Fall 2016 Workshop & Seminar : "A Little Bit of Everything"

We announced our Fall workshop & seminar in a previous blog post from March 10, 2016, A Little Bit of Everything Workshop & Seminar. The deadline for registering is drawing near.

The seminar will take place Saturday, November 5, at the La Quinta Inn & Suites, 102 N. Alvernon Way.  Pamela Boyer Sayre and Richard G. Sayre will be our presenters. Seminar topics include:

• Enough is Enough Or Is It 
• Apps Galore for a Genealogist
• Capital Treasures
• The Civil War-A Valuable Genealogical Resource 

The seminar includes lunch and beverages. Vendors, book sales, and door prizes will also be available. Check-in is 8:30-9:00 a.m. and the seminar runs from 9:00-4:00 p.m. PCGS member cost is $45.00, Non members $55.00.  

An optional workshop on using Maps will also be presented from 2:00-4:00 p.m. (check-in from 1:30-2:00 p.m.) on Friday, November 4th by Pamela Boyer Sayre and Richard Sayre at the above location. The cost of the workshop is $35 for members and $45 for non members.

Special pricing for attending both events will also be available.

Registration deadline is October 22, 2016.

Visit our previous blog post (link above) or our 2016 Workshop-Seminar page on our website for details and registration.

Putting It All Together -- October 29, 2016 Family History Conference in Tempe

Registration for the 2016 Family History Conference sponsored by the Mesa AZ FamilySearch Library in Tempe is now open! We received the following press release from them:

ANNOUNCING THE 2016 Family History Conference sponsored by the Mesa AZ FamilySearch Library on Saturday, October 29, 2016, at the Tempe Institute of Religion on the ASU Campus, 1000 South McAllister Avenue in Tempe, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:10 p.m.

This year’s conference will feature a keynote address by James Tanner, a friend to our conference and respected family history guru.

Our theme is “Putting It All Together” and provides a wide variety of over 50 class choices for all types of learners, from beginners to the most advanced genealogists.  Come and learn how to be more effective and efficient when doing your research.  Learn to trace your roots with DNA.  Learn to document your sources.  Get specific information on various ways to research in specific countries.  If you are new to family history, come learn the basics.  Some of the most popular classes are repeated in an effort to accommodate everyone.   Spend all day or come for a single class or two; you may attend a maximum of five classes.

Registration will begin online at www.mesafsl.org on Wednesday, September 14, 2016.  At the time of registration, registrants will be given the opportunity to purchase lunch from Jason’s Deli.  Otherwise, the conference is FREE.  See you in October!

In the past, you were required to select the specific classes you plan to attend during the registration. Seats for each class is limited and registration closes for that class when it is full. This conference usually fills up very quickly so don't delay in reserving seats for the classes you really want to attend.

Putting It All Together -- October 29, 2016 Family History Conference in Tempe

Registration for the 2016 Family History Conference sponsored by the Mesa AZ FamilySearch Library in Tempe begins soon! We received the following press release from them:

ANNOUNCING THE 2016 Family History Conference sponsored by the Mesa AZ FamilySearch Library on Saturday, October 29, 2016, at the Tempe Institute of Religion on the ASU Campus, 1000 South McAllister Avenue in Tempe, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:10 p.m.

This year’s conference will feature a keynote address by James Tanner, a friend to our conference and respected family history guru.

Our theme is “Putting It All Together” and provides a wide variety of over 50 class choices for all types of learners, from beginners to the most advanced genealogists.  Come and learn how to be more effective and efficient when doing your research.  Learn to trace your roots with DNA.  Learn to document your sources.  Get specific information on various ways to research in specific countries.  If you are new to family history, come learn the basics.  Some of the most popular classes are repeated in an effort to accommodate everyone.   Spend all day or come for a single class or two; you may attend a maximum of five classes.

Registration will begin online at www.mesafsl.org on Wednesday, September 14, 2016.  At the time of registration, registrants will be given the opportunity to purchase lunch from Jason’s Deli.  Otherwise, the conference is FREE.  See you in October!

In the past, you were required to select the specific classes you plan to attend during the registration. Seats for each class is limited and registration closes for that class when it is full. As of this writing (September 14 @ 9:50 a.m.), registration had not yet been opened. However, this conference fills up very quickly so keep checking often in order to reserve a seat for the classes you really want to attend.

National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair

On October 26 & 27, 2016 (Wednesday & Thursday), the National Archives is hosting a two-day, virtual Genealogy Fair via webcast. Viewers have the opportunity to participate with the presenters and other family historians during the live event on YouTube. All of the session videos and handouts will be available from the National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair web page free of charge. You can watch the sessions and download the materials at your convenience. Registration is not required. Visit their web page at http://www.archives.gov/calendar/genealogy-fair/ for the class schedule and links to watch the free conference. You can also get materials from past conferences from their web page.

Special October General Meeting

Each October, PCGS hosts a special luncheon event for our general meeting and this year is no different.

On Saturday, October 15, we will have our annual luncheon at the Evergreen Cemetery (3015 N. Oracle Road, Tucson). There will be several speakers including Betty Cook and the Arizona Chapter Association for Gravestone Studies. Topics include the Greenwood Cemetery, Evergreen Cemetery, Symbolism and Grave rubbings.

The cost is $5 and may be paid through the PCGS Marketplace or by check or cash at the September meeting. This event is open to members and non-members for the same $5. Advanced registration and payment by October 8 is required. Walk-ins will not be accepted.

Evergreen Mortuary & Cemetery, 3015 N. Oracle Rd., Tucson

Special Presentation at the September PCGS Meeting

PCGS has a special treat planned for the September general meeting. First up will be Jodi Strait presenting a short class entitled His Bones Lie Bleaching. Following her presentation will be a live webinar from George G. Morgan: Bring 'em Back to Life: Developing an Ancestor Profile.

