Post - Family History Expo

I had a great time at the Arizona Family History Expo last month held in Mesa, Arizona.  So many knowledgeable speakers and so many classes to choose from.

On opening day, Friday, January 18th, I attended:

Opening Keynote Address, Ancestors & Other Persons of Interest by Barbara Renick

Breaking Through Your Brick Wall by Cathi Weber

Five C's to Success in Genealogy Today by Barbara Renick

Census Techniques and Strategies for Finding Elusive Ancestors by Danielle Batson

Evaluating What You Have Found:  The Third Stage of Research by Barbara Renick

On Saturday, January 19th, I attended the following classes:
Cemeteries Go Digital by Geoff Rasmussen
Coming to America:  U.S. Immigration, 1820-1954 by Danielle Batson
U.S. Naturalization: Navigating the Records by Danielle Batson
Closing Keynote Address by Holly T. Hansen

Sometimes when you choose a class that you know nothing about the subject, or you think you already know the subject pretty well, you get pleasantly surprised.

I enjoyed each and every class I attended.  The one that really stuck with me was the class given by Geoff Rasmussen, Cemeteries Go Digital.  The very next day I downloaded the smartphone app of OneBillionGraves.com.  I then got to use it on the following Monday morning.  My sister and I visited the Veteran Cemetery in Phoenix.  We located our uncle's and friends of my sister's headstones.  I took photos of all their headstones with the OneBillionGraves app, uploaded the photos right there in the cemetery to the OneBillionGraves server.  By the time we got home, the headstones were already transcribed on the Internet.

I will definitely be using this app more and more.  I love learning new techniques and strategies.  The Family History Expos are closer to you than you think. Give them a try, you won't be sorry!