Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Day #1 of NGS Conference in Kansas City

The annual conference of the U.S. National Genealogical Society opened today in Kansas City, Missouri. This year's event is co-hosted by the Missouri State Genealogical Association, the Mid-Continent Public Library, the Northland Genealogical Society, the APG (Association of Professional Genealogists) Heartland Chapter, and the Johnson County, Kansas, Genealogical Society. It's much too early to predict attendance numbers, but I must say that today's sessions were well attended.

The conference opened at 8:00 AM to a “packed house” with awards, introductions, and various speakers. When asked how many people were attending their first national genealogy conference, several hundred people stood up. Robert M. Sandfort, Ph.D., gave the opening session talk on Emigration to the Mouth of the Missouri – and Beyond.

NGS Conference in Kansas City

One of the largest genealogy conferences in North America takes place this coming week in Kansas City, Missouri. The 2008 National Genealogical Society's Conference in the States and Family History Fair will be held May 14 through 17, 2008.

The NGS annual conference is always a major event, and this year's edition is no different. In fact, I hear that the society has already sold more advance registrations than the total attendance of last year's conference. More than 175 presentations will be offered on a wide variety of topics, including “getting started in genealogy,” DNA, maps, ethnic studies, military records, land records, online web sites, research techniques, becoming a professional genealogist, records in various European countries, Civil War topics, and much, much more. Those presentations will be intermixed with workshops, luncheons, tours, receptions, and a banquet.

On the Road Again, This Time to Kansas City

I am headed out again this week. I will attend the annual conference of the National Genealogical Society. This year's event is being held in Kansas City.

This will be my twentieth NGS conference. I have attended all the NGS conferences in the past twenty-one years except for the one held in 1995. It will be interesting to contrast this year's event against those of former years. This year's event should have 1,500 or more attendees as well as 100 or so vendors. Attendees are expected from all over the United States plus a few from Canada, and I know of one from England who plans to be there. Exhibitors likewise will be from all over the U.S. as well as from Canada, Ireland, and England.

The EOGN “Laptop Lounge” at the NGS Conference

Once again, I expect to supply free Wi-Fi networking at the NGS conference being held this week in Kansas City, Missouri. If you are attending the conference, you should be able to check your e-mail and/or surf the web a bit at no charge. There's no need to feel isolated from the outside world simply because you are traveling. You can bring your own laptop or PDA or use one of my laptops to check your e-mail.

Footnote Users Meeting

Are you a frequent user of Footnote.com? Or are you interested in learning more about the site? Will you be at the NGS conference this week in Kansas City?

The Footnote.com team is looking to hear from people that use Footnote. As the Footnote.com blog states:

Every time we go to these events, we meet with great people that give us straight talk about Footnote.com; the good, the bad, and the ugly.

WDYTYAL - Day #3

If you have been reading this newsletter for the past couple of days, you know that I have been reporting from the "Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE!" event in London, England. Today was the third and final day of this exposition, and I have just returned to my hotel room. I'm exhausted, so I know that it must have been a successful event!

The final day was essentially a repeat of the first two. The crowds were a bit reduced today compared to Saturday although bigger than Friday's numbers. I never obtained a final count of the attendees as a few last-minute folks were still arriving when I was leaving. However, the crowds appeared to be significantly bigger than last year's report of nearly 13,000 people. I'm guessing the total attendance at this year's event was well over 15,000 paid admissions, perhaps 17,000 or more. I'll report the final numbers when I hear them. Whatever the final count, this has to be considered a successful show and one for others to emulate.

WDYTYAL - Day #2

Hello again from London. Today was the second day of the three-day genealogy/history/heritage conference held at the Olympia Exhibition Hall. The doors opened at 10 AM and, like yesterday, I approached the building at 9:55 AM. This time there was one major difference from yesterday: the queue of people waiting to get in was at least five times as long as yesterday's line! It went from the front entrance, up the street, around the corner and then stretched back for another long block on the next street. What’s more, the queue also stretched for some distance in the opposite direction. I never did see the end of the second queue; I have no idea how long it was.

I went for coffee.

Some time later I returned and was able to walk in into the exhibition hall without waiting. The place was already mobbed.

WDYTYAL – Day #1

Hello from London! Today I had an opportunity to attend the “Who Do You Think You Are? Live” exhibition held in Kensington. This is the second year of this huge show, and I believe it is the largest genealogy/history/heritage show in the world.

I arrived at the exhibition hall a few minutes before the 10:00 AM opening and found a long line of people patiently waiting to get in. I went for coffee rather than wait in line. I returned about twenty minutes later and found the queue had disappeared, the doors were open, and the show was underway. I already had a ticket, so I walked straight in.

Upcoming Events

The Upcoming Events section of this newsletter is published as a newsletter article once per month, usually in the first week of the month. However, you can also view the latest list of events at any time by clicking on "Upcoming Events" in the Navigation menu near the upper right corner of the page at http://www.eogn.com.

Each event is listed with the name, location and dates. Click on the name to see the details, including a link to the event's web page or to an e-mail address of someone who will provide still more information. The EOGN list of Upcoming Events is also available as an RSS newsfeed at http://www.trumba.com/calendars/eogns_calendar.rss.

If you would like to have your event added to this list, please send the information to meetings@eogn.com. We will publish the name of the event, the city and state/province/country where it is to be held, a very brief description and a web page URL or e-mail address to be used to obtain full details.

NOTE: We compile the list once a month. If you wait until the last minute to send the notice of your event, it might not make it into this month's listings.

On the Road Again, This Time to London

I am headed out again this week. This time it is for an international trip. I will attend the annual Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE! show in London, England. The name of that show is a mouthful, so I'll abbreviate it as WDYTYAL.

I was at this show last year and was impressed to see nearly 15,000 genealogists and history buffs at one three-day event. In fact, you can see the video that I created (with a lot of assistance from Roots Television) at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/05/national_histor.html. This year's show promises to be bigger and probably better.

Who Do You Think You Are? LIVE! is sponsored by Ancestry.co.uk and is also supported by The Times Archive. It will be held May 2nd through 4th in the Grand Hall, Olympia, Kensington.