Third Edition: Carnival of Genealogical Societies

Welcome to the Third Edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies.

First, kudos to the footnoteMaven for creating the carnival badge and description:

The key to all good genealogical research starts with the society of other genealogists and in turn genealogy societies.

Next, I must apologize for my tardiness and the lack of time and attention I have given to the GenSo Carnival. I promise to do a better job of promoting the carnival and gathering submissions starting with the next edition.

The topic for this edition is: Uniquely Us!

How is your society unique?
Tell us about something one-of-a-kind. Is it a program, project, or publication? A record set or archival holding? A certain procedure or way you handle meetings? This is your opportunity to tell why and how your society is special!

This edition has three submissions:

Thomas MacEntee is the new Publicity Chair and the social media agent for the Illinois State Genealogical Society based in Springfield, Illinois. Thomas describes some of the special genealogy programs and services available at the society in Uniquely Illinois posted at Illinois State Genealogical Society Blog.

Charles Hansen shares a special type of city directory resource in  Third Carnival Of Genealogical Societies: Uniquely EWGS posted at Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Blog. Charles commented: "I don't know how EWGS got these Postal Forwarding books, but as a resource for genealogists they are amazing."

Kathryn Doyle discusses a valuable CGS database in Uniquely Ours: The California Names Index posted here at the California Genealogical Society and Library blog. "Take a chance and search our index!"


This concludes the third edition.

The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies originated with a request from Robert Larson, President and Newsletter Editor of the Larimer County Genealogical Society. The society recently put up a Facebook Page and Bob had some questions that are timely.

Call for Submissions!

The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies is: Gen Societies on Facebook.

Does your society have a Facebook Page? What are the benefits? Are you an administrator or a regular contributor? Does it help your members or attract new visitors and members?

The deadline for submissions is September 7, 2010.

Please indicate in your article that you are writing for the Fourth Edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies. Submit your blog post using the carnival submission form provided by Blog Carnival. Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any article you plan to submit and write a brief introduction to your articles in the "remarks" section of the form.

Past posts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

See you at the Carnival!

 Copyright © 2010 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

Uniquely Ours: The California Names Index

Member volunteers have donated thousands of hours painstakingly indexing and abstracting records held by the society to create the California Names Index – an enormous and unique database on our website. Currently there are more than 350,000 names in the index from state, county, and local references. It is an ongoing project and names are added regularly.

Surname searches of the index are free. Search results yield a full name and an Index Code which identifies the type of source material we have for that individual. If your ancestors or relatives appear in the Names Index, you can order copies of the original records from our Lookups Committee. (Members receive a discount for this service.)

Are you missing a nineteenth century ancestor? During the Gold Rush years, the population of a place called California exploded as immigrants poured into the territory from around the world. Take a chance and search the California Names Index. Be sure to leave a comment if you get a hit!

–Written for the Third Edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies: Uniquely Us.


Copyright © 2010 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.

Second Edition: Carnival of Genealogical Societies – Collaboration

Welcome to the Second Edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies.

Grateful acknowledgment to the footnoteMaven for the carnival badge and elucidation:

The key to all good genealogical research starts with the society of other genealogists and in turn genealogy societies.

The topic for the second edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies is: Collaboration.

Does your society collaborate with other societies?
(genealogical, historical, lineage, etc.)
Or groups? (local library, family history center)
Why or why not? What works or needs improvement?

This edition of the carnival received only six submissions but each one offers unique and creative ways for societies to collaborate.

Terri Buster is a board member and vice president of the Little River County Genealogy Society in Arkansas. Their group has been together for seven years and they have used their time wisely to develop collaborative relationships with many groups in their corner of the world. Read Carnival of Genealogical Societies~ 2nd Edition~ Collaboration posted at Southwest Arkie.

Tina Sansone is a past board member of the Tennessee Genealogical Society. Tina shares lots of ideas in How Genealogical Societies Can Collaborate posted at Gtownma's Genealogy. I especially love her suggestions of how to bring local high schools into the fold.

Brenda Joyce Jerome C.G. brings an unexpected angle to the discussion with Collaboration Within a Genealogical Society posted at Western Kentucky Genealogy Blog. Brenda believes that societies must change in order to flourish. How does your group measure up?

