OGS – Helping History Come Alive

Joining a Genealogical Society

January 14, 2022 Becky

Have you joined a genealogical society? A few years ago I joined three different societies, beginning with my local county chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society (also known as OGS), OGS, and the National Genealogical Society. Later I joined a fourth, an online only society in an area of the United States that pertains to my ancestral journey.

Why Join a Genealogy Society?

I love genealogical societies, because they are a great resource for your research. At the various levels, whether it’s county, state, or national, each has something that stands out to make it unique.

County Level

My local Summit County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society is a wonderful resource because it meets monthly (except in August and December). At these meetings, which are the third Saturday of the month, we have speakers pertaining to different topics. As I type this tomorrow is our meeting, and our program is “Useful Tools for Those with German Ancestors” by Dana Palmer. She is one of my favorite presenters, discovering her at a Family History Day at the Summit County Family History Center in October 2018.

This past year we attempted to have a research day at the Akron-Summit County Public Library in the Special Collections department, which has several computers available for access to online databases (Ancestry, FamilySearch, MyHeritage, FindMyPast, AmericanAncestors, and more, you just need a library card). They also have books on local history and genealogy from all over the country (possibly all 50 states, if not, it’s close) to aid in sources not online. We ended up doing mostly solo research, but it was nice to know others were there in case we needed to float ideas.

Presently our meetings are hybrid, meaning we meet in person at a conference room at the main library but members can also be a part of the meeting from their homes via Zoom.

Ohio Genealogical Society

The Ohio Genealogical Society is the largest genealogical society in the United States and has a wonderful 4-day conference each spring that moves between three locations: Cincinnati, Columbus, and Sandusky (I wish they would do one in my area, not that the drive has prevented me from attending).

They also do a weekend retreat in the Fall at a rustic getaway (picture cabins in the woods) with high profile speakers discussing topics of interest. I looked at their event page and not much was listed, but their recently updated website has a number of genealogical resources available, but you must be a member to view.

The National Genealogical Society

There is a higher price tag to become a member for the National Genealogical Society but I find it to be worth it. Along with free classes there are classes you can purchase in order to be a better family historian.

Like OGS, NGS has a yearly conference that takes place in a different location every year. Since I’ve been a member they have been in St. Louis, Salt Lake City, Richmond, and this years is to take place in Sacramento. They have both in person, virtual, and on-demand options for attending.

A little over a year ago NGS merged with the Federation of Genealogical Societies and now have these societies as a focus in the NGS Magazine. By combining both organizations they can focus on caring for the needs of all areas of family historians.

This past week (or maybe it was last week), NGS launched Forum, a member community where members can discuss family history with each other, but societies, libraries, archives, and museums associates can “discuss building successful genealogy organizations”. This sounds like a great way for ideas to be bounced around and for you to communicate with others, possibly where you are researching.

NGS also has two wonderful magazines, one with a hodge podge of information, the NGS Magazine, and one that is filled with case studies, National Genealogical Society Quarterly. Both are valuable tools for the family historian.

The NGS website also lists a number of events on their website for their own sponsored events as well as other genealogical societies across the United States. They are all quite helpful for those who want to continue to learn.

National Genealogical Society (www.ngsgenealogical.org)

Painted Hills Genealogy

Painted Hills Genealogy Society is a website I stumbled upon and that I value so much. It has so much information on the website, and your dues allow you access to an exclusive Facebook group. The website pertains to southwestern New York counties (Allegany, Cattaraugus, Chatauqua, Livingston, and Steuben) and two northwestern Pennsylvania counties (Potter and McKean). These are the counties (both New York and Pennsylvania) where my Dunbar, Williams, and Gustin families all hail from on my maternal side of the family. Joining a society that is all about the area you are researching is simply invaluable.

To Sum It All Up

So, whether you join just locally or want to broaden your horizons, there is so much to gain by becoming a member of a genealogical society. Each society has something to offer, and you can normally learn a lot about them by visiting their website (I’ve included links above to all the ones I’ve talked about today).

Take some time from your researching to check out these valuable resources. If your budget is limited choose only one to sign up for but make sure it’s one you know you will get the most bang for your buck. Sometimes it’s worth signing up for society in the area of the country that will most benefit your researching (as I have the Painted Hills Genealogy).

I know my local society allows visitors to check them out, or even if they have a program that you are interested in. Everyone is always welcome, so take a chance and become involved! You’re only going to find people with the same hobby as you!

