OGS 2016

Last week I spent three days at the Ohio Genealogical Society’s annual conference, held this year at the Great Wolf Lodge at King’s Island.  While I’ve been ‘doing’ family history for most of my life this was my first experience at a formal conference.  And it was great!

One of the highlights of the conference was the opportunity to meet other researchers.   There’s nothing I enjoy more than talking about genealogy and history with others who share my enthusiasm. Many email addresses were exchanged, and some promising research partnerships established.  In fact, I owe my decision to resurrect my long-dormant experiment in blogging to the inspiration of my new friend Marsha Moses who sat next to me at one of the sessions.  Marsha’s enthusiasm for blogging as a valuable part of her genealogy work is contagious; her repeated assurances about how easy it is to master the technical details of blogging have given me confidence to stick my toe in the water of the blogosphere.  (Check out Marsha’s blog here: http://marshamoses.blogspot.com/ )

Anyone who’s ever been involved in organizing and staging a large conference knows what a huge (and often thankless) task it is.  The folks at OGS did an excellent job, and deserve a big round of applause for their putting together a fantastic event.  In fact, the well-produced conference syllabus, weighing in at over 300 pages, is a considerable accomplishment in its own right.  Crammed full of detailed outlines of all of the presentations, including bibliographies and relevant web links, the syllabus will become a permanent part of my reference library.

From my standpoint the conference would have benefited from a more conscious effort to promote networking among the attendees.  I suppose it’s a personal quirk, but I think EVERY gathering of genealogists and family historians should have a surname board (and a participant directory) of some kind. With today’s technology it could even be done online.  More broadly, I think OGS could use social media even more effectively to promote the conference and stimulate interest while the event is actually in progress (think Twitter live feeds and Instagram, for example). Those kinds of efforts involve minimal financial investment and could actually generate real benefits for OGS in terms of “brand awareness” and increased future revenue.

Speaking of networking . . . nothing promotes conversation and exchange more than coffee!  Hallway coffee stations between the sessions would have been a real godsend.  Yes, they would also have represented a modest added expense (although a donation jar could be used to defray the cost). But the days are long and some speakers aren’t as animated as others.  I’m sure I’m not the only attendee who would have welcomed a caffeine jolt!  

The quality of the presentations – at least those I attended – was very good. Here are a few of my notes:

1. Dr. Michael Lacopo was my conference superstar.  I’ve been an avid reader of Michael’s blog and have heard him online speaking about German research.  But this was my first opportunity to see him in person.  His talent as an energetic and effective presenter is exceeded only by his mastery of his subject matter.  His first session, a case study describing research on one of his own lines in 18th century Virginia, was well-developed and a reminder to all of us that great research is grounded in a thorough understanding of the societies and cultures in which our ancestors lived. In 18th century North America each of the colonies was a distinct society, with unique laws, customs, and economies.  As researchers we need to craft individual strategies for working in each of the colonies we encounter in our work.  While I have a strong interest in the place and period covered in Michael’s case study, his broader message about the need for a disciplined research plan is universally applicable.  And his reminder that that data collection is the starting point and not the goal of our research can't be stressed enough.  Gathering the data is only the first step!  
2. Dr. Lacopo’s second session provided an overview of the rapidly expanding array of online resources available to those of us whose research includes families who lived in any of the states that came to comprise present-day Germany.  I’m only beginning my research in this area, and I was impressed by the variety of digitized material that is available.  An understanding of the kaleidoscopic political map of the region is a vital prerequisite to German research, and key to determining which records were created and where (or if) they can be found today.  Access to a good historical gazetteer is essential, and if you’re like me and just beginning your German research Michael recommends that the FamilySearch Wiki should be your first stop.
3. I attended two DNA-related sessions, one presented by Debra Renard and the other by Dr. Sheila Morehead.  The presentations were mainly concerned with interpreting results from the autosomal test, but participants also received important grounding in the underlying science and a comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of the DNA product offerings of the three major commercial testing companies. Both presenters stressed the rapidly diminishing predictive power of atDNA beyond 3 or 4 generations, stressing that the value of the tool approaches zero for relationships extending further than about six generations.  Without directly saying it, both presenters seemed to share my belief that the ethnicity estimates proved by the testing companies are useful primarily as fodder for cocktail party conversations or as marketing bait for the companies peddling the tests.  Although the two sessions covered roughly the same ground, the science is pretty technical and reinforcement and review really help.  Based on the large number of questions generated by the sessions, DNA is clearly an area of great interest.
4. Carla Cegielski provided an exceptionally helpful overview of the Internet Archive (www.archive.org).  Noting that the massive size of the Archive can overwhelm a would-be researcher, Carla described how collections are organized and how they can be effectively searched,  For a long time I’ve been convinced that the Archive could be a great tool, but my efforts to tap into it have been stymied by my inability to find my way around.  Carla’s presentation gave me new hope!  Bonus Tip: Researchers seeking a permanent home for their own work should consider depositing it in the Archive. It’s free and (according to Carla) relatively easy.  Once your work becomes part of the Archive future researchers around the globe will be able to learn from and build on what you've done.
5. Librarian James Mainger provided an overview of the extensive genealogical collection at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.  The library has one of the largest genealogy collections in the country, and much (but by no means all!) of the content has been digitized and is freely available.  The collection is heavily focused on Cincinnati and the surrounding area, with strong coverage of the area’s large and dynamic German-American heritage.  But given the Queen City’s historic role as a transportation center and early gateway to the West, there is bound to be something of interest for almost everybody.  
6. Many folks commented positively on what they had learned in sessions dealing with the perennial challenge of getting (or staying) organized.  I purposely avoided these sessions, knowing that my own case is hopeless: my organizational crisis is long past the point of no return.  
7. There were also sessions dealing with Jewish, Quaker, Native American, and African American research as well as presentations dealing with issues around military, land, pension, and prison records.  

I could go on (and on and on). I guess I already have. In summary: it was a great conference; I learned a lot, and met some good people. It doesn't get any better than that (except for maybe the coffee part!?).

Next year's Conference will be held in Sandusky, April 26-29. See you there!