One of my favorite genealogy conferences to attend and teach at every year is the Texas State Genealogical Society (TxSGS) Family History Conference. TxSGS has made a deliberate effort to include a Hispanic genealogy track at its annual conference since 2015. This proactive effort to provide more diverse programming puts the TxSGS conference at the top of my list. Plus, it’s always a really fun, warm, friendly conference that lets me indulge in Texas cuisine.
I am a regular presenter at TxSGS, usually teaching a couple Hispanic sessions and a more general tech or library-related session. However, I can’t be at TxSGS this year. I already had a big family vacation planned when this year’s conference dates were announced.
This Year’s Conference
The TxSGS conference program still has a great lineup presenting on sessions that are specific to Hispanic research. I encourage anyone with Hispanic ancestry, or just an interest in Hispanic research to attend.
Hispanic Sessions
- Hispanic Genealogy for Non-Spanish Speaking Researchers, by Esther Camacho
- Beginning Hispanic Genealogy, by Mary Torres
- A Look at Colonial Mexico Catholic Church Records, by Moises Garza
- A Look at Mexican Civil Registration Records, by Moises Garza
Although not part of the Hispanic track, I highly recommend that you attend Roman Catholics, Records & Rites of Passage by Lisa Toth-Salinas.
(Update 9/16/19) My friend and colleague Jewish genealogy expert and speaker Schelly Talalay Dardashti has advanced that her TxSGS session titled “Jewish Genealogy for Non-Jews: History, Migration and DNA” includes Sephardic history. Many of us with Hispanic ancestry also have Sephardic ancestry.
What You Need to Know
This year’s TxSGS conference takes place Friday through Sunday, October 11th – 13th in Houston, Texas at the Omni Houston Hotel Westside.
Early bird registration was just extended through this Monday, September 16th!
Tack On Some Research
As if a fabulous conference and fabulous Texas cuisine were not incentive enough to attend, this year’s Houston location means that you can take advantage of visiting one of the top genealogy libraries in the country.
Plan some time before or after the conference to visit the nearby Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research.
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Colleen, my “Jewish Genealogy for Non-Jews” will also cover Sephardic history, DNA, migration, etc!!!!!
Schelly Talalay Dardashti
Hi Schelly.
Thanks for stopping by and reaching out. I paid particular attention to your TxSGS session course titles and descriptions on the conference program web page, because I know you often teach a Sephardic session, but unfortunately the term “Sephardic” is not mentioned there.
“Jewish Genealogy for Non-Jews: History, Migration and DNA
Many people who do not identify as Jewish are discovering the surprise of Middle Eastern and Jewish roots. Learn about history, migration patterns, and DNA.”
So I did include a note dated today up above in the blog post indicating the session of yours that you mention in your comment. Thanks for letting me know.