I Will Be Presenting at RootsTech!

I received a phone call late Thursday afternoon.  Due to another speaker having to cancel at the last moment, I was asked if I could step in and give two presentations.  I'm sad that my opportunity came became someone else wasn't able to go after all, but I'm happy to report we were able to work everything out.  I will be presenting at RootsTech this year (my first time as a speaker there).  The two sessions will be on Freedmen's Bureau records and Freedman's Bank records.

You know, it's amazing what you can accomplish in a short period of time when you need to.  We were trying to get everything done in time to get my session information into the printed program, and I think we made it.  I wrote and rewrote my session descriptions (including the Twitter versions), updated and uploaded my handouts, and completed all the other tasks on the speaker list.  Plus I booked my airline ticket, found a hotel that still had rooms available (!), and made boarding reservations for my birds.

And since I'll be in Salt Lake City, I'll have to find some time to go to the Family History Library for research.  I just have to narrow down what to work on, since I'll only be in town for a few days.

Genealogy happy dance all around the house . . . .

Free Informational Webinars from ProQuest

ProQuest, the company that presents HeritageQuest and many historical newspaper databases online, also offers informational Webinars on how to utilize HeritageQuest (HQ) and Ancestry Library Edition.  The Webinars are free (yay!) and are stored online for later viewing, also for free.

The current list of upcoming Webinars is available here.  The list includes HQ Freedman's Bank and Serial Set records (coming this Monday, January 7, so register soon!), HQ Books and Revolutionary War records, Ancestry U.S. records, and Ancestry Canadian records.  Some of the previously broadcast Webinars available are Ancestry U.K. and Ireland records; HQ Census, PERSI, and Serial Set records; and Ancestry 1940 census.  You even have the option to download the recorded Webinars to your computer and view them at your leisure.  They require a specific viewer, but even that is available for free.

Sounds like an all-around good deal to me!  I'll be watching the Freedman's Bank/Serial Set Webinar on Monday for sure, and I've signed up for a couple more after that.