Your Genealogy Education Plan Part II

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By Barbara Mattoon 


Last week I discussed learning opportunities available through your local society, and Structured Learning opportunities available through academic institutions and Institutes.  This week I’ll explore Conferences and Seminars, Research Trips and Self-Guided Learning.


 Conferences and Seminars
  • A myriad of conferences and seminars are available.  One of the largest is the National Genealogical Society Annual Family History Conference.  It features a different theme each year and is in a different location.  The 2019 Conference will be held 8 – 11 May in St. Charles, Missouri.  The Conference theme is “Journey of Discovery”, charting the course of American pioneers as they migrated to the Louisiana Purchase and the Northwest Territory.  It will feature 150 lectures and there will be opportunities to visit more than 80 exhibitors in the exhibit hall.  Hotel reservations opened August 15 and conference registration opened December 6.  Reservations for the conference hotel usually sell out early.  Early Bird Registration is $215 for members and $250 for non-members until March 18.  The registration does not include luncheons sponsored by various organizations such as the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society or special events or tours.  Recently over 2000 people have attended each year.
  • The Federation of Genealogical Societies also holds an annual conference.  The 2019 Conference will be held in Washington, D.C. at the historic Omni Sheraton Hotel August 21-24, 2019.  Registration will open in January 2019. The Conference offers tracks for the Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced Genealogist.  The theme and registration have not yet been announced, but the full registration in 2018 was $250. More information at https://fgs.org. Watch the SKCGS Calendar for announcement of important dates.  The 1995 Conference was held in Seattle.
  • The Southern California Genealogical Society presents Jamboree each year.  It is held at the Los Angeles Marriott, Burbank Airport Hotel, Burbank, CA.  The 2019 Conference will be their 50th and they are having a Birthday Bash.  The dates are May 30-June 2, 2019.  Registration opens January 7, 2019.  Pricing is variable. More information is available at genealogyjamboree.com.

Additionally, many state genealogical societies offer conferences specific to their state.  Google the genealogical society for the state you are interested in.

Research Trips

Genealogy tourism is a rapidly growing part of the genealogy hobby or profession.  Trips are sponsored by national, state and local societies, genealogy software companies, professional genealogists and wannabe professional genealogists.  They typically feature a specific research theme.  If you want to go “over the top”, consider a genealogy cruise.  Janet Camarata and I enjoyed a Panama Canal cruise sponsored by Legacy Family Tree software.  The learning format was similar to a conference, featuring various topics so there was something to appeal to everyone.  Unlock the Past sponsored a one-day conference featuring international speakers in Seattle in September, kicking off their 14th seven-day cruise to Alaska.  Even Cunard Lines has gotten into the act sponsoring a Journey of Genealogy in association with Ancestry.  Cyndi’s List https://cyndislist.com, is a resource for genealogy tourism information.

Self-Guided Learning   
                                       
You may feel that a structured learning program is not for you.  It is entirely possible to develop a self-study program tailored to your needs using books, webinars, participation in on-line discussion groups, or building a program using the many classes and programs available in your community.  Many local colleges and libraries offer single or series of classes on a variety of topics.

Webinars

The number of webinars and videos available put this class of genealogical education almost in a class by itself.

  • Legacy Family Tree offers several webinars each week.  They are free for seven days.  An annual subscription is $49 and offers access to their library of over 800 webinars and the accompanying printed syllabi. The syllabi are not available to non-subscribers viewing the free webinars.
  • American Ancestors (the New England Historic and Genealogical Society) offers an extensive library of archived webinars that are free to view. www.americanancestors.org 
  • Lisa Louise Cooke’s channel features webinars on a variety of topics. It is not necessary to be an Ancestry subscriber to view the videos on their You Tube channel.
  • The Family Search channel includes a series on searching for elusive records on familysearch.org.
  •  My Heritage is DNA oriented but also includes some fascinating videos of their pro bono projects around the world.
As you can see, there are free webinars and videos available for your education in almost any area of genealogy.

Don’t forget podcasts.  See my blog post of 4 Nov 2018, for reviews of just a few.

If you wish to pursue professional certification, an excellent Ten-point Study Blueprint written by Elizabeth Shown Mills was published by Angela McGhie in 2012.  You can view it at:  http://genealogyeducation.blogspot.com/2012/06/elizabeth-shown-mills-ten-point-study.html

As you can see, opportunities for genealogy education are limited only by your imagination, time and resources.  No matter how limited or unlimited your time and resources, multiple opportunities are available to you.

Happy learning!
Barbara Mattoon

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