Images from the National Genealogical Society Conference
Since I live in Salt Lake City, Utah, where this conference is going on, I might as well go down there and talk to my fellow genealogy enthusiasts. I snapped some photos of the booths that I was able to get to.
Genealogy Today
Genealogy Today was the first booth that I came to, and perhaps it is the best kept secret in the whole Conference. Shown here is the owner/programmer/genealogy data gatherer. He has a search engine that goes out to many resources, publishers, web pages, etc., and pulls in the source records of your ancestors. There are free resources and paid resources.
Second Life
The owner’s name is Illya James D’Addezio. He is also known as Constantine Kyomoon. He runs a genealogy discussion group almost every night (7 or 8 pm Pacific Time) at his virtual digs in Second Life. Check it out at http://wiki.genealogytoday.com/Live_Roots_Genealogy_Zone.html
Another helpful person who is on Second Life (how did I get on this subject?) is Dear Myrtle.
General Land Office Records
These guys were really nice and helpful. They are out of Washington, C.D., and apparently are a government entity that provide a free service (courtesy of your tax dollars). You put your ancestor’s name in the form on their web site, hit the button, and you get a list of land transactions that involved purchasing land from the federal government.
For example, if I enter “Nathan Smith,” I get a list of all land purchased by people named Nathan Smith. You can then download a copy of the original transaction document.
They are at http://www.glorecords.blm.gov