Science Cafe NH - A Conversation about DNA and Forensic Genealogy

Panelists at the Science Cafe event, March 27th, in Concord, NH
Left to right, Buzz Scherr, Kim Rumrill, and Beth Wilkes

Every month there are several Science Cafe events around the state of New Hampshire.  Although I have been reading Dave Brooks as "The Granite Geek" in his science column in the Concord Monitor, I hadn't paid attention to these gatherings. Then I saw this event on Facebook for the March 27th event in Concord for "How Forensic Genealogy is Cracking Decades Old Cold Cases" and I jumped at the chance to attend.  Vincent, the science buff (and MIT graduate) was interested in the topic, too.

Vincent and I arrived just in time to grab the last seats at a table at Makris restaurant, where the Science Cafe is now meeting every fourth Wednesday of the month. After we were seated, a few more chairs were brought out and squeezed into corners, and a half dozen people stood along the walls, and about 15 people were turned away.  According to Dave Brooks, who was the moderator for this night's panel discussion, said that he had never anticipated such a large crowd. There were over 90 in this dining room.

Forensic DNA, as well as DNA in general, has made genealogy and genealogy websites very popular in the last few years.  The constant commercials on TV for DNA testing, as well as several very infamous crime cases on the news media have made DNA intriguing to the general public. This is probably why so many people turned up for this particular Science Cafe event.  However, most of the general public still doesn't understand how DNA works, and how the ethics of these cases has changed crime fighting and privacy issues.

Since this was a "Science Cafe", the panel members were not genealogists, even though the word "genealogy" was prominent in the title of the event.  Milli Knudsen, who was the forensic genealogist for the New Hampshire state police on the Bear Brook case, or other forensic genealogists, were not on this panel. The panelists chosen for this night were Buzz Scherr, from the UNH School of Law, an expert on genetic laws and privacy (he penned last year's legislation for privacy which passed by 80% on the NH ballot); Kimberly Rumrill, a criminalist with the New Hampshire State Police Forensic Laboratory; and Beth Wilkes, a professor of genetics at NHTI.

The questions posed from the audience to the panel were very interesting, and they also showed that members of the audience had varying degrees of knowledge on the subject of DNA.  The very first question posed was from an audience member who wanted to know the ethics of Ancestry selling his DNA to insurance companies (answer: they are not selling his information to insurance companies).  The second question was about CRISPR and gene editing, a more advanced topic.  Another audience member had a question about the Bear Brook mystery (for people outside of New Hampshire - this was a cold case about several bodies found buried in steel barrels on the grounds of Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown.  The case was solved using DNA and genealogy - see the link below for a podcast about the case, or Google "Bear Brook Case" for news stories).

One audience member wanted to know if our DNA is 99.9% identical (between any two humans), how could the differences point out a suspect in a crime case?  This is where the panel could have used an actual forensic genealogist.  Although the panelists explained how certain markers are examined for mutations and differences in the code, they didn't know which commercial DNA companies (Ancestry, 23andMe, GEDmatch were mentioned) used Y or mtDNA (none of them, only FamilyTreeDNA does the paternal or maternal testing).  They didn't know how to explain triangulation, or centimorgans, DNA Painter, Ancestry Thrulines, or any of the other methods genealogists use to find family members (cousin connections).  Genealogists were mentioned, especially Parabon Nano-Labs in the context of being part of the team to help solve the crimes.

The panel was excellent at explaining the ethical problems in criminal cases, and in explaining the science of genes, chromosomes, phenotyping, etc.  Vincent, although he was an MIT graduate, was glad he had already learned about genetic DNA at RootsTech, the Southern California Genealogy Society Jamboree, NERGC, and from genealogy speakers like Judy Russell and Blaine Bettinger.  Although this is a science topic, it crosses over into law, ethics, government and other disciplines.

Vincent and I were intrigued enough by this event to put some of the other Science Cafe, NH programs on our calendar.  There are Science Cafe events in Manchester (SEE Science Center's Science on Tap), Portsmouth, Nashua, Holderness (hosted by the Squam Lake Association), and Lebanon (hosted by Dartmouth College).  The Nashua Science Cafe is held at the Riverwalk Cafe at 6pm on the second Wednesday of each month.  The Concord Science Cafe is held at Makris Lobster and Steak Restaurant at 6pm on the fourth Wednesday of the month.  Dave Brooks joked that per capita, New Hampshire has more Science Cafe's than any other state.  Considering that we are such a tiny state with a tiny population, maybe he is right!

