The second annual Georgia Family History Expo is set for Nov. 11-12 at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth.
The event opens at 1 p.m. on Nov. 11 and runs until 9 p.m. with lectures by various professional genealogists. On Nov. 12, it runs from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. There also will be a free exhibit hall with various genealogy societies and publishers having booths and exhibits and publications for sale.
Speakers include those from Familysearch.org in Utah, Robert Scott Davis, Arlene Eakle, Thomas Jay Kemp and Leland Meitzler. Topics include African-American research; beginning genealogy; using various Internet sources; Civil War research; German, Welsh, Irish and other ethnic research; and lots more.
Cost for the two-day event is $75 for early bird registration if done by Oct. 31; otherwise it's $60 for each day. To register, go to www.familyhistoryexpos.com and then to "Expos" and drop down to "Georgia Family History Expo 2011."
The full schedule of speakers and topics is there; biographies of the speakers can be found through the "Speakers" link at the beginning of the Georgia Expo page.
This is a great opportunity to learn from some nationally known speakers as well as shop at the exhibit hall. The organizers hope this will be an annual event, but only good attendance will make that happen.
Archives microfilm card catalog online
The Georgia Archives has recently placed digitized portions of its main card catalog online, covering various rolls of county records on microfilm. That should help you understand what is available in the collection.
In general, most extant county records up to about 1900 were microfilmed, but there are exceptions. Some county records, such as marriage records, have been digitized and also can be seen separately on the archives website.
To see this information, go to www.georgiaarchives.org, "Virtual Vault" and then "Archives Collections Without Images," and check for the County Records Microfilm Index.
Also available online are the cards in the General Name File, which date back to the founding of the archives in the early 20th century. If you look at these prior to a visit you can be prepared, knowing what is available to be searched, and make better use of your time.
South Georgia marriages and cemeteries
Jessie H. Paulk has been a prolific compiler of books on South Georgia's marriages and cemetery records. He has now created a website where, besides printed copies of these books for sale, he is offering by subscription further access to these materials, as well as many other family history books, research files and published titles.
The site includes a free database where you can check indexes to the various books. So it's worth checking www.segenealogyrecords.com to see what he has related to your interests. He also can be reached at P.O. Box 275-10180 Fish Creek Road, Salem, FL 32356.
