NGS Announces Delegate Council Steering Committee

The National Genealogical Society is pleased to announce formation of the Delegate Council Steering Committee, an advisory group to help create the representative body for societies and organizations in the “new NGS.” The committee is an important step in the society's work to meet the needs of the genealogy community following the merger last October. 

Chair Dawn Carey Henry notes, "The Delegate Council will be a forum where genealogical organizations can collaborate, communicate, and counsel among member organizations as part of the new NGS. This is something all organizations need, especially now during these unprecedented times. The steering committee’s goal is to build the framework for the Delegate Council to ensure effective governance and operations. It established the name for the body, keeping the word ‘delegate’ in the title to honor the Federation of Genealogical Societies’ history of member representatives serving as delegates."

The steering committee will help establish the council’s procedures to provide regular engagement with and among member organizations and an avenue for feedback to the NGS board. The steering committee is planning a virtual kickoff workshop for delegates to be held 17 May 2021 in conjunction with the NGS 2021 Family History Conference.

The Steering Committee represents genealogical societies, libraries, and other organizations located throughout the United States. The members are:

• Chair Dawn Carey Henry, Michigan
• Vice-Chair W. Samuel Williams, Virginia
• Taneya Y. Koonce, MSLS, Tennessee
• Elissa Scalise Powell, CG®, CGL, Pennsylvania
• Susan K. Howard, New Mexico
• Laurie Hermance-Moore, MLS, AG®, Ohio
• Lois Abromitis Mackin, PhD, Minnesota
• Ari Wilkins, Texas

Cheri Hudson Passey, Vice President of Society & Organization Management, acts as committee liaison to the board of directors.

In the coming months, the committee will further define the roles and responsibilities of a delegate. It will also identify ways for member organizations to collaborate and communicate with each other and NGS.

Please join us in welcoming this very talented committee as they further the goals and interests of genealogists across the country and the world.

The January-March 2021 Issue of NGS Magazine is Now Online

 

The January–March 2021 issue of NGS Magazine, Volume 47, Number 1, is available online in the Members Only section of the website. This issue's theme is "Virginia research."

EDITOR'S NOTE by Deb Cyprych

Although the COVID-19 pandemic may force the NGS 2021 Family History Conference in Richmond to become completely virtual, Virginia research remains a vital topic for genealogists tracing ancestors with connections in Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky (once part of Virginia).

Family historians planning a research trip to any location may benefit from the steps outlined by Nicki Peak Birch. Her description of online resources, repositories, and the unique aspects of Virginia research—such as separate records for Virginia’s thirty-eight independent cities—gives genealogists a head start in their journey of discovery.

The Library of Virginia in Richmond is the premier destination for Virginia researchers. Virginia Dunn highlights its rich collections of published abstracts and indexes, manuscripts, maps, microfilmed county and city records, research guides, and digital collections.

Many assume that most free Black people lived in northern states prior to the Civil War, but half lived in slave states in 1860 including fifty-eight thousand in Virginia. Leslie Anderson explains the restricted legal status of free Black Virginians and the history of the state's underutilized free Negro registers, some beginning in the eighteenth century.

Legislative petitions offer personal details and stories of people in Virginia and other states. Jennifer Davis McDaid discusses the value and variety of petitions in Virginia Memory’s Legislative Petitions Digital Collection and the Race and Slavery Project's database of petitions in fifteen southern states.

German and Scots-Irish people headed south from Pennsylvania to settle in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia during the colonial period. Kathy Petlewski’s column describes their migrations and presents online resources for researching these settlers.

This issue kicks off a new column called Society Forum, dedicated to sharing ideas and advice for genealogical organizations. The first guest author is Julie Cahill Tarr, past editor of FORUM (formerly published by the Federation of Genealogical Societies), who describes an engaging way to involve society members: a genealogical scavenger hunt.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage, the history of the 1918 flu pandemic becomes even more relevant. Lori Lyn Price describes the similarities and differences of the two pandemics, with a focus on the impact of the 1918 pandemic on daily life and researching its local ramifications for ancestors.

