Great Time at the Atlanta Family History Expo [Guest Blogger]

     I had a lot of fun at the Family History Expo over the weekend. Although I am not a genealogist I still found out a lot of interesting things, many of which will help me understand exactly what Valerie is talking about regarding her research.

Classes

The most informative lecture I went to was Traditional DNA Testing and Beyond – The Next Revolution in Genetic Genealogy by Elise Friedman. I went to this one alone, as Valerie has done DNA testing and explained it to me however, I can't say I really understood her. This was an info packed lecture that was a good overview of the information. I couldn't explain DNA testing to others but, I "get it" better now. Especially the differences between the different types of testing.

My favorite class was Family Roots Travel: How to Connect With Your Heritage Through Travel by Adam Glenn. Valerie, my mom, and I have done a little genealogy traveling, so this wasn't all brand new information. The presentation was really well put together and even when I already knew something this lecture put a new spin on it or emphasized a new aspect. I got some great tips that I will definitely be able to use! This class was straight to the point and easy to understand and also went at a good pace. Unlike some of the other classes, I did not feel that this one was trying to fit too much information into the time allotted.

Another class that I really enjoyed was An Introduction to AncestralHunt.com by Bernie Gracy. This one is about a new site/product called AncestralHunt.com. It's not a database platform, data source, or ancestral mapping service. It seems like it is more of a community where people can place their family trees and compare them geographically to help break down their brick walls. It is a community based collaborative place for people to share and help each other. Sounds really neat, and they are looking for beta testers. I signed Valerie up :)

Me. Valerie, our Mom.

Overall Thoughts

One thing I would suggest for future expos is to have more info/products geared towards Georgia research. I attended one class on the South which did not mention Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi or other obvious "southern states" but did talk about Delaware. It was a little frustrating. The Expo may want to focus more on Georgia or other local states more in the future.

Overall I was impressed by the Expo. Everything was very well organized and there were plenty of offerings. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I had lots of fun.