The Fall Conference of the Virginia Genealogical Society (VGS) will be held at the Museum of American Frontier Culture in Staunton, Virginia, on September 25-26, 1998. Appropriately, the theme of the conference is "The Great Wagon Road" which carried immigrants into the Valley and beyond during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
For those who pre-register, Friday the 25th will be the big day for tours of the Frontier Museum and Valley research at the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Historical Society, located at that Society's Folk Art and Heritage Center in Dayton, Virginia. The research facility will be open, free of charge, from 10:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. At the end of the day, that Society will host their "centennial year" birthday party in their genealogical bookstore.
On Saturday, the 26th, "The Great Wagon Road" ends at the Frontier Museum. Featured speakers will be John Blankenbaker, publisher of Beyond Germanna, and Katherine L. Brown, Director of Research and Collections at the Frontier Museum. Mr. Blankenbaker will focus on "Factors Associated With German Ancestral Research" and "Using Church Records to Find REAL People." Dr. Brown will speak on "Scratching at Your Irish Roots--Tools for Beginners" and "Digging at Your Irish Roots--Case Studies From the Registry of Deeds and Other Dublin Sources."
During the advanced sessions offered by Blankenbaker and Brown, two concurrent workshops tailored to the specialized needs of beginners will be offered by Dorothy A. Boyd-Rush and Marie Martin Murphy. Enrollment for the beginners' workshops will be limited. This is a first for VGS! We welcome all who are interested in genealogy and family history, and we hope to offer something for newcomers and pros alike.
Morning coffee and lunch on Saturday will be included in the registration fee ($30 VGS members, $32 non-VGS members). Passes for the tour of the Museum and access to the Heritage Center will be mailed to those who pre-register. The closest motels are Comfort Inn (540-886-5000), Shoney's Inn (540-885-3117), and Day's Inn (540-337-331). Additional details will be in June's issue of the VGS Newsletter.
A group of rooms is being held at a conference rate at the Comfort
Inn, 1302 Richmond Avenue, Staunton, Virginia. The rate for lodging
is: $52 per single, $60 per double, plus tax. To arrange for lodging,
call Comfort Inn directly, and mention the VGS conference. For additional information, you may
contact us by writing to:
Virginia Genealogical Society
Attn.: Fall Conference, Staunton
5001 West Broad Street, Suite 115
Richmond, VA 23230-3023
Mark your calendar and plan to attend. Bring a friend!
Click here to download and print a copy of the full brochure in Word format.
REGISTRATION DETAILS
To sign up, send a personal check or money order for $30.00 ($32 non-VGS member) per
registrant, payable to the Virginia
Genealogical Society, to our address given above. Sorry, we
cannot take registrations over the Internet at this time.
DIRECTIONS
Author: Wesley E. Pippenger
Revised: August 10, 1998