Ohio Research Trip October 2011, part 2

This is the second post about my recent Ohio research trip. The first can be read here.

I left for Ohio on Friday, September 30th. I had signed up for the Ohio Genealogical Society's Fall Seminar, featuring Dick Eastman, which was being held in Bellville, Ohio on October 1st.

Dick gave four talks:

• The Organized Genealogist
• Conservation: Keeping Up With Technology
• Wikis for Genealogists
• Maine Outhouses I Have Known and Loved

All talks were informative. I learned new things, and each of the first three gave me new ideas to aid in my family research. The talk on the Maine outhouses was just plain fun!

I do have to admit I was disappointed in the venue for this Seminar. It had been moved from the OGS Library to a church just down the road. This "church" was in what looked like an old gymnasium. It reminded me of an airplane hangar! And it was quite chilly, though I think the heat was turned up a little later in the day. Also, there were no handouts for the talks. Lunch was not provided. From an esteemed organization such as OGS, I was expecting more.

Skipping ahead to the following weekend, I headed to Dayton, Ohio on Friday, October 7th. I had registered for the Montgomery County Chapter of OGS' 2011 Seminar being held in Dayton on October 8th. The featured speaker for this event was Paula Stuart-Warren.

Paula also gave four talks:

•  The U. S. National Archives: The nation's Attic
• What Next? Developing Research Plans
• Lord Preserve Us! Church Records for Family History Research
• The Art of Genealogical Research Trips

Again, all talks were informative and I learned a lot about areas I feel that I am weak when it comes to my family history research.

The venue for this seminar was almost perfect. The seating arrangement of round tables, each with about 8 chairs, was much more conducive to talking with other attendees than the rows of chairs at the OGS Fall Seminar. The temperature was such that I did hot shiver, nor sweat. A very nice lunch was provided. And a folder filled with handouts of the talks and other Montgomery County Chapter of OGS' information was provided. A bonus were raffle drawings throughout the seminar. Though I did not win, it was a nice touch.


Not to disparage Dick Eastman as his talks were full of information and delivered well, but Paula's subject matters spoke more to my current interests.

In my next post I'll write more about what I did in-between these two seminars.