Charles Hansen wears several hats for the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society. He notes "Collaboration with the Spokane Library has benefited both EWGS and the Spokane Public Library" and tells us more in Carnival of Genealogy Societies Collaboration posted at Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Blog.

Joan Miller is part of the public relations team of the Alberta Family Histories Society. Joan collaborated with executive members of the societies to write Carnival of Genealogical Societies: Collaboration posted at Alberta Family Histories Society Blog.

Kathryn Doyle offers A Collaborative Formula For Success at the California Genealogical Society and Library blog.

This concludes the second edition.

Call for Submissions!
The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies is: Uniquely Us!

How is your society unique? 
Tell us about something one-of-a-kind. Is it a program, project, or publication? A record set or archival holding? A certain procedure or way you handle meetings? This is your opportunity to tell why and how your society is special!

The deadline for submissions is July 7, 2010.

Please do indicate in your article that you are writing for the Third Edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies. Submit your blog article using the the carnival submission form provided by Blog Carnival. Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any article you plan to submit and write a brief introduction to your articles in the "remarks" section of the form.

Past posts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

A Collaborative Formula For Success

The California Genealogical Society has participated in several collaborative projects with groups, such as: SFgenealogy.com, the Peralta Hacienda and the New England Historic Genealogical Society. But the most successful venture has been a partnership with the Oakland Regional Family History Center started in October 2008. Then-president Jane Lindsey and Marge Bell, Assistant Director of the ORFHC, cooked up a scheme to offer a menu of beginning genealogy classes at both facilities. The classes were offered on Tuesday evenings at the Family History Center or Saturday mornings at the CGS Library which enabled free parking at either venue. The classes were a huge hit and the formula was expanded to intermediate sessions as well.

Jane Knowles Lindsey and Margery Howe Bell

In all, a total of 174 students have been through five sessions of classes: three for beginners and two for intermediate level participants. The classes have led to an increase in membership and volunteerism and have been successful by any measure.

Jane and Marge – keep talking – we're ready for your next good idea in collaboration.


Written for the second edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies: Collaboration.

Photograph courtesy of Judy Bodycote, Oakland, California, 3/30/2010.


Copyright © 2010 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library

First Edition: Carnival of Genealogical Societies - Doin' Things Right

Welcome to the First Edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies.

First, a special "thank you" to the lovely footnoteMaven for creating a fabulous badge for the carnival. She is always a font of knowledge and tells us:

The key to all good genealogical research starts with the society of other genealogists and in turn genealogy societies.

I invite all of the submitters to grab the badge from the sidebar (fM created a special version "optimized with a two second load") and wear it proudly on your blog.

The topic for the inaugural edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies is:

Doin' Things Right!  

Shine a spotlight on a specific program, project, or publication at a genealogical society and tell us why it worked. Tell an anecdote about how you benefited from a particular genealogical society service. 

Share a success story and be specific!

Fifteen bloggers submitted articles that describe society successes worth emulating.

Susan C. Pentico presents Genealogy Societies and Why to Join Them posted at Ancestor Seekers by the Root Bound. Susi is one of the founders of the Chula Vista Genealogical Society in California but here she describes a memorable visit to the Cornerstone Genealogical Society in Waynesburg, Greene County, Pennsylvania and how membership in a distant society can help you further your research.

Dr. Bill (William L.) Smith presents Carnival of Genealogical Societies, 1st Edition posted at Dr. Bill Tells Ancestor Stories. Dr. Bill shares some special questions from a series of articles published by the Washington County Iowa Genealogical Society.

Ruth Haley presents Carnival of Genealogical Societies is: Doin' Things Right! posted at Genealogy is Ruthless without Me, saying, "The Computer Genealogy Society of San Diego (CGSSD)SM always has something I want to learn or want to try out. I am enjoying my association with this group a great deal."

Michelle Goodrum presents Boulder Genealogical Society - Doin' Things Right posted at The Turning of Generations, saying, "The Boulder Genealogical Society has excellent resources on their website. The site and its information is helpful, informative and done professionally. Truly done right!" 