Look for this show on Concord TV in a week or two (also will air in several other communities in New Hampshire and nation wide)  https://www.yourconcordtv.org/projects/science-cafe-concord/ 

If you are interested in DNA and genetic genealogy, don't forget that in two weeks the New England Regional Genealogy Conference (NERGC 2019) will be in Manchester, New Hampshire April 3 - 6, 2019 at the Double Tree Hotel on Elm Street  http://www.nergc.org/  .  Genetic DNA is so popular right now, that Blaine Bettinger's pre conference DNA day on Wednesday April 3rd has sold out.  You can still follow the DNA track of workshops, lectures and presentations on April 4, 5, and 6 (attend all three days, or just one or two days).  See the conference brochure with a schedule of all the events, including DNA and genetic genealogy at this link: http://www.nergc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/NERGC-2019.pdf 

Science Cafe, NH on Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/sciencecafenh/

The Science Cafe, NH website  http://sciencecafenh.org/ 

New Hampshire Public Radio's podcast on the Bear Brook Cold Case, solved using forensic genealogy:  https://www.bearbrookpodcast.com/ 

NERGC 2019 (New England Regional Genealogy Conference April 3-6)  http://www.nergc.org/

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Science Cafe NH - A Conversation about DNA and Forensic Genealogy", Nutfield Genealogy, posted 28 March 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/03/science-cafe-nh-conversation-about-dna.html: accessed [access date]).

Michael J. Leclerc, CG, To Speak at NERGC April 5th

Michael J. Leclerc, CG

The American-French Genealogical Society (AFGS) is sponsoring The Genealogy Professor CEO, Michael J. Leclerc, CG®, to present French-Canadian Problem Solving on Friday, F-136, from 3:15 – 4:15 p.m.

Michael J. Leclerc is a popular genealogical presenter, teacher, author, and editor. He got his start in genealogy thirty years ago when he first visited the American-French Genealogical Society. From 1995 through 2011 he served in various positions at the New England Historic Genealogical Society. he served in a variety of capacities from research services to the library to publications. He was responsible for the launch of two websites, bringing searchable databases from the Society's collections to its members for the first time. He edited a number of books, including Genealogical Writing in the 21st Century: A Guide to Register Style and More, Second Edition, with Henry Hoff, and the fifth edition of the Society's seminal guidebook Genealogist's Handbook for New England Research. He was a contributing editor for American Ancestors magazine, and a consulting editor for the New England Historical and Genealogical Register.

In 2012 he joined Mocavo as Chief Genealogist, leaving in the summer of 2015. he worked with the development team to implement features of use to genealogists. He wrote about genealogical research and methodology for the Mocavo blog and made presentations around the world about how to use the website. He also hosted Mocavo Fireside Chat, interviewing leading genealogists about research and methodology and answering questions from Mocavo subscribers.

In 2016 he started Genealogy Professor to provide high-quality genealogical education to family historians.

He has authored numerous articles for scholarly journals and genealogy magazines. He has presented at genealogy conferences and seminars around the world. He served on the boards of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Federation of Genealogical Societies. He is an associate of the Board for Certification of Genealogists.

For more information on this conference April 3 - 6, see the website:
http://www.nergc.org/

For more information on the American French Genealogy Society see:
https://afgs.org/site/  

Official Bloggers for the NERGC Conference April 3 – 6, 2019 in Manchester, New Hampshire

Dear Genealogy Bloggers,

Between April 3^rd and 6^th genealogists, teachers and librarians will be gathering in Manchester, New Hampshire for the 15^th biennial NERGC (New England Regional Genealogy Consortium) Conference.  It is a great chance to learn something new, sharpen old skills, meet up with other genealogists and to make new friends.

Every two years the NERGC conference is held in a different New England state.  The first NERGC conference I ever attended was in 2009 in Manchester, New Hampshire when I volunteered through the New Hampshire Mayflower Society to man a table at the “Society Fair”.  I was only there a few hours, but I met lots of genealogists I knew, and many others who were “new to me”.  Everyone was having a wonderful time, and so I vowed I would attend the next NERGC event in 2011.

The 2011 NERGC conference was held in Springfield, Massachusetts. Vincent and I attended for three nights, and we enjoyed many lectures, workshops and events.  I organized a mini family reunion for folks who were descended from Deacon Samuel Chapin at his statue (commonly known as “The Puritan”) which was just a few blocks from the conference hall.  The best part of that short event was that I made friends with people I am still meeting up with at genealogy events in New England.  A repeat of this mini Chapin reunion was held during the 2017 NERGC conference in Springfield.

The 2013 NERGC conference was held in Manchester, New Hampshire again.  Since I lived so close (Londonderry) I became more involved and organized a blogger table and a blogger SIG (Special Interest Group) that was extremely well attended.  The blogger table and SIG was expanded in 2015 at the Providence, Rhode Island NERGC conference, and again at the 2017 Springfield, Massachusetts NERGC conference where we held the first “official blogger” campaign. 

