NGS 2016, Fort Lauderdale, May 4-7

National Genealogical Society Conference registration begins tomorrow. The theme will be "Exploring the Centuries: Footprints in Time." 

Although the packed program begins at 8:00 AM on May 4th, the DNA track begins at 11:00 AM on May 6th. Three DNA presentations are scheduled for Friday and five for Saturday. 

Sessions for DNA:  

  ·   Should We DNA Test? Balancing Technological Possibilities and Human Values. Who decides?
  ·   Who were Robert King’s Parents?   
  ·   Sex, DNA, and Family History
  ·   ’Cuz We’reCousins – Using Autosomal DNA Testing to Break Down Brick Walls
  ·   Your Pedigree Can Benefit from YDNA and mtDNA Testing   
  ·   DNA Testing and Your Ethnic Origins
  ·   Autosomal DNATesting – Using Excel Spreadsheets to Organize and Track Results
  ·   How to Use GEDmatch.com to Optimize Your DNA Testing Experience


I will be one of the presenters and I hope to see you there.

The Other End Of My Family Tree

Dr. D and wife Denise are on a month long road trip so posts may be slow for a while. We are visiting all our kids, grandkids and other relatives. Since Denise does not fly and all our descendants now live east of the Mississippi River, once we drive from California, we try to visit as many friends and family as possible. We are now in Hammond, IN, in the Chicago area, visiting the family of Denise's older son--Lee.

We have already visited my Aunt Zelma in Wichita. She and my Aunt Margaret in California are the only ones on my dad's side of the family who are keeping me from becoming part of the older generation. On my mother's side of the family, I have been part of the old older generation for a dozen years. We also visited Zelma's daughter Diane--my cousin. Then we had a delightful visit with cousin Mary Scott and husband Bob in Gladstone, MO.

Tomorrow we drive to the Cleveland area to visit Denise's Uncle Tom and cousin Noreen. Then on to Virginia Beach to visit of the new home of Denise's younger son Jason. Then on to a lunch meeting with cousin Rex Haynes in North Carolina enroute to Atlanta to visit my daughter. Then on to Nashville to for Thanksgiving with my son Jon and his extended family. We will be back in California early in December.

During this trip I am interacting with living family members instead of on digging up dead ones. So far I only fell off the wagon once and stopped at a courthouse to get a copy of a probate package from the 1870s.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

A Crash Course in Genealogy

Now that our Emeritus Class in Genealogy Research is over I am turning my attention to a project that will consume much of the rest of 2010. I have a contract to write A Crash Course in Genealogy. This book will be published by Libraries Unlimited--the publisher of my previous books on library topics. It will be part of their Crash Course in... series. The series is designed for library workers who need to learn a new skill quickly for immediate application on the job. It is to be approximately 60,000 words and to be delivered by the end of the year. With all the current media attention on family history, library workers will be needing even more knowledge and skills to help those who are motivated to pursue what is already one of America's favorite hobbies.