Imperial Polk Genealogical Society to Host One-Day Seminar with Jana Solan Broglin, CG

The Imperial Polk Genealogical Society will host a on-day seminar on Saturday, October 17, 2009, at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida. Their keynote speaker is nationally-recognized genealogical expert and lecturer, Jana Sloan Broglin, CG, who will present four presentations:

• "See Ya in the Funnies"
• "Ohio: The Great Land Experience"
• "Hookers, Crooks, and Kooks" (or "Aunt Merle Didn't Run a Boarding House")
• "The Key to the Courthouse"

The event will be held in the Alumni Room of the Charles Thrift Building at Florida Southern College, 111 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, in Lakeland. Doors open at 8:00 AM for registration, and the seminar will take place between 9:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Pre-registration is $40, and registration at the door on the day of the conference is $45, and a continental breakfast and lunch are included in the price.

A registration form with seminar details is available in PDF format at http://www.ipgs.org/SeminarFlyer.pdf. For additional information, please send email to KAYSTONE@prodigy.net or IPGSKED@aol.com.

CG is a registered service mark of the Board for Certification of Genealogists.

Brandon Area Genealogical & Historical Society To Host Spanish Cultural Day

The following press release was received from Scott Peeler, President of the Brandon Area Genealogical and Historical Society (BAGHS):

The Brandon Area Genealogical and Historical Society (BAGHS) is holding a Spanish cultural day on Saturday, November 14, 2009, to highlight one of the social clubs and cultures of one of our prominent ethnic groups in the Tampa area. At 10:00 a.m., we will meet at the Centro Asturiano building which is at the corner of Palm Avenue and Nebraska Avenue on the western edge of Ybor City, Tampa. I encourage you to carpool. Enter the gated parking lot from Nebraska. Enter the building from the parking lot and take the elevator to the 2nd level. One of the members of the Centro Asturiano will be giving us a brief overview of the history of the Spanish in Tampa, and specifically the people from Asturias. Asturias is a region in northern Spain from which the majority of the Spanish emigrants came to Tampa, many to work in the cigar industry. We will take a tour of the Centro Asturiano building which has been the recipient of thousands of dollars of grant money in recent years to restore the beautiful building which will soon be celebrating its one hundred year anniversary.

On the lower level of the Centro is Latam Restaurant where we will have a typical Spanish meal. This level of the Centro was formerly the cantina where male members smoked cigars, played cards and dominoes, and had their strong Spanish coffee and drinks after a hard day's work in the cigar factories. Mr. David Morejon, owner of Latam at the Centro Restaurant, has put together a great buffet menu for our group. There is no need to indicate a food choice when making your reservation since we will be served buffet style. We will have exclusive use of the restaurant that day as he does not normally open for lunch and is doing this just to accommodate our organization. Our menu will include baked chicken, roast pork, yellow rice, black beans, choice of coffee, tea or soft drink with flan for dessert. I am sure you will enjoy the delicious food. The total charge per person for the entire day's activities and meal is only $17, which is an excellent price, including tax and gratuities. Normally, there is a room charge which he is going to waive for us. We certainly do appreciate his kindness in being so generous to BAGHS and our friends.

After our meal, we will proceed to the original Centro Asturiano Cemetery where our guide will continue his informative lecture about well-known citizens who are buried in the cemetery. We can travel in convoy to the cemetery which is located on the corner of Indiana and Ola Avenues next to Woodlawn Cemetery. The cemeteries are located between Tampa Street and North Boulevard a few blocks north of Columbus Drive. It is about two miles west of the Centro. If you are not familiar with that area you will want to make sure you follow the others as we travel. Neither the Centro nor the guide for the day is charging us anything for this event so we are going to take up a voluntary collection at the cemetery which will be used for the upkeep of the cemetery. Of course, it is not mandatory that you donate, but I am sure they would appreciate any amount you can give for the upkeep of this historic cemetery since it is privately owned and not maintained by the city.

The 33rd Annual FSGS Conference - “It’s Way More Than Just Florida!”

The following press release was received from the Florida State Genealogical Society (FSGS):

The 33rd Annual FSGS Conference
“It’s Way More Than Just Florida!”

Join us for the fun and excitement of the 33rd annual Florida State Genealogical Society Conference on Friday and Saturday, November 13-14, 2009, in Melbourne, Florida. The conference will be held at the Hilton Melbourne Rialto Place and promises to be our best event yet!

