Our 2011 Seminar took place October 15. Our speaker, John T. Humphrey was well received by those who attended.

Additionally, the presenters of free classes provided valuable information; and we express thanks for their efforts. And, many thanks to the volunteers who helped make the day a success!

To all of our 2011 Seminar volunteers I wish to say THANK YOU! Thanks for your time and your hard work. This or any other seminar cannot work without volunteers. Thank you, and I look forward to working with you all in 2012.
Yvette Norsworthy
2011 Seminar Co-Chair

The LGS 2012 Seminar will be held on October 20. The speaker at this event will be Curt B. Witcher, the Department Manager for the Historical Genealogy Department of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is a member of the Genealogy Committee of the American Library Association and participates in other genealogical and historical committees of that organization. His topics will be:

· "Pain In the Access": Getting More from the Internet.
Library, archive, government, and GenWeb sites have much to offer genealogists if they know how and where to look--and it’s not as complicated or painful and it might first seem. This presentation will demonstrate sites and strategies for getting more meaningful data from the web, and assists genealogists in using the Internet for more than just hunting for names.

· Historical Research Methodology: Engaging the Process to Find All the Answers
Many genealogists miss opportunities to find consequential documents for advancing their research because they do not follow a standard research methodology, namely the “historical research methodology.” Special care is given in this lecture to emphasize the importance of some rather fundamental basics which, when used together, make for a powerful data-gathering methodology: (1) working from present to past, from known to unknown; (2) documenting everything that is recorded, always looking for particular facts or pieces of data to reveal or uncover yet more information; (3) using the yardstick of “researching as broad as one researches deep,” i.e. using geographic contexts to open doors to migration and settlement groups, ethnic churches, cemeteries, and limited edition publications; and (4) placing one’s genealogical research in the proper historical context to maximize one’s record-gathering potential.

· Fingerprinting Our Families: Using Ancestral Origins as a Genealogical Research Key
This lecture explores how the concept of “America, the Great Melting Pot” may really be a flawed concept, and that identifying the particular ethnic group of one’s ancestor or potential ancestor can pay some significant research dividends. Topics covered in this lecture include how to build a historical context for one’s ancestor, studying population clusters, paying attention to patterns of all sorts (naming, migration, settlement, etc.), understanding the “push and pull” of migration (i.e. the reasons behind families or individuals migrating), and locating repositories for various ethnic groups.

· Doing Effective Genealogical Research In Libraries
So often genealogists miss the tremendous research treasures in libraries and archives because they are not effective researchers. This talk focuses on (1) understanding the four major types of libraries and their missions/roles [academic, private, public, and special], (2) organizing one’s data in a manner in which it can be both effectively and efficiently presented to a librarian, archivist, or record custodian for review and consultation, (3) developing techniques for “scouting” a research facility before actually arriving, and (4) functioning well in a wide variety of research facilities.

For a printable flyer with a registration blank, click here.