Happy New Year!

(Thanks to former StLGS president, Fran Behrman, for contributing to this week's blog.)

Welcome to StlGS. How can it be that another year has passed? Time really does fly when there is so much to do and discoveries to make. I hope that 2018 was a successful year for each of you as genealogists. Looking back, what was your major breakthrough? Are you starting to write the story of your family's history? How about contributing a biography or two to the society's St. Louis City/County Biographies Project? Always more to do and accomplish.

We have some upcoming programs and events to assist you in 2019 that we hope will give you more insight, beginning in January with our popular Ask Louie panel discussion. Here's an opportunity to ask a question or two and get the expertise of StLGS volunteers in helping with answers.

In February, StLGS past-president, Ted Steele, is spotlighted at our monthly meeting and will be talking about “Putting Meat on the Bones.” Ted has authored numerous family histories and the depth that he brings to each subject is informative and thorough. Putting meat, so to speak, behind the story of a person brings life and interest. So be there!

Our programs director has done her work in scheduling and the technology team has been busy updating the website with all the flyers and information you need to begin planning for next year's genealogy meetings.

To obtain flyers and updated information on the monthly meetings, special events, and Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings for 2019, here are some links to the society's website:

Click here to go to the Calendar of Events page.

Click here for the German SIG meetings for 2019.

Click here for the Irish SIG meetings for 2019.

Click here for the Jewish SIG meetings for 2019.

You know we have doing this for fifty-plus years, and it is always amazing that there is something new to learn and apply to our research. We hope you will plan ahead and attend all our upcoming events.

May your year ahead be filled with great discovery. And let us take a cup of kindness for Auld Lang Syne.

Fran

                 🔷

Classes for winter/spring are in the planning stage and will be ready to go online shortly after the new year. We'll have more on them and other January/early February meetings next week.

 

From all of us at StLGS, a very Healthy and Happy New Year!

 

 

Visit our website: www.stlgs.org

Irish Seminar and Happy Holidays!

Irish Seminar

NGS Annual Conference Pre-Conference Event

Tuesday, 7 May 2019

Begins at 8:15 a.m.; five lectures and lunch

Fee ($110) and pre-registration required

As part of the annual National Genealogical Society Conference to be held in St. Charles, Missouri, St. Louis Genealogical Society, the local host, is happy to announce this exciting all-day event for those doing Irish research. This unique seminar brings five specialists in Irish research to St. Louis for a variety of classes, a special syllabus, and a chance to network throughout the day.

Lectures include:

• "What is an Irish Surname," by John Grenham (One of the foremost experts in Irish research, Mr. Grenham is an author and internationally-known lecturer. He is a fellow of the Irish Genealogical Research Society and the Genealogical Society of Ireland.)
• "Irish Reverse Genealogy," by John Grenham
• "Introduction to Irish Law Libraries and their Records," by David E. Rencher (Mr. Rencher is currently the director of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and the chief genealogical officer of FamilySearch. He is past-president of the Federation of Genealogical Societies and a specialist in Irish research. He is both a certified and an accredited genealogist, a fellow of the Irish Genealogical Research Society and the Utah Genealogical Association.)
• "Irish Immigration to the Port of New Orleans: Old Irish, New Irish, and Those Who Travelled to the Interior," by Beth Stahr (Ms. Stahr has a Master's in Library Science and is a certified genealogist. She is a librarian, an instructor and a nationally-known lecturer.)
• "Irish Records of Anglo Irish," by John Grenham

In addition:

• Yes, you can register for this intensive day of learning without attending the conference.
• You should plan to arrive at the location no later than 8:00 a.m. to check in and get seated.
• There is free parking at the St. Charles Convention Center, just blocks from Interstate 70 and minutes from the St. Louis airport. Click here for a Google map showing the exact location.

Ready to register or to learn more? Click here to go to the NGS pre-conference page.

