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NEW ENGLAND CROSSROADS The 8th New
England Regional Genealogical Conference "This Year's Only Big Genealogical Conference in the Northeast" (slogan courtesy of Elsie Gustafson) Online Conference E-zine of News and Developments Issue #7 --
1 March 2005 Only 30 Days until the
Conference! | |
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1. Latest News About the
Conference ================== 1. Latest News About The Conference: Registrations are Booming! And We’re Adding
Space! With registrations pouring in at a record rate,
we have added to the meeting space on Thursday. The beautiful auditorium at the
Museum of Art, directly across the street from the Conference Hotel, will
be the site of three of our most popular Thursday lectures. Being there will also give you an
opportunity to enjoy the Museum Shop on the first floor and the café
just outside the auditorium entrance. Even with a record number of registrations, we
will have plenty of space to accommodate everyone, even the sessions where
we expect a very large attendance.
(But don’t overlook some of the other good sessions and interesting
lecturers which may be less crowded.) The small group luncheons are now filled. There may still be spaces at the regular luncheons and banquets, however. In response to the demand, the room for the Photo Workshop has been reconfigured and can now accommodate more attendees -- and at the workshop there will be a drawing for a valuable door prize: an attractive photo album.
If you were previously told that the Photo Workshop was full, you may now be able to get in. Check with Gratia Mahony, the Conference Registrar, at gratiam@verizon.net. There ARE Hotel Rooms in
Portland! The rooms at Conference Hotel – The Portland
Holiday Inn by the Bay – are now completely filled. But don’t despair – there are good
rooms available at nearby hotels and we are trying to make arrangements for as many rooms as
necessary.
Try the Fairfield Inn at 340 Park Avenue in Portland (not to be
confused with the Fairfield Inn at the Airport). Call 1-800-228-2800 or
207-871-0611 to make reservations. There are other nearby
hotels, as well, and there is still ample parking at or near the
Conference Hotel (see
below).
Some attendees are staying at B&Bs and have
reported that the rates are reasonable. Check the Portland Area B&B
Association website: www.bbonline.com/me/portland.html for possibilities. Room Sharing: Nancy Daniels has graciously offered to provide a "bare bones" roommate matching service for people who would like to share a hotel room at the Conference. If you would like to take advantage of this service, send an email to nancy.daniels@comcast.net Transportation to Portland: In previous issues we have discussed various
ways of getting to Portland.
If you missed these, they are available on the Conference web
site: www.nergc.org. Now, here’s the latest for you Road
Warriors! For those driving to the Portland Conference, the
Maine Turnpike now accepts EZ-Pass. Parking: The Holiday Inn by the Bay parking lot will be
free to attendees (even non-guests) as long as there are spaces available. There
is another free parking lot across the street from the Conference Hotel
that can hold many There is
another parking lot about 1 to 2 blocks away that costs about $1.00 or $1.25 per
hour. The best bet for parking will be to get to the Conference as
early in the morning as possible. Door Prizes and Other
Contributions: In
addition to the photo album mentioned above, we have received generous
offers of door prizes and other contributions from many sources. Here are just a
few: ·
Everton Publishers, publishers of Everton's
Genealogical Helper and Everton's Online Research Library for genealogists
<www.everton.com and
www.myancestorsfound.com> will provide a complimentary copy of Everton’s Genealogical
Helper Magazine to the first 540 attendees. ·
Reunions Magazine will provide a limited number
of complimentary copies of its Magazine and Reunion planning kits on a
“first come, first served” basis. ·
We
gratefully acknowledge the contribution of The UPS Store at 211 Marginal
Way in Portland who has agreed to print our on-site conference Newsletter
on Friday and Saturday, at no cost to the Conference. Also, the UPS Store will have a
booth in the Exhibit hall to provide shipping services to attendees and
speakers. At past conferences
this was helpful for folks who had purchased items and did not want to
carry them home. Also, speakers have used this service to ship their
materials from the conference.
Query Board: As at past conferences, we will have a Query
Board for your toughest problems. For just $1 post your dead ends on the
paper provided and just maybe...! Due to popularity of the feature in the past,
the on-site Queries Board will again be set up in a high-traffic area
at the Conference. Special blank forms will be sold at $1. per
Query, and our Query Column Chair will maintain the Queries Board where
they will be posted.
2. Read about the Conference in the Press: Two recent
articles (among others) have provided good information about the
Conference: Meredith Goad’s article in the February
27th Portland Maine Sunday Telegram: http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/mainelife/stories/050227genealogy.shtml provided good information about the Conference
and featured interesting interviews with several of the Conference’s key
people. Sandra Devlin’s article appeared in more than a
dozen newspapers in Atlantic Canada in late January, early February
2005. It is reprinted on the
Conference website: www.nergc.org/NERGC_in_the_News.htm. Also, if you are in the WHOM listening area, there will be a broadcast interview featuring David Mishkin, the Conference Co-Chair. Email David at photos@maine.com for details of when it will air. We expect that additional articles will appear
before the Conference, but there is always room
for more publicity! If you have any personal contacts with editors
or other media people in your area who you feel would give the Conference
some favorable "ink" in their publications, we would be happy to mail you
a press kit to give to them (or we will mail one to the
publication if you give us the postal address information). The
Press Kit is available on the Conference website (www.nergc.org) or in "hard copy" form from
john@konvalinka.com.
