I am still reeling from the recent Midwestern Roots Conference. I came away with some new revelations and a new outlook on the future of genealogy in the upcoming decade. Family stories are what usually first attracted many of us as children who eventually became the family genealogist. These stories are what will keep attracting new budding genealogists in the future. The old procedures for collecting names, dates, etc. is not as important anymore. It is the story that lies behind those names and dates. Every person in your pedigree or family group sheet has some sort of story about their life. These stories need to be told.
A good example of this was the opening program on Saturday, "1848 Cincinnati Riverfront Panorama Unveiling" that was presented by Patricia Van Skaik of the Cincinnati Public Library. Frankly, I don't have any family that came from this area, and when the program began I didn't even think it would be that interesting for me. It turns out I was wrong, it was amazing! Here is their website: http://www.cincinnatilibrary.org/news/2011/panoramaunveiling.html
They have taken this daguerrotype panoramic photo and divided it into miniscule sections, the accuracy and detail is amazing. They were able to zoom way in and pick out details of what the city looked like back in 1848. They didn't stop there. Their team picked out buildings with names on them and researched the families that ran the businesses. This all relates back to the main theme - the stories! Just displaying an 1848 photo and pulling out all the detail would be interesting up to a point. After you've seen it - it's over. It's the stories that they pulled out of this photo that makes it an amazing adventure. Check out more of the panels here: http://www.codex99.com/photography/16.html
I came away from the Conference inspired!
(P.S. I hope the Cincinnati Public Library forgives me for using their photo, but I just have to share their project with everyone!)
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