About Charlie

Charlie Gardes was born in New Orleans and raised in Houston attending the St. John's School, The University of Texas, and The University of Houston. He begun actively researching his family history in 1992, has been an LDS Family History Center volunteer since 1994, and has been an Internet user beginning in 1995. He has been a member of the Houston Genealogical Forum since 1994 serving on its hospitality committee from 1997 - 2000, Seminar Chairman 1998 - 2000, Director 2000 - 2002, and is currently its Web Master, Director of Technical Services, and Co-Chair of the Group Projects Committee.

In addition to assisting genealogists with their research at the Houston Texas Family History Center on Bering Drive. Charlie has served on various Internet based mailing lists on the Roots-Web system in a mentoring capacity by assisting members with methodology problems, and has been published in the weekly Internet genealogy e-zine Roots-Web Review. He has lectured in the Houston area since 1998 including programs for the Clayton Library Friends, the Houston Genealogical Forum, the Daughters of The Republic of Texas - State Convention 2000, various chapters of the Daughters of The American Revolution, the Bear Creek Genealogical Society, the LDS Houston Texas East (Pasadena) Family History Center Annual Seminar, and the LDS Baytown Family History Center "Ancestor Days 2000" Seminar.

About the talk

Since 1997 there has been a growth in the number of genealogists worldwide specifically attributed to the boon of the Internet and its vast resources. Everyone's doing it! Time Magazine has featured this on its cover! However, there is just as much erroneous information for researchers to find as there is quality material. This lecture will look at what's really available on the Internet, and sometimes more importantly what's NOT available, by applying traditional research techniques to the Internet in order to find and access important family information. In the form of a single ancestor case study, the audience will travel through out-of-town libraries and special collections; university archives; federal repositories; foreign libraries, web sites, genealogy societies, and bookstores; as well as on-line auctions.

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