RELEASE DATE: JANUARY 22, 2012
KINSEARCHING
by
Marleta Childs
P. O. Box 6825
LUBBOCK, TX 79493-6825
[email protected]
Now is the time to begin making plans to attend the National Genealogical Society annual family history conference. Focusing on the theme, “The Ohio River: Gateway to the Western Frontier,” the conference will be held on 9-12 May 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio. More than 100 well-known genealogists will have presentations or workshops concerning such topics as methodology, military records, photographs, ethnic research, the mechanics of compiling a family history book, writing skills, technology and family research, DNA, African American research, records in various repositories (for instance law libraries and Cincinnati’s Genealogy and Local History Department), migration, and research in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana. Special programs will include an American genealogy home study course roundtable, strategies for records preservation and access, and a “youth kamp” offering age-related activities for children to promote an interest in family history.
Early arrivals will have the opportunity to participate in several pre-conference events. These activities will include a program for librarians, a tour of Greater Cincinnati and northern Kentucky, special research hours in the Cincinnati Historical Society Library, a tour of the Cincinnati History Museum and dinner, an evening at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and special research hours at the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County.
The society advises individuals to go online at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/conference__info to choose the sessions you want to attend. Your response will help to determine the appropriate room size that will be needed. Also available on the society’s website are details about registration costs, places to stay, meals, social events, and workshops. You can also request information by writing to the National Genealogical Society, 3108 Columbia Pike, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22204-4370.
As experienced researchers know, historical publications often contain data that can be very useful to genealogists. For instance, The Colorado Magazine, published by the State Historical Society of Colorado, carried a number of articles that provide information or clues about the origin or migration of people into a specific region. An example is “Recollections of the Families of Gregory and Russell, Colorado’s Pioneer Prospectors” by W. A. Gaydon. It appears on pages 58-64 of the March 1938 (Vol. XV, No. 2) issue.
According to the introduction, Mrs. Mardella L. Clark, who had moved to Denver from Georgia, wanted to know the role Georgians played in the founding of Denver and the development of the state’s early mining. She was especially interested in acquiring details about John H. GREGORY and Green RUSSELL, who was associated with the founding of Auraria, now a neighborhood in Denver. After her request appeared in the Gainesville, Georgia, newspaper in 1937, she received a response from W. A. Gaydon, a resident of Hammonton, California at the time but who had formerly lived in Colorado.
Born in Lumpkin County, Georgia, Gaydon was acquainted with members of the GREGORY and RUSSELL families in the Auraria, Georgia, area prior to the Civil War. (A reproduction of a tintype of William Green RUSSELL accompanies the article.) In his two letters, written in 1937, Gaydon furnishes fascinating stories and genealogical details about these two families as well as related lines and various neighbors. A few other surnames mentioned by Gaydon in his letters are ANDERSON, BATES, CARNEY, CASTLEBERRY, CHAPMAN, HOWARD, HOWARD, LILLY, ODOM, PASCHAL, WILSON, and WOODY.