Fairfax Genealogical Society Program Schedule

Fairfax Genealogical Society
of Fairfax County, Virginia
A Worldwide Research Group
Our 36th Year

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2010-2011 Programs

Meetings are usually held at 7:30 P.M. in the Lecture Hall of
Kilmer Middle School
8100 Wolf Trap Road, Vienna, Virginia.
Admission is free and visitors are welcome.

Click here for map to Kilmer Middle School

Click here to contact our Vice President and Program Committee chair at Program with questions, comments, or suggestions.

Turning Fiction Into Fact

Laura G. Prescott

Are the family stories really true? Learn helpful, systematic strategies to discover the truth behind family legends and correct the family record, without losing the charm of the myth.

Genealogists are detectives at heart. We regularly stumble across unsubstantiated tales and rumors in need of clarification and verification. We have countless photos, family stories, and scraps of correspondence to interpret with little or no references with which to place them into context.

In this lecture we discuss strategies to take an uncited, perhaps apocryphal story or unidentified family memento, and discover the truth behind the family legend. Emphasis is placed on how to think outside the box in order to find related clues. Practical methodologies are explained, with examples of debunked myths in the research done by the speaker and others. Sometimes myths are not debunked because a kernel of truth led to the real story. Also discussed will be the importance of facing facts and then disseminating accurate information. It is important to set the record straight when it is verified that an ancestor did not arrive on the Mayflower, a great-great grandmother was involved in a shady profession, or a military distinction really belonged to the distant cousin, not the genealogist’s direct forebear.

Laura G. Prescott is a professional researcher, writer, and speaker. She graduated with a B.A. in History from Dartmouth College in 1980, ultimately putting her degree to good use over a decade later when she discovered a latent passion for genealogy. Laura is the vice president of the Association of Professional Genealogists, genealogy project manager for the Nickerson Family Association, and a consultant at Footnote.com. She lectures and writes for national audiences on a variety of genealogical and historical topics. She has made presentations at national, international, and regional conferences. Her specialties include the use of manuscripts in genealogical research, genealogy on the Internet, and weaving history with genealogy. Her work has appeared in Ancestry, NGS NewsMagazine, Digital Genealogist, New England Ancestors, and others.

Sep 23, 2010

12 Tips To Jump Start Your Genealogy
Oct 28, 2010

The DAR Genealogical Research System

Jennifer Dondero

Northern Virginians, take advantage of the online information available through the Daughters of the American Revolution’s Genealogical Research System (GRS). Once you’ve used it, take advantage of your easy access to the records it can uncover. This lecture will walk through the information available through the GRS, how to search the different tabs, and highlight sources for further information available online, at the DAR Library, and other local repositories.

Jennifer Dondero is a professional genealogist living in northern Virginia. Her areas of expertise are Northwest Georgia and the use of technology in genealogy. In addition to lecturing and teaching she performs client research, especially for lineage applications and southern research. She previously worked for the DAR as a genealogist before starting her own company. She is a member of the Fairfax Genealogical Society where she is co-coordinator for the Technology Special Interest Group and has served as 1^st Vice President for Programs and Education Chair. You can learn more about her at her website, www.jpgenealogy.com.

Nov 18, 2010

TBA

Jan 27, 2011

Beyond the Death Certificate
Phyllis Legare, CG
You have the death certificate, what next?? Knowing the Funeral Home and Cemetery leads to many additional records. If you don’t have the death certificate, but know the approximate date and location of death, additional sleuthing may lead you to the Funeral Home and Cemetery data. Come find out about burial and transit permits, sextons, finding old cemeteries, etc….

