Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Colleen Fitzpatrick at CGSSD on Saturday, 2/16

Linda Hervig sent this notice along about the Computer Genealogy Society of San Diego meeting on Saturday, February 16, 2008 from 9:00 am to noon.

9:00 - User groups for Legacy and RootsMagic

10:15 - A break and refreshments

10:30 - Announcements followed by Program


"Database Detective - Extracting Meaningful Information from the Internet and Your Own Files" -- Colleen Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.

Colleen Fitzpatrick comes to CGSSD for the first time to discuss Forensic Genealogy.

Compiling facts is not good enough. It is more important to extract information from these facts by finding patterns that appear among names, dates, addresses and events. Also one needs to be alert for patterns that are interrupted, or anticipated patterns that are not followed. What is missing from your data can be just as revealing as what actually appears. What patterns lurk in city directories that could reveal the living conditions of a family? How can you use a city directory to determine approximate birth dates of the children? What can a collection of birth records tell you about the weather conditions during the period your ancestors lived? Innovative ways to use conventional materials will be discussed, as well as unusual resources that might help fill in the gaps of your family story.

We meet at the Robinson Auditorium complex on the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) campus in La Jolla. From North Torrey Pine Road turn at Pangea Drive into UCSD. Free parking is available in the parking garage on the left; use any A, B, or S space. Signs will mark directions to our meeting room. Please refer to our website http://www.cgssd.org/; or the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies website http://irps.ucsd.edu/about/how-to-find-us.htm for driving directions and a map/

My thanks to Linda for her faithful notice about the CGSSD programs.

I hope to attend Colleen's talk, but I'm subject to car availability as my daughter and grandsons are here this weekend.

1 comment:

Sally J. said...

Oooo! I would L-O-V-E to attend one of Colleen's talks. Her analysis of the mysterious dead horse photo is fascinating.