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Records: 1 to 5 of 5


Gravestone Conservation with Lowell Herzog
Saturday, October 1
Gravestone Conservation with Lowell Herzog  (HGF Monthly Meeting)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
(Munchies and mingling start at 9:00 AM)
Auditorium
Bayland Community Center
6400 Bissonnet
Houston, TX 77074
and 
Online Webinar
 
Gravestones and Genealogy--The Connections (and Strange Stories) Between Gravestones, Printed Materials, Web Resources and Descendants
 
While researching cemeteries, genealogists routinely find gravestones in need of cleaning and restoration.  Sometimes we find unusual headstones that leave us intrigued or curious about the deceased person's story.  In this session, Lowell Herzog will share some of his experiences as a gravestone conservator. He will discuss the methods, materials and ethics considered when conserving a gravestone, how to decide what can be accomplished safely by an amateur or trained volunteer and when to seek professional assistance. He will also provide resources for finding professionals when more complicated restoration procedures are required.
 
For more information and to register, please go to Learn More.


Writing Your Family History with Lynn Palermo
Saturday, November 5
Writing Your Family History with Lynn Palermo  (All-day Seminars)
10:00 am to 3:00 pm
HGF Fall Seminar on Writing Your Family History
 
Genealogists know a great deal about discovering their family histories using records, DNA, photographs, and maps but what about writing their family stories.  In this three-session workshop you will learn how to put together a plan for your family histories, what to consider before you write, and how to structure, write, and share these stories.  
 
Part 1 -Getting Ready to Write 
 
We'll take an overview look at the family history writing genre, set up some processes and best practices for getting ready to write and look at how to find the stories in your research.  What you'll learn:
  • Understanding Your Writing Options
  • What is a Family History Story?
  • Creating an Organized Writing Process
  • The Building Blocks of a Family History Story
  • Finding the P.A.T.H from Research to Story
Part 2 -Bringing Your Ancestors to Life on the Page
 
We'll look at the creative writing skills needed to create a family history story that reads like a novel. Learn how to transport your reader back in time and bring your ancestor to life on the page.  What you'll learn:
  • The Elements of a Scene
  • Characterization
  • Description & Dialogue
  • Using Social History to Fill in the Gaps
  • Weaving Summary and Scene Together
Part 3 - Creating a Story Outline & Writing Plan
 
Learn how to outline your family history story from beginning to end. Use Lynn's family history story map and her 10 Key Scenes Template to help structure a page-turning story.  What you'll learn:
  • 10 Key Scenes to Structure a Story
  • The Family History Story Map
  • Creating a Storyboard
  • How to Write Your Story in 30 Minutes a Day. 
Lynn Palermo is The Armchair Genealogist, a genealogy educator, author and family history writing coach. Lynn provides family historians practical guidance in researching and writing their family history. She helps family historians shape their genealogy into sharable stories through her webinars, workshops, workbooks and one-on-one coaching.
 
Registration:  Online attendance will be available for all HGF monthly meetings.  Unless new Covid restrictions are warranted,  you may also also attend in-person at Bayland.  More meeting information will available in September.


Canadian Genealogy Online with Dave Obee
Saturday, December 3
Canadian Genealogy Online with Dave Obee  (HGF Monthly Meeting)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
(Munchies and mingling start at 9:00 AM)
Canadian Genealogy Online
 
Many Americans have ancestors or cousins in Canada, and research north of the border can be rewarding. It is important to understand the differences between research in Canada and the United States. Canada has hundreds of websites of prime value to genealogists, and the sites to use will depend on which of the 10 provinces and three territories your family called home. Several sources should be checked by everyone, but some of the best finds will be in regional or local websites. This session will quickly guide you to the top sites, where it will be possible for you to make good progress on your Canadian lines. Links are on CanGenealogy, the most accessible Canadian link site.
 
Dave Obee is a journalist and genealogical researcher who has written a dozen books and given more than 700 presentations at conferences and seminars in Canada, the United States and Australia since 1997.  He is Editor and Publisher of the Times Colonist daily newspaper in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. He has worked as a journalist in British Columbia and Alberta since 1972, and has been researching family history since 1978.
 
Registration:  Online attendance will be available for all HGF monthly meetings.  Unless new Covid restrictions are warranted,  you may also also attend in-person at Bayland.  More meeting information will available in October.
 


A Nation of immigrants: US naturalization and genealogy with Irene Walters
Saturday, January 7, 2023
A Nation of immigrants: US naturalization and genealogy with Irene Walters  (HGF Monthly Meeting)
10:00 am to 12:00 pm
(Munchies and mingling start at 9:00 AM)
A Nation of immigrants: US naturalization and genealogy
 
In this talk we will discuss the history of naturalization laws and requirements in the United States and how this affected your ancestors and their naturalizations.  We will also discuss using naturalization records for genealogical research, what you may find and how to find it.
 
Irene B. Walters came to Houston’s Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research from New York in 1997 after receiving her Librarian degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo.  Irene has given talks to many groups on various aspects of genealogical research including; computers, the internet, ancestors in the modern military, knocking down brick walls, New York State, Irish, and French research.  Irene started her own genealogy research as a teenager and has taken her lines back into France, Ireland and recently Germany.  Her other German line and possible early Dutch ancestors are being more difficult.
 
Registration:  Online attendance will be available for all HGF monthly meetings.  Unless new Covid restrictions are warranted,  you may also also attend in-person at Bayland.  More meeting information will available in October.
 


In Search of Your Scottish Ancestors with Christine Woodcock
Saturday, February 4, 2023
In Search of Your Scottish Ancestors with Christine Woodcock  (All-day Seminars)
9:30 am to 3:00 pm
(Munchies and mingling start at 9:00 AM)
 
In Search of Your Scottish Ancestors
 
In Search of Your Scottish Ancestors
In order to be successful researching your Scottish ancestors, you need to know where in Scotland your ancestors were from. Only then are you ready to research. This presentation will discuss the basics of your Scottish Research Toolbox.
 
Navigating the ScotlandsPeople Website
Genealogy researchers have become accustomed to subscription websites and find navigating the ScotlandsPeople website to be too steep of a learning curve. Given that this is the ONLY place where you can access images of the actual documents held by the Registrar, it is critical that Scottish researchers are comfortable using the website. In this presentation, we will discuss
• Parish registers vs Statutory registers
• What’s available and what’s not
• Search strategies for success
• Hidden or little used features of the website
 
Breaking Through Brick Walls in Scottish Research
Scottish documents contain a wealth of information and can make researching so much easier when you really take a look at what the documents are telling you. It becomes important to really pay attention to the key words on the documents so that you know what records you need to look at next in order to break through brick walls and learn as much as you can about your Scottish ancestors.
 
From Scotland to America
In order to be successful researching in the Scottish records, we need to know where in Scotland our ancestors came from. Bridging the gap between finding them in the North American records (birth, marriage, death and census records) and being able to locate them in the Scottish records may seem like a daunting task. However, it is often less of a challenge and more of a reward if you understand what brought them here in the first place. Some clues can be taken from the major historic events in Scottish history that led to Scots leaving their homeland.
 
Registration:  Online attendance will be available for all HGF monthly meetings.  Unless new Covid restrictions are warranted,  you may also also attend in-person at Bayland.  More meeting information will available in November.