About Me

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Lake Mathews (Perris), CA, United States
Born in Illinois, I grew up in Wilmette, a northern suburb of Chicago. I have one sibling, an older brother. I am married, for the 2nd time now, to Butch & got 4 children in the deal. They have gone on to make me grandmother 25 times over & great-grandmother to over 20!. After many years working in industry, I got my bachelors and masters degrees in speech communication, & was a professor in that field for 13 years. I retired in 2001 & returned to school & got my doctorate in folklore. Now I meld my two interests - folklore & genealogy - & add my teaching background, resulting in my current profession: speaker/author/entertainer of genealogically-related topics. I play many folk instruments, but my preference is guitar, which I have been playing since 1963. I write the "Aunty Jeff" column for the Informer, newsletter of the Jefferson County NY Gen. Soc. I work in partnership with Gena Philibert-Ortega & Sara Cochran as Genealogy Journeys® where we focus on educating folks about Social History. More about that: genaandjean.blogspot.com. More on our podcasts: genjourneys.podbean.com. More about my own projects: Circlemending.org.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Countdown to the St. George Expo

Because I am writing this away from my own computer and my ability to access the images I have stored there, with no capability to re-capture them, this blog post will be sans cute pictures. So sorry. But the important parts are included: information about the St. George Family History Expo, taking place this coming weekend.

February can be a dreary month. We try to give it some humor with Groundhog Day at the onset, then give it some color and emotion with Valentine's Day in the middle of the month, and finally we attempt to restore its dignity about a week later with Presidents' Day (formerly a combination of the birthdays of Lincoln - before Valentine's - and Washington - after Valentine's; but now celebrated - by some - separately from Lincoln, whose birthday was restored to individual status while Washington's day remains combined with an honor to all Presidents . . . go figure). Anyway, by the end of the month, we're confused. The weather is often still oppressive with clouds, snow, and all manor of stuff from the sky - sometimes it seems as if the universe is confused as well.

But there is hope! Yes, Family History Expos has taken on the task of getting the "yuck" out of February and restoring it to it's proper place as Number 2 month (does that mean it tries harder? - allusion to the old Avis Rental Car commercials - it certainly seems to at times). For genealogists, it is time to poke our heads out of our holes (where many of us went to hide, along with the Groundhog, after the month began with the RootsTech conference - overwhelming many both by its size and wealth of information).

In St. George, Utah, genealogists of all levels of expertise will be converging on the Dixie Center where they will be educated in all things genealogy:
Being a Family History Consultant
The 1940 Census
Beginning Research
Intermediate Research
Advance Research
Specialized Research - by geographic areas, record types, etc.
Using Technology

There is bound to be something for everyone! And if you have an hour with nothing being offered that interests you, check out the exhibit hall and the many genealogy-related products, stop by the Blog House to meet the bloggers that are always keeping us updated on the latest information, or check with the "Ask an Expert" table to get some specialized help.

And if you come to the Expo, please be sure to look for me and say "hi!" - it's always nice to know that someone is reading these things.

Friday and Saturday, February 24 & 25 (see the website for all the details on the schedule, presenters, bloggers, exhibitors, and more).

NARA blog posts being pre-empted due to the 1940 Census

As I presume most of my readers know, besides my long absences between posts, I am a genealogy lecturer and am often asked to present new and updated material regarding topics of interest to the genealogy community. Such has been the case over the past couple of weeks as I prepare for presentations at the St. George Family History Expo, the Corona Genealogical Society, the Corona Family History Center, and other organizations in the area. I have been busy learning about and writing on the 1940 Census. It is coming in a matter of days (41, to be exact) and there is much to learn between now and then.

So I ask you to excuse my delinquency in other postings and know that it is for the greater good. And if you are particularly interested in the 16th Decennial Census, check my website (link on this page) and my presentation schedule to see if I will be giving this information at a location near you; or book me for your society to do so. Also, on the home page of my website, is a link to a handout (downloadable) that lists the websites and blogs dealing with this topic (up to date as of yesterday), along with some hints for making the April 2 release date less intimidating.

Once the Population Schedules have been released (in browsable format) on the various websites that will be carrying it (see the handout), I will be re-writing the presentation to give specific instructions on the procedures, using case studies to demonstrate with the actual Census pages providing clear examples (something the presentation lacks, at this moment). This is an on-going project.

Oh, and if YOU want to help, check out the Indexing instructions at FamilySearch.org - sign up to be a part of this unique and historic event!