm associated.

Terri O'Connell and her daughter were holding dowm the fort at The In-Depth Genealogist
http://theindepthgenealogist.com/

Ancestry.com

Jen Baldwin at My Heritage
http://www.myheritage.com/

Missouri SAR
http://mossar.org/

Ancestry.com

MyHeritage

Barb's Branches
https://www.etsy.com/shop/BarbsBranches
Beautiful Handcrafted jewelry

Barb's Branches
I bought a beautiful handcrafted necklace

Ancestry.com

Newspapers.com

Allison Dolan and Diane Haddad from Family Tree magazine

Janet Hovorka
The Chart Chick
http://thechartchick.blogspot.com/

With Lisa Louise Cooke
Genealogy Gems Podcast
http://www.genealogygemspodcast.com/

James Beidler
http://jamesmbeidler.com/

One of my genealogy besties, Jenna Mills,  at the MoSGA booth
http://mosga.org/

Association of Professional Genealogists
https://www.apgen.org/

The beautiful "tree" necklace I bought from Barb's Branches
https://www.etsy.com/shop/BarbsBranches

End of the Line
Load Out After a Successful Conference

NGS Conference Summary - Part Four

At this point, I have covered the sessions by the people I felt were the genealogy Rock Stars at the conference of the National Genealogical Society (NGS): John Colletta, Judy Russell, and Crista Cowan. Their presentation style really showed their passion for family history research.

Other presentations I attended also had value for me as a genealogist and researcher.

Jordan Jones - President of NGS and a Facebook friend. I attended his session on Evernote for Genealogy. I'm a user of Evernote, I'm a long time fan of Microsoft OneNote and continue to use it several times each week. I suppose we all like what we are used to. I shall continue to use Evernote to save documents, but OneNote shall continue to be my note-taker of choice.

Terry Koch-Bostic - I attended the luncheon at which Terry spoke about intuition and genealogy success. I definitely resonated with her remarks as I often rely on my spirit ancestors to help me with research or locating graves in cemeteries. Genealogy Serendipity might not be everyone's cup of tea, but Terry's remarks were definitely within my wheelhouse.

Meeting up with Barbara Mathews

Barbara Mathews is a longtime friend on Facebook and I attended her session about lineage society documents. I have ancestors who served in the Revolutionary War and Civil War. I'm not sure if joining a lineage society is in my future, but if it is, I know who my mentor will be!

Patricia Jordan Roberts did a session on self-publishing via LuLu which I really enjoyed. I have several writing projects that I would like to self-publish and her session provided me with many ideas.

Julie Miller's session on planning your Digital Afterlife opened my eyes to some additional things I need to do to take care of my "stuff" after I'm gone. Have you added a "Digital Life Memoradum" with your will and "laundry list"?

NGS Conference Summary - The Sessions - Part Three

Me with Crista Cowan at NGS

So, you think you know it all about searching on Ancestry, eh? If all you ever search is based on your ancestor, you are missing out on a LOT!

Did you know:

Ancestry.com has more than 16 BILLION (yes, I said BILLION) records online?

There are 1-2 MILLION records being added to Ancestry's database each DAY!

There are 1.7 BILLION records in the City Directory database! This is the largest database on Ancestry.

When searching on Ancestry, remember that you are NOT searching for people, you are searching for RECORDS! This concept alone will change the way you look for records on Ancestry.com.

Crista says that the shaky leafs or hints you receive on Ancestry represent only 10% of the databases on the site. Remember that these are HINTS only! It's up to YOU to decide if that's your person!

When doing a search, Crista says that she never goes beyond three pages of results.

Card Catalog

Have you learned to use the Card Catalog on Ancestry? If not, you may be missing out on many records on your ancestor! You really do need to look into the specific databases, rather than using the generic search your people!

Type-ahead List

When you search on Ancestry, are you allowing the search to use the "type-ahead" list? If not, your are merely doing a keyword search. The "type-ahead" function allows you to drill down farther to find records on your ancestor. This was new to me!

Crista has that "Tony Robbins" presentation style that I appreciate! Her passion and enthusiasm for family history research are obvious. She knows her stuff and she doesn't give a canned presentation. Whenever you have the opportunity to hear her speak in person or view one of her online video lessons, go for it!

NGS Conference Summary - The Sessions - Part One

I've already commented that meeting up with my online friends was the highlight of the 2015 conference of the National Genealogical Society (NGS) last week. And I did not make an effort to attend a session in every time slot at the conference. I've learned to pace myself, as well as pick and choose the topics in which I'm interested.

Based upon my post a couple weeks ago regarding genealogy societies, I'm no stranger to controversy nor saying what's on my mind. This summary will reflect my opinionated point-of-view. I chose many of my sessions based on the reputations of the nationally recognized speakers. This was an opportunity to hear many of the noted genealogists who have been touted as "rock stars" in the field. In this regard, I was very disappointed in several of the sessions I attended. I won't be naming the names of those who disappointed me, but I will state the reasons why.

