Ancestor Searching: Volume 4, #10

The National Genealogical Society (NGS) annual conference is set for April 28th thru May 1 of this year. The theme this year is 'Follow Your Ancestral Trail' and will be hosted by the Utah Genealogical Association in Salt Lake City, UT. Information and registration can be made by calling 1-800-473-0060 or emailing conference [at] ngsgenealogy [dot] org.

From the Alabama Genealogical Society Newsletter comes the news that their 2010 Spring Seminar is scheduled for Saturday, March 27, 2010 from 8:30 AM to 2:00 PM in the Brock Auditorium, Beeson Hall, Samford University. Their Speaker will be Dr. Joan Mitchell whose topic will be DNA in genealogical research. Her program is entitled "Tracing Your Genetic Roots".

Also from the AGS newsletter, the FGS (Federation of Genealogical Societies) working with the East Tennessee Historical Society and the Kentucky Historical Society, will be hosting their 2010 conference August 18 – 21, 2010 in Knoxville, TN. More information as it becomes available can be found on the FGS website. The conference theme is entitled "Rediscovering America's First Frontier". And, the Alabama State Archives now contains the following online searchable databases and Indexes: 1867 Voter Registration Records, Alabama Civil War Service Card Files, Governor's Executive Orders (1943 – 2005) databases; Alabama Churches & Synagogues, Alabama City Directories, Local Government/County Records, Maps, Military Records, Newspapers and Vertical file indexes.

Carolina Comments states that the North Carolina Newspaper Digitization Project can now be researched online. According to the article, North Carolina first began publishing newspapers in August of 1751. Also, some 116 Bible records are now on the state's Family Records Project site.

Ohio Genealogy News has an informative article concerning the Ohio Genealogical Societies upcoming 2010 conference. This year's programs will be held at the Seagate Centre in Toledo, OH from April 22 – 24, 2010. This year's conference is entitled 'Guiding Your Way Through the Past". The conference includes over 50 programs from some nationally known speakers as well as six workshops which will be held on Thursday for early attendees. For more information, head over to the Ohio Genealogical Society's website. Also of note from the magazine, the Ohio Historical Society has begun work on The Ohio Newspaper Digitization Project which will initially include over 100,000 newspaper pages from 1880 – 1920.

The Kentucky Historical Society's Chronicle offers long-distance help to researchers through its professional research services. Their question to genealogists, "Are you ready to discover YOUR family's unique story?"  Resources searched include census records, marriage records, wills and historical and genealogical articles, just to name a few. The Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History is open from 10 AM to 4 PM Tuesday through Saturday. The society can be found at Kentucky Historical Society, or by calling 502.564.1792.

Traces magazine for Indiana researchers contains news that the Midwestern Roots 2010 Family History & Genealogy Conference will be held this year on August 6th and 7th with preconference activities taking place for those who come early on August 5th. The Indiana Historical Society website has available all the information concerning this year's conference.

Reminder: Friday, February 5th the library is hosting another in a series of the 'Sitting Up With the Dead' program which will begin at 6 PM and go to 11 PM. Robert Davis from Wallace State will offer a short program of interest to researchers. Cost is $20 per person and space is still available. Booking for the evening may be made by calling Library Administration at 532-5950.

Genealogy Workshop

Fact: The Alabama State Archives now has a searchable online database of Civil War Records. These records have been transcribed from the multitude of 3 x 5 index cards in the archives collection. To research this new database, go to http://www.archives.alabama.gov/civilwar

Tip: To view an exceptional collection of Civil War photos, go to http://www.mikelynaugh.com/VirtualCivilWar/