FGS Program for 20 October 2007

The Florida Genealogical Society will hold its monthly meeting on Saturday, October 20th, at 10:30 AM in the Auditorium at the John F. Germany Library at 900 North Ashley Drive in downtown Tampa. (This is a new starting time due to a change in library hours.) Our speaker is Kim Harrison, a representative of Newsbank. Kim will present a program titled “America’s GenealogyBank: Introduction to a New Resource.” THPLC has recently added this tremendous new resource to its collection of genealogy databases and Kim will present the database and demonstrate how to use it to facilitate your use of the database for genealogical research. Learn from and expert! Admission is free.

We sincerely hope you will join us for Kim Harrison's authoritative and insightful program. She is the most knowledgeable person in the Newsbank staff and will teach you all the ins and outs of effectively using this excellent reference resource.

News from Other Societies: South bay Genealogical Society

The South Bay Genealogical Society will meet on Tuesday, November 16th, at Noon at the SouthShore Regional Library. The speaker will be George G. Morgan who will present a program titled "The Genealogist as CSI." The collection and analysis and comparison of evidence are keys to genealogical problem solving, similar to the work of a crime scene investigator. Learn step-by-step methodologies to succeed as a genealogical CSI. More information is available at the SBGS Web site at http://www.rootsweb.com/~flsbgs.

News from Other Societies: Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay meets at Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services, 14041 Icot Blvd., Clearwater, Florida on Sunday, November 4, 2007. A social with refreshments and library access begins at 1:30 PM, and the featured program starts at 2:00 PM.

Ancestry.com is the world's largest online family history site with over 4 billion names in research databases including, but not limited to, census, birth, marriage, death, military, immigration, newspapers, directories, court, land, and probate records. Ancestry.com has added so many new and expanded databases in recent years that guidance is needed to make effective use of all that is there. George Morgan is an authority on Ancestry.com who recently published a new book "The Official Guide to Ancestry.com" to provide that guidance. He will speak on how to be more proficient in searching Ancestry.com. He will explore some obscure but useful databases within Ancestry.com that you didn't know existed, and you will learn how to get the most out of doing genealogy on Ancestry.com.

Mr. Morgan, an avid genealogist, is president of Aha! Seminars, Inc. He served on the senior staff of the Genealogy Forum for America Online. Mr. Morgan has been an adjunct instructor with the School of Library and Information Science at the University of South Florida in Tampa, where he taught courses in "Introduction to the Internet" and "Web Page Design and Management. He is the author of the popular weekly genealogical column, "Along Those Lines..." which is published each Friday at the Ancestry.com Web site, and in the Ancestry.com Daily News E-mail newsletter. He is the past editor of the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) online newsletter, the Delegate Digest. Mr. Morgan is the author of the book, "The Genealogy Forum on America Online: The Official User's Guide", published by Ancestry.com.

The purpose of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay is to assist interested individuals in learning about Jewish genealogy and how to research, document and preserve their own family histories. The Society does this by facilitating the exchange of research information, encouraging and facilitating research activities, educating members to help themselves and others, making available research resources and materials, and presenting monthly programs of interest to Jewish genealogical researchers. The Society’s library and research resources include both printed materials and Internet access as well as guided assistance from experienced researchers. Special emphasis is given to helping beginners.

Anyone interested in learning how to do Jewish genealogical research is invited to attend. Beginners as well as experienced researchers are welcome. For information on the organization or directions to the meeting call Sally Israel at 727-343-1652.

News from Other Societies

"Thou Shalt Teach Them Diligently Unto Thy Children."
Presentation by Dr. Herman Koren
Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay Meeting
Sunday, October 14, 2007

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay will hold its October meeting at 2:00 PM Sunday October 14, 2007 at Temple B'nai Israel, 1685 S. Belcher Road, Clearwater, Florida for a presentation by Dr. Herman Koren on "Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children." This is a presentation of a love story found within the pages Dr. Koren's book "Histories of the Jewish People of Pinellas County, Florida, 1883 – 2005". This book is a comprehensive documentation of Jewish life throughout the history of Pinellas County. Dr. Koren spent several years researching and writing this remarkable book.

This joint meeting is combined with Temple B'nai Israel's program for the Tampa Bay area presentation of Dr. Herman Koren's book on the history of the Jewish People in Pinellas County. The book tells a community story within the framework of the continuum of Jewish values and history. It represents the cooperative efforts of many hundreds of people throughout Pinellas County and throughout the United States.

Dr. Koren is widely known and respected for his fifty years as a researcher, teacher, consultant, and practitioner in the environmental health field, and in the occupational health, hospital, medical care, and safety fields. He has a PhD from Indiana University, and is Professor Emeritus from Indiana State University. In addition to many publications and presentations at national meetings, he is the author of seven books. He has received the Walter S. Mangold Award, the most distinguished award offered in the environmental health science field.

This is not Dr. Koren's first venture into documenting the history of a Jewish community. In 1984, when he was active in the United Hebrew Congregation of Terre Haute, Indiana, a Reform Temple, he became the historian for that Jewish community by volunteering to write "The 150-Year History of the Jewish Community of Terre Haute, Indiana." He successfully applied his knowledge and skills from his education and professional writings to research and write Terre Haute's Jewish history. Now he has applied this same skill and knowledge to a history of the Jewish people in Pinellas County.

For information on the Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay or directions to the October 14th meeting call Sally Israel at 727-343-1652.

