UpFront with NGS: November 2010

29 November 2010

Discovery Channel Series Seeking Heirlooms

Discovery Channel series looking for people who have objects or heirlooms that might have historical significance

Have you uncovered something unique in your attic or backyard? Do you have a family heirloom with an amazing story?

We are producing a new television series about people who believe they have objects of historical, cultural or scientific importance – an item that is possibly linked to an historic person, place or event. Our hosts, both professors at major universities, hope to help participants and viewers learn about these items and find out if the story behind them is real, as well as ways to preserve artifacts and history. We are looking for people who have not yet taken these objects for authentication or appraisal.

We are filming across the United States. Our next two episodes will be filmed in Louisiana in mid December and Florida in January.

*Please note: we are not interested in featuring individuals who have obtained artifacts illegally or those who have been involved in the intentional looting or destruction of archaeological sites. We are not interested in featuring individuals whose sole purpose is monetary gain.

Please email us at [email protected]

Thank you very much. We look forward to hearing from you!

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Republication of UpFront articles is permitted and encouraged for non-commercial purposes without express permission from NGS. Please drop us a note telling us where and when you are using the article. Express written permission is required if you wish to republish UpFront articles for commercial purposes. You may send a request for express written permission to [email protected]. All republished articles may not be edited or reworded and must contain the copyright statement found at the bottom of each UpFront article.

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26 November 2010

NARA - A Charter For Change

Back in late October, The Archivist of the United States (AOTUS) Blog discussed the plans for transforming the agency (the National Archives) to become a more open, transparent, participatory, and collaborative agency.

A task force was charged to draft a plan for the agency’s transformation. The final report, A Charter for Change, is now available for the public to view.

The report identifies six guiding principles that will be the pillars of how NARA intends to do business in the future:

One NARA: work as one NARA and not just as component parts.
Out in Front: Embrace the primacy of electronic information in all facets of our work and position NARA to lead accordingly.
An Agency of Leaders: Foster a culture of leadership, not just as a position but as the way we all conduct our work.
A Great Place
to Work: Transform NARA into a great place to work that trusts and empowers all of our people, the agency’s most vital resource.
A Customer-Focused Organization: Create structures and processes to allow our staff to more effectively meet the needs of our customers.
An Open NARA: Open our organizational boundaries to learn from others

Comments on the plan are welcome and may be left at the AOTUS blog.

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Suggestions for topics for future Upfront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to [email protected].

24 November 2010

Thanksgiving Traditions

As Kimberly Powell states in her post Top 5 Family Thanksgiving Traditions, “Traditions are a big part of the Thanksgiving holiday, and every American family has their own way of celebrating. From stuff the turkey to taking in a football game …”

Such traditions are part of our heritage. Many of what have become your family’s traditions probably reflect traditional practices that you and/or a spouse grew up with or new traditions created for your new family.

I can tell you that on Thanksgiving my family always has turkey with stuffing (no giblets), mashed potatoes, rolls, cranberry sauce (served from a can and in slices) 5 cup salad, a vegetable, and pumpkin pie with cool whip topping just like I always had growing up. After living in the south for many years we added sweet potatoes prepared with brown sugar, marshmallow crème, and spices as a requirement.

Since my mother was born in the

, we’ve also been known to have Christmas Crackers at Thanksgiving, though more often at Christmas and New Years Eve festivities.

I grew up watching the Macy’s day parade and we have continued to do that, though now afterwards we watch The National Dog Show after my children fell in love with it many years ago.

Some families have traditions of sharing Thanksgiving with parents, siblings, etc. We’ve always lived far enough away from family to not make that practical, although it is a beloved tradition for many.

What are your Thanksgiving traditions? Are they the traditions of your parents or your grandparents? Maybe you have traditions with deeper historic roots. We would love to hear about your Thanksgiving traditions and whether they are family traditions or new traditions.

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22 November 2010

NARA Program -- Lincoln and Haiti: Colonization and Haitian Recognition During the Civil War

Thursday, December 2, at 7 p.m.
William G. McGowan Theater
Lincoln and Haiti: Colonization and Haitian Recognition During the Civil War
As the Civil War continued, lawmakers, abolitionists, and colonizationists debated Federal support for colonization and the relocation of a significant portion of the slave population from the United States to the Caribbean. A panel will discuss Lincoln’s interest in colonization and emancipation, and how the Haiti colonization project influenced the decision to extend U.S. diplomatic recognition to Haiti in 1862. Moderated by Jeffrey R. Kerr-Ritchie, Howard University, panelists include Franklin Knight, John Hopkins University; James D. Lockett, Stillman College; Phillip Magness, American University; and Debra Newman Ham, Morgan State University. This program is presented in partnership with NARA’s Office of Regional Records Services and the Johns Hopkins Center for Africana Studies.

A full list of NARA I events is found at http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/events/ and includes upcoming programs and exhibit highlights.

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21 November 2010

UpFront with NGS -- What we let you know about!

To help us help you, we want to let you know what kinds of information NGS posts via this Upfront with NGS blog. This way, if you haven’t been sending us material that meets the requirements for what we do post, we hope you will start doing so. Additionally, if you have been asking us to post notices and have been wondering why they haven’t been showing up, now you know why not.

1. Any NGS news – new courses, new videos, new publications, new events, etc.

2. Conference announcements, call for papers, etc., for subscribing organizations. This means that your organization must have an active NGS membership if it wants us to post items about its upcoming events. Membership will be verified before such notices are published. If your organization is a member, please send requests to be published to [email protected] and put NGS Member in the header. All general press releases will be ignored unless they fall under categories 3 and 4 below. The blog editor receives too many such notices to try and determine which notices are from NGS members.

