I met Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross at the FGS Conference

Welcome Banner across from the Exhibit Hall

We were welcomed to the FGS Conference in Philadelphia by this awesome banner and  the guest of honor, Ben Franklin!  He even brought his wife, Betsy, with him.  Yup, Ben Franklin was led into the opening session by a Fife and Drum trio!  Being in Philadelphia, you know he’d be curious about us!

After the opening session was over, Ben was waiting for us with his wife, the woman who is the Betsy Ross reinactor.  They both represent Philadelphia in their respective roles and married on the 4th of July at Independence Hall.  True Story.  Check out the link.

Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross at the FGS

Conference

One of the important presentations of the opening session was Ancestry.com’s introduction of their new “World Archives Project.”  I’m sure we’re going to hear a lot more about this in the future.  I’m excited about all the digital images they want to get posted.  It will be an awesome project and one that will benefit us all.

Opening Session

The second presentation of note was the speaker, Robert A. Selig, who spoke on “America’s Official Birthday.”  This man has done incredible research on the founding of our country.  An appropriate topic for for a conference held in Philadelphia!

The first session I had registered for was “German Migration Patterns.”  This was presented by George K. Schweitzer, PhD and was excellent.  If you ever get a chance to hear this man, don’t miss it.  A lot of the moves my ancestors made now make a lot more sense.  The fact that he was dressed in Bavarian Dress added a lot to his presentation.  This man is incredibly knowledgeable and incredibly humorous!

George Schweitzer, presenter at FGS Conference

The second session I attended also had to do with the Germans.  The presentation by James Beidler was titled “Germany to Pennsylvania: 18th Century Odyssey.”  This dealt mainly with narratives written by immigrants in the 18th century.  The other part of the presentation addressed a lot of myths regarding our immigrant ancestors.  If it were sent in e-mails they would be known as  “urban legends.”  For instance:

• Myth: Most Colonial Germans came because of religious persecution.

• Reality: The main reason most of them came for economic reasons and the opportunity to purchase land. Reality is that only about 6K out 80K came because of religiouos persecution.

During the lunch break I went back to my room and enjoyed a lunch of deviled eggs, a dish of fresh fruit and a bottle of fresh squeezed orange juice purchased at the Reading Terminal Market.  I bought another piece of Strawberry Rhubarb pie for my “dinner” tonight.  Delicious!

The session I attended this afternoon was presented by Lisa Kerr Ilowite on “Finding a Woman’s Maiden Name.”  This session had to change rooms due to the popularity of the subject and the lack of space in the room that was initially assigned.  After a bit of housekeeping, the show got on the road, so to speak.  She offered tips on places and records to look, Obituaries, Deeds, Court Records, DAR Lineage books, Son’s records, Pension files, etc.

As I left the escalator on my way back to my room, I decided to stop in the Exhibit Hall for one last spin (for the day anyway!) through.  As I entered the door they were calling out the recent door prize winners, and lo and behold!  they called my name!!  I won a box of chocolates (just what I need!) and a notebook from Boston University Center for Professional Education. Thanks, guys!!

I stopped by Ancestry.com area and a very knowledgeable young lady took a great deal of time explaining FTM2009 to me.  I had seen a presentation on it Wednesday evening and was very curious.  This is awesome and I’m almost convinced that I do not need a Mac after all.  I need this software instead.  It won’t be released until next Tuesday and I hope I’ve made up my mind by then.  It sure would save me a lot of money!

I should sleep well tonight.  I had a good day.

 

On my way to the FGS Conference. . . .

I picked up my tickets at the Amtrak Station on Labor Day.  We had been to a Barnstormers Baseball game, and on the way home I thought it would be easier to pick them up then, rather than  this morning.  How right I was!  It was a cinch.

Amtrak Station, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Ticket in hand, I boarded the train and it pulled out of the station at 9:30 AM.  Jim had come down to the platform and sat with me until he realized that he must feed the meter if he didn’t want a ticket.  We decided to bid each other Adieu there, and he left for the confines of the Walnut Street premises.  Unlike Air travel, the seats were comfortable with plenty of leg room.  The views out of my window were incredible.  There is nothing in the world like the beauty of Amish farms, in my opinion.

Sitting at the Station; Ready to Go

I found an empty seat, put my carry-on in the overhead bin and sat down.  I was looking forward to closing my eyes for a peaceful journey into Philly!  It was not to be.  I sat in front of three Amish couples who talked across the aisle all the way into Philly!! Of course, they talked in Pennsylvania Dutch, and I since I have taken two semesters of PA Dutch, I was trying to figure out what they were saying.  They talked entirely too fast for me, but I did pick out “Thursday” and “August.”  Boy those two semesters really paid off, didn’t they??

