A Peek into My FGS Shopping Bag

The danger in driving (as opposed to flying) to a full-scale genealogy conference is that when you make purchases, you're not limited by the space & weight of your airline luggage. I had a nice roomy car trunk and I did my best to fill it. Here's what I got at the FGS conference in Little Rock:

Getting the Most Out of Roots Magic 4 - by Bruce Buzbee
The introduction to this book says it's not an instruction manual. That's good because I'm not a fan of those page-filled sleeping pills. Based on what I've seen so far, this book will show me some of the deeper level bells and whistles of the Roots Magic 4 genealogy software.

North Carolina Research: Genealogy and Local History - edited by Helen F. M. Leary, C.G., F.A.S.G.
Both Craig Scott and J. Mark Lowe recommended this book. The title is a bit misleading (as Craig pointed out to me). This book is more than just North Carolina research. It also appears to be a stellar how-to book for genealogical research in general. It's a biggie. I can't wait to dig in.

The Genealogist's Guide to Researching Tax Records - by Carol Cooke Darrow, C.G., and Susan Winchester, Ph.D., C.P.A.
This book was recommended to me by Craig Scott. He is the mentor for my Pro Gen 3 group. I've also seen him speak, so I trust anything he says. I'd buy an old phone book if he told me to because I know he wouldn't steer me wrong. Besides, I can use the extra education on tax records.

Family Maps of Pope County, Arkansas - by Gregory A. Boyd, J.D.
Normally, I wouldn't buy this type of book. It's a map book that lists the locations of family farms and land held throughout Pope County, Arkansas. The reason I did buy it is due to my extensive family history in this area. Kinship theory is alive and well in this county's history. I am connected to many names and I need to see how their farms sat next to each other. I felt that having the book at my disposal was better than a few copied pages for reference.

Genealogical Resources of the Civil War Era - by William Dollarhide
I regretted not buying this book at the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree, so I fixed that issue and bought it in Little Rock. I have some challenges with certain Civil War ancestors in my tree and I'm hoping this book will lead me down new research paths.

Census Substitutes and State Records: Volumes 1 and 2 - by William Dollarhide
These were a bit of an impulse buy. I am trying to build a little reference library of my own. I figure that if I am doing research for someone else, or in an unfamiliar area, these books will give me a quick education on the new states/counties. These books have lots of recommendations and information, so I'm betting they become great assets to my collection.

Well, that's my exhibition hall booty in a nutshell. Too many books to take on an airplane, but just the right amount for a road trip.

I'll start reading these soon and let you know what I think.