If you would like to be an official blogger for the 2019 NERGC conference in Manchester, please send an email to info@NERGC.org with your name, blog address and a brief biography.  All official bloggers will be required to interview a conference speaker, publish a blog post with that interview, and blog informally about the conference.   Your blog posts will be promoted via the eZine, the NERGC blog, and social media. 

The NERGC 2019 conference theme is “Family – A Link to the Past & A Bridge to the Future”.  There will be a society fair, an Ancestors Roadshow, exhibit hall, a conference blog, a Facebook group, a conference eZine, and a Manchester genealogical research bus tour.  Wednesday April 3^rd is set aside in six interest tracks:  Military Day, Beginner DNA Day, Professional Genealogists Day, Librarians and Local Historians Day, Technology Day, and Society Management Day.  There are also five Wednesday workshops.  The regular conference sessions start on Thursday morning and run until Saturday afternoon.  For details, see the conference brochure at http://www.nergc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/NERGC-2019.pdf  

Volunteers are essential to NERGC, and you don’t need any experience! I you, a spouse, or a friend could give one or more hours to volunteer during the conference please email Susan Steel and Virginia Wright at susansteele@verizon.net 

The official NERGC website:   http://www.nergc.org 

The 2019 conference brochure:  
http://www.nergc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/NERGC-2019.pdf  

The conference eZine:  http://www.nergc.org/e-zines/  

NERGC on Facebook:   https://www.facebook.com/NERGC/  

NERGC on Twitter: https://twitter.com/NERGC   hashtags #NERGC and #NERGC2019

The NERGC 2019 Blog http://nergc.blogspot.com/  

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Official Bloggers for the NERGC Conference April 3 – 6, 2019 in Manchester, New Hampshire”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 3, 2019, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2019/01/official-bloggers-for-nergc-conference.html: accessed [access date]). 

NERCG 2019 - The New England Regional Genealogy Conference April 3 - 6, 2019

At Manchester, New Hampshire 

April 3 - 6, the 15th Annual New England Regional Genealogy Conference 

www.NERGC.org  or www.facebook.com/NERGC

Our Family ChartMasters Heirloom Family Tree

Our Family Tree, by Family Chartmasters

Quite a few years ago, in 2011, I met Janet Hvorka of the Family Chartmasters at the Southern California Genealogy Society Jamboree in Burbank, California.  She had a lovely booth all set up with lots of family trees, and we admired them and dreamed about ordering one someday.  We looked at their pretty fan charts, and ancestor charts with photos, and just couldn't decide. Time went by…

In 2013 I met Janet Hvorka at her lovely booth again at the RootsTech genealogy conference in Salt Lake City.  This time we ooohed and ahhhhed over more new family tree charts and dreamed a bit more about having a nice tree to display on the wall.  There were big charts with lots of generations, all sizes and shapes, and even some that looked like real trees.  Our daughter was getting married so we decided to wait so we could put the happy couple on a future family tree.  Time went by…

In 2015 Janet Hvorka was at the New England Regional Genealogy Conference (NERGC)  in Providence Rhode Island, with her lovely booth and even more charts and trees.  She showed us all the new layouts and designs for family trees and multigeneration charts.  We were very excited because the happy couple, my daughter and son-in-law, were expecting our first grandchild.  We discussed a possible tree with Janet, and she explained how we could show all the ancestors, and our descendants on a family tree.  Wow!  We decided to wait until the baby was born so we could include the new name on the chart.  Time went by…

NERGC is a biennial conference, so this year at Springfield, Massachusetts we toured the vendor hall and – you guessed it – we bumped into Janet Hvorka and her lovely Family Chartmaster booth again.  Years had passed since we first thought of this possible family tree,  and even though the vendor hall had several other vendors selling custom charts, and even though our grandbaby is now almost two years old WE DID IT!  We gave Janet a down payment on a large wall chart with our family tree!  It was a new kind of tree (drawn like a real tree), just like the 19th century tree charts I have admired in the past (click here to see a HASKELL family tree I photographed at the NEHGS library in Boston:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2014/02/haskell-family-tree.html )

Well, you know me by now.  NERGC was in April, and it is now July.  Time went by…  as we considered all our options and finally submitted our GEDCOM file to Janet.  Then FamilyChartmasters got to work finagling all the generations and names into a free form tree with my ancestors on the right side branches, and Vincent’s ancestors on the left, and our descendants down in the roots.  We worked via email with a very patient and skillful employee named Christine.

Over the next few weeks Christine took our email suggestions and tweaked branches, added generations, and squeezed in hundreds of names.  The final result was wonderful!