A. Morddel presents The French Genealogy Blog: The Genealogy Groups - Les Cercles Généalogiques posted at The French Genealogy Blog. Anne comes to us from Paris and explains the French system of genealogical societies, called cercles, and their Geneabank project.

Amy Coffin presents The "No Program" Program posted at We Tree, saying, "What happens when the speaker is a no-show? A very informative meeting...as it turns out. Sometimes no program at all is a great program for societies."

Randy Seaver presents CVGS - Doin' Things Right! - Ahnentafel Lists posted at Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe, saying, "CVGS has a fairly unique way to present members ancestry - we use Ahnentafels online and searchable by Google and other search engines. This has worked really well - we get queries asking for a contact with the Ahnentafel submitter. We did this right!"

Karen Packard Rhodes presents Carnival of Genealogical Societies: The Southern Genealogist's Exchange Society posted at Karen About Genealogy. Karen highlights the excellent spring seminars at the Southern Genealogist's Exchange Society of Jacksonville, Florida, how how they led to a speaking career.

Paula Hinkel presents Doin' Things Right at the Southern California Genealogical Society posted at SCGSGenealogical Society Blog. Paula shares some history of the SCGS and how they went from teetering on the brink to becoming the "innovative and progressive organization" that hosts the fabulous Jamboree.

Jo Arnspiger presents 1st Edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies - Jessamine County Historical & Genealogical Society, Kentucky posted at Those Who Went Before. Jo shares the story of how a Rootweb mailing list led to the creation of the Annual History Fest. She also describes the society's Cemetery Project.

Thomas MacEntee presents Indiana Genealogical Society - Doin' Things Right! posted at Destination: Austin Family. Thomas is impressed with the online presence of the Indiana Genealogical Society and their members-only section.

Charles Hansen presents History of the Patchen File posted at Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Blog. Charles presents Part 1 of two posts about the Obituary Index Project of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society and introduces us to the amazing legacy of Lee Patchen.

Miriam Robbins Midkiff presents The Obituary Index posted at Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Blog. Miriam continues with Part 2 of the Obituary Indexing Project of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society and tells how the society is using technology to share their resources.

M. Diane Rogers presents Doin' Things Right - Carnival of Genealogical Societies - First Edition posted at The Graveyard Rabbit of British Columbia, Canada, saying, "I feel genealogical societies are good at organizing and enhancing the activities and energy of their members and volunteers to benefit the wider genealogical and historical communities." Her report on the Cemetery Committee shows how a society can coordinate a large project.

Kathryn Doyle presents Doin' Things Right: The Society Welcome Mat posted here at the California Genealogical Society and Library blog. Perhaps just a small difference in expectations can make the difference in how a society welcomes strangers.

This concludes our first edition.

***

Call for Submissions!

The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies is: Collaboration.

Does your society collaborate with other societies? 

(genealogical, historical, lineage, etc.) 

Or groups? (local library, family history center)

Why or why not? 

What works or needs improvement?

Thanks to Miriam Robbins Midkiff for suggesting this topic!

The deadline for submissions is May 7, 2010.

Please do indicate in your article that you are writing for the Second Edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies. Submit your blog article using the the submission form provided by Blog Carnival. Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any article you plan to submit and write a brief introduction to your articles in the "remarks" section of the form.

See you at the Carnival!

Doin' Things Right: The Society Welcome Mat

Last month blogger Herstoryan wrote a creative and funny piece for Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Fun entitled Super Bowl of Genealogy. I misunderstood, she clarified, and a lot of back-and-forth ensued in the comments. All ended well with the genea-blogging community proving once again that discussion and disagreement don't have to be ugly.

But since then I've been thinking a lot about how well genealogical societies and members welcome visitors and non-members. I've been remembering how I've been treated on first visits to libraries, archives and societies. What I recall is that the times I felt most welcomed were the times I was expected. If I had made an appointment or announced my arrival in advance, I was usually greeted warmly. Of course, some people are friendlier than others and an occasional "bad day" or "bad mood" can lead to bad interactions. But I've been hearing some very disturbing examples of bad manners and bad public relations on the part of some genealogy societies. I've begun to think that some societies just forgot to put out the "welcome mat."

