April 2006

Event: 4th Annual COGS Genealogy and History Expo. 
Theme: "Showcasing your Genealogy"

Date: Saturday, April 15th
Location: Oconee County Library, Watkinsville, Georgia 
Time: 10 am to 6 pm

Cost: free and open to the public

Explore our extravaganza of genealogy ideas, experts, and interest groups. The 2006 Expo will include research opportunities, mini lectures/classes, book sellers, software for preview, lineage societies, and of course the local historical and genealogical societies. Drop by for 10 minutes or several hours of discussion and browsing. Bring your checkbook; you may wish to purchase a book or two!

Research opportunities in the Ivey Collection will begin as early as 7:00am-10:00am with sign up. The library is not officially open at this time, but COGS members should be available to offer special attention to early arriving researchers. Research will continue with the opening of the library at 10:00 until closing at 6:00pm.

Mini lectures planned:

Getting Started with Genealogy 
Developing a Genealogy with Federal Census Records- Amazingly your ancestors from 1790 through 1930 are almost always recorded in federal population schedules except in the few instances where the records have been destroyed. Learn tips for quickly following your family lines from census to census back to their entry into our country. 
Write Your Family History as You Go- Odds are great that if you wait until you’ve collected all of your family history to publish your results, you won’t publish the results at all. Write your history as you collect it into a simple chapter format using WORD software for each of your direct line ancestors and you will always be ready to send copies to other researchers, to limit the material you carry with you on research trips, and to know what new material needs to be collected. Footnote your information with the source of your data to achieve a professional family history that anyone else can use. 
Digital Library of Georgia- a brief overview of this ever growing online resource on learning about Georgia and Georgians, past and present. 
Organizing Your Genealogy Paperwork- Find any sheet of paper in your collection of notes or any computer file in 60 seconds or less! Prioritize your genealogy chores to make the most of your time. Diary your research projects – don’t stack them! 
Platting Metes and Bounds- Learn how to plat the layout of your ancestor’s land to modern day maps using old land surveys created using the metes and bounds system.
 

May 2006

Topic: "How did THAT get in the gene pool"...A Case Study
Presenter: Carolyn D. Berdanier, R.D., PhD., Professor Emeritus, Univerity of Georgia 

Date: Saturday, May 20th
Location: Athens-Clarke County Library Auditorium
Time: 2 pm

Cost: free and open to the public