Amtrak pulling into Lancaster

We pulled into the 30th Street Station about 10:35 and what a beautiful facility. . . inside.  I never left the station.  Since I was unsure how I was to get to the Convention Center area, I asked a gentleman at the “Traveler’s Aid” booth.  I told him that I understood that I could use my Amtrak ticket on the “Septa” system.  He said yes I could, but he thought the bus was better and it only cost $2.  I told him several times I wanted “free” not “$2.00.”  He told me how to get to the bus, anyway.

I found my way to the map of train, trolley, and bus routes and then went and asked an woman at the Amtrak Help desk how to get to the train that would take me to the Convention Center.  She pointed down the hall and told me to take the elevator to the platform and hurry because I had 4 minutes to make it.  I hurried only to find out that 3 tracks separated me from the spot I was supposed to catch the train that pulled out as I stood there!!!

I went back down in the elevator and walked back to the staircase directly across from the same woman and arrived at the platform I was supposed to be at all along!!  I had a 15 minute wait for the next train.

The street below the walkway between the Convention Center and the Mariott Hotel

The station the train arrived in was attached to the building that houses both the Convention Center and the Marriott.  How cool was that??  My room was on the 10th floor with a view of street below and the offices across the street.

The Reading Terminal Market! What an experience!  Like Lancaster’s Central Market on steroids!  My lunch consisted of chicken, a bottle of water and a piece of Amish Strawberry Rhubard pie.  Oh!  and a dish of the best peach icecream I’ve ever had!  Big chunks of peach!  yummo!!!  I’ll be back there for breakfast!

Showtime!  I walked on over to the Convention Center to register.  What a beautiful facility!  The Convention Center is in the renovated Reading Terminal Market.  The architectural details are beautiful!  The picture shows just one entrance to the Marriott from the Convention Center.

Convention Center detail

The registration packet included a handy little tote bag and thirty, count them thirty doorprize entries to fill out.  By the time I had filled out all thirty of them, I knew my name, address, phone number and e-mail address by heart.  I will never forget them again!

Demonstration of the new Family Tree Database

The Exhibit Hall opened at 6:30 and I headed immediately for Mecca.  Represented there were all the ones we’ve all heard of ~ Genealogy Bank, Ancestry.com, Family Search, National Archives,Wholly Genes, Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, Footnote.com and many, many others!  In the far corner was an extra session.  The new Family Tree Maker was demonstrated, and it’s almost tempting. . . . I say almost, because I really want to buy a Mac!  If only there were a FTM for Macs. My tote bag was filled and getting pretty heavy by the time I headed back to my room.

Gotta get some rest because tomorrow will be full!

 

Heading for Philly . . . .

The only time I’ve ever attended a FGS Conference is when it’s held in Salt Lake City.  It’s a good excuse to hear excellent speakers and spend until 10:00PM in Mecca . . .aka. . . THE Library!  I’ve been there for the last several times the Conference has been held there.  I love it!

Amtrak Station, Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Since this year’s conference is in Philly, I’ve decided to hop on Amtrak and attend.  It’s a short hour on the train and I have reservations at the Marriott.  I’m ready!  The Amtrak Station is about a mile from my home, I have my tickets and I’ll be there late Wednesday.  I decided on Amtrak rather than driving to avoid the hassle of traffic and cost of gas and parking my car for three days!  My tickets on Amtrak were, are you ready for this only $24!!  Which would you choose??

With the Syllabus online, I’ve been poring over the offerings.  I did register several months ago, and I’ve printed the sessions I will be attending and what a variety!  Some of the interesting offerings are”

• “Plotting Your Ancestors Using Google Earth”
• “Inferential Genealogy: Deducing Ancestors’ Identities Indirectly”
• “All That Other Stuff!!” Other Enumerations Beyond the Federal Population Schedules
• “Using German Church Records”
• “Ohio or Bust.  Migrations into the Buckeye State”
• “The Pennsylvania Civil War Muster Rolls Project: A Potential Treasure House for Genealogists”
• “Convicts to the North American Colonies”
• “Researching 18th Century Germans”
• “One-Step Webpages”

and the list goes on and on! I am not registered for all of those, but they all look interesting to me.  I am registered for the first four, however.

Got my folder of information,  my Visa card, my laptop, camera and a whole lot of cords and chargers. The important stuff is ready.

I’m heading for Philly~