The California Genealogical Society and Library welcomes the general public on the first Saturday of every month. The library is open to members three days a week – Thursday, Friday and Saturday and non-member visitors may use the library on those days for a nominal $5.00 charge. But on first Saturdays the library is free and open to everyone and an Intro to Genealogy class is offered from 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

First Free Saturdays and the introductory classes grew out of our October Family History Month program a few years ago. Every year in October the society has an open door policy and we offer a large menu of free classes and consultations to members and non-members alike. I'm not sure whose brilliant idea it was (if anyone knows, please leave a comment!) but that person threw down a warm welcome mat that has served the society well ever since.

There is an expectation that we will see new faces on first Saturdays. In fact, the volunteers who teach the intro class look forward to seeing how many new visitors they will meet. Since we advertise First Saturdays Free on internet events sites like Yelp, Yahoo Upcoming and our Facebook page, our volunteers have begun to ask attendees where they learned about the class. That information is helping us to do a better job of putting out the welcome mat. And we are noticing a younger audience. In the February class, three of the seven who attended learned about us on Facebook! Who knew that Facebook could be a welcome mat?

–Written for the First Edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies: Doin' Things Right.

Call For Submissions: First Edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies

Announcing the first edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies!

Jasia of Creative Gene generously allowed me to introduce this idea back in October with the 82nd edition of the COG, Breaking Into Society. In case you are new to the concept, the Carnival of Genealogy (COG) is a bimonthly blog event invented by Jasia in 2006. Individual genealogy bloggers write about an assigned topic and post the articles on their blogs. Each carnival edition has a host who gathers the submissions and publishes a round-up of links to the articles.

Regular readers know I am a firm believer in genealogical society membership and that this blog has been a wonderful way to showcase the good work of the dedicated volunteers at the California Genealogical Society. It is my hope that a carnival devoted exclusively to writing about societies will broaden awareness of what a great resource a society can be and provide a venue for gen-blogging groups to share ideas and perhaps solve problems.

Society blogs are becoming more commonplace – Thomas MacEntee has 37 Genealogy Society blogs listed on Geneabloggers and Chris Dunham's Genealogy Blog Finder now lists 85 Association and Society blogs. But this is a drop in the bucket when compared to the 500 societies represented by the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS). From their website:

FGS links the genealogical community by helping genealogical societies strengthen and grow. To do this, FGS publishes FORUM magazine, filled with articles pertaining to society management and genealogical news. FGS also publishes an extensive series of Society Strategy Papers, covering topics about effectively operating a genealogical society.

FGS also links the genealogical community through its annual conference — four days of excellent lectures, including one full day devoted to society management topics.

I think that a blog carnival can create a gen-society subset within the larger, existing geneablogger community. Although they don't always write about it, many gen-bloggers are active members and officers of their local societies and hold membership in distant societies where their forebears lived. Here are some great articles I've noticed in the past few months that are worthwhile reading for anyone involved in the running of a society:

Genealogy Societies by Karen

Promoting Genealogical Societies by Tina Sansone

Blog Presentation at my Society Meeting by Granny Pam

Should Your Genealogy Society Have a Blog? by Amy Coffin

Amy Coffin's 25 Great Topics for Genealogical Society Blogs

And now for a few specifics. For the first few months I will plan to host the Carnival of Genealogical Societies here at the CGSL blog but my intention is that hosting will rotate to other gen-society blogs. However, any individual blogger is welcome to write an article for the carnival and submit it – as long as it is on topic. The GenSo Carnival will run every other month with entries due on the 7th. I look forward to receiving your entries by March 7, 2010 and I will publish the first edition on March 10, 2010. Even if you've never participated in a blog carnival before, please consider joining us. I welcome your feedback about this new venture.

Call for Submissions! The topic for this inaugural edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies is: Doin' Things Right! Shine a spotlight on a specific program, project, or publication at a genealogical society and tell us why it worked. Tell an anecdote about how you benefited from a particular genealogical society service. Share a success story and be specific! The deadline for submissions is March 7, 2010.

