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Speakers at the 2008 FGS Conference:

Deborah A Abbott, PhD, president of the African-American Genealogical Society, Cleveland, Ohio.

Dennis Ahern began researching genealogy and local history in 1991 and has lectured on a variety of subjects in Ireland, Canada and New England.

Janet A. Alpert president of the National Genealogical Society. She has been doing family history research for more than twenty-five years with an emphasis on New England, New York and the Midwest.

Lee A. Arnold librarian with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Richard L. Baker, MA, has a life-long interest in military history. He is currently a research historian with the US Army Military History Institute.

Virginia Banerjee professional genealogist with forty years research experience, teaches, lectures and has been published by several genealogical societies.

James M. Beidler FGS vice president of Development and writes the weekly newspaper column, “Roots & Branches.”

Carolyn Earle Billingsley, PhD, coordinator for Course 3 (Research in the South) at Samford's IGHR, lecturer, teacher, and writer; author of Community of Kinship: Antebellum Families and the Settlement of the Cotton Frontier.

Pamela K. Boyer, CG, CGL, FGS FORUM Digitools columnist, co-author of Online Roots and Research in Missouri, and NGS board member, is an instructor at Samford University’s IGHR and a frequent lecturer nationwide. She is a former FGS director and past editor of the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly.

Andy Boyt lives in Carmarthen, West Wales. He is responsible for co-ordinating their huge Parish Register and census transcription program.

Debra Braverman professional genealogist in New York City, specializing in estate work and New York City records.

Jana Sloan Broglin, CG, member of NGS, FGS, OGS, APG, GSG and ISFHWE, vice president of Membership, FGS, Ohio Genealogical Society trustee.

Casandra Brown a frequent presenter for African-American Genealogical Society of Cleveland and a volunteer at the Westlake (Ohio) Family History Center and the Western Reserve Historical Society.

Bruce Burgoyne a world renowned expert on the German Auxiliary Troops-the Hessians.

Tony Burroughs, FUGA, authored Black Roots, appeared in Real Family of Jesus; African American Lives, Oprah’s Roots, & received Distinguished Service Award from NGS.

Judith Shulamith Langer-Surnamer Caplan a rabbi’s daughter, writer, former teacher, and Up,Roots! research founder, is a NYC-LI area professional genealogist. Judi is also editor of the LitvakSIG Online Journal.

Michelle Chubenko trustee of the Genealogical Society of New Jersey.

Karen A. Clifford, AG, FUGA, Testing Chair of ICAPGen, President of Genealogy Research Associates, Inc., author of The Complete Beginner's Guide to Genealogy, The Internet and Your Genealogy Computer Program, and Becoming and Accredited Genealogist.

Patrick Connelly, BA, MA, archivist with the National Archives Northeast Region, New York City, where he specializes in 19th century Federal records.

Carrie Ann Cook vice president and webmaster of Gregath Publishing Company.

Lisa L. Cooke video producer and hostess of the Genealogy Gems Podcast www.GenealogyGems.TV, author of the book Genealogy Gems: Ultimate Research Strategies.

Dr. Constance J. Cooper director of Library and Archives at the Delaware Historical Society in Wilmington and has been studying, writing, and speaking about Delaware history and genealogy for nearly thirty years.

Dr. Peter Stebbins Craig, FASG, is the recognized authority on early settlers on the Delaware.

Christine Crawford-Oppenheimer librarian, archivist, author, speaker. Publications include a book, Long-Distance Genealogy, and articles in national and regional periodicals.

Amy Johnson Crow, CG, author, editor, and lecturer. The creator of DeafBiographies.com and co-author of Online Roots. She is president of ISFHWE and third vice president and webmaster of the Ohio Genealogical Society.

Rick Crume writes about computers and the Internet for Family Tree Magazine, Family Chronicle and Internet Genealogy.

Sean A. Curry South Jersey Records Management liaison within the Public Archives and Records Infrastructure Support (PARIS) grant program administered by NJDARM from Rutgers College, also past trustee of the GSNJ.

Damani K. Davis works at the National Archives and Records Administration.

John P. Deeben genealogy archives specialist with the Researchsupport Branch of the National Archives and Records Administration.

Donn Devine, CG, CGL, JD, genealogical consultant, attorney, and part-time archivist, administers the Devine and Baldwin DNA surname projects. Past BCG trustee, an NGS director, and now chairs the NGS Standards Committee.

Wendy Bebout Elliott, PhD, FUGA,, FGS president, US History, university professor, authored five chapters in Red Book.

Mary Louise Fitzpatrick is a professional genealogist who lives in the Philadelphia area where she researches, writes, and lectures.

Kay Haviland Freilich, CG, CGL, author of Research in Pennsylvania, trustee of the BCG Education Fund, and former BCG president.

Diane V. Gagel, MA, college instructor, author of three books, and past president of the Ohio Genealogical Society.

Christine Graham teaches college English and writes children’s books. She makes traditional clear toy candy every Christmas, just as her Scottish immigrant ancestor did.

Fred Graham has worked for the Family and Church History Department for twenty-eight years. He is currently an instructional designer in the Worldwide Support Division.

