The Victoria Advocate - http://TheVictoriaAdvocate.com Genealogical society's annual conference will be in Victoria Tuesday, November 2nd, 2004 The Texas State Genealogical Society plans a statewide annual conference on Friday and Saturday at the Holiday Inn in Victoria. Friday afternoon speakers include Pat Gordon on "Beyond Obituaries: Newspaper Research," Richard Hooverson on "Stars and Bars: A Quick Look at Texas Confederate Records" and Carolina Crimm, Ph.D., on "Early Hispanic Records for Family History Research." Saturday's speaker, Jerry Drake, director of Texas General Land Office Records and Archives, will offer tips for using Texas land records in genealogical research. The Friday evening Awards Banquet will honor Victoria County Clerk Val Huvar, longest serving county clerk in Texas and his chief deputy, Betty Tovar. State writing awards will be presented to winners from throughout Texas for their achievements in the fields of genealogy and family history research. Hosts for the event include the Victoria County Genealogical Society, Matagorda County Genealogical Society and the Calhoun County Genealogical Society. For more information, contact Patsy Hand at 361-575-0049 or Martha Jones at mjones@ vicad.com. Walk-ins are welcome. Genealogy News: Earl Gates