Friday, July 2, 2010

LISA B. LEE, Speaker at Family History Day

It is a pleasure to introduce Lisa B. Lee who will be a speaker at Family History Day at the California State Archives.

A professional genealogist, Lisa B. Lee is the owner of GotGenealogy.com, where she publishes a monthly newsletter, the Got Genealogy Gazette, which provides timely and useful information to help genealogists make the most of their online genealogical searches. Ms. Lee is a graduate of the National Institute for Genealogical Studies (University of Toronto), where she obtained her Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies (PLCGS) with certificates in U.S., Canadian and Irish genealogy and methodology. Since the inception of ExpertConnect by Ancestry.com in 2009, Ms. Lee has been an Expert, and conducts professional research for clients all over the world on behalf of Ancestry.com. In addition to the Got Genealogy Gazette, dozens of her articles have been published in numerous genealogical journals and newsletters in North America.

Ms. Lee speaks and conducts workshops at genealogical societies and conferences in the U.S. and Canada where her animated style, infinite knowledge of everything internet, wit and perverted humor ensure that attendees will not only learn a lot but will have fun doing so. All of her workshops feature a free raffle where attendees can win valuable prizes, and if you ask her a genealogical question she can’t answer, you’ll win an awesome reward. Mind you, your question has to be pretty hard to stump her, especially since she’s memorized the internet by heart. If genealogy isn’t fun, then why do it?  She invites you to join her on FaceBook at www.facebook.com/got.genealogy?

Ms. Lee will be presenting two sessions:

Really Cool Ways to Find Black Ancestors Online: Whether your black ancestors were free or enslaved, their lives were documented in the U.S. and Canada. However, not all of this information has made it into online databases intact. Blacks are coded as whites, whites as mulattos, men as women, etc. You need to be aware of how to get around these shortcomings, and how to read subtle clues to help you differentiate your ancestor from another with the same name. Yes, the Freedman's Bank and Freedmens Bureau and incredibly important for researching blacks, but they're just the tip of the iceberg. I'll explain what it really means if your ancestor was listed as "Egyptian" or "Ethopian," and new ways to discover the name of the last legal slave owner in databases you've probably ignored. Finally, I'll show you which subscription databases are worth their weight in gold and which should be avoided like the plague.

Researching Canadians From Afar:  Just because you're thousands of miles away is no excuse for not researching and finding your Canadian ancestors. I'll show where to find useful military, land, church, cemetery, census and vital records, plus an amazing collection of online historical Canadian newspapers and digitized books. In addition, we'll examine what's at the various local and provincial archives and how to request information from the Library and Archives Canada. I'll explain why InterLibrary Loans are better than using the Family History Library system and show you a cheaper way to access Ancestry.ca (the Canadian version of Ancestry.com) without having to purchase the World Deluxe subscription.

Monday, June 28, 2010

LINDA TODD, Speaker at Family History Day

It is a pleasure to introduce Linda Todd as a speaker at Family History Day at the California State Archives.

Linda Todd was raised in Sacramento, California and attended California state colleges. She worked 40 years for the State of California. All of the time Linda worked for the state she was involved with computer technology. Linda has always been interested in her family history. She has spent more than 35 years researching family history. Her research has taken her to Germany, Texas, Ohio, Missouri and North Carolina. She currently works at the Regional Family History Center in Sacramento, helping patrons with their research and she also teaches classes at the Center as she continues her family research.

Linda Todd will be presenting Understanding and Organizing PC Files and Folders. All the information on your computer is stored in files. Learning how to use files and folders is a necessary skill for all computer users. This class will discuss the directory tree, creating and organizing files and folders, searching for files, techniques and tips on viewing and navigating through your files and folders.