Family History Fair

National Archives

Yesterday I attended the annual fair of the St. Louis Genealogical Society, held at the Maryland Heights Centre. It is the largest single day genealogy event in the Midwest, and is always well attended. A national speaker is brought in, and then other breakout sessions are held throughout the day. I normally stick with the sessions presented by the national speaker as I feel I can usually catch one of the other speakers at a different time. This year's presenter focused on records available at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. and how to best utilize your time if you plan to visit. She also talked about the National Library buildings as well, and what we might find there. Since Andy and Megan live in the area, I would very much like to plan a trip to see them and visit the archives. The information I received at the conference was helpful, and hopefully I can put it to good use.

When the main presenter had a break, I was able to catch a session on researching in Germany, which could not be more timely for me. Better yet, the speaker was the woman who is leading my Germany tour this fall, so it was great to be able to meet her face to face before the trip. I also was able to talk with the other couple from the society who are going on the trip and touch base with them again. So overall, a good day with new leads on pursuing my family.