Between email, this little booklet and the website
we were able to work with FamilyChartmasters to design
our family tree

We had the chart professionally framed and it hangs in our family room.  At a family birthday party last weekend everyone had fun finding their branch on the tree, or even finding their own name!  I don’t know if you can see in the photo because of the glare on the glass, but each leaf is not only labeled with a name, but the name of the country or state is on the leaf, too.  There are nine generations in the branches, and our grandchild is down below!

Thanks Janet, Christine and everyone at Family Chartmasters!  I would recommend their family trees to anyone who would like to hang a chart in their home. The process was easy, and well worth the time, affordable, and provided us with a real family heirloom.  We all love the final result!

The Family Chartmasters website:  https://familychartmasters.com/ 

Family Chartmasters at Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/FamilyChartMasters/

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Our Family ChartMasters Heirloom Family Tree", Nutfield Genealogy, posted July 24, 2017, (https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/07/our-familychartmasters-heirloom-family.html: accessed [access date]). 

Weathervane Wednesday ~ One of the Oldest Weathervanes in Massachusetts

Weathervane Wednesday is an on-going series of photographs I post weekly.  I started out by publishing only weather vanes from the Londonderry area, but now I've been finding interesting weather vanes from all over New England.  Sometimes these weather vanes are whimsical, or historical, but all are very unique.  Often, my readers tip me off to some very special and unusual weather vanes.

Today's weather vane is from somewhere in Massachusetts.

Do you know the location of weather vane #309?  Scroll down to see the answer...

At the NERGC (New England Regional Genealogy Consortium) conference April 26 - 29 at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts attendees were graced with a beautiful view of the Court Square right outside the glass wall of the conference center.  Across this grassy common is the Old First Church.  And atop the steeple of this church is one of the oldest weather vanes in Massachusetts.

The Springfield First Church was first gathered in 1637.  The first meetinghouse stood on another corner of Court Square. This is the fourth building for this congregation. The present structure was erected in 1819. The Congregational church (United Church of Christ) disbanded and this structure was bought by the city of Springfield in 2008, and is currently rented out by another church organization.

This weather cock was brought from England in 1750 along with two other weathervanes (one went to the First Church in Newburyport, and the other went to South Church in Boston).  The weather vane originally stood on the third church building on this spot, and was used by the congregation for the fourth building's steeple, too.     The weather cock is a common sight on churches, since the rooster is a sign of repentance from the story of Peter denying Jesus Christ in the bible.  This weathervane measures four feet and weighs 49 pounds.

From the book First Church in Springfield 1637 - 1915, Springfield, Massachusetts, 1915 (available online at archive.org):

"How dear to our hearts is the old First Church rooster, 
When near or when far he's presented to view: 
For years he has stood there with never a murmur 
And never a whisper of tales that he knew: 
How much he has seen from the top of the steeple. 
So true to his post as the seer of the church: 
The bright shining rooster, the patient old rooster, 
The dear faithful rooster that ne'er leaves his perch." 

Click here to see the entire Weathervane Wednesday series of posts!  

-------------------------

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Weathervane Wednesday ~  One of the Oldest Weathervanes in Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 3, 2017, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/05/weathervane-wednesday-one-of-oldest.html: accessed [access date]).

David Allen Lambert gave Nutfield Genealogy a "Shout Out" on his Extreme Genes Radio Show!

At the New England Regional Genealogy Conference NERGC 2017 in Springfield, Massachusetts over the weekend I met up with David Allen Lambert, the chief genealogist at the New England Historic Genealogical Society.  David had some great news about the Extreme Genes radio show he co-hosts with Scott Fisher.  First, his radio show is going to be aired on WRKO AM radio 680 "The Voice of Boston" for the next few weeks on Sundays at 6 A.M.   The second bit of news was that he was going to give my blog Nutfield Genealogy a shout out on this week's episode!  Yippee!

If you are not in range of WRKO to hear Extreme Genes on the air, you can hear this shout out on Episode 189 of Extreme Genes dated April 29, 2017. You can listen to this podcast at this link: http://extremegenes.com/diligent-genie-searching-for-fathers-wwii-letters-finds-them-on-ebay/   Be sure to pay attention to minutes 5:40 through 7:00 for David's mention of Nutfield Genealogy.

Extreme Genes "America's Family History Show" http://extremegenes.com/

Extreme Genes on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/extremegenes/  

WRKO AM radio 680   http://www.wrko.com/

David Allen Lambert, Yours Truly,
and Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage at NERGC 2017

--------------------------

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "David Allen Lambert gave Nutfield Genealogy a "Shout Out" on his Extreme Genes Radio Show!", Nutfield Genealogy, posted May 2, 2017, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/05/david-allen-lambert-gave-nutfield.html: accessed [access date]).

