SCGS Genealogy Jamboree :: Part One

It was early Thursday afternoon when I arrived in beautiful downtown Burbank (well, actually at the Ramada Inn) and met up with Cheryl Palmer who was to be my roommate for the weekend. Cheryl had originally planned to team up with Sheri Fenley again this year (they were dubbed “Thelma and Louise” last year) and they were graciously going to allow me to barge in on them! However, Sheri was unable to attend (we missed you, Sheri).

Me and Cheryl Palmer.

Later in the afternoon, Cheryl and I went over to the geneabloggers lounge at the Marriott and schmoozed with the other geneabloggers. I was going to try to keep track of everyone I met but that goal went down the tubes after the first few minutes! The excitement was palpable. Everyone was thrilled about meeting or reuniting with online friends.

A group of us went across the street to George's Greek Cuisine for supper after picking up our registration packets. There wasn't enough room inside for us and the other customers so we pushed five or six tables together in the outside dining area (on the sidewalk). There were so many conversations going on with smiles and laughter all around. Then it was back to the geneabloggers lounge for more chatting and greeting the new arrivals.

One of the highlights of the evening occurred when Elyse Doerflinger arrived. She had graduated from college earlier in the day and was on cloud nine. But Tami Glatz had a surprise for her that literally put Elyse over the top. During the NGS conference earlier this year in Salt Lake City Tami had gathered the signatures of many of the “top names” in the genealogy field. At Jamboree the geneabloggers were invited to sign the book also. Many people not only signed the autograph book but most of them also wrote a personal message of encouragement and congratulations to Elyse. It was a wonderful thing for Tami to do and Elyse was nearly speechless, at least for a few seconds! Shortly after the presentation to Elyse, Cheryl and I called it a day.

Tami Glatz presenting the genealogist autograph book to Elyse Doerflinger.

Friday morning we returned to the Marriott for some more schmoozing. Class sessions began at 1:30 and I went to “Cases that Made My Brain Hurt” by Megan Smolenyak2 wherein she described some of the more challenging characters she has had to track down.

For some reason, I skipped the second session. For the third and final session of the day, I listened to Cafi Cohen talk about the importance of “Cousin-Connection Genealogy” and the possibility that it could help you break through a brick wall. Her primary emphasis was on researching the siblings of your ancestors and locating the descendants of those siblings.

After a little more schmoozing in the geneablogger lounge, I joined footnoteMaven, Kathryn Doyle, Schelly Talalay Dardashti, and Daniel Horowitz for supper. And then it was back to the motel for a good nights sleep!