❖

From all of us at St. Louis Genealogical Society to all our members and friends, we hope you are having the most joyful of holidays, surrounded by family and friends, warmth and peace. Because of your blogger's holiday schedule, we wish you a belated but sincere Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas!

 



Visit our website: www.stlgs.org

African American Seminar in May and More News

African American Seminar

NGS Annual Conference Pre-Conference Event

Tuesday, 7 May 2019

Begins at 8:15 a.m.; five lectures and lunch

Fee ($110) and pre-registration required

As part of the annual National Genealogical Society Conference to be held in St. Charles, Missouri, St. Louis Genealogical Society, the local host, is happy to announce this exciting all-day event for those doing African American research. This unique seminar brings five specialists in African American research to St. Louis for a variety of classes, a special syllabus, and a chance to network throughout the day.

Lectures include:

• "Cluster Research: Finding Your Lost Ancestors" by Deborah A. Abbott, Ph.D. (Dr. Abbott is an instructor in several national genealogy programs, a trustee for the Ohio Genealogical Society, a board member of the Federation of Genealogy Societies, and a specialist in manuscript collections and methodology.)
• "Researching African American Ancestors in Federal Records," by LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, J.D.) Dr. Garrett-Nelson, who holds both a Master's and Doctorate in law, is a trustee of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, a lecturer and author, especially about African Americans in the South.)
• "African American Magazines, Serials, and Other Publications," by Timothy N. Pinnick (Mr. Pinnick is an author, lecturer, and an associate instructor in the Researching African American Ancestors course at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, University of Georgia.)
• "Separate but Unequal: Slave Laws and their Records," by Judy G. Russell, J.D. (Dr. Russell has both a degree in law and certification as a professional genealogist and lecturer; she specializes in guiding researchers through "the murky territory where law, history, and genealogy come together," and writes a blog called The Legal Genealogist.
• "Slave Narratives," by Ari Wilkins (Ms. Wilkins works at the Dallas Public Library and specializes in African American research.)

In addition:

• Yes, you can register for this intensive day of learning without attending the conference.
• You should plan to arrive at the location no later than 8:00 a.m. to check in and get seated.
• There is free parking at the St. Charles Convention Center, just blocks from Interstate 70 and minutes from the St. Louis airport. Click here for a Google map showing the exact location.

Ready to register or to learn more? Click here to go to the NGS pre-conference page.

❖

Thank you!

To all who responded to our request for donations, thank you so much! We are so appreciative of your support and your willingness to be part of the success of StLGS. If you haven't yet had a chance to send in your donation, please do so. Every dollar you donate goes directly to providing you with classes, programs, and special events; adding databases and continuously updating the website, and ensuring valuable records are digitized, indexed, and shared with genealogists. If you would like to make a donation using our online store, click here.

Please Note: We are dropping our post office box.

We know that many of our members like to keep old booklets and envelopes and reuse them. We are heartily in favor of recycling; however, we are closing our post office box in Maplewood as of the first of the new year, so anything you have with that address will no longer reach us.

Our correct mailing address is #4 Sunnen Court, Suite 140, St. Louis, MO 63143.

In Memoriam: Mildred Sharp

We recently learned that our society's oldest member, Mildred Sharp, passed away in late November at the age of 108! Mrs. Sharp, who lived in Kirkwood, was born in Brooklyn, New York, to German immigrants. She grew up in New York and New Jersey, coming to St. Louis in the 1930s when she married. She was a teacher in the Kirkwood and Rockwood School Districts. After her husband

retired, they traveled extensively, and after his death, she was active in a number of crafts and church organizations. She was a member of the German Club of St. Louis and remained a member of StLGS for many years. When she called into the society at age 104 to say she couldn't remember when her dues were due, we gave her a life membership, which, we are happy to report, she was able to use for her remaining years. We extend our condolences to her son John and his wife, her daughters-in-law, and her grand and great-grandchildren. (Photo of Mildred Sharp and information about her from Bopp Chapel, www.boppchapel.com, and used with permission.)