The Speakers and Topics

If you thought that our state conference only focused on Florida, you would be dead wrong. There are always excellent presentations on a wide variety of topics and geographical areas. This year’s conference is pleased to present Craig Roberts Scott, MA, CG^SM, as our featured speaker. He will present lectures on four topics: “Basic Military Research,” “Treasury Records: Follow the Money” “Publishing Your Genealogical Material; Getting the Ink on Paper,” and “Problem Solving.” Craig is a professional researcher, speaker, and author. He is an expert on military research and in working with U.S. federal records. He is the president and CEO of Heritage Books, Inc., a genealogical publishing firm with over 2,800 titles in print.

In addition, the conference program committee has selected eight world-class speakers to present 15 other lectures for all levels of researchers. They are: Pamela J. Cooper; Paul Enchelmayer; Amy Larner Giroux, CG^SM, CGL^SM; George G. Morgan; Donna M. Moughty; Ann Mohr Osisek; Drew Smith, MLS; and C. Ann Staley, CG^SM, CGL^SM. Their topics include: research in the U.S. and the U.K. and Ireland; using many different record types; using Google and online resources to research your genealogy; family health history research; copyright and plagiarism; using blogs; and more! The speakers and their topics can be seen on the Conference Flyer and Registration Form at the FSGS website at http://www.flsgs.org.

The Hotel

The Hilton Melbourne Rialto Place is the venue for the conference. It has undergone a complete renovation and is a truly beautiful facility. It is the winner of the Hilton Hotel Corporation’s prestigious 2008 “Connie Award” for Best Overall Performance, the highest award given to any Hilton hotel. The hotel is located at 200 Rialto Place in Melbourne, and FSGS has negotiated a great rate of $84.00 per night for up to 4 people per room – our lowest hotel rate since 2004! Parking and high-speed Internet access are complimentary too! You will enjoy the food to be served at luncheons and the gala Friday evening banquet.

The Exhibit Hall

The vendors and exhibitors joining us will provide a diverse and wonderful collection of materials for sale and great displays. They also bring their knowledge and experience to share with the attendees. Feel free to ask questions about your research problems and get their advice. There also will be door prizes and other surprises!

APG Ancestor Road Show

The Florida Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists will once again host their popular “Ancestor Road Show.” Attendees can sign up to spend time with a knowledgeable professional researcher to get suggestions for breaking down those inevitable brick walls. The organization will also host a networking luncheon on Friday.

Florida Pioneer Descendants

We’ll again honor this year’s recipients of the Florida Pioneer Descendants Certificates at our gala awards banquet on Friday evening. We’ll also present a session at which you can learn about this prestigious program and get all your questions answered.

Mark Your Calendar Now!

Further information about the conference, the speakers, and topics and descriptions are available at the FSGS website at http://www.flsgs.org. You can download Conference Registration materials in PDF format and make your reservations. We’ll look forward to seeing you there!

“It’s Way More Than Just Florida!”

CG and CGL are registered Service Marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists.

News from Other Societies - Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay will meet at Gulf Coast Jewish Family Services, 14041 Icot Blvd., Clearwater, Florida on Sunday September 13, 2009 presenting Deborah Shapiro Radstrom and Rita Kirstein Shapiro speaking on Hamburg as one of the main embarkation ports for European Jews and accessing its website on the Internet. A social with refreshments and library access begins at 1:30 PM, and the featured program starts at 2:00 PM.

Deborah Shapiro Radstrom and Rita Kirstein Shapiro will present the history of the Port of Hamburg. An emigrant city adjoining the Port housed and fed the masses that converged on Hamburg was developed by one Jewish man, Albert Ballin. This emigrant city helped the thousands of emigrants to depart in an orderly and safe manner to various parts of the world, although most opted for the U.S.A. Our presenters will demonstrate how to use the Port of Hamburg website and its database to research outbound ship’s manifests to locate passengers listed on those manifests. You will learn how to use the tools and techniques at the website to research the Port of Hamburg’s ships manifests.

More than five million people left their homes in Europe between 1850 and 1939 via the Port of Hamburg to start a new life in American. From 1891 on, Hamburg became one of the most important ports for emigrants from all across Europe.

The mission of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay is to assist interested individuals in learning about Jewish genealogy and learning 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.