Ft. Wayne Pre Summit African American Genealogy Conference

I am attending the National Black Genealogy Summit  Today was the Pre-Summit event held at the Allen County Public Library.

After a long ride from Maryland to Ft.Wayne Indiana, and a good night's sleep, it was great to get into the library again and to see old friends. The check in process was a smooth one with a friendly team of library staff on hand to greet everyone.

Seeing old friends, and meeting new friends is always a great part of any conference. Several of the conference presenters were already on hand and ready to interact with the crowd.

Argyrie McCrae of MD, Tim Pinnick of IL, and Bertha Curtis of MD meet in the lobby.

Many in attendance were anxious to get upstairs to the genealogy library and quickly found a comfortable space and got to work.

These two Maryland researchers quickly found a comfortable place and got to work.

Before settling down to work, I had to take a few moments to appreciate a beautiful exhibit of quilts on display currently at the library.  The quilt exhibit is called Sisters of the Cloth. This is a quilting guild based in Ft. Wayne Indiana. The quilts on display are stunning!

One of the quilts from the Sisters of the Cloth Exhibition

The lunch hour consisted of a brown bag lunch meeting and it was well attended.  There were a number of people in the audience who were quite engaged and asked poignant questions.

I had a great chance to show some support to some members of the AfriGeneas Team.  Ms. Vicki Daviss Mitchell of Phoenix Arizona, and Mr. Art Thomas of Dayton Ohio shared with participants some highlights of  the massive AfriGeneas website.  I was able to get a little bit of footage of that session as well.

Vicki Daviss Mitchell and Art Thomas Present a Session on Navigating the AfriGeneas Website

In the afternoon, I was at a table and observed how an experienced Shelley Murphy of Charlottesville Virginia took out time to assist a gentleman from Michigan who needed some help with a family line. She was able to find the maiden name of his grandmother. In addition, she also was able to provide the name of the gentleman's grandfather's first wife--an name previously unknown to him.  He was most appreciative and said that with the help that he had received, he was more than satisfied with her assistance, and was, in fact quite moved.  He continually thanked her and their exchange was so touching I was able to get a photo of them together.

Shelly Murphy and a new genea-friend after she assisted him with a puzzle about his family history

Afterwards it was back to work, and enjoying research.

Vicki Daviss Mitchell and I reviewed a document on my computer.

Well after a full day, it was back to the hotel, and time to turn in. I have two presentations tomorrow and am looking forward to both.