Please do indicate in your article that you are writing for the First Edition of the Carnival of Genealogical Societies. Submit your blog article using the the submission form provided by Blog Carnival. Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any article you plan to submit and/or write a brief introduction to your articles in the "remarks" section of the form.

See you at the Carnival!

Blog Resolutions For 2010

Jasia at The Creative Gene is hosting the 87th Carnival of Genealogy: New Year's Resolutions! I've been a list-maker since I learned to write so setting goals became an annual ritual fairly early in my life. I went through a phase where I kept the yearly goal list posted on the refrigerator to keep it front and center. I've kept the old lists in a file and it's fun to look back and see what I've accomplished and how aspirations change over time.

My goals for the California Genealogical Society and Library blog grow out of my marketing responsibilities for the society. My one goal in 2008 (which carried over to 2009) was to get a local media outlet to take notice of CGS. Suddenly last week this item finally got crossed off the list when three of our members were featured on a popular live radio call-in program, Forum with Michael Krasny on KQED 88.5 FM on Christmas Eve. You can listen to the podcast of Prez Jane Knowles Lindsey, Craig Manson and Jeanie Low talking Genealogy 101 with substitute host Scott Shafer. Jane's brother was surprised to hear her on the local NPR affiliate in St. Croix!

Here are my blog goals for 2010:

1.) Final implementation of the CGS "brand" built around our new domain: CaliforniaAncestors.org/. Members of the Website and Publications/Marketing Committees have been working behind the scenes on a new, cohesive look for the website, blog, eNews, eNewsARCHIVE and other California Genealogical Society web locales. Since we are a 100% volunteer organization it is taking a little longer to accomplish than I anticipated but I am optimistic that the final results will be well worth the effort. I'll look forward to your feedback on our new look.


2.) Launch of a new carnival devoted to genealogical (and historical) societies. The first Call for Submissions is coming early in January and I hope all my fellow geneabloggers will help spread the word.

3.) January 2010 events have been posted to the San Francisco Bay Area Genealogy Calendar. This is a new venture which I inherited from Steve Danko. So far three fellow CGS members and bloggers Sheri Fenley, Bill George and Gene Pennington have stepped forward to help. I'm asking all Bay Area genealogical societies to contribute so we can develop a complete list of all gen-related events and post them on the 25th of each month. I know the it's not complete yet but it is still an impressive array!

4.) Last but not least: continue to share the society's news and our members' contributions. This year we will be publishing the annual committee reports on the blog and I have a plan to do follow-up stories on some of the connections that have been made through the blog.

Thanks to all who have contributed stories and photographs. Happy New Year!


 The COG poster provided courtesy of the footnoteMaven.

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

The Carnival of Genealogy (COG) is a bimonthly blog event invented by Jasia of Creative Gene in June 2006. Individual genealogy bloggers write about an assigned topic and post the articles on their blogs. Each carnival edition has a host who gathers the submissions and publishes a round-up of links to the articles. This is my submission to the 84th edition: What the Carnival of Genealogy has meant to me.

The COG was a fixture in the genealogy blogging world before I knew much about blogs or ever heard of Jasia. Ironically, I first learned about her from a print article in the July 2007 issue of Family Tree Magazine. In my first blog post, An Experiment, I reported on how Jasia's series Declining Membership in Genealogical Societies led directly to the start of this blog.

It was a few months before I found a topic that propelled me into the carnival fun. I have to admit that the COG has always presented a bit of a challenge to me as a writer of a genealogical society blog. It's the reason the CGSL blog has submitted only six articles:

43rd Carnival of Genealogy - Technology (3/4/2008)

44th Carnival A Tribute to Anne Robinson (3/18/2008)

45th Carnival Chronicling Events in a Horseless Carriage (4/4/08)

68th Carnival A Tribute to Dorothy Fowler (1927-2009) (3/15/09)

77th Carnival CGS and the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire (8/1/09)

Carnival of Genealogy 82: Breaking Into Society (10/18/09)

But that's not to say that the COG hasn't played an important part in my blog upbringing!

My favorite contributions to the COG have been the tributes to women written the last two years in March for National Women’s History Month. It has been an honor to meet so many generous, talented members of the society and writing about them is the best part of the CGSL blog. I plan to write more tributes and more frequent member spotlight articles in the future.