Chris Haley 

Patricia Law Hatcher, FASG, author of Locating Your Roots, Discover Your Ancestors Using Land Records and is editor of the Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine.

Henry B. Hoff, CG, FASG, editor of The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. For fifteen years he was editor or consulting editor of The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record.

Craig Horle, PhD, former associate editor of the Papers of William Penn, co-founder and chief editor of The Biographical Dictionary of Pennsylvania Legislators.

Debby Horton owns and operates Connect-Your-Dots (a genealogical services company).

Leslie Albrecht Huber genealogical freelance writer and speaker. Her articles have appeared in over twenty magazines and journals.

John T. Humphrey current president of the Mid-Atlantic Germanic Society; he has written numerous books and articles and lectures widely.

Lisa Ilowite, MBA, research scientist and applies those skills to genealogy. Her research interests are Pennsylvania and social family history.

Dr. Thomas Jones, CG, CGL, FASG, edits the NGS Quarterly. His lectures focus on research methods applying across geographic areas and time periods.

Susan D. Kaufman, MLS, manager of the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research, Houston Public Library, Houston, TX, genealogy librarian for twenty years and FGS director and member of the Conference Planning Committee.

Roger Kershaw joined The National Archives (TNA), formerly Public Record Office, in 1986 and is now the head of Records Knowledge for the Advice and Records Knowledge Department.

Roberta “Bobbi” King APG Quarterly columnist, published numerous articles in local publications, and NGS Newsmagazine and FGS FORUM.

Joseph R. Klett chief of the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton, NJ. In 2003, he launched the expansion of the Archives’ website to include its catalog, imaged collections, searchable databases and documentary treasures.

Susan Koelble, CG, professional researcher, author, and lecturer. She is co-owner of the Genealogical Publishing Company, Bare Roots Publishing.

Dr. Michael D. Lacopo small-animal veterinarian, takes a scientific approach to his research like he does to his trained profession. He has written or co-written several single name studies since 1985.

Nancy Waters Lauer researcher, lecturer, college instructor, and award-winning author.

Anne Leptich, AG, Chair of ICAPGen, accredited in Midwestern States, Past Director and Board Member of FGS, Past officer of The Genealogical Forum of Oregon, frequent teacher, speaker and volunteer in the genealogical community.

Richard L. Lindberg, MLS, a native Pennsylvanian. He is the Genealogy/Local History librarian at the State Library of Pennsylvania.

Barbara Vines Little, CG, a professional genealogist whose primary interest is in colonial research and brick wall problems.

J. Mark Lowe, CG, FUGA, professional researcher, IGHR instructor, and RIGSA director who researches original records and manuscripts.

Ruth Ellen Maness, AG, Manager Scandinavian/Hispanic Reference Unit FHL; Co-author of Passport to Paradise series.

Bill Mangum with FamilySearch for over five years working with product management to provide tools for those doing their own family history work.

Angela McComas researcher and teacher at the Midwest Genealogy Center in Independence, MO. She is a published author. Her website is kcgenealogy.com.

Catherine Stearns Medich reference archivist at the New Jersey State Archives and has been at the State Archives for ten years.

Marie Varrelman Melchiori, CG, CGL, has lectured on military records in the National Archives since 1988. She was the assistant director of NIGR, 1987-2002 and a BCG trustee 2000-2006.

Kory L. Meyerink, AG, full-time researcher, with twenty-five years experience. He is accredited in four areas, including Germany, and was the editor and primary author of Ancestry’s major reference book, Printed Sources.

Craig Miller currently serves as Director of Member Needs for the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Donna Miller has worked closely with the family history center program during her twenty-one years in the Family and Church History Department.

Julie Miller, CG, professional researcher, lecturer, and columnist. She is a member of the NGS and APG board of directors.

Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, known for her development of problem-solving methodology and her packed lectures at national conferences. Editor of NGSQ for sixteen years, she is a past president of BCG and ASG

Paul Milner native of northern England, a regular speaker at national and regional conferences specializing in British Isles research and is the Book Review Editor of the FGS FORUM.

Jefferson M. Moak has been an archivist in Philadelphia for twenty years—thirteen with the Philadelphia City Archives and the last seven with NARA’s Mid-Atlantic Region.

Gary Mokotoff author and lecturer in Jewish genealogy. He is the first person to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies.

Sharon Tate Moody, CG, writes a column for the Tampa Tribune. She is past president of the Association of Professional Genealogists.

Steve Morse his One-Step website has attracted attention worldwide. He has received both the Outstanding Contribution Award and Lifetime Achievement Award from the IAJGS for his work.

Fred Moss, LLM, JD, advisor to the FGS board on legal and technological matters, member of the NGS Genealogical Standards Committee.

Donna M. Moughty professional genealogist and former regional manager for a national technology company.

Joan Kitchen Murray active in genealogy for twenty- three years. She has served on the boards of three genealogical societies and has been a volunteer at the National Archives for sixteen years in addition to lecturing in the Midwest.

Cat Nielsen has over thirty years of experience in genealogical research in the US, Canada, Great Britain, and Denmark.