NERGC 2017 Pre-Conference Blogging

Here is a compendium of genealogy blog posts from before NERGC (so you can catch up on the reporting and interviewing done of the excellent speakers!).  These are listed chronologically. #NERGC  #NERGC2017

April 19, 2016  from Nancy Remling

https://remlinggenealogy.blogspot.com/2016/04/nergc-looking-back-and-forward.html 

Dec. 7, 2016   Sara Campbell, looking forward to NERGC

http://rememberingancestors.blogspot.com/2016/12/nergc-conference-looking-forward-to.html

Dec. 14.  From Elizabeth Pyle Handler

https://frommainetokentucky.blogspot.com/2016/12/nergc-2017.html 

Jan. 5, 2017  From Heather Rojo

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/01/nergc-conference-april-26-29-2017-in.html

Feb. 2  Elizabeth Pyle Hander with Maureen Taylor

https://frommainetokentucky.blogspot.com/2017/02/nergc-interview-maureen-taylor.html

Feb. 2,  Marian Wood with Janeen Bjork

http://climbingmyfamilytree.blogspot.com/2017/02/meet-nergc-speaker-janeen-bjork-expert.html

Feb. 6    Elizabeth Pyle Handler with Diahan Southard

https://frommainetokentucky.blogspot.com/2017/02/nergc-interview-diahan-southard.html

Feb. 7.  From Randy Seaver

http://www.geneamusings.com/2017/02/nergc-conference-is-27-29-april-2017-in.html

Feb. 9.  Heather Rojo interviews Thomas MacEntee

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/02/an-interview-with-nergc-2017-speaker.html?spref=fb

Feb 13, by Blaine Bettinger  

http://thegeneticgenealogist.com/2017/02/13/do-not-miss-the-nergc-conference-in-springfield-in-april/  

Feb. 15  Marian Wood interviews Jennifer Zinck

http://climbingmyfamilytree.blogspot.com/2017/02/meet-nergc-speaker-jennifer-zinck.html

Feb. 16  Heather Rojo interviews Edwin Strickland

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/02/an-interview-with-nergc-2017-speaker_16.html

Feb. 17  Dan Young interviews Denise Picard Lindgren

http://discoveringyourpast.com/wp/2017/02/17/episode-4-french-canadian-sacramental-records/ 

Feb. 20  Isabelle Esteves looking forward to NERGC

http://tracingyourfamilyroots.blogspot.com/2017/02/nergc-2017-update.html

Feb. 25  Barbara Matthews interviews Elissa Scalise Powell, Jen Baldwin and Michelle D. Novak

http://blog.demandinggenealogist.com/2017/02/nergc-2017-premieres-society-management.html 

Feb. 26  Special Interest Groups from Barbara Carroll at Heather Rojo’s blog

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/02/special-interest-groups-at-nergc.html 

March 5.  Barbara Matthews interviews Warren Bittner

http://blog.demandinggenealogist.com/2017/03/attend-nergc-2017-to-hear-warren.html

March 26,  Sara Campbell interviews Seema-Jayne Kenney

http://rememberingancestors.blogspot.com/2017/03/nergc-speaker-spotlight-seema-jayne.html

March 30  Heather Rojo wrote about Bob Anderson at Librarian Day

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/03/librarians-and-local-historians-day-at.html

March 31  Sara Campbell wrote about Mary Tedesco

http://rememberingancestors.blogspot.com/2017/03/nergc-opening-session-features-speaker.html 

April 7   Looking forward to NERGC  Heather Rojo

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/04/looking-forward-to-nergc-conference.html

April 9   Marian Wood prepared for NERGC

http://climbingmyfamilytree.blogspot.com/2017/04/motivation-monday-preparing-for-nergc.html

April 19   NERGC next week by Isabel Esteves

http://tracingyourfamilyroots.blogspot.com/2017/04/nergc-next-week-april-26-29.html?spref=tw

April 23     Upcoming Appearance:  NERGC, April 26 – 29, 2017 by Thomas MacEntee

http://hidefgen.com/upcoming-appearance-nergc-april-2017/  

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To read all the blog posts written during and after the NERGC 2017 conference, use this link:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/05/nergc-conference-reports-from-genealogy.html   

NERGC Conference Reports from the Genealogy Bloggers

Here is a compendium of blog posts written during and after the New England Genealogy Consortium’s conference NERGC 2017 in Springfield, Massachusetts April 26 – 29, 2017.  I'll be editing this if more submissions are made in the next few days. 