Genealogy Rock Stars? Some Yes. Some No

In most cases, their content was good. However, their presentation style (if you can call it that) was to read their entire speech in a monotone voice. If this is what they are going to do, give me an article or handout and I can read it myself. It wasn't just being tired from the road travels that put me to sleep (literally) in some of these sessions. I even went to a second session by one presenter, hoping it would be different. It wasn't. One lady who I'd met during a dinner get-together had even warned me, "whatever you do, don't go his sessions in the afternoon! He'll put you to sleep!" I went in the morning and I knew what she meant.

These folks have the credentials. They are noted and successful authors. But when it comes to public speaking, they just didn't cut it. I shared my opinions with my pals at the conference and they were pretty much divided half and half. Half agreed with me and half didn't. I described my perspective as desiring speakers who have the stage presence and enthusiasm of someone like Tony Robbins. I know they are passionate about genealogy; they just didn't show it. Some of my impressions may have been influenced by my experience at the I Can Do It! (ICDI) seminar sponsored Hay House in Denver in April. That two and a half day seminar featured the best authors and public speakers in the personal development/inspiration genre. Each and every author/speaker at that conference demonstrated passion and enthusiasm. Not one of them put me to sleep. I digress, but the ICDI conferences are the gold standard by which I measure other conferences.

That being said, I WILL applaud the authors and speakers who inspired me and made attendance at the NGS conference worth the price of admission.

What's for Dinner?

Upon arrival, I was rather surprised at the number of paid luncheons/banquets I signed up for. I didn't think I had signed up for that many. I don't know whether it was good or bad that my decision to attend a meal session was based on the Menu! I have been wheat and grain free for about ten months, so it was challenging to select meal-based sessions based on my new eating style. The conference planners really seem to like taters, rolls/bread and sweet desserts. There really are a lot of other fruit/vegetable options, folks! But I managed (by smuggling in my own snacks to get me through the day). Certainly, the fresh dinner rolls, brownies and sweets were tempting, but I passed. Not part of my life any more. Cheesecake? Well, that's permitted in moderation as long as I don't eat the crust!

MY Genealogy Rock Stars

John Colletta

I first heard John Colletta when he was the featured speaker at my local society a few years ago. He's got the street cred - he can write, he can speak, he can inspire. He's got the passion for family history, research and telling the stories of our ancestors. A friend and I agreed. We don't just love John Colletta; we want to BE John Colletta. Unfortunately, I missed his seminar in Omaha a few years ago as it was right after my Dad suffered a stroke; I didn't feel I could leave him alone yet. But just this week, I learned that John will be speaking at the Iowa state genealogy conference in October. Count me in!

The first session I attended by John Colletta was "Princples of Good Writing and Good Storytelling"

My "sound bites, tweets and quotable quotes"

• Family history writing can be just as readable as fiction.
• Elements of a good family history story include: the setting, characters, conflict, theme or idea.
• Get an proofreader with obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Write with the five senses: touch, taste, sight, hearing, smell
• You are not rewriting your ancestor's county history - you are writing about your star (ancestor) in the context of that history. Your ancestor is is the star of the story.
• Strong verbs don't need an adverb.
• Use literary techniques such as suspense, surprise, romance, horror and humor.

I also attended the banquet at which John spoke, although I didn't take notes. There are times to just sit back, enjoy and be entertained.

I said it in 2010 and it still applies today: John Colletta Rocked It!

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.

Goin' to Kansas City! Kansas City Here We Come!

Actually, the "Genealogy Girls Gone Wild" weekend in Kansas City was two weeks ago and what a weekend it was! Back in 2010, I met fellow bloggers Diana Ritchie who writes the Random Relatives blog and Jenna Mills who writes the Desperately Seeking Surnames blog. We met as geneabloggers at the Family History Expo in Kansas City that year and became fast friends.

Diana and Jenna at the Midwest Genealogy Center
Independence, Missouri March 2014

A reunion has been in the works for quite a while. I actually got to see Diana in 2012 when she and a friend visited Lincoln in conjunction with John Colletta's appearance at the Greater Omaha Genealogical Society conference. I didn't make it to Omaha that year since I was looking after my Dad, who just had a stroke. But Diana, her friend Nancy and I got together for brunch, went by the home and business owned by Nancy's grandparents and then on to Wyuka Cemetery where Nancy's relatives are buried.

Jenna had all of the advance info on a conference that would be held at the Midwest Genealogy Center in Independence, Missouri on March 8. She assured us that the speaker was one of the genealogy rock stars we would want to see, so we began making plans to attend. Also included in what we referred to as March Madness was Susan Clark of the Nolichucky Roots blog. You might recognize her by her "right eye" profile photo on Facebook. Honoring her desire for relative anonymity, I'm not posting a photo of her here!

We were in touch via Facebook messaging daily, deciding what hotel to stay at, times of our arrival in the Kansas City area, extra curricular activities, and a research day at the Midwest Genealogy Center. Jenna was dubbed the cruise director of the Lido deck since she made arrangements for a Saturday night dinner with the conference's main speaker, Lisa Louise Cooke of Genealogy Gems, and Kathleen Brandt of A3 Genealogy. (yes, Jenna finally let us know who the speakers would be!).

