Guess where I was last week! The National Genealogical Society held their Family History Conference here in Raleigh. For four days, I attended lectures, browsed the exhibit hall, and made new friends. There were over 1400 attendees. I even have my own official "networking" card. If you ever doubted my passion for genealogy before, you can put those doubts aside.
The information I learned in the 20 lectures I attended will prove to be invaluable. I've learned a lot about using the computer in researching family histories that will help me in my "real" life as well. I also am excited to have learned new ways to research the family when standard records are not available or ancestors seem to be just missing. In short, I'll be researching their neighbors, friends and collateral ancestors. I am amazed at all the places our ancestors may have left clues to their existence.
On the first day of the conference, I sat down to eat lunch with several other women. As we compared notes on our ancestors, I discovered that one of the women is researching the Rosser family of Lee/Moore County. We've since shared information and we have some of the same people in our trees. While my direct Harward and Maddox lines do not have Rossers in it, there are Rossers that married into the family of various cousins. What a small world!
I'm sure it will take me a little while to process all that I've learned. I will be reviewing the information I currently have in my family trees and focus on fill in missing information. I hope to plan some research trips to look at church records as well as some more interviews with family. For today, it's back to real life. As long as nobody asks me what year it is, I should be okay.
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