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Is anyone else amazed sometimes of the actual geography of somewhere? I don’t mean by a map, I mean where you have actually visited somewhere & suddenly realise that two or perhaps three places were closer than you originally thought. Of course, when that happens, it means perhaps you need to consider where in the locality you are going to research, whether that be by visiting or by using the Internet. Where I grew up in Surrey was quite close to my ancestral stomping ground. Surrey borders Berkshire, Hampshire, Sussex, Kent and of course Middlesex. I had always known that and of course living in the area took it for granted. A few years ago my husband and I ventured back to my native Surrey and had elected to stay in one of the budget hotels. We only needed somewhere to sleep as during the day I would be researching and hubby would be fishing. Guildford is notoriously expensive in the hotel market, so we ventured down to Liphook which was the exact area where my Grandmother’s maternal line had lived. I can not read a map with any degree of success, so we took a wrong turn, and headed under a railway bridge. Then suddenly I saw the County sign reading Sussex. Quickly we stopped the car and I asked hubby how far we were out of Liphook. The answer was less than a mile. It was one of those moments when your heart races a little faster as you comprehend just what you have discovered. Please tell me that you have all had those moments, otherwise I had best see a Doctor! We retraced our steps and made it to the hotel. Sorted ourselves out, we had to, we had only just arrived and then went off to ... Read More »

Of the many sessions offered during the course of the week at the NGS 2013 Family History Conference; several focused on the western states and resources available to those of us on “this side” of the Mississippi. One such presentation was given today, entitled “The Civil War in the American West,” with Rick Sayre, CG, CGL. (Find more information on the presenter: APG Profile) (For those of you with access to the conference syllabus, you can find this session on page 141.) During the war, the Trans-Mississippi West theatre’s primary operations were in Missouri, Indian Territory, and New Mexico. Although the duration of the lecture was very interesting, one effort made by Mr. Sayre caught my attention; and that was providing numerous references to attendees for further reading. His bibliography included twenty-two sources. Some of those included: (Brown, Dee Alexander. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1963.) . (Josephy, Alvin M. New York; A.A. Knopf, 1991.) . (McPhersoon, James M. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.) . (Wagner, Margaret E., Gary W. Gallagher, and Paul Finkelman. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002.) Other interesting titles that were mentioned, but not provided in the bibliography included: . (Pittman, Dr. Walter Earl. The History Press, 2011.) . (Cottrell, Steve. Pelican Publishing, 1995.) One of the many tools provided for research of this nature was the concept of how to approach your search. Mr. Sayre suggested understanding, in this order: The war. Utilizing general resources for understanding the war, the political and social climate of the time. The organization. Look to The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference (see above) for a broad overview of how the two sides of the conflict were internally organized and managed their forces. The records. As the vast majority of records are held within the National Archives ... Read More »

There is incredible value in traditional conference sessions. The person chosen to speak on a topic stands in the front of the room, gives the audience a pre-planned, rehearsed presentation. The audience in turn listens attentively, takes notes, makes a valiant attempt to suck in as much as possible of the information that speaker is providing. But there is another, just as valuable option. There are many conferences around the world – not necessarily genealogy conferences – do it very well. It’s called un-conferencing, and it can take many forms. Sitting here in the airport waiting for my flight, I do not believe that the NGS 2013 Family History Conference in Las Vegas has any un-conference events on the official schedule. However…. There are several events that are taking place in the exhibit hall, the internet café, and other sites around the conference center that have been able to partner with the team at NGS to utilize this event to showcase their products, collaborative projects and educational opportunities, and much more. The team at The In-Depth Genealogist is incredibly excited to be leading one such event: #genchat LIVE! from NGS 2013! We are grateful to the Conference Committee and to the incredible generosity of sponsors Findmypast and FamilySearch for the complimentary internet service; allowing us to make all of this possible. In the exhibit hall, there is one group of people we know of specifically that are bringing this un-conferencing experience to their booth. Pentandra is providing what appear to be extremely comfy red chairs for many of us to take advantage of. They are planning a series of scheduled conversations, on a variety of topics, and are hoping to create an engaging and dynamic space for people to share, collaborate and generally come together during the conference. Instead of ... Read More »

Here we are, at the end of our first full day in Las Vegas for the NGS 2013 Family History Conference. As we sat discussing what this post should be, we were able to pinpoint exactly what the topic shall be: the people. At various times during the day, we were sitting in the Internet Café, people watching. We were mingling with volunteers, other conference participants, bloggers and even a speaker here and there. We were able to catch J Paul Hawthorne, Randy Seaver, Denise Levenick, Stefani Evans (the conference chair), Craig Scott, Valerie Elkins… even a glimpse of D Joshua Taylor from across the lobby. We made it to the APG Roundtable in the evening, and heard comments from Michael Hait, J Mark Lowe, and many more. All in all, a pretty good round of people considering the conference has not even officially begun yet! What really stuck out, though? It was Mary Jane and Julie. Who are Mary Jane and Julie? They are genealogists. Isn’t that about all that matters this week? We met Mary Jane and Julie while waiting for our table for dinner at Burger Bistro, just around the corner from the registration desk. We started chatting, and the conversation was entertaining, enlivened, and interesting. When the hostess came to seat us, we invited our new friends to join us, because… well… why not? We all have a common interest, we had some lively conversation going, and we could sit and share a meal. We learned that one of these lovely ladies is practically neighbors with one of our own at IDG. We learned that we shared a common interest in Irish research, the DAR and military history. We were able to swap ideas and stories with one another, and we had an amazing time doing ... Read More »

Most wars throughout history have had a number of people or groups, whose religious convictions prohibited them from fighting. Living by their pacifist beliefs or doctrine these groups would not take up arms and fight when their government called upon them. This was also true during the Civil War. Both North and South had their share of conscientious observers who would not join the military due to their religious beliefs. Pennsylvania was home to a large portion of this population in the north. Quaker, Mennonite and Dunkard communities had been established in eastern Pennsylvania since early colonial times. Once the draft was instituted in 1862 they sought exemption due to their long-practiced and deeply-held religious beliefs. The Pennsylvania Constitution at this time in history allowed for conscientious objection due to religious dogma. Yet it required the objector to make a public oath of his faith and pay a fee that went to the relief of wounded soldiers. Many men could not make a government instituted oath due to their beliefs so they signed a written affirmation of their faith and their objection to military service. The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania has compiled the depositions of those potential soldiers drafted by Pennsylvania who sought exemptions. The index can be found at http://genpa.org/collection/pennsylvania-civil-war-conscientious-objectors. Information in the depositions include names, ages, residences and occupations of those seeking refuge from military service. Located mainly in Lancaster, Bucks, Chester, Philadelphia and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania the groups represented as conscientious objectors came from the Amish, Mennonite, Quaker and Dunkard communities. Also included but lesser known were the Schwenkfelders and the Christadelphians religious groups. All of these groups stated they felt bearing arms in an act of war was against Christ’s teachings in the New Testament. If you have ancestors who lived in eastern Pennsylvania during ... Read More »