Calling All Family History Consultants! (At least those who pre-registered :-)

The Final Day of the 45th Annual BYU Conference on Family History and Genealogy

The Ancestry Insider

The keynote addresses are finished, the vendors are gone, and the Ancestry Insider has said good-bye, this is the final day of the BYU Conference on Family History and Genealogy being held in Provo, Utah.

Initial registration offered Family History Consultants one day of training at no cost. For those who have pre-registered today is the day! Sessions will include training on using Facebook, the role of youth, new resources available, more about the heart then the chart, and concluding the day with a case study. There will be a track for adults discussing youth and genealogy. Research tracks include the U.S., British, English/Welsh, and LDS Ancestral Research. Tracks for computers & technology and ICAPGEN complete the conference program.

Interview with J. Mark Lowe

Yesterday J. Mark Lowe exceeded expectations as he addressed a full house at the BYU Conference Center in the opening session. His presentation entitled, “Coffins, Urns & Zip Lock Bags” was not only informative, but fun :-) He had all of us laughing at life and isn’t lives lived and lessons learned what family history’s all about? From sharing stories of growing up as the youngest of five children to nurturing the interest in family history and genealogy with his nephews and others, Mark exemplifies the family historian. It was impressive!

The transcript will be made available soon on the conference website so I won’t elaborate, but he provided a list of “possible objectives” to support and save our cemeteries:

Identify historic cemeteries
Make “public” aware of cemeteries
Research cemetery use & history
Preserve and protect cemeteries
Promote cemetery preservation through education and special events
Broaden support

He posed the question, “What’s in your cemetery kit?” Some of the items he suggested were cornstarch, a paint brush, gloves, an unbreakable mirror, and a camera. He also admonished us to watch out for chiggers :-)

He closed the session by singing “My Grandfather’s Clock” written in 1876 by Henry Clay Work. From one voice to many, this session ended on key. (I must admit, the sing-a-long was a first for me in this setting and I wanted to break out my guitar to play along :-)

I had the opportunity to visit with Mark after the opening session. I asked him how he enjoyed the conference. He shared that he really enjoys being with people that are like-minded in genealogy. I asked him if he had the opportunity to attend other sessions and what he learned. He mentioned that he gained insight when he attended the Huguenot in North America presentation. He also mentioned that it was interesting to hear about the plans and developments that are happening at FamilySearch. When I asked him what he’s been up to recently he mentioned the work of the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS), the War of 1812 Pension Digitization Project, and the recent FGS Webinar he gave on July 18th entitled, “Discovering Local & State Militia Records” which is now available to the public for viewing. After his final presentation here at the conference, Mark was off to catch his plane. He is speaking at the 38th Annual Seminar of the Kentucky Genealogical Society (KGS) on Saturday, August 3rd. It is an all-day event with four lectures given by Mark, including “Coffins, Urns & Zip-lock Bags.” For more information, visit the the KGS website.