George G. Morgan is president of Aha! Seminars, Inc. and co-host of The Genealogy Guys Podcast, the longest running genealogy podcast on the internet. Following is his description of the webinar he Aha! Seminars website:
will be presenting to us from the

In the course of our genealogical research, we often become engrossed in the collection of information snippets, failing to put them into a logical perspective. We lose sight of the fact that the people we're tracing participated in the life of their historical times, led complex lives, and interacted with one another.
 

Organizing the information we collect into a biographical profile can help you begin to recognize character traits and decision patterns. And the profile also provides an invaluable, portable research tool that avoids your taking voluminous amounts of notes with you on research trips. 

This seminar presents a methodology and a structured model for taking the details you collect about your ancestor and creating a biographical profile. We will discuss:

• Establishing your ancestor's every location,
• Learning about other people in your ancestor's life,
• Studying local, state and national history to determine what events may have influenced or motivated your ancestor,
• Studying personal events that may have influenced or motivated your ancestor, and
• Effectively organizing materials into a profile that can be used for additional research and for writing.

 This approach will not only help you organize your research, it can become the basis for writing detailed biographical sketches or novels about the people whose lives you have been researching.

Our general meetings are free and open to members and non-members alike. Come join us on September 17 from 1-3 p.m. at our new meeting location in the Operations Division Midtown, Hardesty Multi-Service Center, 1100 S. Alvernon (located on the corner of 22nd and Alvernon, just beyond the Reid Park Golf Center).

Visit our website at http://azpimagensoc.org/ for more info. We can be reached via email at info@azpimagensoc.org, or phone at (520) 589-5803.

Free Weeklong Seminars

That's right, they are free! FamilySearch is hosting two week long seminars that you can participate  either in person or viewed as a live webinar from the comfort of your home. And the best part is that it is 100% FREE!

Registration is required whether you will attend in person or online. Space is limited. All attendees will receive a free spiral bound syllabus containing all class handouts and materials. Webinar attendees will be able to print the handouts at home.

The United States seminar will be held on August 22-26, 2016. This seminar is for "beginning and intermediate genealogists interested in learning about U.S. regions and records, FamilySearch resources, and Family History Library collections." All classes, except the hands-on activities will be broadcast live to registered webinar participants. Below is the schedule of classes (all times are in MDT, Arizona is one hour earlier):

TIME	Monday, 22 August	Tuesday, 23 August	Wednesday, 24 August	Thursday, 25 August	Friday, 26 August
8:30-9:30 AM MDT	Using the Family History Catalog Effectively	Tips and Tricks for Using FamilySearch's Historical Records Collection	FamilySearch Research Wiki	FamilySearch Memories	Cousin Research
9:45-11:15 AM MDT	United States Research: New England Region	United States Research: Mid-South Region	United States Research: Midwest Region	United States Research: Pacific States Region	United States Research: Big City Research
11:30 AM - 12:00 PM MDT	Personal Research or Finding a Family in pre-1859 Census Records	Personal Research or Land Records, Understanding a Deed	Personal Research or Know a Little, Learn a Lot	Personal Research or Records Tell a Story	Personal Research or Tackling a Brick Wall
1:15-2:15 PM MDT	United States Census Techniques and Strategies for Finding Elusive Ancestors	Immigration into the United States	United States Naturalization	United States Land Records	United States Probate Records
2:30-4:00 PM MDT	United States Research: Mid-Atlantic Region	United States Research: Gulf South Region	United States Research: Great Plains Region	United States Research: Mountain West Region	Round Table Discussion

For more information and to register, visit the FamilySearch Blog Free Weeklong United States Seminar.

The European seminar will be held on September 12-16, 2016 and is for both beginning and intermediate researchers of records in European localities. The classes will discuss census, church, immigration, and vital records for countries such as Germany, Switzerland, Russia and Poland. Below is the schedule of classes (all times are in MDT, Arizona is one hour earlier):

TIME	Monday, 12 September	Tuesday, 13 September	Wednesday, 14 September	Thursday, 15 September	Friday, 16 September
9:00-10:00 AM MDT	Finding German Ancestors Online-Resources and Records	Old German Script Part 1	Poland and Galicia Jewish Research: A Template for East European Research Part 1	Research in the Czech Republic	Bessarabia Then and Now: Researching our ancestors and locating helpful resources
	LAB: Swiss Names and Places
10:15-11:15 AM MDT	Internet Sources for Locating Your 19th Century German Emigrant	Old German Script Part 2	Poland and Galicia Jewish Research: A Template for East European Research Part 2	Russian Alphabet, Language and Handwriting Part 1	Russian Germans in North Caucasus
11:30 AM-12:30 PM MDT	Introduction to Swiss Research	Extracting Information from German Church and Civil Records	Discovering Polish Websites	Russian Alphabet, Language and Handwriting Part 2	The Volga German Settlements in Russia
		LAB: Kartenmeister.com Finding Places in the former German Area of Poland	LAB: Genteam.at - a necessity when researching in the Czech Republic and Austria
2:00-3:00 PM MDT	German Research Strategies for Eastern Provinces	German Census Records 1816-1916	Co Kraj, to Obyczaj: Records of the Polish Partitions	On Eagle's Wings: Records of the Russian Empire and the Soviet Republics	Latin for Genealogists
3:15-4:15 PM MDT	Research in German Archives	German Historical Maps and Territories	Sources for Polish Research and Gazetteers	Introduction to Russian Research

Visit the FamilySearch Wiki 2016 European Family History Conference for details and registration.

Don't forget to visit the Family History Library Classes and Webinars page on the FamilySearch Wiki to view past recorded webinars and a schedule of upcoming webinars hosted by the Family History Library.