Sara Campbell

NERGC Opening Session Features Speaker Mary Tedesco

http://rememberingancestors.blogspot.com/2017/03/nergc-opening-session-features-speaker.html 

----------------------

Isabel Esteves

NERGC It’s Finally Here

http://tracingyourfamilyroots.blogspot.com/2017/04/nergc-its-finally-here.html

NERGC: DNA Workshop was Awesome

http://tracingyourfamilyroots.blogspot.com/2017/04/nergc-dna-workshop-was-awesome.html

------------------------

Elizabeth Pyle Handler

NERGC 2017 ~ Day 1

https://frommainetokentucky.blogspot.com/2017/04/nergc-2017-day-1.html  

NERGC 2017 ~ Day 2

https://frommainetokentucky.blogspot.com/2017/04/nergc-2017-day-2.html  

NERGC 2017 ~ Day 3

https://frommainetokentucky.blogspot.com/2017/04/nergc-2017-day-3.html

------------------------

Jenny Horner Hawran

Genie Rockstars
http://like-herding-cats.blogspot.com/2017/04/genie-rockstars.html?spref=fb

NERGC weekend- Geeks Unite
http://like-herding-cats.blogspot.com/2017/04/nergc-weekend-geeks-unite.html


----------------------------

Heather Rojo

Reporting from NERGC

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/04/reporting-from-nergc.html

Report 2 from NERGC 2017 in Springfield,  Massachusetts

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/04/report-2-from-nergc-2017-in-springfield.html

------------------------

Marian Wood

NERGC 2017 Preview

http://climbingmyfamilytree.blogspot.com/2017/04/nergc-2017-preview.html

NERGC 2017 – Thursday

http://climbingmyfamilytree.blogspot.com/2017/04/nergc-2017-thursday.html

NERGC 2017 Day 2

http://climbingmyfamilytree.blogspot.com/2017/04/nergc-2017-day-2.html  

NERGC 2017 Last Day

http://climbingmyfamilytree.blogspot.com/2017/04/nergc-2017-last-day.html

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Dan Young  (stay tuned for Dan’s videos of the NERGC conference, coming soon!)

NERGC, T-1

http://discoveringyourpast.com/wp/2017/04/27/nergc-t-1/

NERGC – Day 1

http://discoveringyourpast.com/wp/2017/04/28/nergc-day-1/

NERGC 2017 _ Day 2 in in the books

http://discoveringyourpast.com/wp/2017/04/28/nergc-2017-day-2-is-in-the-books/

Home from the #NERGC2017

http://discoveringyourpast.com/wp/2017/04/30/home-from-the-nergc2017/

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----------------------

To read all the pre-conference blog posts use this link:
https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/05/nergc-2017-pre-conference-blogging.html

Report 2 from NERGC 2017 in Springfield, Massachusetts

The Query Board at NERGC 2017

Here we are at the last day of the NERGC 2017 conference in Springfield, Massachusetts.  Every morning we walk a block and a half to the Mass. Mutual Center for the conference, and we pass this building.  It's the Northwestern Mutual building.  My Dad worked for Northwestern Mutual when I was little, and his office was in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts.  He reported to the office here in Springfield, and would often come here for meetings.  A little bit of family history!

Seen on the walk to NERGC from our hotel

Last night we thoroughly enjoyed Kenyatta Berry's presentation at the late night banquet, but we were up bright and early to attend sessions all day again.  We went to Thomas MacEntee's talk on "Taming the Genealogy Data Monster" and learned some great tricks for electronic organization.  Then we attended David Lambert's (NEHGS) talk on New England military records, where I learned a few more tricks on searching for early colonial ancestors in records.

The NH Society of Genealogist's booth with member Alex Auty,
and with vistors Susan Goyette and Dan Young of Nashua, New Hampshire

I volunteered to sit for an hour at the NH Society of Genealogist's booth, where it was fun to talk to attendees about our New Hampshire ancestors.  I should have volunteered for a few more hours!  Luncheon had Jane Wilcox speak about family stories, sponsored by the APG (Association of Professional Genealogists).  Then we heard David Lambert again, this time it was Probate records and Deeds in New England.  There was a break to see the vendor hall again before it closed.

Kenyatta Berry

The last two sessions I attended were "Women in 18th Century New England" by Nancy Smith, and then a review of the history of indentured servitude by Peggy Clemmons Lauritzen.  Vincent went to hear Kenyatta Berry's last session on "Your Enslaved Ancestors".  We ended the day with the Banquet where we heard Thomas MacEntee again, with a humorous presentation "How to Deal with Other Genealogists Without Going Crazy".  It was a last chance for meeting and greeting colleagues, bloggers and genealogists.

David Lambert from NEHGS, Yours Truly,
and Daniel Horowitz from MyHeritage

The next NERGC conference will be in 2019 in Manchester, New Hampshire!  I hope to see you there!

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Report 2 from NERGC 2017 in Springfield, Massachusetts", Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 29, 2017, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/04/report-2-from-nergc-2017-in-springfield.html: accessed [access date]).