If your organization is not yet an NGS member, consider an “Organizational Subscription.”

Did you know that NGS members and subscribing organizations can also have event listings posted to http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/event_calendar? Follow the guidelines on that page to start having your events listed.

3. Posts about pending legislation at the state or federal level that would impact access to and preservation of records used by genealogists.

4. Announcements from NARA and state archives and libraries.

5. General news of interest to the genealogy community as identified by the blog editor. If you have a news item you would like to suggest, please drop a note to [email protected].

I hope this gives you a better sense of the types of material that are posted at Upfront with NGS.

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19 November 2010

Suddie Bill Mumford

Though we are excited to bring you news of the 1^st RootsTech conference, we are saddened to share with you the news that Bill Mumford, known as "Suddie" to his many friends, passed away in Calgary, Alberta, and so will not be able to attend a conference whose topics would have been close to his heart.

As reported in Dick Eastman’s column “Bill was best known for many years for producing Mumford's Genealogical Software Report Card, a side-by-side comparison of all the leading and some not-so-leading genealogy programs of the time ... His exhaustive detective work helped many people decide which genealogy program they wanted use. Software developers also used his "Report Card" to help find the deficiencies of their own programs when compared to the competition … Because of Mumford's Genealogical Software Report Card, we all enjoy better software today. Bill Mumford also was the project leader of the GenTech GEDCOM Testbook Project and was a director of GenTech … He was a contributing editor for the National Genealogical Society Newsmagazine, a former vice chair of the Alberta Family Histories Society, and a past chair of The Alberta Family Histories Society Computer Group.”

You can also read an online obituary.

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Don’t Miss the $99 Early Bird Registration for RootsTech 2011 in Salt Lake City!

· A new family history and technology conference to define how technology will support genealogy in the future

· 10-12 February 2011

· Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah

· Early bird registration ends 7 January 2011

You have never seen anything quite like this—the first annual RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake City will be in a league of its own. From the Community Zone and participant-driven unconferencing discussions to the RootsTech Playground, this conference is going to be ground-breaking and unique. Think major technology creators (Microsoft, Dell, FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, and brightsolid) and technology users (genealogists and family history buffs) coming together in a fun, collaborative environment for three days to learn new, technology-based skills and define the future of family history through technology!

Millions of genealogists use technology daily to help them in their ancestral pursuits. Attend the first RootsTech Conference to

ü see firsthand how new and emerging technologies can improve and simplify your activities;

ü help influence the future of genealogy;

ü learn and share new ways to adapt technologies to genealogy;

ü engage in emerging technology demonstrations;

ü help leading-edge technology providers better understand your needs and how to satisfy them.

There will be sessions of interest to novice, intermediate, and advanced users of genealogical technology. The intended skill level for each session is noted in the RootsTech Conference program.

The sessions will include

· hands-on workshops;

· interactive presentations;

· sneak peek demonstrations of new products and services;

· panel discussions;

· common interest gatherings;

· unconferencing discussions (last minute, on-the-fly sessions requested by attendees).

Go to RootsTech.org to see the full list of topics and sessions.

· $99 through 7 January 2011

· $150 beginning 8 January 2011

RootsTech is sponsored by Microsoft, Dell, FamilySearch, the National Genealogical Society, brightsolid, Ancestry.com, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and Brigham Young University.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Though the National Genealogical Society is a co-sponsor of this event, this is a distinct event from the NGS Family History Conference which will take place in Charleston, 11-14 May 2011. The registration for this annual NGS conference will open on 1 December 2010.

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Suggestions for topics for future Upfront with NGS posts are always welcome. Please send any suggested topics to [email protected].

15 November 2010

NGS Video Productions Presents: LauraDeGrazia (CG)

For your Thanksgiving viewing NGS is pleased to present you with two new segments from the NGS Online Video Series. Laura DeGrazia (CG), former president of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, tells the story of how she became a genealogist and shares tales of her family and ancestors in videos titled Becoming a Genealogist (28.5MB) and My Ancestors (27.1MB).

Also showing for our members

· Getting Young People Interested in Genealogy (21.2 MB) – Leslie Anderson, MSLS

· We Are All Cousins (43.1 MB) – Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASC, FNGS, FUGA

· FamilySearch & the Family History Library (43.3MB) – David Rencher, AG, CG, FIGRS, FUGA

· Letters from My Ancestors (47.2MB), Willis H White, CG

Log in, click on the Members Only tab, and then click on NGS Videos in the sidebar menu to see the full list of videos available to you.

If you are curious about “how” NGS creates these videos, please check out the article, "Now playing at NGS", by Arlene V Jennings, CG, in the current issue of the NGS Magazine, now available online to members and arriving soon in your mailbox.

These and more are now showing for everyone

· Inspiring Others (14.8MB) – Thomas Adams, 2009 Rubincam Youth Award Winner

· Stories from My Research (29.7MB) -- Helen F. M. Leary, CG (EMERITUS), FASG, FNGS

· Paths to Your Past (88MB) – National Genealogical Society

· National Genealogical Society Home Study Course (17.3 MB)

· National Genealogical Society Conferences (27.6MB)

· Finding Your Family at the National Archives (25.8MB)

· NGS & NARA (21.4MB)

All of us at NGS wish you and your family a blessed holiday.

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