Maine’s genealogical conference
By Nancy Battick
The annual Maine Genealogical Society conference is usually held in September, but this year it will be Aug 23, and for the first time you can attend it from the comfort of your own home.
The conference planners have lined up Judy Russell, “The Legal Genealogist,” to offer a full day’s worth of great presentations dealing with some of the challenges genealogists face regarding legal records and how to use them.
Session one will be on Putting Those Records to Work and will help you learn how to mine various records such as probate, wills, deeds, court and other records to build your genealogical family tree. This will be especially valuable to new researchers and to those who tend to avoid some of these legal documents.
The second session, Linking the Generations With Court and Land Records, will focus on how to connect generations where there are no or incomplete vital records, something all of us have faced in the wilder parts of the early American colonies and nation such as right here in Maine. Judy will show us how to use court and land records to our best advantage. I can personally attest to the value of using land deeds to build a family tree and positively identify a parent or child relationship. Many genealogists don’t grasp how valuable these can be and dismiss deeds as tiresome and a waste of time. Wrong!
In her third session, Courting America: Using Court Records for Genealogy, she’ll touch on records from jury lists to loose papers filed with a court. Again, I’ve tapped these many times, and they can open doors or chip away at brick walls.
Finally, Judy will end her day with “Don’t Forget the Ladies — A Genealogist’s Guide to Women and the Law.” This is a must attend. Women were sadly often absent in records. They didn’t serve on juries, weren’t mentioned in censuses except in rare instances, couldn’t vote, couldn’t hold office, and were given “protected” status, where they fell under the control of their fathers, husbands, sons or other male relatives. Judy will take us through how women were treated legally and how to find clues about your female ancestors.
You can attend in person at the Randall Student Technology Center at the University of Maine at Augusta or you can attend online. This latter option is great for people who can’t or are limited in travel, like to sleep in (guilty as charged) or who are more comfortable in PJs and robes.
The charges reflect whether you’re a member or attending in person. Attending in person, including lunch, is $55 for members and $70 for non-members. The cost to live stream is, for members, $40, and for non-members, $55. The MGS business meeting is held during the lunch break.
If you’re not already an MGS member, now is a good time to join and take advantage of reduced prices for webinars, conferences, receive the newsletter and journal, and get discounts on purchase of MGS publications. Learn more about the conference at www.maineroots.org.
Columnist Nancy Battick of Dover-Foxcroft has researched genealogy for over 30 years. She is past president of the Maine Genealogical Society, author of several genealogical articles and co-transcribed the Vital Records of Dover-Foxcroft. Nancy holds an MA in History from UM. Reader emails are welcome at nbattick@roadrunner.com.