John T. Humphrey to Address Opening Session at OGS Conference

4 April 2005

John T. Humphrey, noted genealogical author and educator will present three lectures at the 2005 Ohio Genealogical Conference in Akron, Ohio. The theme for the conference is scheduled for April 14-16, is "From Farmland to City Streets: Our Ancestors' Changing Environment."

Humphrey is the current president of the Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society and a past vice president of the Pennsylvania Chapter of Palatines to America. In 2004, he became the vice president of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. He is the author of the 14-volume set of Pennsylvania Births. Currently, he is working on genealogical records created during World War II of interest to researchers in Germany and the United States.

At the opening session of the conference on Friday, April 15, he will discuss "Developing the Skills to Become a Genealogist." To successfully find one's ancestors, family historians need the proper tools to do the job, he will tell attendees. Some skills are specific to a given task and other skills are more personal. He promises to pass along new insight into analytical tools used by the "pros."

At other sessions, he will discuss, "Why Genealogy: What Is in It for Me?" and "Documentation: It's Essential." In the "Why Genealogy" lecture, he will describe how the quest usually begins with a family story, mystery, or documents, but it leads to much more. He maintains that in the process of discovering our ancestors, we discover ourselves. In his third lecture, he will outline how to write a source citation for use by other genealogists.

Humphrey resides in Washington, D. C. where he attended university, receiving his B. A. in government and public administration.

The 2005 OGS Conference and accompanying exhibition will be held at the Quaker Square Convention Center in downtown Akron. The adjoining Crowne Plaza Hotel will serve as the headquarters hotel for the conference.

The Ohio Genealogical Society is the largest state genealogical society in the nation, with over 5000 members in 94 chapters around the state and elsewhere in the U.S. It publishes the OGS Quarterly, OGS Genealogy News, Ohio Records & Pioneer Families, and Ohio Civil War Genealogy Journal.

For more information, contact OGS at 419-756-7294 or ogs@ogs.org. The conference program is available on the society's website at www.org.org.