Looking Forward to the NERGC Conference April 26 – 29th, Springfield, Massachusetts

The site of the NERGC 2017 conference
Mass Mutual Center at Springfield, Massachusetts

Do you have an interest in genealogy?  Do you have ancestors in New England?  Would you like to come to a major conference for just a day, or for the whole weekend?  You might be interested in attending the New England Regional Genealogy Conference at the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts later this month.  www.nergc.org  

Wednesday April 26^th is a special pre-conference day with several tracks.  There is a “Beginning DNA Day” sponsored by FamilyTreeDNA, “Professional Genealogist Day” sponsored by Excelsior College, “Librarian’s Day” sponsored by ProQuest, and a “Genealogy Society Management Day”.   Wednesday is also “Technology Day” with two tracks for beginners and advanced researchers.   There are also four Wednesday workshops, and no conference registration is required to attend!

The conference runs from Thursday to Saturday, April 27^th – 29^th.  There are over 90 lectures and presentations, as well as banquets, luncheon speakers, special workshops (with limited registration, sign up soon!),  and special interest groups.  The featured speakers at this conference will be F. Warren Bittner, Kenyatta D. Berry, and Thomas MacEntee.  Attendees will have the chance to hear from professional genealogists, authors, historians and archivists from all over the United States.

Follow the happenings before and during the conference on Twitter with #NERGC2017  #NERGC

Check out NERGC on Facebook   www.facebook.com/NERGC 

Download the conference brochure at this link:

http://www.nergc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Program-Brochure-03-03.pdf 

Check out the following blog posts about NERGC 2017:

December 7, 2016   Sara Campbell, looking forward to NERGC

http://rememberingancestors.blogspot.com/2016/12/nergc-conference-looking-forward-to.html

Feb. 2  Elizabeth Pyle Hander with Maureen Taylor

https://frommainetokentucky.blogspot.com/2017/02/nergc-interview-maureen-taylor.html

Feb. 2,  Marian Wood with Janeen Bjork

http://climbingmyfamilytree.blogspot.com/2017/02/meet-nergc-speaker-janeen-bjork-expert.html

Feb. 6    Elizabeth Pyle Handler with Diahan Southard

https://frommainetokentucky.blogspot.com/2017/02/nergc-interview-diahan-southard.html

Feb. 9.  Heather Rojo interviews Thomas MacEntee

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/02/an-interview-with-nergc-2017-speaker.html?spref=fb

Feb. 15  Marian Wood interviews Jennifer Zinck

http://climbingmyfamilytree.blogspot.com/2017/02/meet-nergc-speaker-jennifer-zinck.html

Feb. 16  Heather Rojo interviews Edwin Strickland

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/02/an-interview-with-nergc-2017-speaker_16.html

Feb. 17  Dan Young interviews Denise Picard Lindgren

http://discoveringyourpast.com/wp/2017/02/17/episode-4-french-canadian-sacramental-records/ 

Feb. 20  Isabelle Esteves looking forward to NERGC

http://tracingyourfamilyroots.blogspot.com/2017/02/nergc-2017-update.html

Feb. 25  Barbara Matthews interviews Elissa Scalise Powell, Jen Baldwin and Michelle D. Novak

http://blog.demandinggenealogist.com/2017/02/nergc-2017-premieres-society-management.html   

Feb. 26  Special Interest Groups from Barbara Carroll at Heather Rojo’s blog

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/02/special-interest-groups-at-nergc.html 

March 26,  Sara Campbell interviews Seema-Jayne Kenney

http://rememberingancestors.blogspot.com/2017/03/nergc-speaker-spotlight-seema-jayne.html

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “Looking Forward to the NERGC Conference April 26 – 29^th, Springfield, Massachusetts”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted April 7, 2017, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/04/looking-forward-to-nergc-conference.html:  accessed [access date]). 

Librarians and Local Historians Day at NERGC 26 April 2017

Breaking News!  

Robert (Bob) Charles Anderson of NEHGS will be a guest speaker at the Librarians and Local Historians Day luncheon sponsored by ProQuest.  He will discuss The Great Migration Study Project and his latest research during the luncheon.  You won’t want to miss out on this rare opportunity to hear Bob share his tremendous genealogical knowledge and expertise!  Seating is limited. Register today for this great all-day program (full conference registration is not required). 

Americans are getting more interested in genealogy because it’s trending with the public, as are libraries and librarians.  There is a great lineup of speakers for this full day event.   The strategic focus of Curt Witcher’s main presentation—Making the Financial Case for Genealogical Librarianship—shows that genealogy can attract funding for both groups. Partnerships between the two communities of practice would benefit both. Rhonda Clark’s book and presentation, Fostering Family History Services at Your Library, focuses on just that point. Curt’s second presentation, Online Resources Off the Beaten Path, highlights public domain resources for genealogical reference that don’t require a budget. Also of note is panelist Rachel Onuf who is the roving archivist for Massachusetts.  Many historical societies could benefit from a visit from her (at least in Massachusetts). 

