Just a quick note/report on the NARA Genealogy Fair I attended on Wed., Apr 11, at National Archives in Washington, DC.

The theme for the fair: "Buried Biography: Bring 'Em Back to Life" ; this fair focused on Federal records located @ NARA that relate to genealogy, and that CANNOT be researched online (which means one must go to NARA/DC or other NARA facility). If you haven't visited the NARA genealogy site, I recommend doing so - LOTS of good stuff there; this is the URL:
http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/
(Check out the genealogy Workshop schedule - maybe there is something near you to attend).

This URL will provide details regarding the fair:
http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/know-your-records/genealogy-fair/

The speakers were encouraging genealogists to visit NARA sites to discover obsure (US federal) records that could aid researchers who were WRITING FAMILY HISTORIES and biographies. Some of the information would be helpful for writing about ancestors who immigrated to the U.S.
There were 12 different lectures (could choose only 5).

One of the interesting lectures was called "Stormy Weather" - a discussion of how weather effects families, communities, and local economies. Did severe or cataclysmic weather conditions cause families to move from one place to another, etc. (Note: this lecture was a "maiden" lecture - never before presented; we were the guinea pigs for the speakers - but I thought it was a very interesting topic, and provided food for thought. Samples of types of federal records were: 1) Annual Reports of the Surveyors General; 2) federal annual reports of violent ... weather; 3) records of: the Weather Bureau; WPA; Dept of State (there was a brief discussion of the world-wide effcts of the eruption of the volcano Kracatoa [?sp]); 4) photograph collection.

Though I live in Virginia, i will not be able to attend the NGS conference, There sure are some great presentations scheduled.

Have a good day.
Natalie in VA