Join us starting at 10:30 for hospitality and mingling. The business meeting starts at 11:00, followed by our featured speaker around 11:30.

Our educational presentation, 1890 Census Substitutes: Bridging the Gap, will be made by  Bill Buckner from the Waco-McLennan County Library.

The story behind the 1890 Census starts out like so many of those burned courthouse tales of gloom and doom. Yes, there was a fire and yes it is true that the 1890 Census was destroyed. Its destruction left a 20-year gap in the decennial chain of census records for researchers. How are we to cross this abyss back through time from 1900 to 1880 and connect to our ancestors with any degree of certainty? One strategy is to look for census substitutes or alternative sources. Remember the goal should be to identify an ancestor in a geographic place and time and define family relationships. A variety of substitutes from reconstructed 1890 Census to other types of enumerations will be presented. Additionally, clues that can be found in a score of familiar records that can help researchers gain knowledge about their ancestors and bridge the gap will be highlighted.

William D. “Bill” Buckner

Bill Buckner is the Genealogy Supervisor of the Genealogy Center of the Waco-McLennan County Library for the past nineteen years. In addition to teaching a quarterly Genealogy Beginners Class, Bill has had numerous speaking engagements with various organizations. Some of his recent presentations include: Retro Genealogy Resources Still Viable in Today’s Online World; The Digital Public Library of America: Another Tool for Family Historians; and Extra! Extra! Extra! From the Headlines to the Classifieds, Newspapers Deliver Genealogical Gems.

Bill heads up the McLennan County Cemetery Interest Group (MCCIG). Formed in 2002, this volunteer organization of the Center seeks to identify and inventory McLennan County cemeteries. In 2012, the results of 35 cemetery inventories were published by the Central Texas Genealogical Society (CTGS) as McLennan County, Texas Cemetery Records, v. 9.

Bill initiated and co-hosts with the Central Texas Genealogical Society the very popular annual Genealogy Lock-in. This event has helped bring together the organizations and individuals that use, support, and have an interest in the Genealogy Center collection. In 2011, Bill started a movement to connect libraries that had similar events through the use of technology to share programming and resources. Twenty-eight Texas libraries participated in the 17th annual Lock-in October 2017.

Bill is District 12 Representative for the Texas State Genealogical Society (TxSGS), and serves as the TxSGS Chair of the Book Awards and serves as the overall TxSGS Awards Chair. In 2011, Bill received the President’s Award from TSGS for his contributions. He also has served on various genealogy/history committees with the Texas Library Association and American Library Association.

Bill received his BS from Southwestern University, and his MS in Library Science from UNT. Bill is a fourth-generation Texan and lives in Temple, Texas with his family.