VGS 2013 Spring Conference
The Spring Conference is a two-day program. Download the conference brochure.
FRIDAY PROGRAM
19 April 2013
10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Guided Research
at the Library of Virginia
Experienced researchers will be available at the Library (800 East Broad Street) to answer questions, provide individual assistance to beginners, and to offer strategies for difficult genealogical problems. Please inquire at the Library information desk for the meeting location.
SATURDAY PROGRAM
20 April 2013
Speakers
Barbara Vines Little, CG, FNGS, FVGS, is a professional genealogist whose primary interest is in Virginia research, brick wall problems and complete genealogies. A member of the board of the Orange County Historical Society and a former president of the National Genealogical Society and the Virginia Genealogical Society, she has served as coordinator and instructor for VIGR (Virginia Institute of Genealogical Research) Track II, 1996–2004, and for the Virginia track at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University since 2007.
Editor of the quarterly Magazine of Virginia Genealogy since 1996, she is the former editor of the bi-monthly Virginia Genealogical Society Newsletter and MidAtlantic Germanic Society’s newsletter, Der Kurier. Winner of the NGS Quarterly Award of excellence in 2001, she has written articles for a number of publications including the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, the National Genealogical Society Newsletter, the Board for Certification of Genealogists’ newsletter, OnBoard; and the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly. The current editor of National Genealogical Society’s Research in the States series, she is the author of the West Virginia volume and has published three volumes of Virginia court records and edited others for publication. She has lectured for the past twenty years at local, regional, state and national conferences in twenty-seven states on research methodology, Virginia and West Virginia resources and writing and publishing.
Vincent T. Brooks, Senior Local Records Archivist at the Library of Virginia has been with the archival agency for thirteen years. He received his B. A. from Saint Vincent College and received his M. A. from Duquesne University. He is the author of articles and book reviews in such publications as The Dictionary of Virginia Biography, the Encyclopedia of the Great Depression and the New Deal, The Magazine of Virginia Genealogy, Virginia Libraries, and the former Virginia Cavalcade. In addition, he has lectured on subjects ranging from gubernatorial pardons to landscape architecture. Vince also served as Researcher for the Library’s Virginia’s Coal Towns, Legacies of the New Deal in Virginia, and Never Built Virginia exhibits.
8:30 a.m. Registration
9:00-9:15 a.m Opening Remarks
9:15-10:15 a.m. In the Beginning: Colonial Virginia Research (Little)
Record loss and the ever-changing boundaries caused by the expanding frontier and border disputes with adjacent colonies create roadblocks in our research that can often be overcome by an awareness of the boundary changes and the use of alternate record sources.
10:15-10:45 a.m. Break
10:45-11:45 a.m. Virginia Resources for Kentucky Researchers (Little)
Records created while Kentucky was still a part of Virginia— from early Fincastle and Botetourt County records to state court , land , tax and legislative records as well as federal court and manuscript records, can often provide the answer to the questions we have about early Kentucky residents.
11:45-1:00 p.m. Lunch
1:00-1:30 p.m. VGS Annual Meeting with Alice Phillips, President
1:30-2:30 p.m. Virginia Resources for West Virginia Researchers (Little)
Legislative and court and other state government records, land and tax records, vital records, county records that remain in Virginia because of county border changes are an often overlooked source of information for West Virginia researchers.
2:30-3:00 p.m. Break
3:00-4:00 p.m. The Man from Yohogania: West Augusta and the Virginia/Pennsylvania Border Controversy (Brooks)
Genealogical research in the West Augusta District requires some specific strategies. This presentation will examine the history of the region and reveal some sources to aid in research.
The area known as the District of West Augusta lies west of the Allegheny Mountain range on the far–side of what was then Augusta County, Virginia,(present day Allegheny, Westmoreland, Fayette, Greene, and Washington Counties, Pennsylvania, and Hancock, Brooke, Ohio, Marshall, Wetzel, Tyler, Pleasants Ritchie, Doddridge, Lewis, Harrison, Marion, Monongalia, Taylor, Barbour, Upshur, Randolph, Tucker, Preston, and Pocahontas Counties, West Virginia). The inhabitants wanted to move the seat of government in Augusta closer or create another county, since Augusta’s large area precluded easy travel to and from the local government headquarters.
The dispute over control of the area arose as early as 1749 when the governor of Virginia suggested in a letter to the governor of Pennsylvania that the land belonged to Virginia. Over the next 30 years, the two governments would claim ownership, suggest solutions, deny suggestions, send in troops, construct forts, and assign commissioners.
Note: After 1 April 2013, please add $10. Online registration ends April 18th. After that time, you may register by phone, or at the event, but we cannot guarantee we will have a meal available.
Note: Cancellations after 1 April 2013 will not be refunded.
Vegetarian meals can be requested during registration online or via US Mail.
