Attention! That’s military talk for listen up! And that’s what we did during keynote speaker Michael Strauss’s presentations. Entertaining, energetic, informative — everything from the Colonial Wars through WWII. All three sessions kept us rapt with “attention!”

An always super fun activity at the conference is the “Dress Like Your Ancestor Day.” It was so fun to see attendees dressed as their Salem Witch ancestor (complete with noose), Colonial dame (watch out for that hoop skirt!), Norwegian (or German or New England or Irish or…other parts of the globe) ancestor. We all love to talk about our ancestors and today it was so fun to see them walking around the conference.

My two “extra” classes today were Sara Cochran’s “Irish Eyes Are Smiling: Finding Vital Records in the Land of Sain” and “Motive, Means and Opportunity: The Sad Saga of George Richards” with Jean Hibben. I’d never taken a workshop with their instructor, but will in the future. Great information and presentations!

Ahoy, maties! The evening closed with the annual banquet at the Gleneagle Golf Course. The always entertaining Daniel Earl kept us laughing all through his presentation on pirates. Yes, pirates! Who would have known how piracy affected our ancestors!

Tomorrow’s the last day of the conference, but a full one. Looking forward to hearing Thomas MacEntee — via video conference. Unfortunately, Thomas was unable to fly to the conference, but being the professional that he is, conference organizers arranged to have him live through the wonders of technology.

You could feel the excitement and energy in the building as more than 250 genealogy enthusiasts gathered at the Byrnes Performing Arts Center for the first full day of the 2019 Northwest Genealogy Conference.

Our keynote speaker was the amazing Angie Bush. Angie is a senior genealogist with Ancestry ProGenealogists. She’s also one of my favorite DNA speakers. She uses clear language, great examples and case studies and really keeps up on the ever-changing world of DNA.

Angie’s presentations today included Direct Line Testing (Y-DNA & mtDNA), Answering Genealogical Questions with Autosomal DNA and Power Tools to Make the Most of Your DNA Test. I had many “ah ha’s” to take home to apply to my own DNA results. Lots of notes scribbled on my syllabus.

In addition to the three keynote presentations, the conference attendees had to make the difficult choice of choosing just two workshops from the ten offered. I opted for Janice Lovelace’s “Becoming Washington: Who Came to the Northwest and Why” and “The Genealogical Proof Standard According to Sherlock Holmes” with Jill Morelli. Both classes were standing room only — more chairs brought in to Janice’s Washington class and Jill’s Sherlock Holmes class was moved to a bigger classroom.

I had a chance to visit a few vendors — interesting! Will buy raffle tickets and visit the Heritage Quest Research Library book store tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow…great fun is in store! It’s “Dress Like Your Ancestor” day! You can still register for the day. Doors open at 7:30 a.m. We’re waiting for you!

Northwest Genealogy Conference

There is only a week before the Northwest Genealogy Conference, August 14-17 in Arlington, WA.

If you’re still thinking about whether to attend or not, consider these benefits and offerings:

• Unlimited networking with other enthusiastic genealogists.
• More than two dozen top-notch presenters offering more than 30 classes. Keynote speakers will be Thomas MacEntee (through the magic of video), Angie Bush and Michael Strauss — all amazing presenters. What an opportunity to hear nationally renowned experts right here in Western Washington!
• Whether you consider yourself a beginner or more advanced genealogist, attend the FREE beginning genealogy session on Wednesday, the 14th, with Janet Conor Camarata. There’s always something to learn (or relearn!) in the world of genealogy.
• There are still openings in some of the “advanced” workshops held on Wednesday. Pre-registration and payment is required. Click here for more information.
• If you’ve got a young person interested in attending, a complimentary youth registration (ages 13-17) is available with one paid full conference registration. (Email info@stillygen.org or call the Society at 360-435-4838 for further information.)
• Vendors! Vendors! Vendors! Don’t miss the opportunity to see what’s new!
• Sign up for all three days or just one — fit it into your schedule.
• Maybe you’ll find a cousin if you post a surname message on the Cousin Board in the registration area. A great way to connect with other attendees.

Don’t miss this opportunity. Sign up today by clicking here.

Sign up for one of the best bargains of the summer! A FREE Beginning Genealogy day with Janet Camarata on August 14th at the Northwest Genealogy Conference in Arlington. Sign up here.

During Janet’s jam-packed workshop (1:00 – 4:30 p.m.), she’ll cover:

• Are you a Genealogist or Family Historian?
• The Basics of the Genealogical Hunt
• Organizing Strategies for Genealogy Success
• Locating Genealogy Records Online and Off-line
• Techniques and Tools to Transform your Approach to Research
• Resources and References for Improved Research Results
• Tips to avoid Genealogy Traps, Confusion, and Overload
• The Next Steps as a Genealogist

Don’t consider yourself a beginner? Good for you, but I can attest that I learn (or relearn!) something in every workshop I attend. So, sign up for this great opportunity whether you’re a beginner or intermediate or advanced researcher!

The Northwest Genealogy Conference is pleased to announce that Janet Camarata has graciously stepped up to replace Thomas MacEntee on Wednesday August 14th for the FREE Beginning Genealogy Class to be held at the beautiful (air conditioned) Byrnes Performing Arts Center in Arlington. You can register at nwgc.org and get the details of the other exciting classes being offered …online registration closes Aug 13 – don’t miss this fun event!

There are still a few openings in the advanced workshops at next month’s Northwest Genealogy Conference. There was a little hiccup at the beginning of the registration period, but everything’s working fine now, so jump on this opportunity.

Open to fully paid, full conference registrants, the class options include:

• Connecting Your Matches With AncestryDNA with Angie Bush, $40 (class is nearly full, so hurry up & register!)
• Schivener for Easier Family History Writing Projects with Lisa Alzo, $30
• Disaster Proofing Your Research with Sara Cochran, $30

The Northwest Genealogy Conference is August 14 – 17, 2019 at the Byrnes Performing Arts Center in Arlington, Washington.