Southern California Genealogical Society's 2010 Jamboree: Day Four (Sunday)

Sunday was the last official day of Jamboree, and everyone was encouraged to wear their favorite Hawaiian shirt. I slept in, ate a late brunch, and arrived at the Marriott in time for the last two sessions of the day. I had a hard time deciding between classes, since I wanted to take both Louise St. Denis' "Are Your Ancestors Lost in Canada?" and Arlene Eakle's "Tracing a Southern Pedigree." I opted for the latter, but talked to Steve Danko after, who attended St. Denis' lecture and said it was very good (sigh). Hopefully that lecture was recorded! I did enjoy Eakle's lecture and tweeted my notes under the #scgs10 hashtag.

Next, I slipped in to Lisa Lee's session right before it began. She was doing her presentation on "City Directories - Full of Hidden Information." Back in July 2009, she featured my Online Historical Directories as the Website of the Month at Got Genealogy? I quickly introduced myself and after warmly welcoming me with a hug, gave me permission to hand out my Moo cards to her audience with the URLs of my Online Historical Directories and Online Historical Newspapers websites listed on them. Then it was off to the last session of the day: John T. Humphrey's "Using Church Records Effectively." His presentation was excellent indeed and made me wish all the more that I had been able to attend his Pennsylvania Land Records one. He suggested finding ministers' personal journals and records for finding records of ancestors' baptisms, marriages, and funerals...especially if they were not members of the local church, as their events would not be recorded in the regular congregational books. I thought of all the ministerial notes, diaries, and journals I've seen highlighted on the Internet Archive lately, and have been inspired to do a little church record research at that site.

After the sessions, raffle and door prizes were being drawn in the exhibit hall, but I headed to the bloggers' lounge where Susan Kitchens was pouring champagne, as promised. Many of us lingered, saying our goodbyes and snapping the last of the photos before heading out. Susan and I made plans to meet up the next day; as a longtime local resident, she knows where all THE places to see are.  Before we dispersed, Paula Hinkel walked into the bloggers' lounge and was met with cheers and applause. This woman is simply amazing, as is her co-chair, Leo Myers. Together, they coordinate and organize the Jamboree (50 speakers and 1600+ attendees) every single year! Many thanks to Paula, Leo, the Jamboree Committee, the members and volunteers of the Southern California Genealogical Society, the Burbank High School Key Club, and the Marriott staff and management for their dedication and hard work to make this such a marvelous event!

Day One
Day Two - Part I
Day Two - Part II
Day Three
Day Five