Don’t sleep late tomorrow

Seriously. You want to be up early, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.

So set the alarm. Get the coffee pot ready.

Drop the kids at school, tell the boss you’re taking the day off, leave the dog at the kennel, whatever you need to do to clear your decks not just for tomorrow, but for Wednesday too.

Because at 10 a.m. EDT tomorrow morning, the first session of the two-day, online, free Virtual Fair of the National Archives begins, and you don’t want to miss a thing.

From an introduction to military records to the stories of the Chinese Exclusion Act case files, these are presentations every genealogist can learn from and use — and they’re all absolutely free.

And, best of all for those of us who can’t take the days off, the National Archives says “recorded sessions will be available online after the event.”

Here’s the schedule for the webcasts, and you can click on the links under each presentation to get the handout (if there is one) from the National Archives:

Tuesday, September 3

Live webcasting
10 a.m.-4 p.m. Eastern
9 a.m.-3 p.m. Central
8 a.m.-2 p.m. Mountain
7 a.m.-1 p.m. Pacific

Program descriptions

10 a.m. EDT (9 CDT, 8 MDT, 7 PDT)
Introduction to Military Records at the National Archives
John Deeben, National Archives at Washington, DC
Handout

11 a.m. (10 CDT, 9 MDT, 8 PDT)
Introduction to Genealogy: Civilian
Rebecca K. Sharp, National Archives at Washington, DC
Handout 1 Handout 2

12 noon (11 CDT, 10 MDT, 9 PDT)
Alien Files (A-Files)
Elizabeth Burnes, National Archives at Kansas City, MO
Handout 1 Handout 2 Handout 3

1 p.m. (noon CDT, 11 MDT, 10 PDT)
Native American Records
Michael Wright, National Archives at Fort Worth, TX

2 p.m. (1 CDT, noon MDT, 11 PDT)
National Archives Online Resources for Genealogy
Nancy Wing, National Archives at Washington, DC
Handout

3 p.m. (2 CDT, 1 MDT, noon PDT)
Citizenship Matters: Bureau of Naturalization Files at the National Archives
Zack Wilske, U.S. Immigration & Citizenship Services, Washington, DC
Handout 1 Handout 2

Wednesday, September 4

Program descriptions

Live webcasting
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Eastern
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Central
8 a.m.-3 p.m. Mountain
7 a.m.-2 p.m. Pacific

10 a.m. EDT (9 CDT, 8 MDT, 7 PDT)
Genealogy and the Freedman’s Bank: Records of the Freedman’s Savings & Trust Company
Damani Davis, National Archives at Washington, DC

11 a.m. (10 CDT, 9 MDT, 8 PDT)
Military and Civilian Personnel Records: The National Archives at St. Louis
Ashley Mattingly & Theresa Fitzgerald, National Archives at St. Louis, MO
Handout 1 Handout 2 Handout 3 Handout 4 Handout 5 Handout 6

12 noon (11 CDT, 10 MDT, 9 PDT)
Union Civil War Pension Files
Claire Kluskens, National Archives at Washington, DC
Handout

1 p.m. (noon CDT, 11 MDT, 10 PDT)
Federal Penitentiary Records
Jake Ersland, National Archives at Kansas City, MO
Handout

2 p.m. (1 CDT, noon MDT, 11 PDT)
Finding U.S. Colored Troops at the National Archives
Trevor Plante, National Archives at Washington, DC

3 p.m. (2 CDT, 1 MDT, noon PDT)
Genealogy Through Navy Deck Logs
Mark Mollan, National Archives at Washington, DC

4 p.m. (3 CDT, 2 MDT, 1 PDT)
Oh, The Stories They Tell: Chinese Exclusion Acts Case Files at the National Archives & Records
Susan Karren, National Archives at Seattle, WA
Handout

Technical info

Get ready for the webcasting if you are able to sit in live by taking a look at the information the National Archives has prepared. There’s a whole set of webcast instructions so you can test your set-up in advance and not miss a minute.

I know what I’ll be doing tomorrow morning…