New England Regional Genealogical Consortium website: http://www.nergc.org/

20 page PDF of the conference program (note that the luncheon speaker for the Librarian’s Day was changed to Bob Anderson, which is not reflected on page 5):

 http://www.nergc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Program-Brochure-03-03.pdf

Register at this link: 

https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?EventID=1842529

“Thank you!” to Sharon Christenson, chair of the Library Day committee for NERGC 2017 for providing the information and flyer for this blog post.

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Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Librarians and Local Historians Day at NERGC  26 April 2017", Nutfield Genealogy, posted March 30, 2017, (http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/03/librarians-and-local-historians-day-at.html: accessed [access date]).

Special Interest Groups at the NERGC Conference, Thursday, April 27, 7:15pm

The NERGC 2015 Blogger SIG

Special Interest Groups - NERGC 2017

Special Interest Groups will be held on Thursday, April 27^th, from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m during the NERGC conference in Springfield, Massachusetts at the MassMutual Center. They offer participants an informal opportunity to get together with others with similar interests to discuss ideas for genealogy research on a particular topic. Room locations will be posted at the Conference.   For more information see www.nergc.org  The SIGS are:

DNA Research:

Genetic genealogy is the use of DNA as it relates to family history. DNA is one of the most powerful tools available to modern genealogists. Join us for a discussion about available tests, testing companies, and how personal genomics can help you advance your family history when your paper trail runs out. Hosted by Jennifer Zinck.

Genealogy Blogging:

What is a genealogy blog? Do you read genealogy blogs? Do you write your own blog? Have you ever thought of starting your own? Come meet some bloggers and learn all about blogging! Hosted by Heather Wilkinson Rojo.

Irish-American Research:

Can't find the place of origin for your Irish ancestor? Come join Andrew Pierce as he leads a discussion group with other Irish-American researchers. We will discuss sources and strategies for finding your elusive Irish ancestors across the Atlantic. We will also discuss the ever-growing world of Irish research over the internet and the best sources to use for doing Irish research here at home and in Ireland. Hosted by Andrew Pierce.

French-Canadian Immigrants from the Maritime Provinces to New England  NEW:

Not all French Canadians immigrated to the United States from Quebec. Many came  from the Maritime Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Come to discuss and to learn about available resources and tips to find your ancestors in these provinces, as well as their distinct history and culture. Hosted by Rob Gumlaw of the American-French Genealogical Society.

Italian Research:

Do you have Italian ancestors? Italian genealogical research has exploded in the last twenty years. The resources available to today's family historian will amaze you. Bring along your research, problem ancestors, and questions about Italian records and hopefully we will be able to give you new avenues and sources to further your family tree in Italy and the US. Hosted by Mary Tedesco.

Jewish Genealogy:

Come join us to talk about strategies and hints for researching your Jewish ancestors. Depending on your interests, we might look at how to find the records of your immigrant ancestors, both here and in the "old country"; how to find people if they've changed their names; how to find the villages that your ancestors came from; and how to locate families lost or scattered by the Holocaust. Bring your questions and research problems and we'll look at both online and local resources that could help you in your search. Hosted by Meredith Hoffman.

Scandinavian Research:

Connect with other genealogists doing research in Scandinavia. This is an ideal way to network with others who share your interest. This special interest group offers something for genealogists at any level. Hosted by Sharon Christenson.

Polish and Eastern European Research NEW:

Confused by Eastern European historical geography? Come learn about the numerous border changes and  turn confusion into clarity. The presenters will  provide an overview of the topic and then offer strategies to identify and locate your ancestral village in the old country using both American and European sources. You'll learn where records are and how to access them to continue your journey to your ancestral past. Hosted by Prof. Jonathan Shea and Julie Roberts Szczepankiewicz.

African American Research  NEW:

Do you have African American ancestors? African American genealogical research has steadily progressed in the last decade, but brick walls are still common and hard to navigate around without the proper tools. The resources available to today's family historian will amaze you. Bring along your research, problem ancestors, and questions about African American records and hopefully we will be able to give you new avenues and sources to further your family tree. We will come together as a group and collectively discuss and explore areas of research unique to the African American community. The group discusses on using a variety of sources, including, but not limited to  sources such as: census records, Freedman Bureau records, and slave schedules, as well as other records that provide information for this special area of genealogy research.  Hosted by Ariana Fiorello.  

 Special thanks for this report from Barbara Carroll of NERGC