San antonio hosts the annual fgs conference
brenda kellow
june 22, 2014
The Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference (FGS) this year is in beautiful San Antonio August 27-30. It features over 160 sessions tailored for all levels of genealogists and family historians, beginners to advanced experience. A visit to the huge exhibit hall with everything genealogy at your fingertips is exciting as well as are the luncheons, special activities and local research opportunities are educational. Early Bird registration ends July 1 and you can register online, at www.fgsconference.org/registration/.
The conference sessions offer a wide variety of genealogy-related lectures and workshops pertaining to research in Texas and neighboring states, African American and ethnic origin research, military research, genetics, technology, migration, methodology, etc. Wednesday activities and discussions focus on Society development and business. There is a visit on Wednesday evening to the Institute of Texas Culture near the convention center. On Friday evening, the San Antonio Conservation Society hosts a festive Night in Old San Antonio in the historical art village of La Villita. Being in San Antonio generates the excitement and opportunities for all attendees. For more on this, go to www.fgs.conference.org.
REMEMBER ROY ROGERS? Was Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Trigger and Buttermilk a favorite of yours growing up as he was of mine? I was a member of the Roy Rogers Fan Club and I still have my membership card to prove it. This week I came into possession of two hardback books on my hero, thanks to David Taylor. One is copyrighted 1951 and the other 1954. Was Roy, Gene Autry, Wild Bill Hickok or another movie star was your hero? If so, why not use this opportunity to write a brief history of your favorite star to add to your memoirs. Passing along your childhood memories to your family is a great way for them to learn more about you. By doing so, you are preserving memories of what your childhood was like. Our kids love to hear about our toys and times of our childhood.
CHICKASAW NATION RESEARCH AVAILABLE: The transcriber of the books devoted to newborn members of the Five Civilized Tribes under the Dawes Act is Jeff Bowen. The governing 1905 statute (H.R. 17474) defined the specified newborn as “infant children born prior to September 25, 1902, who were living on said date, to citizens by blood of the specified tribe.” The transcriptions covered the Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, Chickasaw and Cherokee tribes gathered from the National Archive film M-130, Rolls 455-458. These allotments were among the most sought after properties in Indian Territory. Many times, the law requiring a 25-year restriction on the sale or lease of any Indian lands to ensure that the owners would not be swindled; however, the discovery of raw materials such as asphalt and coal deposits was set aside. Mr. Bowen’s work is much more informative than the census or other lists. On reason is that in the transcribed series by Jeff Bowen, he faithfully provides the names of the applicants and their relatives, as well as the identities of all others such as doctors, lawyers, midwives and others named in the applications. This encompassing series involves about 50 books so far. Not every library has this entire series, but individual volumes are available from the publisher Genealogical.com giving you the ability to add specific items for the tribe that interests you and add to your personal home collection.
JULIE AVEDIKIAN SENIOR PRESIDENT OF CAR SPEAKS TO SAR: The Children of the American Revolution (CAR) do not become eligible for the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) until their 18th birthday. The ins and outs of CAR will all be explained in Julie Avedikian’s talk on July 1 at Outback Steakhouse. Julie is the Senion Society President of the Matthew Bolton Society of Plano. Dinner is at 6 p.m. and the program begins at 7 p.m. For more information, go to the SAR website at http://planosar.org/.
SANBORN FIRE-INSURANCE MAPS NOW ONLINE: Sanborn’s newly digitized historic city maps from 1867-1977 are the tool to help find your city ancestors. The LC refers to them as “probably the single most important record of urban growth and development in the United States during the past one hundred years.” I found them invaluable for locating exactly where my people lived in several instances. The maps are of about 13,000 towns and cities across the United States. There are many different types of indexes to help you learn to use the maps and even a library to answer questions. The site says, “To date, over 6000 sheets are online in the following states: AK, AL, AZ, CA, CT, DC, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, NC, NE, NH, NJ, NV, OH, PA, TX, VA, VT, WY and Canada, Mexico, Cuba sugar warehouses, and U.S. whiskey warehouses. The online checklist also contains links to existing digital images from the library collection and will be updated as new images are added.”
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to ublish 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.
