Yesterday, I drove to Indianapolis and attended the Genealogy & Local History Fair at the Indiana State Library. A native Hoosier, I had never made it down to the State Library - an impressive place that I'm already making plans to return to in order to do some research.
I hadn't heard of this Genealogy & Local History Fair before, and I'm glad that I came. Not only for the opportunities to learn from the speakers, but the chance to mingle with other genealogists and talk to the vendors/societies that were present. I picked up quite a few materials and applications for hereditary societies that I am eligible for membership.
The two speakers for the day were Jill Morelli and Ann Staley. Jill spoke on House Histories and Sanborn maps while Ann spoke on the Everyday Lives of our Ancestors and Using City Directories. Both of these speakers presented good research examples and keep me interested in their topics.
Though the majority of my ancestors seem to be rural farmers, there have been enough relatives that have lived in cities that I should be utilizing the resources of Sanborn maps and city directories more. Jill's talk on house histories has me thinking of researching my current house as well as the house that I grew up in, in order to find out more about the when it came into the families possession. Ann's talk on the lives of our ancestors and reminding us to put them into perspective with timelines gave me some ideas for how to knock down some brickwalls and learn what was going on in the world during the times my relatives were living.
I'm looking forward to continuing to branch out and attending as many conferences as I can to meet fellow researchers and learn more tips and tricks.
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