Special Interest Groups: Three Special Interest Groups have been added
to the Roster: English Records
George
Trigg BCG Certification
Helen
Schatvet Ullmann Swedish Interest Group
Peg
Buckman At the BCG Certification group Helen will
conduct a question and answer session and have some BCG materials
available. ...And continue to check the website for new
groups and let us know of any special interests you’d like to be sure are
covered -- and if you’d like to help organize or participate in leading a
special interest group, please contact Sherry Gould: sherrygould@direcway.com or
Donna Walcovy: kona@konadesigns.com. Society Fair: From Cheryl Willis Patten, Society Fair
Chair: Lost Ancestors? Brick walls? This year's
Society Fair on Thursday evening, March 31, 2005 from 5:00 until 7:00 will
offer you many opportunities to try and track those missing folks. Since we're holding this year's conference in
Maine, it seems only right to begin with a listing of some of the
historical societies, both large and small, that are representative of
various parts of Maine: Pejepscot, Union, Norridgewock,
Bridgton, and Wells & Ogunquit historical societies will have
representatives, as will the Mid Maine Historical Societies group which
represents twenty-one historical societies: Dover-Foxcroft, Harmony, Milo,
Moosehead, Newport, Pittsfield, Ripley, Sangerville, Sebec, Wellington,
Monson, Abbot, Bowerbank, Bradford, Brownville, Charleston, Corinna,
Dexter, Exeter, Garland, and Guilford. Maine Franco-American Genealogical Society has
a genealogical library in Auburn and their representatives might have some
clues to help with those "missing" Franco ancestors. Taconnett Falls Chapter of the
Maine Genealogical Society has a genealogical library in Winslow and they
will be glad to answer your questions about their facility and their
chapter.
For Massachusetts questions the Massachusetts
State Archives will send representatives as will several of Massachusetts'
historical societies - Andover, Fitchburg, Falmouth, and North Country
Historical Societies. If you are interested in becoming or hiring a
professional genealogist be sure and check out the tables of the
Massachusetts Society of Genealogists, the New Hampshire Society of
Genealogists, and the Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Inc.
Connecticut will be well represented with
participation by the Connecticut State Library, Connecticut Ancestry
Society, the Pequot Library, and the Fairfield Historical Society.
The Massachusetts Society of Mayflower
Descendants, the Harriman Family Association, the Jewish Genealogical
Society of Greater Boston, the Swedish Ancestry Research Association and
Saint Andrew's Society of CT will be willing to help with information
regarding their resources. Maybe you will pick up the trail of a lost
ancestors or discover a crack in one of those brick walls as you visit the
Society Fair. We'll be waiting. See you there.
4. Articles by (and News about) our Speakers: ·
Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, whose banquet address will
take us behind the scenes of her new historical novel and teach us how to
turn our own family stories into page turners, continues to make inroads
into the world of literature with her Isle of Canes. In February, she was a
guest-presenter (along with two Pulitzer Prize winners) at the 16th Annual
Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration. In April, she will be the only
“debut novelist” featured at the North American Conference of the
international Historical Novel Society. In August, Isle of Canes
will be the subject of two separate papers at the International Humanities
Conference at the University of Cambridge, UK—one paper by Elizabeth
herself. ·
Laura
Prescott’s article, “Treasures
from the NEHGS Collection”, appears in the Winter 2005 issue of New
England Ancestors. ·
Maureen Taylor’s article, “Photographs & Artifacts”,
appears in the December, 2004 issue of NGS News
Magazine. ·
In the
same issue is Robert Charles Anderson’s article “Word
Clans” 5. Other Attractions in the Portland Area: Peg
Chute, who volunteers at the
Fryeburg Historical Society Research Library in North Fryeburg, Maine,
reminds us about the nearby Maine and NH Historical Society Libraries that
are available for research within an easy hour's drive from
Portland: Most
of these libraries are treasure troves of not only local research
materials but materials for other New England states and other countries,
as well. Although these libraries are primarily staffed by volunteers and
have set hours, they are usually willing to open their doors to visitors
on other days if they know in advance. There are usually no fees, just for copies
made, and most volunteers are quite knowledgeable about genealogy.
Besides the Fryeburg Research Library, I would
recommend the Lovell, Maine Society, the Bethel, Maine Society and the
Conway, NH History Room. I
would also recommend the LDS Family History Centers in Cape Elizabeth,
Maine and Oxford, Maine. Finally, I understand that the Portland Public
Library has an outstanding genealogy section. (Thanks,
Peg, for these useful tips.) And, if
you still have time on your hands in the Portland area, be sure to look up
the December, 2004 issue of Yankee Magazine. It’s article on Portland, “Winter
Makes an Entrance” has lots of good suggestions. Also,
The Smithsonian Guide to Northern New England, by Vance Muse,
published in New York in 1998 by Stewart, Tabori & Chang, is packed
with over 10 pages of suggestions for things to do and see in the Portland
area.
