NERGC 2019 Interview ~ Lindsay Fulton

The 15th biennial New England Regional Genealogical Consortium conference will be held in Manchester, New Hampshire, from April 3-6. Visit the website for all the conference information and register before February 28 to get the early bird discount!

The Massachusetts Society of Genealogists (MSOG) is one of the participating organizations of NERGC and is sponsoring a lecture being given by Lindsay Fulton, the Director of Research Services at the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS).

As a board member of MSOG, I have the privilege of sharing the following interview with Lindsay:

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Elizabeth Handler [EH]: What got you interested in genealogy and how long have you been doing it?
Lindsay Fulton [LF]: When I was working on my masters I took a genealogy class. I was not expecting that class to change my career path, but after a week of staying up until 2:00am working on my tree, I realized I was hooked.

I was astounded at my lack of family knowledge - and when I started asking my grandparents questions, I realized that my naïveté was a blessing: I discovered my love of genealogy during my grandparent’s lifetime. And, because we’ve had a chance to open a dialogue about the family, we are even closer than before.

I’ve been interested in genealogy since 2010.

Check out "Meet the Experts at NEHGS" at https://youtu.be/gOIx94C4xfc 

EH: I see from your bio that you have worked at NEHGS since 2012. What is your favorite part of working for NEHGS?
LF: Initially, I fell in love with helping people in the discovery of their family history, and in turn, their interest in history. Because, there is no better way to get someone interested in history, than to place their ancestor in historic context. If you can tell someone their ancestor was at Yorktown, for example, they will develop a real interest in the American Revolution. And, as a historian, that’s the ultimate goal: to create more interest in history.

But, over the last few years, since I’ve had a more front facing position with the Society, my favorite parts of the job have increased to include the honor of working for NEHGS, because we are the experts - truly we are. My colleagues are exceptional; they create amazing content for our magazine, the NEHGR, the Mayflower Descendant, in addition to hundreds of hours of educational programming. We are on the cutting edge of DNA and share our knowledge with our members. I wouldn’t want to work anywhere else- I want to work with the best of the best, because they only make me better, and I want to be the best genealogist possible.

EH: I see that you have written many blog posts at Vita Brevis, the NEHGS blog and that you enjoy teaching. Do you have a favorite genealogical subject to teach?
LF: I love the Census: Federal, State, UK, etc. because it is one of the more inclusive record groups. But, in my experience as the Director of Research Services, I’ve developed a strong interest in the research process and record analysis. To me, it is more important to teach researchers HOW to find a record, rather than where to find it.

EH: Your talk on Saturday afternoon, sponsored by MSOG, is about Navigating the Tricky Mayflower Generations (6-9). Without giving away your presentation, what one suggestion do you have to help link a parent and child who lived in the 18th century? (And yes, I have a few of those.)
LF: My team, Research Services, works on a bunch of Mayflower applications, and we always seem to get the chance to work on lines that are difficult to document. And we’ve found, that the best approach in documenting a hard lineage is to look at the FAN (family, associates, neighbors). Because, the wider the net you cast, the more chance you have to property document your lineage.

EH: Have you attended NERGC in the past? What are you most looking forward to at NERGC 2019 (besides enjoying the company of hundreds of other genealogists)?
LF: I have not attend NERGC, but I’ve been to several genealogical conferences, and each time, I am truly impressed with all of the energy, passion, and sense of community among all of the participants. I’m sure NERGC will be equally inspiring.

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This will be my third NERGC and Lindsay is right: NERGC2019 will be as inspiring as any genealogy conference you'll attend, and for those of you in New England, this is the best, closest conference you'll get a chance to attend.

Lindsay is looking forward to teaching the following session:
"Navigating the Tricky Mayflower Generations (6-9)" (Saturday, 1:45-2:45)

We hope to see you there sometime between April 3 and April 6! Register before February 28 to get the early bird discount! Visit NERGC.org for all the information.

I have also interviewed Elissa Scalise Powell, CG®, CGL, Shellee Morehead, CG®, and Schelly Talalay Dardashti at my other blog, A Jewish Genealogy Journey.