Carla Cegielski’s column features By the People, a Library of Congress transcription project, and two Library of Virginia projects. Paul Woodbury continues his series of columns on genetic genealogy testing options by profiling the four major DNA testing companies: 23andMe, AncestryDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, and MyHeritage.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Features

• Preparing for a Research Trip to Virginia by Nicki Peak Birch, CG

• The Library of Virginia Welcomes Researchers by Virginia Dunn

• Free Negro Registers in Virginia by Leslie Anderson

• Public Records, Private Lives: Legislative Petitions by Jennifer Davis McDaid

• The 1918 Flu Pandemic: Impact on Daily Life by Lori Lyn Price, MAS, MLA

Departments

• PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE by Kathryn M. Doyle

• NGS NEWS

• SOCIETY FORUM
• Create a Scavenger Hunt for Your Members by Julie Cahill Tarr

• REFERENCE DESK
• Early Settlers in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia by Kathy Petlewski, MSLS
• TECH TIPS
• Transcription Projects: Giving Back by Carla S. Cegielski
• DNA DISCOVERY
• Where to Test? Genetic Genealogy Testing Options by Paul Woodbury

NGS Magazine is published quarterly to update members of the National Genealogical Society on NGS activities and to provide genealogists with special information and guidance on conducting effective genealogical research. The magazine is sent to libraries by subscription. Online access to NGS Magazine is available only as long as membership is active.

NGSQ December 2020 Issue is Now Online!

 

Oscar and Alcina Fortier Family, Summer 1893

The December 2020 issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Volume 108, Number 4, is available online in the Members Only section of the website. Please note that printed NGSQ delivery may be delayed by the U.S. Postal Service. 

CONTENTS:

FEATURE ARTICLES

• “The Identity of Alcina, Wife of Oscar Furkey of Quebec and Vermont” by Margaret R. Fortier, CG

• “Who Was the Mother of Samuel Kilbourn of Hartford County, Connecticut, and Baltimore City, Maryland?” by Gary L. Ball-Kilbourne, PhD, CG

• “Charles Olin and Charles Melville of Nebraska, Montana, California, Oregon, and Nevada: One Man or Two?” by Mary Kircher Roddy, CG
  
  

COMMUNICATIONS

EDITORS’ CORNER

• Claims and Assertions: A Matter of Fact

ADMINISTRATION

SIDELIGHTS

• Third Time Lucky?
• "Five Times a Widow"
• "An Awkward Discovery"

REVIEWS 

ANNUAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

ANNUAL INDEX

The National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ) is published four times per year, in March, June, September, and December. The journal is edited by Nancy A. Peters, CG®, CGLSM, and Allen R. Peterson, AG, CG®.

Happy Holidays from NGS!

The National Genealogical Society wishes you a joyous and hopeful holiday season.

We know many of you will not be able to celebrate with family and friends this year. To keep connected and stay safe, here are some things to do while distant:

• Share NGS’s “Nine Tips to Start Your Family History” with family and friends.

• Virtually connect using Zoom Lessons from Dear Myrtle and Cousin Russ.

• Be inspired by Kenyatta Berry, Maureen Taylor, Dan Earl, and Rick Voight.

Please Note: The NGS office will close for the holidays at 5:00 p.m. Wednesday, 23 December 2020 

and will reopen Monday, 4 January 2021, at 8:30 a.m.

 

Order NGS Holiday Special Gift Packages Now

 

Time Is Running Out to Order

Holiday Special Gift Packages from NGS

Time is running out to order holiday special packages from the National Genealogical Society for your family and friends. If you place your order before noon on 23 December, we will make sure that your gift recipient will be notified of your present before 24 December. 

All orders placed from noon on 23 December through 3 January will be processed on Monday, 4 January. Great savings on our holiday special gift packages end 5 January 2021.

These packages feature some of our most popular genealogy courses. They are ideal gifts for anyone on your holiday gift list who is interested in learning more about family history research because all of the courses are online using an e-learning system. Whether you purchase a package for a family member, a friend, or even for yourself, the recipients of your gifts can join from home or on-the-go and complete coursework at their own pace and on their own schedule.

Holiday Package #1: Save $30

Holiday Package #1 offers two online courses: Reading Old Handwriting and Transcribing, Extracting, and Abstracting Genealogical Documents.

Holiday Package #2: Save $25

Holiday Package #2 includes the War of 1812 Records course and Researching Your Revolutionary War Ancestors course.

Holiday Package #3: Save $25

Holiday Package #3 combines a DNA related online course and a video of a live-presentation lecture webinar. This package includes the course Understanding and Using DNA Test Results and the lecture, "Your Cousins Are Your Secret Weapon," by genetic genealogy expert Angie Bush, plus a four-page syllabus.