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Genealogy

Week 52: Future

December 31, 2021December 29, 2021 Becky

The final week of 52 Ancestors in 52 Week’s has a heavier topic than normal (I type as I laugh as some of the themes have really made me think hard). This week’s is no exception with the prompt of “Future”.

Family Lines

I’m going to seize the moment and really focus on 2 lines from each side of my family. The Warner’s and Gustin’s on my Mom’s side and the Blair’s and Aker’s on my Dad’s side. I’m sure others may pop up with interest (for example, my Dunbar’s married a Warner so I could stray a bit that way), or maybe I’ll have a moment when I want to research my maternal grandfather’s side of the family, and since they are all in England, you utilize that mood when it strikes.

The Warner’s

My genealogy future will be me going into a little more detail on my mom’s side of the family, the Warner’s to be precise. While attempting to look up some information on Thankful Chapin, who I believe to be my fifth-great-grandmother on my maternal side of the family, I realized not only do I not have the paperwork to back this up (though her years of being alive do) but I don’t have confirmation that her supposed son, Oliver Charles Warner, is a son of Joel Warner. By exploring this portion of my tree, it will help me explore other areas of this side, and since my great-great-grandmother, Mazie, was a Warner, they are extra special (because for some reason she is extra special to me, I truly feel she would have liked me).

The Gustin’s

If I am going to write more about the Warner’s I may as well learn more about Mazie’s mother, Orienta Gustin and her parents, Benjamin Gustin and Nancy Return Gault. I remember being so tickled upon finding Orienta’s photo that I want to know more about this amazing lady and her lineage as well.

The Blair’s

Oh, it wouldn’t be a year of genealogy if I didn’t try to work on my Blair brick wall, now would it? Observing in the past weeks of various DNA matches I saw that a person who was placed in the middle of my Blair’s on FamilySearch’s one big tree is on a DNA matches tree. Though there is a possibility that the person has the wrong fellow in his tree, just in case that I am somehow related to the infamous Andrew Sloan Blair I am investigating him by putting him on an experimental, private tree. I will never know if there is some sort of distant connection until I build a tree and flesh it out. The worse thing I do is waste my time. (And honestly, I have no idea how this will all pan out).

The Aker’s

And it’s not fair to write about the Blair’s and not bring in Susanna Akers. I so wish to know more about my third-great-grandmother on my paternal side. Just how they appear and disappear from thin air has me especially intrigued. I hope to find her. Or whatever Susanna’s last name is. I still feel the key is with their second youngest son, George Washington Blair.

Expanding My Researching

This year I plan on doing something I have never done before. Going to specific places to research, and try to utilize knowledge from groups I already belong too.

Family History Center

I am going to get the courage to go into my local Family History Center and ask for help on how to use their facility (assuming they are open – with the different Covid variants running around, this may be another pipe dream). I know that there are files for Oliver Charles Warner that I can hopefully view in the Family History Center, so this is one of the reasons why I am planning on using this wonderful place to find out what I need.

AmericanAncestors.org

I signed up for the AmericanAncestors.org website to utilize as my mother’s family is from New England (you may recognize these names, the Warner’s, the Chapin’s – all from Massachusetts). This appears to have so much great information that I plan on utilizing it more for my research so I can better understand this area of the world and hopefully learn so much more about my relatives. As a person who absolutely loves the history involving the beginning of our country, this should be a wonderful treat me for me.

The Genealogy Center

Since I live within four hours of Fort Wayne, Indiana, I hope that I can go and visit the Genealogy Center in the Allen County Public Library over a weekend. I know I need to be ready to research what I need to find out if I go there, but it just seems like a great resource for me to go since I just live in the state next door.

Continue with my Blog

My other goal is to continue with my blog. I know I was able to increase those who follow me this past year and that is great. I like to think that means people are enjoying what I’m writing. I hope to add more history book reviews in the mix, and more how to articles, as well as the occasional prompt for 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks (I’ve still signed up for it – just may not do it every week – I’ll write when the feeling strikes or the theme is too enticing that I can’t say no).

I enjoy sharing what I know that if maybe it helps someone else with their research, all the better. And I’ve actually chatted via email/Facebook messenger with distant cousins because of my blog and that had made it that more exciting!

Continue to Learn

I love to read books about genealogy. I have various books on finding church records, the Genealogical Proof Standard, books detailing women’s lives (The Hidden Half of the Family), researching newspapers, and the like. I’m also trying to get more out of the genealogical memberships that I belong to from my local county chapter to my state and even NHS as they have all kinds of learning opportunities for free and some classes you can purchase. All of them will allow me to be the best researcher I can be.

