2014 offers many genealogy conferences
brenda kellow
february 16, 2014
Below is a brief listing of many ways you may receive instruction and network with others in the genealogical community this year.
1. Forensic Genealogy Institute, March 24-29, Dallas. http://www.forensicgenealogists.org/forensic-genealogy-institute.html.
2. Fairfax Genealogical Society Annual Spring Conference, March 28-29, Fairfax. http://www.fxgs.org/cpage.php?pt=20.
3. 2014 Gene-A-Rama, April 4-5, Manitowoc, Wisconsin. http://www.forensicgenealogists.org/forensic-genealogy-institute.html.
4. Scottish Association of Family History Societies Annual Conference, April 26, Dunfermline, Scotland. http://www.safhs.org.uk/conference.asp. [If you plan on attending, remember that although they speak English, you may have problems understanding them. I did.]
5. Ohio Genealogical Society Annual Conference, April 30-May 3, Sandusky, Ohio. http://www.ogs.org/conference2014/index.php.
6. United Polish Genealogical Societies Biennial Conference, May 2-5, Salt Lake City. http://www.pgsa.org/#UPGS.
7. National Genealogical Society Family History Conference, May 7-10, Richmond. http://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/.
SUNSET: The genealogical community has lost another fine genealogist. Madilyn Coen Crane passed away last month. She was a member of the Dallas Genealogical Society, an officer in the Genealogical Institute of Texas and longtime Secretary of Federation of Genealogical Societies. She was an active genealogist and my friend. We took many genealogical road trips together including summers in Birmingham at the Samford University Institute of Genealogical Research. You can access her obit at http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Madilyn-Crane&lc=4885&pid=168500302&mid=5766949.
HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS OF FIRST MENTAL INSTITUTION FOR FREE BLACKS GOES ONLINE: The Central State Lunatic Asylum for Colored Insane of Virginia, now known as the Central State Lunatic Hospital, was created in 1868 for blacks freed after the Civil War. It integrated in 1968. There was a fear these documents would be lost. One-million pieces that were deteriorating are now safe thanks to the efforts of UT-Texas. The documents contain photographs, patient record books, doctor’s journals, etc. The University is currently digitizing these documents. They hope to put them online sometime in the fall of this year. Read the story at www.newswise.com/articles/digital-archive-to-house-100-years-of-historical-documents-from-world-s-first-black-mental-institution.
GENEALOGY CENTER COLLECTION: Did you know the Genealogy Center, located downstairs in the Haggard Library on Coit Road, has over 11,168 titles? My how it has grown from the back area of the Harrington Library work room where it had a file cabinet with a tiny bit of microfilm, a table, four chairs and a few books. Now it contains 44,028 items. I am so proud of the collection and our librarians. The collection contains all 50 states including the District of Columbia, a foreign section that is outside the 50 United States, a section on the military and the United States conflicts, a section on Family History and a lineage section.
Visit the Genealogy Center at and Library Catalog online at http://polaris.plano.gov/polaris/. The databases available in the library only and some by library card access at home are Ancestry Library Edition, Fold 3, Heritage Quest Online, Texas Sanborn Insurance Maps, Dallas Morning News Historical Archive, World Cat and JSTOR. There are brochures for Getting Started, www.plano.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2629, and an Ancestry Chart, www.plano.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2630. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Cheryl Smith, cheryls@plano.gov, or ask any of the other wonderful worker bees there, Cheryl Smith, Tom Turner, Doug Fugate, Karen, etc.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: bbkellow@verizon.net.
