Birmingham To Host Federation of Genealogical Societies National Conference

Interested in family history? Wondering where you might be able to attend a staggering number of genealogy workshops over the course of a few days? Well, wonder no more. Beginning on Wednesday, August 29, 2012, Birmingham will host the national conference of the Federation of Genealogical Societies at the BJCC. Everyone, not just those who belong to the member societies, is invited to the four-day conference. This year’s theme is “Learn. Connect. Succeed.” Almost 160 workshops are scheduled beginning as early as 8:00 a.m. on some days and going well past 5:00 p.m. Many notable speakers in the genealogy world will be on hand, such as Elizabeth Shown Mills, J. Mark Lowe, John Phillip Colletta, Christine Rose, and Alabama’s own Robert Davis.

A huge variety of sessions is on the schedule. Many courses are offered on such tried and true topics as military records, DNA testing in genealogy, searching courthouse records, and using the census. Some of the more esoteric sessions are about how the weather affected our ancestors, locating ancestors using academic archives, and documenting federal employees. Those researching African American or Native American ancestry might be interested in following one of the special tracks dedicated to these specific areas. It’s not all about work, though. An evening social is planned for Wednesday, August 29, at the Alabama Theatre and another is on Thursday, August 30, at Sloss Furnaces. There is also a farewell brunch on Sunday, September 1.

Of course attendees will also be eager to take advantage of the resources in the Library’s Southern History Department. We are excited about seeing many new faces and introducing them to our world class collection.

To see a complete list of sessions and to register, check out www.fgs.org.

Event: National Conference of the Federation of Genealogical Societies
Host: The Alabama Genealogical Society
Place: BJCC
Date: August 29-September 1, 2012
Times: FGS 2012 Conference Program
Cost: Registration fees

M.B. Newbill
Southern History Department
Central Library