6. News from Participating Societies and
Committees: Conference Newsletter: A Conference Newsletter will be available by
late morning on both Friday and Saturday to notify you of any last minute
changes, book signings, and other special
“happenings”. There will be a drop off area for any items you
wish to have included in that day's newsletter. Deb Esposito (who is still
looking for a volunteer to work with her on the newsletter) will check the
drop off area about 8 AM each day.
If you’d like to help Deb with the newsletter,
please call her at 978-345-2459 or email her at: Deb.esposito@shackleton.org
or espositodeb@comcast.net Exhibit
Hall: Vicky Ryan and Jim Holmes report that Exhibit
space is now completely sold out To see a floor plan of the Exhibit Hall,
go to: www.nergc.org/floor.htm. A few of the latest additions to the
list: Maia's Books & Misc Columbus, OH
43226-0416 Martha Mercer: Martha@Maiasbooks.com
Family Tree DNA, Houston, TX
77008 Max Blankfeld: Max@Familytreedna.com
Ancestral Manor Genealogy Fair, Waltham, MA
02451 Sharon Sergeant: info@ancestralmanor.com Vicky and Jim report that there will be many
new vendors at the Conference this year and remind us that the Exhibit
hall is open to the general public at no charge. They also ask attendees to be extremely careful
to not venture into the vendor areas where the vendors are setting up, but
to remain in the area designated by the Society Fair and Ancestor Road
Show during these scheduled events. The Genealogical Society of Vermont
booth in the Exhibit Area will feature GSV publications, including a new
and expanded edition of A Bibliography for Vermont Genealogy by
John Leppman and its newly issued companion piece, Scott Andrew Bartley's
Genealogies Found in Vermont Histories, a surname index of the
genealogical contents of dozens of Vermont local history books. Other GSV
publications will be available, as well as a selection of used books of
genealogical and/or Vermont interest. Ancestors Road Show: We can still use additional skilled
genealogists to help staff the Ancestors Road Show on Friday and
Saturday,1 and 2 April. NERGC attendees will have the opportunity to
sign up to spend 15 minutes with a skilled genealogist to review and ask
for direction on one family history roadblock that they are struggling
with. If you are able to commit an hour or more to
volunteer to help with this exciting and rewarding event please e-mail
Allison L. Ryall, Ancestors Road Show Chair, at allison@allisonryall.com.
Be sure to include your area of expertise and the time(s) that you are
available to help with the Ancestors Road Show. One dozen members of the Connecticut
Professional Genealogists Council will Publicity: With less than a month until the Conference begins we have a continuing need for volunteers help to help distribute publicity material to your local libraries, archives and Family History Centers – and to check back at these facilities periodically to re-stock them if necessary.
We have a particular need to personally deliver flyers and brochures to LDS Family History Centers throughout New England, because many of them do not have readily available mailing addresses. Your help here will be particularly appreciated!
Please send an email to john@konvalinka.com if you can help in your area and we will send you a supply of Conference brochures and flyers.
Since we are expecting a record number of
attendees at the Conference we will need many volunteers in areas like
these: ·
Registration desk (sign in the attendees),
·
Banquet ticket collectors (collect tickets at
the door, see that the speaker has what he/she needs),
·
Room
monitors (make sure the speaker has was he/she needs, introduce speaker if
no has been designated to do this), ·
Vendor
hall monitors (see to needs of vendors and aid conferees in finding
vendors) and ·
Good
hearted "gophers" (to run errands and see to unforeseen needs). Please email Ruth Wellner at rqw@wellner.org. or drop her a note
(to 20 Battles Rd, Westminster, MA 01473) and tell her how you’ll be
able to help. Please be sure
to include your name, phone number, email, and the days and times you
could be available. Please give as much time as you can. We are
depending on you and we know you will have a lot of fun doing it! Thank you!
8. NERGC
2007! Hartford, Connecticut: NERGC 2007 will be in Hartford at the new Connecticut Convention Center and Hartford Marriott Downtown, just off I-91, overlooking the Connecticut River. Tom Howards and Dick Roberts will Co-Chair the 2007 Conference and Kathryn Black is working with Dick and Tom on the Site Committee. If you would like to learn more or volunteer for Committee Service, stop by the Connecticut Professional Genealogists Council's booth in the Exhibit area and/or contact Tom at thomas.f.howard@snet.net or Dick at RRoberts@cslib.org.
Gratia Mahony, Registration Chair, reports that the pace of registrations is brisk, and continues well ahead of previous NERGConferences. The Conference brochure and registration form
is available for download at the Conference website www.nergc.org. Here you can see the full
conference program and the many lectures and special events to choose
from. If anyone would like a brochure and
registration form mailed to them, please contact Melinde Sanborn: melinde44@comcast.net.
This e-zine is sent to you at your request or because
of your involvement This and earlier issues of this e-zine are available
on the NERGC Website www.nergc.org. [Back to
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