One edition of the Carnival of Genealogy stands out for me from all the rest – the 77th Edition Disasters hosted by Miriam Robbins Midkiff at her award-winning blog, Ancestories: The Stories of My Ancestors. Miriam did a stellar job with the submissions, organizing them into themes and introducing each with a fitting quotation. The packaging was every bit as interesting as the articles themselves. I was amazed at much time and care she had put into the presentation. Her creativity inspired me to volunteer to host a future edition of the COG on the CGSL blog.

Of course hosting on this blog meant that the the theme would have to relate somehow to CGS – a rule that keeps me focused on my niche. That led directly to the idea to start a new blog carnival devoted to genealogical societies.

Now it is time for true confessions! I took credit for a new GenSo Carnival (coming in January 2010) and Jasia was a supportive co-conspirator. Just as she graciously announced the start of the CGSL blog to the world, she offered the COG as a launching pad so I could publicize the new carnival and Carnival of Genealogy 82: Breaking Into Society was the result.

But the fact is: Jasia came up with the idea! She may not remember (I didn't) that in post #8 of Declining Memberships: Promoting Your Organization With Technology she included using blog carnivals:

This is another ideal way for a genealogical society to advertise and promote their organization. Start a carnival and rotate hosts among group members. Other carnival watchers and bloggers will find it and you'll increase your group’s exposure. It's great advertising to sponsor a carnival!

Jasia, I apologize for usurping your idea. It was all you, as always! The fourteen articles you wrote have been a road map that I have been following for almost two years. To say that you have changed my life is NOT an exaggeration. I spend a part of nearly every day working on something for the California Genealogical Society that you outlined in that series.

Thank you for creating this edition of the COG so that I could publicly acknowledge your continuing support and encouragement. In this case, imitation really is the sincerest form of flattery. I know that COG means Carnival of Genealogy but I am sure that gen-bloggers everywhere will agree that it also stands for Community of Geneabloggers. I can't thank you enough for showing me the way.

Carnival of Genealogy 82: Breaking Into Society

Welcome to the 82nd Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy - Breaking Into Society.

 Poster courtesy of the footnoteMaven.

What's your favorite genealogical society?
Do you belong to a society?
Tell us why!

Or if not, why not?

It's probably obvious that my favorite society is the California Genealogical Society and Library in Oakland, California. I've been blogging here since November 2007 so it's about time for me to host an edition of the carnival.

Special thanks and acknowledgment to Jasia of Creative Gene for allowing me to use this edition of the COG to introduce a new carnival devoted exclusively to genealogical (and historical) societies which will start in January 2010.

More and more societies are starting blogs (Genealogy Blog Finder lists 77) and a carnival will be a great way for societies to share ideas and participate in some theme blogging. It's often difficult for society bloggers to join in the carnival fun - topics such as "ponies" or "bathing suit" aren't really society material!

I invite any suggestions about the new venture. Please feel free to email me or leave a comment below.

* * *

This is actually the second time that societies have been a COG theme. Number 6 – Genealogical Societies – was one of the earliest topics in August 2006. Just three short years ago Jasia had to comb the web to collect enough blog material for a carnival. How things have changed! Today we have blog posts written by nineteen twenty genea-bloggers with their thoughts on gen-society membership from all parts of the U.S. and a view from Canada and the U.K.

Janet Iles starts things off by sharing some very specific reasons why she is a member of three branches of the Ontario Genealogical Society. Why did I join our genealogical society? - Carnival of Genealogy is posted at Janet the researcher.

Dorene from Ohio tells what the Ohio Genealogical Society can offer you if you are looking for ancestors who lived in Ohio. Read My Favorite Genealogical Society: OGS at Graveyard Rabbit of Sandusky Bay.

Jasia of Creative Gene invites us to read about her experiences with two Polish genealogical societies in PGS1 and PGS2, What They Mean to Me and You. She recommends that anyone researching their roots in Poland join a Polish genealogical society: "The help they can give you is invaluable."

Charles Hansen is one of the team who writes the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society blog. He wonders "Will local genealogical societies change with the internet? Will they continue to attract new members? or die?" His answer to both questions – education. Read My Favorite Genealogical Society for the COG at his personal blog Mikkel's Hus. 
 

