Two years ago, I attended the Maine Genealogical Conference in Bangor, and came back all excited and energized. That, for me is the best thing about conferences, the way they perk up my enthusiasm. I saw a very dear friend there, with whom I had lost touch, and she is trying to get a genealogy group started in Greenville. I will keep you posted as I hear more on that!
Marcia Melnyk’s keynote speech concerned oral history. Apparently, I am not the only one struggling to get friends and relatives answering questions into a tape recorder. (I can’t rely on the old “internal recorder” anymore, though, and I never was any good at taking notes.) However, she has renewed my determination to make the trip to Farmington to visit one of my last remaining Italian aunts. Marcia also spoke after lunch, about getting the family involved, and I liked her suggestion for using the lure of technology with the younger generation. Many of us wince at the thought of Internet searches, and computerizing our research results. Now I’m going to put my grandkids to work on it!
I was able to attend two workshops by Melnyk as well, and both gave me some good ideas. One was all about forms, and I love forms. I find they keep me better organized and keep information clearer in my mind. She had developed a “records checklist” to make sure when she hits a brick wall (Yes, even the experts hit them.) that she has investigated “all” the possibilities. I have something similar, but each time I find a new one, I find different records someone else has thought to check, so new charts are always helpful. She also listed a website I had not heard of: http://www.misbach.org/ for free charts and forms that also has interesting programs and forms to purchase.
Her second workshop was on immigrant research strategies. After several years now, of looking at 19th century Italian handwriting on microfilm, I was starting to wish I had just printed out every certificate I found with the correct surname, and Marcia suggests that we at least write down the information on all those unknowns. She calls it “collecting” people, and I got that advice several times Saturday. I am dedicating myself to doing exactly that from now on. I had occasionally done it in the past, and often it has eventually come in handy.
My third workshop was all about property deeds, and gave me some great ideas for tracking down an elusive great Uncle. I will try to go over more about that in my next column. As usual, I am running out of room before I run out of words, but I did want to mention one great book Cindy bought for me from one of the conference vendors. The book is “Forensic Genealogy” by Colleen Fitzpatrick, PhD. It may just be one of the most helpful “brick wall breakers’ I have yet read! A fascinating book, it is giving me hope of finding those “missing” pieces in my family puzzle.
Editor’s note: This regular column is sponsored by the Aroostook County Genealogical Society. The group meets the fourth Monday of the month except in July and December at the Cary Medical Center’s Chan Education Center, 163 Van Buren Road, Caribou, at 6:30 p.m. Guests and prospective members are always welcome. FMI contact Edwin “J” Bullard at 492-5501. Columnist Nina Brawn of Dover-Foxcroft has been doing genealogy for over 30 years, is a freelance genealogy researcher, speaker and teacher. Reader e-mails are welcome at ninabrawn@gmail.com.
