On two brisk fall days, 1-2 November, about 200 conference attendees gathered at the McKimmon Conference Center in Raleigh for the NCGS 2019 Fall Conference.
Roberta Estes presented a wonderful keynote on Friday morning about the Lost Colony and all the major efforts to find it to date. It was a fascinating tale that included information about the latest archaeological findings and Y-DNA studies of the colony’s male surnames.
As the morning continued, attendees were heard commenting on the positive energy generated by the diversity of speakers, topics, vendors, and conference participants coming together from across the country. Roberta Estes presented four additional lectures on genetic genealogy tools and methods. Other sessions during the two days covered topics such as case studies using DNA, North Carolina records, the Civil War, Moravians, researching women, and African Americans.
Besides the two tracks of sessions for conference attendees each day, there were also two beginning DNA presentations on Friday morning and an Exhibit Room filled with vendors, which was free and open to the public.
The NCGS Annual Meeting was held Friday afternoon following a delicious sandwich buffet lunch. Two more sessions and a Land Mapping workshop were offered during the afternoon.
The sessions were followed Friday evening by an informal reception for all attending the conference. Light refreshments were provided along with opportunities to meet people at the conference sharing common research interests and to socialize in general.
At the NCGS Fall Banquet that evening, a very special award was presented to Kay Tillotson: The Old North State Award, which is given by the governor to recognize “dedication and service beyond expectation and excellence to the Great State of North Carolina.”
The banquet ended with an entertaining performance by Randell Jones about Daniel Boone and the twenty years he spent in North Carolina.
The conference on Saturday offered another five sessions of two tracks each, continuing on the same topics as Friday.
Saturday lunch was a North Carolina barbecue buffet with all the usual sides including mac and cheese, hushpuppies, and banana pudding. Lunch was followed by the 2019 NCGS Awards presentations honoring outstanding contributions to the North Carolina genealogical community. Two more sessions that afternoon completed the conference.
Read about the awards presented at the conference.
All photos courtesy Maryann Tuck