All online courses must be completed within six months of registration; however, an extension may be requested. To learn more, visit NGS. For more information about specific courses, see NGS Continuing Genealogical Studies.

NGS Holiday Special Gift Packages

Holiday Special Gift Packages from NGS

The National Genealogical Society is offering holiday special packages for some of its most popular genealogy courses with great savings for our members. This holiday offer is time limited. The sale starts 7 December 2020 and ends 5 January 2021.

These packages are ideal gifts for anyone on your holiday gift list who is interested in learning more about family history research because all of the courses are online using an e-learning system. Whether you purchase a package for a family member, a friend, or even for yourself, the recipients of your gifts can join from home or on-the-go and complete coursework at their own pace and on their own schedule.

Holiday Package #1: Save $30

Holiday Package #1 offers two online courses: Reading Old Handwriting and Transcribing, Extracting, and Abstracting Genealogical Documents.

Holiday Package #2: Save $25

Holiday Package #2 includes the War of 1812 Records course and Researching Your Revolutionary War Ancestors course.

Holiday Package #3: Save $25

Holiday Package #3 combines a DNA related online course and a video of a live-presentation lecture webinar. This package includes the course Understanding and Using DNA Test Results and the lecture, "Your Cousins Are Your Secret Weapon," by genetic genealogy expert Angie Bush, plus a four-page syllabus.

All online courses must be completed within six months of registration; however, an extension may be requested. To learn more, visit NGS. For more information about specific courses, see NGS Continuing Genealogical Studies.

Call for Proposals for NGS 2022 Family History Conference

 

NGS Announces Call for Proposals 

for 2022 Family History Conference

The National Genealogical Society will hold its 2022 Family History Conference, Our American Mosaic, in Sacramento, California, 25‒28 May 2022. We will open the call for proposals on 2 December 2020 and proposals will be accepted until 1 April 2021.

Across the dramatic landscape that became America, our diverse ancestors each contributed a precious piece to the colorful design of our American mosaic. In the West, Native American cultures have thrived for thousands of years. While eighteenth-century American colonists were fighting for independence from Great Britain in the East, the Spanish were establishing missions and military outposts in what is now California. The discovery of gold near Sacramento in 1848 sparked a frenzy of migration to California from Asia, Mexico, and the eastern states. The lure of western skies has continued to the present day, attracting ranchers, Dust Bowl refugees, the Great Migration of African Americans from the South, immigrants fleeing poverty or persecution, and technology entrepreneurs.

Our family histories make each of us unique, and our separate stories are a shared history within our American mosaic. Attendees at the 2022 NGS Family History Conference in Sacramento will benefit from lectures and workshops to help build skills in methodology and the use of records and resources to advance their genealogical research.

Conference tracks and topics under consideration include the following: African American research; Asian and Pacific Islander research; DNA; European and Middle Eastern research; Hispanic and Latin American ancestry; immigration and migration; methodology; Native American research; New England research; non-traditional families; records and repositories; reference services; society management; technology; the 1950s; western states; and writing.

Speakers who wish to submit lecture proposals may submit up to eight proposals electronically. The speaker compensation is described in detail on the website. Please visit the website for details about required speaker information and each submitted proposal.

NGS has a free webinar, Becoming a Better Conference Speaker: Proposals and Preparations, which can be found on the National Genealogical Society YouTube channel. Speakers are encouraged to view the webinar before beginning the proposal process.

NGS members will receive first consideration as speakers. Notifications for acceptance will be issued in the fall of 2021. Syllabus material, due 1 February 2022, is required for each lecture or workshop presentation and will be included in the syllabus distributed to all conference registrants. Speakers are expected to use electronic presentation programs and provide their own digital projector, laptop or tablet, and connector to the projector cable. NGS will provide projector support, which consists of a VGA or HDMI cable, cart, and power strip. Internet connections will not be provided in lecture rooms.

Happy Thanksgiving from NGS!

The National Genealogical Society wishes you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

In this very memorable year, we celebrate the strength of family connections. We are grateful to be connected to you.

Thank you for your continued support throughout the year. And an extra dose of gratitude to the many volunteers who make our success possible.

Be safe and stay well,

The NGS Staff and Board of Directors

Please Note: The NGS office will close for Thanksgiving at 3:00 p.m. Wednesday and will reopen Monday with normal business hours.

We thought you might enjoy Thanksgiving Goes Virtual: How to Carve Out New Traditions Amid the Ongoing Pandemic from the Washington Post. It includes suggestions from NGS on sharing family stories.