Saturday, June 8, 2013

2013 Jamboree - Day 3

I had another great day here at Jamboree. Morning classes started with:

8:30 a.m.
D. Joshua Taylor, "Preserving Digital Files: A Step-by-Step Guide"
Wonderful presentation. Joshua went into detail of how and when to start preserving our digital files. He shared some stories of what NOT to do and how to avoid disaster. So glad I went to this class.

10:00 a.m.
Rhonda R. McClure, Was My Ancestor Naturalized?"
Since I'm starting on researching naturalization records, this was a class I didn't want to miss. Rhonda stated when laws took effect and the naturalization process.

11:30 a.m.
John P. Colletta, "Your Immigrant Ancestors How to Discover Their True Stories"
He described the original records and published materials available along with three immigrant stories.

After lunch I perused the exhibit hall, asked a lot of questions, picked up brochures; even won one of the raffles.

2:00 p.m.
Leland Meitzler, "Researching Your Germanic Ancestors Using Online Resources"
My maternal line is German. Haven't done much German research but after Leland's class, I won't be short on websites and links. Good talk.

3:30 p.m.
Cyndi Ingle Howells, "Advanced Googling for Grandma"
This is the first time I've seen Cyndi. I've been using her website since I first started by family research. This advanced Google search left me in awe. She is just amazing. Excellent presentation!

I was able to get a ticket for the Saturday night banquet. The guest speaker was, D. Joshua Taylor, "Games, Stories, and Adventures: The Future of Family History." Enjoyable table conversations; met some great people from around California. I don't always go to the banquets, glad I did tonight.

Friday, June 7, 2013

2013 Jamboree - Day 2

 Had a great day. Got to sleep in, then went down and had a quick cereal breakfast on the "green" between the hotel and the convention center. I attended the JamboFREE Italian Research Roundtable session. Met wonderful people. The moderator was so helpful. She brought several of her own books on Italian records from home. She let us browse through them. She is at the immigration table in the exhibit hall. I have Italian brick wall; I'll be stopping by her booth throughtout the weekend. She'll also be able to help me with my German ancestor questions.

I signed up for the three day conference and was also able to get a ticket for Saturday night banquet. I bought the syllabus (as big and heavy as a phone book). Looked through the book over lunch to help me pick which classes to attend this afternoon. Here's the classes I took:

1:30 p.m. - Lisa Louise Cooke, "Pimp Your iPad: How to Turn Your iPad and Other Tablets Into an Ultimate Genealogy Cruisin' Machine."
EXCELLENT!! I bought her book, but this was what I needed to fully understand some of the Apps.

3:00 p.m. - D. Joshua Taylor, "ArchiveFinder and ArchiveGrid: Treasures in Archival Records."
Lots of great information. Kind of felt over-my-head, but was able to keep up when he got into the ArchiveGrid information.

4:30 p.m. - Daniel Poffenberger, "The Parish Chest: Beyond the Christening, Marriage and Burial Registers."
His talk was on Church of England parish records. I don't have any English ancestors but his talk was very informative and funny.

I'll be checking out the vendors in the exhibit hall; hike down the High-Tech Hallway in the hotel to take a Test Drive in the Tech Zone. Maybe signup for a one-on-one consultation with a Research Assistance from the Southern California Chapter of APG.

There's a wide variety of classes to choose from. Looking forward to tomorrow's sessions.

Thursday, June 6, 2013

2013 Jamboree - Day 1

I've been coming to SCGS Jamboree for about 10 years.  I look forward to all three days.  I've always blocked out those days early on our family calendar. Sent in my registration, packed my bag and my genealogy info.

This year was no exception. I downloaded the 2013 App; got it all setup with my schedule. I had reserved a room at the Marriott for three nights. I even got here extra early just to get a parking spot in the lot.  Didn't want to have to park over at the airport and then schlep my luggage.  I was so ready, prepared, excited, just forgot one little thing.  I forgot to send in my early registration.  Tomorrow, I'll be standing in line at 12 p.m. as a walk-in registrant.

This won't dampen my excitement about being here in Burbank. Hope I get into all the classes I want.  If not, I have backup classes I can dash to.