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Look ahead for variety of ways to get better at looking backward

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By SHARON TATE MOODY

Tribune correspondent

Published: June 14, 2009

Genealogical research is addictive and can quickly absorb all of a person's waking hours. Unfortunately, some of that time is often wasted on fruitless Internet searches.

How to avoid that? Education. Learning opportunities come wrapped in all sorts of packages, from local programs to conferences and ocean cruises. And yes, you can find them on the Internet. Here's a sampling of what's coming up.

Coming to Tampa

The Florida Genealogical Society has scored a real coup. It's bringing Elizabeth Shown Mills, one of the country's most distinguished genealogists, to town for its fall seminar. She'll present four lectures from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 26 at the Dale Mabry Campus of Hillsborough Community College.

Beginners and pros alike can benefit from this seminar. Mills' lectures are:

•"The Elusive Ancestor: There's No Such Thing as 'Too Poor to Trace'"

•"Sources & Citations Simplified: From Memorabilia to Digital Data to DNA"

•"The Identity Crisis: Right Name, Wrong Man? Wrong Name, Right Man?"

•"OK, I Got the Neighbors - Now What Do I Do with Them?"

Mills is a fellow of the American Society of Genealogists, which limits its honorary membership to 50 living individuals. She also is a fellow of the National Genealogical Society and the Utah Genealogical Society. She was the editor of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly and president of the Board for Certification of Genealogists.

Registration for the seminar is $35 for members and $40 for nonmembers. Go to fgstampa .org/ to get a registration form.

Can you meet the mark?

If you've been researching for a while, perhaps you'd like to become a board-certified genealogist. Apply for this credential by submitting work samples to the Board for Certification of Genealogists, which judges work to determine whether a researcher is qualified.

Learn more at the board's Web site, www.bcgcertification .org/certification/index.html. It includes video of a certification seminar. The two-hour program is broken down into short segments for easy viewing.

International Jewish meeting

The 29th international conference on Jewish Genealogy, sponsored by the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, will be held in Philadelphia from Aug. 2 to 7. There are more than 100 lectures, workshops and computer classes planned for beginner and experienced genealogists.

French priest, author and humanitarian the Rev. Patrick Desbois will deliver the keynote address, "The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 million Jews."

For conference details and to register, go to www.philly 2009.org.

Cruises are back

Geneaology cruises all but disappeared last and this year, but at least one is planned for 2010. Genealogy software company RootsMagic is sponsoring a sail that should be very convenient for Tampa-area residents. The western Caribbean cruise aboard the Royal Caribbean Liberty of the Seas, out of Miami, will sail Feb. 14 to 21. Speakers include professional researchers Gary and Diane Smith and popular local professionals George G. Morgan and Drew Smith of Odessa.

Ports of call are Haiti, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico.

For information, visit www.RootsMagicCruise.com.

Sharon Tate Moody is a board-certified genealogist. Send your genealogy questions and event announcements to her in care of Getaway, The Tampa Tribune, 200 S. Parker St., Tampa, FL 33606 or stmoody0720@mac.com. She regrets that she is unable to assist wit

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