Showcasing the 2015 New York State Family History Conference

by Sue Miller

NYSFHC Featured Speaker: Dr. Thomas. W. Jones, CG, FASG, FUGS, FNGS

“Will Your Family History Have Lasting Value?”

Most genealogists want to prepare family histories that future generations will cherish. Not all succeed. Many genealogies contain only “harvested” information, which our descendants will be able obtain themselves (perhaps more easily than we can today). Some of that information likely is wrong. We begin to create worthwhile and accurate family histories by collecting and sharing family stories and DNA test results—information that might soon disappear. Our research progresses from that starting point toward the goal of a printed, computerized, or online family history. If we pay attention to four factors—biography, accuracy, documentation, and explanation—our history will be irreplaceable.

Tom will be giving three lectures at the New York State Family History Conference. Sign up today!

Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS, has edited the National Genealogical Society Quarterly since 2002. He is author of Mastering Genealogical Proof, a popular textbook on genealogical assessment and reasoning. Tom also is a trustee and a past president of the Board for Certification of Genealogists. Tom works full time as a genealogical researcher, writer, editor, and educator. He coordinates courses at the British Institute, Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh, the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, and Samford University’s Institute on Genealogy and Historical Research; and he teaches in Boston University’s Genealogical Certificate Program.

Sue Miller is the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society's Director of Education and a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists. She has been working on her family's genealogy for more than twenty years.