I also want to be a better participant in the Facebook groups and on Twitter. If you aren’t a part of the Twitter genealogy scene, you are missing out. So many wonderful people in the social media world.

So that is what my genealogical future holds. All in all it’s about learning. You can never learn too much!

Genealogy

What I Learned from the 2021 OGS Conference

April 19, 2021 Becky

The past 4 days were fun days for me. I took 3 days off work and spent 4 total days doing nothing but taking genealogy classes. This is always a dream come true. I love genealogy, obviously, because I have an entire blog dedicated to my hobby.

Keynote Speaker: Peggy Clemens Lauritzen

As usual, Peggy Clemens Lauritzen did a fabulous job with her keynote speech which was entitled “Let’s Leave ‘Em Something to Talk About” and was all about leaving your own story behind. It is so easy for us to get wrapped up in our ancestor’s lives but we often forget about leaving our future ancestors information about us. She gave a bunch of simple suggestions on how to do this, such as scrapbooking, writing down our stories, our favorite vacations, leaving a journal and just writing down whatever pops into your head on any given day. Talk about your favorite car, your favorite movie, family trips, how you spent holidays… all these things that make up our lives. I left her talk feeling so inspired – it should have been the last talk instead of the first (you know, so I could start sharing the information about my life).

Live Sessions I Attended

I attended some outstanding live classes during the 3-days (the first day was specifically workshops). Between classes on the wonderful session entitled “Beyond Belief: The Wealth Genealogical and Historical Societies” by D. Joshua Taylor, a class taught by Andi Cumbo-Floyd that taught me the benefits and how to use ArchiveGrid (don’t laugh, and I never realized how much it had to offer!), to Colleen Robledo Greene informing many on how to use the HathiTrust Digital Library. Both ArchiveGrid and the HathiTrust Digital Library always make those top places you should check out for your genealogy but always seemed a bit intimidating at the same time. But no more!

Ari Wilkins gave a fabulous presentation on “How Weather Affected Our Ancestors”, it was so informative and gave me so much more to look into with where my own relatives were and the aspects of the Johnstown Flood (they lived in the surrounding counties in Pennsylvania), I attended another great session by D. Joshua Taylor again pertaining to “Online Resources for Colonial America” (and most were free!), and then James Beidler gave 2 sessions that I attended on “An Average Ancestor Seen Through Newspapers” and then closed it out with “Courthouse Research in Pennsylvania” (we all know I can’t resist classes on Pennsylvania).

Recorded Sessions

I’m still working on recorded sessions. They are open for us to watch through Tuesday. So far I’ve watched ones dealing with the history of railroads, marketing and publicity for your genealogical society, methodology sessions about research projects and being your own brick walls (so far I don’t think I am my own brick wall but I wouldn’t put it past myself either).

Such a wide variety of programs and each class is so enjoyable.

What I Took Away From My 2nd Conference

The exact same thing I did my first – I need to use a research log when beginning a project. And last night I did just that – I printed off the research log from my program and started writing things down as I went. So proud of myself. Was also analyzing census forms and printed blank ones of those as well so I could write down the tick marks (1800-1810 census forms) to better analyze who could be candidates as Abraham Childers parents.

The other thing was to pay close attention to the forms and analyze everything. You never know what little tidbit of information may blow your case wide open.

Recommendation

If you have never gone to a big genealogical conference I recommend checking it out. It’s not going on presently but the sessions offered at RootsTech in February are up on FamilySearch.org, all you need is a free account to view the many classes that they have on their website. They are available throughout the year.

The one thing I missed this year was being able to chit chat with my fellow genealogists. Though I am huge introvert (I become a little more chatty once I feel comfortable with people) I never had a difficult time 2 years ago when I attended the OGS Conference in 2019. It was so much fun, and it was nice talking to people and having them give me suggestions on the spot. It was simply fabulous.

Something to look out for is a day long program offered at your local Family History Center. I attended my first one in 2018 and enjoyed it so much this is why I went to the OGS Conference in 2019. It was a day filled with 6 classes and included lunch. Such a wonderful day with a variety of topics (DNA, Methodology, How To Use FamilySearch, Ancestry, etc.). Often these are offered in October during Family History Month. Libraries offer excellent classes throughout the year, and even by Zoom presently.

You can never know too much, and you never know when you attend a conference like this, a simple class you take may be just what you need to find that bit of missing information on your person.