 



Visit our website: www.stlgs.org

2018 Holiday Gift Ideas for Your Favorite Genealogist

It's a bit late for Chanukah this year, so we apologize to those of you who needed gifts a bit early, but for those of you looking for some ideas on how to make your favorite family historians happy for the holidays, we offer the following suggestions (in no particular order) . . .

Technology-related Gifts

1. Flash/thumb drives for using in libraries and sharing or moving files
2. A portable external hard drive for extra storage or backing up files
3. A subscription to an online/cloud backup plan such as Backblaze or Carbonite
4. Extra supplies for digital equipment: memory cards, batteries, portable mini-tripods
5. A subscription to Ancestry, FindMyPast, Newspapers.com or any similar service
6. A DNA testing kit (Choose one of the major companies: FamilyTree DNA, Ancestry, or 23andMe. Select the one that has the most people in its database that are similar to your recipient. The more people with the same background in the database, the more accurate the results.)
7. A genealogy software program or an upgrade to an existing program
8. Gift cards to the Apple App Store or Google Play Store or to the appropriate store for their particular smart phone or tablet so they can buy additional apps
9. Gift certificates to local community colleges or adult education sponsors for classes and practice in using technology

Not Technological

1. Archival quality photo storage boxes or photo albums
2. Acid-free photo mounting supplies and/or photo marking pens
3. Acid free, archival quality sheet protectors and/or paper
4. Good quality three or four-inch D-ring binders for storing copies of sheets and documents
5. Gift certificates to St. Louis Genealogical Society (or other local historical/genealogical societies) for membership, publications, and/or special events

Books!

Almost all genealogists are book lovers and you can't go wrong with adding to their collections. Try some of these . . .

1. Any of the QuickSheets by noted genealogist Elizabeth Shown Mills (or, better yet, her excellent book on source citations, Evidence Explained)
2. The series of Genealogy at a Glance laminated booklets available in a variety of ethnicities: German, Irish, French, etc.
3. Books on states of interest; for instance, any of the NGS Genealogy in the States series
4. Books that are specific to areas of interest: neighborhoods, religions, occupations, or any other unique aspect of their family history

Remember, as a StLGS member, you are entitled to a discount on many of the products in our online store. Be sure to log in as a member to get your discount code before you shop. Click here to go to the StLGS online store. Or come by the office and see what we have available in our lobby sales area. We also have gift certificates available for any amount you choose. Have fun doing your holiday shopping or just treating yourself to a gift.






Visit our website: www.stlgs.org

NGS Conference Registration Begins Thurs., 6 December 2018

Your "Journey of Discovery" in May 2019 will officially begin on Thursday, 6 December 2018 when conference registration opens at 10 a.m. Eastern time.

Although the National Genealogical Society (NGS) originally announced 1 December as the opening date for registration, it was necessary to postpone that date due to the launching of the NGS's new website.

According to an NGS press release, the decision was made so they could "provide full staff and technology support on Opening Day. This is the first conference registration event on our new website, and we want the registration process to go smoothly. We ask for your patience and understanding as we do further testing."

Now that you have additional time before you can sign up, what can you do to get ready?

• If you are an NGS member visiting the new website for the first time, be sure to use these extra days to reset your password, log in, and become familiar with the redesigned layout. You can use your previous password as long as you follow the easy steps to reset it (or you can create a new one).
• If you are not a member of NGS, check out the benefits of membership on the website and follow the directions to create a guest profile prior to registration day. That will speed up the process for you when you are ready to sign up.
• Have you got your registration booklet? The extra days now give you time to plan out your conference week and decide which extra seminars, workshops, luncheons, dinners, and other special events you'd like to attend.
• Still haven't downloaded your registration booklet? You can access the booklet from NGS by clicking here. Or, you can access the NGS website from the StLGS website by clicking here.

National conference seminars, workshops, luncheons, and other special events typically sell out quickly, so having a few more days to decide how to make the most of your conference experience can be very beneficial. Have fun planning!

Visit our website: www.stlgs.org