FGS Tampa's 2007 Fall Conference is a Great Success

The 2007 FGS (Tampa) Fall Seminar was, by all accounts from attendees, vendors, and the FGS Board, an unqualified success! Our speaker, Amy Johnson Crow, CG, delivered four information-packed presentations from which every attendee -- both beginner and veteran researcher -- agreed that they learned a great deal. Amy is a consummate presenter who incorporates quality information and humor in all of her materials. We are exceptionally proud to have brought Amy to Tampa for this, our third annual Fall Conference.

Our vendors, societies, and other exhibitors enjoyed the intense interest of all of our more than 80 attendees. In addition, there were 20 door prizes, as well as many free books and magazines, donated by the following: Aha! Seminars, Inc., AncestorStuff.com, Ancestry Publishing, Digital Genealogist, LLD, Everton Publishers, the Florida Genealogical Society, Inc., the Genealogy Guys Podcast, the Hillsborough County Public Library System, RootsMagic, Inc., Trevetta Hartline Wunderlin, and more. We are sincerely grateful for the support of our society's activities by these wonderful people .

One of the great delight and highlights of the annual Fall Seminar is the awarding of the FGS Volunteer of the Year award. This year's recipient is Loraine Jacobs Rose. Loraine is a much-loved and -respected member of the society and the Corresponding Secretary of the FGS Board. She s, coordinating the Telephone Tree to remind our members of monthly meetings and other upcoming events, handling correspondence, and contributing her efforts and talents wherever they are needed. Despite personal and family health concerns, she has worked tirelessly in the past year (and indeed for many years) to make our genealogical society a high quality, professional and scholarly organization. Loraine is shown at right receiving her 2007 Volunteer of the Year Award plaque from society president Drew Smith. In addition, her name has been added to the society's Volunteer of the Year Award plaque that hangs in the Ceta Rodgers Armitage Room at the John F. Germany Library in downtown Tampa. Her name joins that of Treveta Hartline Wunderlin, the 2006 award winner, and their names and contributions will be honored and remembered for all time by our society.

Planning is already under way for the FGS 2008 Fall Seminar, which will commemorate and celebrate the society's 50th anniversary. We are the oldest genealogical society in the State of Florida and are planning a gala conference for next year! Watch for details in the coming months, and let us know if you'd like to volunteer to be part of the planning and excitement!

Florida State Genealogical Society Newsletter is Available

The Florida State Genealogical Society's quarterly newsletter, Florida Lines, is available at http://www.rootsweb.com/~flsgs/pub_newsletter_floridalines/vol25issue3.pdf for your information and enjoyment. Included are articles about identity theft issues, the upcoming FSGS annual conference in Orlando on 9-10 November 2007, and the slate of nominees for election to the FSGS Board.

Excitement is Building for the Florida Genealogical Society’s 2007 Fall Seminar!

The excitement is really building for the Florida Genealogical Society (Tampa) 2008 Fall Seminar! Plans have fallen into place and we’re ready to welcome all who attend.

We are extremely pleased to welcome our speaker, the very distinguished Amy Johnson Crow, CG, for the 2007 Fall Seminar. Amy is a well-known and very well-respected genealogical researcher and speaker. She is a Certified Genealogist, accredited by the Board of Certification of Genealogists (BCG). She has held numerous offices in local, state, and national-level societies and had led each to success! She is an excellent writer, having authored genealogy columns, newsletters, and articles in national genealogical magazines. She also is the co-author, with Pam Porter, of the enormously successful book, Online Roots: How to Discover Your Family's History and Heritage With the Power of the Internet, one of the National Genealogical Society's series of publications.

We have a very exciting series of lectures to be presented. First, Amy will be presenting four (4) excellent programs for your genealogical learning experience. They are:

• Researching Your Civil War Ancestors Online
• Ten Years is a Long Time: Census Substitutes for the In-Between Years
• Finding Ancestors Before 1850
• Finding Female Ancestors

Beginners and experienced genealogists will learn a great deal from each of these sessions. A special session, Beginning Your Genealogical Research, will be presented at the lunch hour by our society president and nationally recognized lecturer and author Drew Smith. (Box lunches will be available for sale on-site at the registration desk on your arrival!)

Books, services, and genealogical and lineage societies will be represented in force in our exhibit hall. You can learn, buy, and join at the same time!

In addition, we have arranged for great give-way items AND we currently have NINETEEN terrific door prizes to be drawn during the conference. Door prizes have been contributed by the following organizations and individuals:

▪ AncestorStuff.com

▪ Ancestry.com and its parent company, The Generations Network, Inc.

▪ Aha! Seminars, Inc.

▪ The Digital Genealogist, LLD

▪ Florida Genealogical Society, Inc.

▪ The Genealogy Guys Podcast

▪ George G. Morgan

▪ RootsMagic, Inc.

▪ Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library Cooperative

▪ Trevetta Hartline Wunderlin

The 2007 FGS Volunteer of the Year will also be announced and awarded a personal plaque, and the volunteer’s name will be added to our Volunteer of the Year on display in the Ceta Rodgers Armitage Room at the John F. Germany Public Library in downtown Tampa.

Please look for the registration form here at our Web site (on the right-hand side). We welcome you to join us on Saturday, 8 September 2007, at the Hillsborough Community College Campus on Dale Mabry, across from Raymond James Stadium (where the Buccaneers play). There will be signs there to direct you to the Student Services Building. (There’s also a map here on our Web site.) WALK-INS ARE WELCOME ON THE DAY OF THE EVENT! Come to the seminar and bring your friends and genealogy colleagues!

FGS is thrilled to bring Ms. Crow to Tampa for our annual Fall Seminar, and we are looking forward to an extraordinary day of genealogy, friendship, and fun! Please join us on September 8^th at HCC!