Scottish ViC (virtual conference)
Saturday January 26th, 2019
ONLINE
After having had the opportunity to attend several talks and conferences in Scotland with my tour participants, I made the realization that the topics presented over there are quite different to the topics those same speakers might offer in North America. Clearly, the needs of the researchers in Scotland is different, thus the different focus of the topics by the speakers. My tour participants have greatly benefitted from that level of learning and in a desire to offer that same level of learning to others in North America and Australasia.
From this desire evolved the Scottish ViC. This is the only virtual conference dedicated to Scottish research, and to offer topics others would not normally have the chance to learn about.
The virtual conference starts at 8:00 am (Eastern) with presentations being delivered in pre-recorded webinar format. Presentations are made available on a scheduled basis, just like talks at an in-person conference. After one presentation ends, another becomes available. Immediately following each presentation, the presenters will be available in the closed Facebook group for the ViC for a live Q&A. Questions can also be emailed for those not comfortable with Facebook.
The presentations will remain available until midnight (eastern) on January 31st. This allows people in different time zones to be able to watch the presentations during normal waking hours. In addition to the presentations, there is a virtual marketplace in which vendors offer special discounts on their products or services to the attendees which might enhance or benefit their genealogy research.
This year’s speakers and topics:
Keynote address: The Highlander and the Lad o' Pairts:
Patterns of Scottish Migration to Canada
presented by Dr Kevin James, Scottish History Professor of the University of Guelph’s Scottish Studies Program
Genealogy in the High Court of Justiciary
presented by retired archivist Margaret Fox. Margaret formerly worked as an archivist at the National Records of Scotland and has an intimate knowledge of these records.
Using Sheriff Court Records for Genealogy Research
presented by genealogist Emma Maxwell. Emma and her husband Graham have indexed thousands of records at the National Records of Scotland and made these indexes freely available on their website, Scottishindexes. Scottishindexes will be offering a discount to attendees of the ViC.
Genealogy Gems in Scottish Poor Law Records
presented by Dr Irene O’Brien, senior archivist at the Glasgow City Archives. Glasgow has, perhaps, the richest collection of poor law records in the country and Dr O’Brien has an intimate knowledge of how these records can help reconstruct an ancestor’s life.
An Introduction to LivingDNA
by co-founder David Nicholson. LivingDNA differs from the other DNA companies in that they can pinpoint the region of Scotland in your DNA. LivingDNA will also be offering a discount on their kits.
Family History Resources Available at the National Library of Scotland
presented by Enquiries Assistant Elaine Brown. Elaine has a rich knowledge of the resources that can help to build the social history of your ancestors and the wealth of resources available at the National Library of Scotland to assist you with your family history research.
Online Resources for Scottish Genealogy
presented by genealogy educator Christine Woodcock. The resources offered in this webinar are some of the lesser known websites and resources that will help to move your research forward.
As with any conference, there will be a marketplace where vendors will offer products or services will assist family historians with their research.
The registration fees are just $99 canadian, which translates to about $65 usd.