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10 May 2012

Day Two: NGS 2012 Family History Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio

CGS President Jeffrey Vaillant sent another conference report:

National Genealogical Society Annual Conference Day Two
Cincinnati, OH 10 May 2012

I have Pierson, Render, Leathers and Tanner lines that landed in Kenton, Campbell and Boone counties in Kentucky in the early 1800’s and left for Indiana by 1840. So today I immersed myself in the “Research in Kentucky” track for four presentations:

  • Researching Kentucky Records by Don Rightmyer from the Kentucky Historical Society (located in Frankfort, KY)
  • They Paid Their Taxes: Using Kentucky Tax Lists for pre-1850’s Research by Gail Jackson Miller, CG
  • Researching the Southern Side of Cincinnati: Northern Kentucky Genealogy and Local History Resources by Elaine Kahn, MLS
  • Collections of the Kentucky Historical Society by Louise Jones, MLS
These were all excellent presentations with Kentucky Tax Lists leading the parade. Tax lists in Kentucky start before 1800 and were well documented and recorded – probably better than any census. The taxes were collected by local people who knew local people so it was not easy to duck the tax collector (sound familiar?) The tax records are a wealth of information since one did not have to own land to be taxed. Even an old horse worth $10 got taxed!!

The Board for Certification of Genealogist luncheon had good food and a solid presentation. Elizabeth Kelley Kerstens, CG, CGL wore a period mourning outfit and read from the diary of a Mrs. Davis, Civil War widow.

In the afternoon, after sitting next to the retired History and Genealogy Librarian from Kenton County Public Library, I made a dash to the library between class and the Evening at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. The library (located in Covington) has vertical family files with some information on the Tanner and Leather lines which I mined. AND since it is something one has to do, I walked from Kentucky to Ohio….across a bridge across the Ohio River.


The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center is everything one would expect from an excellent museum. Two floors of exhibits clearly bringing into focus the role of slavery in the United States through the Civil War and the Underground Railroad. It is a dramatic exhibit and a dramatic building. More can be learned at their website: http://freedomcenter.org/.
—Jeffrey Vaillant
Photograph courtesy of Jeff Vaillant, 5/10/2012

Read the entire series:
Report #1: 2012 NGS
Report #2: 2012 NGS
Report #3: 2012 NGS
Report #4: 2012 NGS
Report #5: 2012 NGS


Copyright © 2012 by Kathryn M. Doyle, California Genealogical Society and Library.

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