Phyllis Legare, a Certified Genealogist, has been researching for her family for eight years and for clients for four years. Phyllis’ main joy in Genealogy is finding the family stories. She loves to share her knowledge about genealogy research and also loves to learn – a never ending process for researchers. Phyllis is past Education Chair for the Fairfax Genealogical Society, having served for two years. She is currently (2009) the Newsletter Editor for the Mt. Vernon Genealogical Society.
Feb 24, 2011

TBA
Warren Bittner

Mar 24, 2011

Record Search - Acessing the Digital FHL Collection
Angela P. McGhie

Search millions of indexed records for free, including digital images of death certificates, state census records, probate files, parish records, and tax lists. Record Search is the place to access the digitized collection of Family History Library microfilm, and this presentation will show you how to get the most from the web site.

Angela Packer McGhie is a genealogical researcher, lecturer, and teacher. She is the Administrator of the ProGen Study Groups, Vice President of the local chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and Assistant Director of the Columbia Maryland Family History Center. She teaches genealogy courses at Howard Community College and conducts research for clients.
Apr 28, 2011

Reconstructing Families on the Colonial Frontier

John T. Humphrey, CG

Records kept during the colonial period can be difficult to find or they are often incomplete. This lack of information is a serious obstacle to research. This lecture explores strategies to get around obstacles by creatively using data found in the records that do exist.

John T. Humphrey CG, a Pennsylvania native, is the president of the Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society and a past vice president of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. He was the former director of the National Genealogical Society Learning Center. In 2008, at the request of the German Embassy, he gave the keynote address commemorating four-hundred years of Germans in America in Williamsburg, Virginia. He has authored the sixteen-volume Pennsylvania Births Series, two family histories and numerous articles. His most recent publication is Finding Your German Ancestors: A Practical Guide for Genealogists. During his career as a professional genealogist he organized and managed several national, state and local genealogical conferences. He will be the instructor for the German course at the Samford Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research in 2011.
May 26, 2011

Snow dates: If Fairfax County Schools are closed due to weather on the scheduled day of a meeting the meeting is postponed to the indicated snow date.

Click here to see our past years program schedules

Fairfax Genealogical Society
of Fairfax County, Virginia
A Worldwide Research Group
Our 36th Year

2010-2011 Programs

Meetings are usually held at 7:30 P.M. in the Lecture Hall of
Kilmer Middle School
8100 Wolf Trap Road, Vienna, Virginia.
Admission is free and visitors are welcome.

Click here for map to Kilmer Middle School

Click here to contact our Vice President and Program Committee chair at Program with questions, comments, or suggestions.