Gregory O’Connor has worked at the National Archives of Ireland since 1989. He has had responsibilities in the areas of accessioning, arranging and describing legal records taken in from Court Offices, Solicitor's (Attorney’s) Offices and from private individuals.

Eileen O’Duill, CG, APG in Ireland, past international trustee for Britain and Ireland of APG (USA), is a Dublin based genealogist.

Sean O’Duill teaches in St. Declan’s College, Dublin, and has published several articles in Irish and English on Irish folklore.

Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse has held the positions of Maryland State Archivist and Commissioner of Land Patents since 1975.

Ugo Perego director of operations at the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a PhD student in Human Genetics at the University of Pavia, Italy.

Tim Pinnick researcher, author, lecturer, and family historian with over twenty years research experience, including all major US repositories.

Constance Potter works at the National Archives and Records Administration.

Elissa Scalise Powell, CG, a western Pennsylvania researcher, is the Professional Genealogy Course coordinator at IGHR. She is a trustee for BCG and their Exhibit Booth coordinator.

George Redmonds, BA, PhD, specializes in names research. He is the author of numerous books and articles and has lectured worldwide on the subject.

Connie Reik, MLS, MA, vice president of the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists, and works at the Tisch Library at Tufts University as Government Publications coordinator and reference librarian.

Beverly Rice, CG, has owned and managed her own business for over twenty-five years. She is a lecturer and speaker on topics related to methodology, migration, women and the western experience.

Linda A. Ries currently Head of the History and Archival Programs Section of the Pennsylvania State Archives.

Christine Rose, CG, CGL, FASG, full-time professional genealogist, author, lecturer, columnist, past vice president of the Association of Professional Genealogists, author of Courthouse Research for Family Historians, Genealogical Proof Standard: Building a Solid Case, and more.

William B., Jr. Saxbe, CG, FASG, author of numerous publications and speaker at FGS, NGS, and NEHGS conferences. He studies the Bowen family of Rehoboth, MA, and its diaspora.

George K. Schweitzer holder of three doctorates (history, philosophy, chemistry), lecturer at over 200 conferences, author of 19 genealogical books.

Robert A. Selig 

D. Brenton Simons has served as President and CEO of the New England Historic Genealogical Society since December 2005. Previously he served as Chief Operating Officer of the Society and, over more than a decade, held several other management positions at NEHGS.

Diane Skorina, MLS, librarian at Ursinus College and is in charge of the portion of the Pennsylvania Folk life Society Archives housed there.

Diana Crisman Smith director of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), chapter representative and webmaster of the Great Lakes Chapter of APG.

Drew Smith, MLS, member of APG, GSG, ISFHWE, and NGS, University of Southern Florida, Tampa Library librarian, FGS director, Genealogical Computing columnist, and technical editor for How to Do Everything with Your Genealogy.

Marian Smith Senior Historian at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security.

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak Chief Family historian for Ancestry.com, co-founder of RootsTelevision.com, and co-author of Trace Your Roots with DNA.

D. Albert Soeffing president emeritus of the New York Silver Society and has taught silver appraisal in the New York University Appraisal Studies Program for the past eighteen years.

Patricia Walls Stamm, CG, CGL, researcher, lecturer, and popular St. Louis genealogical instructor. Writes for Genealogical Computing, NGS News Magazine, and APG Quarterly.

Jonathan R. Stayer head of reference at Pennsylvania State Archives where he has been employed for more than twenty years.

Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, researcher and lecturer in US research, major repositories, course coordinator SLIG, writes for Ancestry and other periodicals.

Thomas M. Summers manager of Outreach Services at the Delaware Public Archives and has been with the Archives for fifteen years.

D. Joshua Taylor professional genealogical lecturer, and researcher. Research Services Coordinator, NEHGS; Conference Planning Bylaws, and 2009 Conference Committees, FGS.

Maureen A. Taylor the Photo Detective. A profile of her work appeared in the Wall Street Journal (October 2007).

Cath Madden Trindle, CG, is FGS treasurer, bookkeeping consultant for thirty years with San Mateo County, FGS Publication chair and editor for twelve years, and Northern California research specialist.

Paul S. Valasek three time graduate of Loyola University of Chicago, earning his Doctorate in Dentistry in 1984.

Dr. Anthony Waskie professor at Temple University and a Civil War historian, published author and extremely active in Civil War history, research and preservation. He is a specialist on the life and career of General George G. Meade, whom he portrays in a “first person” style Living-History performance.

Dr. Christopher T. Watts, BS, FSG, genealogist with almost forty years experience. Works as a reader adviser at the U.K.'s National Archives (TNA).

D. Merrill White has worked in the Family and Church History Department for eight years and currently serves as a specialist for Family History Consultants in the Family History Library and Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

Rebecca White, BA, senior archaeologist and laboratory supervisor, employed by Hunter Research Inc. in Trenton, NJ.

Curt B. Witcher, MLS, FUGA, department manager for the Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, IN.

Mel Wolfgang owner of Jonathan Sheppard Books.

Steve Young currently Manager, Family History Consultant Services.

© 2006-2008, FGS Conference
This site last updated 28 August 2008.