On the Road Again

I made a leisurely drive to Kansas City, stopping in Nebraska City for lunch at Parker's Smokehouse. I can now say that I've eaten at all three of their locations! I arrived at the hotel late afternoon on Thursday, got unpacked and had snacks and beverages until Diana's arrival. While we all kept in touch with each other via Facebook messaging, I was ostracized by the others by having texting blocked on my wireless plan. Yes, I gave in to peer pressure and added unlimited texting to my plan once I got home!

Diana and I had a nice BBQ dinner out that evening. One HAS to have BBQ when visiting Kansas City.

Library Day

We met up with Jenna on Friday morning for our research day at the Midwest Genealogy Center, which is part of the Mid-Continent Public Library. Jenna had been telling us that we had to get a library card for remote access to the library's vast assortment of databases we could access from home. The card was $20 for six months and has already paid for itself. I haven't counted the number of databases, but I'm sure there are more than 100 available. Being the newspaper archive junkie that I am, I'm going wild in the archives of the Kansas City Star, New York Times and other old papers. There are also databases of history resources, maps, books. I'm a kid in the candy store!

Diana and Susan pretending to do research.
Photo copyright 2014 Jenna Mills, used with permission
We had to refrain Jenna from ripping off the map of Germany!

Jenna knows her way around the library already and knew we would want a tour. So we got a quick tour of the facility. What a library! An entire building dedicated just to genealogy. Okay, I admit it, I don't get out much, so this was the most impressive genealogy collection I've seen. (ACPL and the LDS library in Salt Lake are still on my "to do" list).

I didn't go with a research plan in mind - I just like to get acquainted with a place first. So I looked through some books with Nebraska connections and found a few items. One of my favorite discoveries was locating a photo of the drugstore in Lincoln, Nebraska that was operated by my great grandfather's brother in law. It was late in the day when I discovered several feet of shelf space dedicated to Blair County, Pennsylvania where my Pecht/Peight ancestors lived (for those who have been following the story, that was where my third great grandfather, the axe murderer, lived). That guaranteed another visit to the library later this year.

Susan Clark arrived and checked in with us and spent most of her research day looking at microfilm records. This was my first meeting with her and as with Diana and Jenna, I felt an immediate connection. Well, heck, we've been friends on Facebook for years, so it's not like we were strangers. Susan has one wicked sense of humor, which I like!

As you can see in the photo, we were wise enough to get a private research/conference room since we knew we would be chatting and didn't want to disturb other library users. The library is really user friendly. There are desks and work spaces throughout the facility, shopping carts so you can gather up the books you want to use. There's plenty of electrical outlets to keep your laptop or tablet charged. Microfilm readers and copy machines are set up to save images to USB flash drives. I will definitely come more prepared on my next visit!

Friday evening, the four of us had a nice dinner and talked quite a bit about DNA and genealogy.

Conference Day - Saturday

The "genie tech" conference brought us back to the library on Saturday morning. I hadn't met Lisa Louise Cooke before, so it was a kick for me when she spotted me in the registration line, waved and said "Hi, Susan!" Amazing what online social networking does! It's like we already know each other. Genealogy friends from Lincoln and Omaha were also in the audience and I touched base with them.

Lisa's topics included newspaper research, Google Earth, and using iPads/Tablets for genealogy. I had viewed her webinars on these topics before, but it was really nice to see and hear her in person. Lisa is a fantastic presenter and if you get a chance to attend one of her presentations, do it!

And Kathleen totally rocked it with her presentation on DNA. Wow. This was the first time that DNA was explained in a way that really made sense to me.

Saturday evening, we enjoyed dinner at a Mexican restaurant with Lisa and her daughter; Kathleen and her friend from Jet magazine; and Beth Foulk of Genealogy Decoded. I'd met Beth last year when she spoke at the Nebraska state genealogy conference. Sadly, my hearing isn't the greatest in noisy restaurants, so I only got in on about half of the conversation, but even so, it was a great evening!

On Becoming 'Maxine'

My "real life" friends know how much I b----, I mean complain, about the uncomfortable chairs and seating at conferences. I've left entirely too many conferences early because I could just not tolerate the horrible chairs! Yes, I am turning into the cartoon Maxine! I came prepared for Kansas City and ordered a "butt cushion"! I was surprised, but it really worked! If you are a fellow rear and back pain sufferer at conferences, I definitely recommend this! I will put up with the teasing I take, but I'm not going to any more conferences without my cushion! LOL.

GG Gone Wild!?

Well, we genealogy girls had a fantastic time, even if we seem to be the "early to bed" types! I had a blast and it was a great reunion with my blogger buddies. We all said that Kansas City is a pretty quick drive for all of us and we vowed to do this a few times every year. Next time, I'm definitely going with a research plan in mind.

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.

Posted with Blogsy

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	Douglas County Historical Society 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	LLCGS – Lincoln – 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 Susan Petersen
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 Flyer
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 See page 19 of the course catalog