Second Annual
North Carolina Genealogical Society
Speaker’s Forum

Saturday, 30 June 2007
 8:00 am Registration/8:30 am Program
Wake County Commons Building - 4011 Carya Drive, Raleigh, NC 27610
Map to Workshop
Price ranges between $25 and $45 -- Click here for registration form.

Featuring NCGS Members Speaking on a Variety of Topics

Workshop Schedule

8:00 - 8:30 Registration

8:30 - 9:30 (Intermediate) 1. Monica Hopkins

Using Land Records to Assemble Families
Land records are an underused resource in putting families together. Explore what the land records can tell you about your ancestor if you look closely.
Monica L. Hopkins has been pursuing genealogical research since the mid-1980s and is currently Director of Programs for the Georgia Genealogical Society. She is a member of NGS, APG, and several state and local societies. She has taken Advanced Methodology and other courses at IGHR and is currently pursuing certification with BCG.

(Beginner/Intermediate) 2. Terry Moore CGWills and Estates of the Rich, Famous, and Ordinary: Understanding the Probate Process
What a will or estate record can tell you about your ancestor and his heirs.
Terry Moore is a Certified Genealogist. She is currently Secretary for the North Carolina Genealogy Society and past president of the Wake County Genealogy Society. Terry has been involved in genealogical research for twenty-eight years; the last twelve have been as a professional researcher specializing in North Carolina research.

9:30 - 10:00 Break


10:00 - 11:00 (Beginner/Intermediate)1. Diane Richard Looking for Scots Heritage Becomes a Lesson in the History of Wake and Johnston Counties
Though many are familiar with Joel Lane and others who are famous for the founding of Raleigh, what of the less renowned families, who populated Wake County when it was formed from Johnston--as the state capital was decided? This is a tale of the Morris and Rench families and the footprints they left (or didn't leave) on the Wake County landscape.
Diane L. Richard is the principle of Mosaic Research and Project Management and member of APG. Doing genealogy research for almost twenty years and professionally in North Carolina for the last two years, she is currently WCGS First Vice President and Coordinator for the Wake Gen Web site.

(Intermediate/Advanced) 2. Jeff Haines CG Making Sense of a Sloppy Census: Strategies for Handling Erroneous Records
Elizabeth Toussiger does not appear on the 1860 census. Or was this 76 year old white woman the same person as 36 year old mulatto Eliza Porcher? Learn what to do when you suspect that you may be dealing with erroneous records.
Jeff Haines is a Certified Genealogist and has been a professional in the field for more than fifteen years. He specializes in the families of the Carolinas and the Caribbean. He is currently Editor of the North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal. He has served the genealogical field in many roles, including president of the Association of Professional Genealogists

11:00 - 11:30 Break

11:30 - 12:30 (Intermediate)1. Chris Meekins How to Research Your Civil War Ancestor at the North Carolina State Archives: A Case Study Using Thomas Basnight
Researchers will learn of the major collections in the North Carolina Archives related to Civil War service. Also, by studying a soldier named Thomas Basnight, researchers will see how to use a multitude of records to establish if a person of a given name is the one who served as a soldier.
Chris Meekins has served as a reference archivist for the North Carolina State Archives for the past five years. Chris is a Civil War scholar currently seeking a PhD at UNC Greensboro and a practicing genealogist with over twenty years of experience. He currently resides in the greater Raleigh area but was born and raised in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

(General)2. Melanie Crain Get Your Genealogy Out of the Filing Cabinet
Publishing your complete family history is a daunting task that many of us never accomplish. But you don't have to start with a book. Find out the many surprising, easy, and successful paths you can use to share the results of your genealogy labors.
Melanie Dalton Crain teaches at local genealogy workshops, edits family newsletters, and has worked as a volunteer at the North Carolina Archives. She is a DNA project administrator and a member of several genealogical societies and two lineage societies. An English degree supports much of her research and writing.

12:30 - 1:30 Lunch

1:30 - 2:30 (Intermediate/Advanced)1. Larry Cates Breathing Life into Dry Bones: An Exploration of Loose Court Papers in North Carolina
This lecture will examine the uses of loose criminal and civil action papers in genealogical research. These sources provide insights into the lives of common people, unlock doors to relationship and geographic origin, and are particularly useful when seeking ancestors who don't appear consistently in major record categories. The types of papers, their method of generation, their typical content and location and the best means of accessing them are all discussed along with examples from the lecturer's research.
Larry W. Cates is a contract research agent specializing in North and South Carolina records. He holds degrees from UNC-CH and UNC-Greensboro, is editor of the North Carolina Genealogical Society NEWS, the Randolph County [North Carolina] Genealogical JOURNAL, and past editor of the Guilford County [North Carolina] GENEALOGIST.

(Intermediate) 2. Jim Jones Early Land Grant Research, Yates Mill Area, Wake County, North Carolina
This lecture will include a discussion of the historical context of royal charters in early North Carolina, how to obtain a land grant, how to measure land, how to interpret the description in the metes and bounds system, the genealogical value to be found in original grant records, and assembling individual grants into a larger neighborhood.
James P. Jones and his wife, Diane, have lived in Cary, North Carolina, for the past twenty years. They have two adult children and three granddaughters. After thirty-five years of service, Jim retired from IBM in 2004 to focus on his United States colonial history and North Carolina genealogy interests, and to spend more time with his family. He researches and lectures on selected genealogy and historical topics of personal interest.

2:30 - 3:00 Break and Venders

3:00 - 4:00 ( Beginner/Intermediate)1. Earl Ijames The Ties That Bind, African-American Genealogy
African-American Genealogy is the focus of the lecture. Research in the nineteenth century with a special focus on pre-1870 will be emphasized.
Earl L. Ijames, a reference archivist at the North Carolina State Archives, helps all researchers navigate the extensive holdings at the State Archives in Raleigh. In 2001 Earl received the prestigious Jefferson Davis Medal for Historical Research presented by the United Daughters of the Confederacy for research on "Colored Confederates."

(Intermediate) 2. Ann Basnight Ordinary or Courtroom -- Where was the Information Found?
This lecture shows how to use the Court of Pleas and Quarter Session records to find genealogical information. Finding pertinent information about an ancestor in a historical period where records may be scarce.
Ann Basnight taught children of North Carolina for thirty-seven years. She would like to teach adults in genealogy. She has been actively doing genealogy for seventeen years and has served in various positions on both local and state levels. Currently, she is president of NCGS. She has attended national conferences since 1999 and has been to three institutes in Washington, DC and Birmingham, Alabama.

Price ranges between $25 and $45
Click here for registration form.

Walk-ins welcome; however, lunch and workshop packet may not be available.    Refund Policy: Full refund if withdrawal precedes early registration date (June 20); between then and workshop day a prorated refund may be made; no refund may be made if withdrawal is on or after the first day of the workshop.  
For more information click here to email: info@ncgenealogy.org