History and Genealogy Fantastic Weekend

The historian and genealogist parts of me had a fantastic weekend.

Friday night I went to an panel event about writing history at the Harvard Extension School. The panel was great, but the reception afterward was even better. For the first time, I felt a part of the history graduate school community. I was able to talk with a lot of different people and get ideas about classes and how to choose a thesis. I spoke to a director from the Mass. Historical Society about records they have that could be useful for my thesis. I talked to so many people that I was among the last 3 or 4 to leave. It's such a good feeling to be part of the community.

Saturday NEGHS and Ancestry.com sponsored an all-day genealogy event. I have subscribed to Ancestry.com for a while, but certainly wasn't using all its search capabilities. After 2 classes taught by Ancestry.com staff, I can now make much better use of my time on Ancestry.com. I ran into several people I knew there.