Apple hasn't had much success with her local society so she's considering branching out. She cites her recent experiences and tells all in Apple's Tree: Society Gal? posted at Apple's Tree.

John Gasson thinks much of his research would still be "struggling to get off the ground" without the resources of his local group. Read Why I couldn't live without the Sussex Family History Group at The Wandering Genealogist.

Greta Koehl of Greta's Genealogy Bog proclaims "The Fairfax Genealogical Society is one of the outstanding local genealogical societies in the United States – great both for newbies and for experienced and professional genealogists. It has played a major role in my genealogical education." Read why in My Favorite Genealogical Society.

Miriam Robbins Midkiff's started blogging for her favorite Eastern Washington Genealogical Society in July 2007. Since she has no ancestors from Eastern Washington, My Favorite Genealogical Society at AnceStories: The Stories of My Ancestors tells why a local society can have advantages over the ones in your ancestral locations.

Thomas MacEntee declares (as only Thomas can) "Just like Lays potato chips, with genealogical societies, you can't have just one!" I do believe he takes the prize for most society memberships. Tally them up at Destination: Austin Family: My Favorite Genealogical Society - Must There Be Just One?

GrannyPam says she doesn't consider herself to be a "joiner." Actions speak louder than words and Pam has shared plenty of both over the threatened closure of the Library of Michigan at Granny's Genealogy. See why she is active in her local society at What?s Your Favorite Genealogy Society?

Jessica Oswalt shares her reasons for not being a member of a genealogy society in Genealogy Societies - My Thoughts at Jessica's Genejournal. Elyse has a suggestion (below) that may fit the bill for Jessica!

Donna Pointkouski is another member of the Polish Genealogical Society of America and notes that this edition of the CoG coincides with Polish-American Heritage Month. Donna tells why she has held membership for almost twenty years in High on Societies: Genealogical Societies! posted at What's Past is Prologue.

Randy Seaver has been blogging the Chula Vista Genealogy Café since April 2007. He has lots to say on his favorite topic in Genealogical Societies - Socialization Networks posted at Genea-Musings.

For Susan C Pentico, "Sharing is what makes societies so special." Read her thoughts Favorite Genealogical Society's Winning Praise posted at Susi's Chatty Performances on Genealogy.

Bill West has let his society membership lapse (horrors!). He explains in WHY I'M NOT IN A GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY posted at West in New England.

Sheri Fenley is an active member of several organizations. It's not surprising that The Educated Genealogist lists "journals" and "educational opportunities" among her reasons for societal membership. She also discusses "schmoozing" in her post Genealogical and Historical Society Membership.

Twice this summer Elyse Doerflinger of Elyse's Genealogy Blog gave some great advice to genealogical societies. Now she is back with more wisdom beyond her years with COG 82: A Youngster's View of Genealogy Societies.

Elizabeth O'Neal of Little Bytes of Life calls herself A Genealogical Joiner and shares more of her quest to join a local society.

And last, but by no means least, the footnoteMaven submitted A Member of Society. fM provides a definition and some self-analysis. With the latter, my dear fM, I respectfully disagree!

Addendum! A late entry has been added from M. Diane Rogers at CanadaGenealogy, or, 'Jane's Your Aunt'. In Why I Belong Diane dons her red hat (which one are you?) and answers a pertinent question "Why should I visit a genealogical society library when there are plenty of libraries around?"

* * *

That concludes this edition of the Carnival of Genealogy.

Call for Submissions!
The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be: Musical Instruments! Do you play a musical instrument or did one of your family members? What instrument did you or they play? If no one in the family played an instrument, tell what is your favorite instrument or band and what is your least favorite one. The deadline for submissions is November 1st. This edition of the COG will be guest hosted by Janet Iles who authors the blog, Janet the Researcher.

Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy using the carnival submission form. Please use a descriptive phrase in the title of any articles you plan to submit and/or write a brief description/introduction to your articles in the "comment" box of the blog carnival submission form. This will give readers an idea of what you've written about and hopefully interest them in clicking on your link.

Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.