"From Saddlebags to Social Networking: Following Ancestors Through History" is the theme of the 2012 Texas State Genealogical Society conference in Fort Worth. The three day conference is Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 1-3 at the Riley Conference Center, 4726 Stanley Blvd, Fort Worth, on the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary campus.
This year's guest speaker is Curt Witcher, senior manager of the Genealogy Center at Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Day one of the conference is Free Learning Day. There will be two identical half-day sessions on  FamilySearch.org.  Learn about the upcoming FamilySearch Family Tree which will be rolled out online to the public later in the year. This session will be again offered on Day Two.  Advanced registration is required.
That night is the free "Best of the Southwest" Genealogy Expo. Visit with genealogical venders and representatives of several genealogical, historical and lineage based societies. The next two days feature special learning sessions on a variety of topics ranging from photo scanning and sharing to Texas Genealogy to DNA to prison research. Check the conference schedule at txsgs.org and click on "Annual Conference 2012."
Witcher offers four lectures of the third and final day of the conference. His topics are: An Ancestor's Death: A Time for Reaping, Using Government Documents, Finding the World with WorldCat, and Doing the History Eliminates the Mystery.
Early bird registration for the whole conference is $60 or $35 for a single day until Monday Oct. 15. After that day the fee is $75 for both days and $45 for a single day. Lunch on Friday and Saturday is included.  Register online at https://txsgs.wufoo.com/forms/2012-tsgs-annual-conference-registration/. Paypal, credit card or check is accepted. Mail-in registrations may be addressed to TSGS c/o Conference Registrar, PO Box 7308, Tyler, TX 75711-7308.
A free syllabus is available for download to all registrants. Paper syllabuses are available for $15. Include with registration. The annual society banquet will be Friday night featuring Lloyd Bockstruck, retired
head of the Dallas Public Library's Genealogy Department. His topic is "A Black Chicken Lays White Eggs." Banquet fees are $25 before Oct. 15 and $40 afterwards.
Witcher received the 2007 P. William Filby award for outstanding life-time contribution to genealogical librarianship awarded by the National Genealogical Society and is a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association. He is also a past president of Federation of Genealogical Societies and the National Genealogical Society and the founding president of the Indiana Genealogical Society.
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