Turning Fiction Into Fact Laura G. Prescott Are the family stories really true? Learn helpful, systematic strategies to discover the truth behind family legends and correct the family record, without losing the charm of the myth. Genealogists are detectives at heart. We regularly stumble across unsubstantiated tales and rumors in need of clarification and verification. We have countless photos, family stories, and scraps of correspondence to interpret with little or no references with which to place them into context. In this lecture we discuss strategies to take an uncited, perhaps apocryphal story or unidentified family memento, and discover the truth behind the family legend. Emphasis is placed on how to think outside the box in order to find related clues. Practical methodologies are explained, with examples of debunked myths in the research done by the speaker and others. Sometimes myths are not debunked because a kernel of truth led to the real story. Also discussed will be the importance of facing facts and then disseminating accurate information. It is important to set the record straight when it is verified that an ancestor did not arrive on the Mayflower, a great-great grandmother was involved in a shady profession, or a military distinction really belonged to the distant cousin, not the genealogist’s direct forebear. Laura G. Prescott is a professional researcher, writer, and speaker. She graduated with a B.A. in History from Dartmouth College in 1980, ultimately putting her degree to good use over a decade later when she discovered a latent passion for genealogy. Laura is the vice president of the Association of Professional Genealogists, genealogy project manager for the Nickerson Family Association, and a consultant at Footnote.com. She lectures and writes for national audiences on a variety of genealogical and historical topics. She has made presentations at national, international, and regional conferences. Her specialties include the use of manuscripts in genealogical research, genealogy on the Internet, and weaving history with genealogy. Her work has appeared in Ancestry, NGS NewsMagazine, Digital Genealogist, New England Ancestors, and others.	Sep 23, 2010
12 Tips To Jump Start Your Genealogy	Oct 28, 2010
The DAR Genealogical Research System Jennifer Dondero Northern Virginians, take advantage of the online information available through the Daughters of the American Revolution’s Genealogical Research System (GRS). Once you’ve used it, take advantage of your easy access to the records it can uncover. This lecture will walk through the information available through the GRS, how to search the different tabs, and highlight sources for further information available online, at the DAR Library, and other local repositories. Jennifer Dondero is a professional genealogist living in northern Virginia. Her areas of expertise are Northwest Georgia and the use of technology in genealogy. In addition to lecturing and teaching she performs client research, especially for lineage applications and southern research. She previously worked for the DAR as a genealogist before starting her own company. She is a member of the Fairfax Genealogical Society where she is co-coordinator for the Technology Special Interest Group and has served as 1^st Vice President for Programs and Education Chair. You can learn more about her at her website, www.jpgenealogy.com.	Nov 18, 2010
TBA	Jan 27, 2011
Beyond the Death Certificate Phyllis Legare, CG You have the death certificate, what next?? Knowing the Funeral Home and Cemetery leads to many additional records. If you don’t have the death certificate, but know the approximate date and location of death, additional sleuthing may lead you to the Funeral Home and Cemetery data. Come find out about burial and transit permits, sextons, finding old cemeteries, etc…. Phyllis Legare, a Certified Genealogist, has been researching for her family for eight years and for clients for four years. Phyllis’ main joy in Genealogy is finding the family stories. She loves to share her knowledge about genealogy research and also loves to learn – a never ending process for researchers. Phyllis is past Education Chair for the Fairfax Genealogical Society, having served for two years. She is currently (2009) the Newsletter Editor for the Mt. Vernon Genealogical Society.	Feb 24, 2011
TBA Warren Bittner	Mar 24, 2011
Record Search - Acessing the Digital FHL Collection Angela P. McGhie Search millions of indexed records for free, including digital images of death certificates, state census records, probate files, parish records, and tax lists. Record Search is the place to access the digitized collection of Family History Library microfilm, and this presentation will show you how to get the most from the web site. Angela Packer McGhie is a genealogical researcher, lecturer, and teacher. She is the Administrator of the ProGen Study Groups, Vice President of the local chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and Assistant Director of the Columbia Maryland Family History Center. She teaches genealogy courses at Howard Community College and conducts research for clients.	Apr 28, 2011
Reconstructing Families on the Colonial Frontier John T. Humphrey, CG Records kept during the colonial period can be difficult to find or they are often incomplete. This lack of information is a serious obstacle to research. This lecture explores strategies to get around obstacles by creatively using data found in the records that do exist. John T. Humphrey CG, a Pennsylvania native, is the president of the Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society and a past vice president of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. He was the former director of the National Genealogical Society Learning Center. In 2008, at the request of the German Embassy, he gave the keynote address commemorating four-hundred years of Germans in America in Williamsburg, Virginia. He has authored the sixteen-volume Pennsylvania Births Series, two family histories and numerous articles. His most recent publication is Finding Your German Ancestors: A Practical Guide for Genealogists. During his career as a professional genealogist he organized and managed several national, state and local genealogical conferences. He will be the instructor for the German course at the Samford Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research in 2011.	May 26, 2011

Fairfax Genealogical Society of Fairfax County, Virginia A Worldwide Research Group Our 36th Year

2010-2011 Programs

Meetings are usually held at 7:30 P.M. in the Lecture Hall of Kilmer Middle School 8100 Wolf Trap Road, Vienna, Virginia. Admission is free and visitors are welcome.

Click here for map to Kilmer Middle School

Click here to contact our Vice President and Program Committee chair at Program with questions, comments, or suggestions.

Fairfax Genealogical Society
of Fairfax County, Virginia
A Worldwide Research Group
Our 36th Year

Meetings are usually held at 7:30 P.M. in the Lecture Hall of
Kilmer Middle School
8100 Wolf Trap Road, Vienna, Virginia.
Admission is free and visitors are welcome.