Paul Milner, MDiv is UGA's Newest Fellow

     The UGA Fellow Award is given in recognition of those living individuals whose distinguished contributions and on-going commitment to the field of genealogy are of national or international scope. This may be evidenced by any combination of publications, teaching and speaking, or leadership of major genealogical organizations over a significant period of time.

     Paul Milner was the latest recipient of the UGA Fellow Award. Paul is a native of northern England. After the death of his father in 1980, he started researching his family history and turned professional in 1993. Part of his business plan was to be speaking nationally within five years. This goal was accomplished in 1996 when he spoke at his first FGS conference in 1996 in Rochester, NY. He has spoken at one or both national conferences ever since as week as speaking widely at societies across the United States.

     Additionally, he has spoken internationally at conferences in England, Canada and Australia and is returning to Australia to speak again in March. He has spoken on Genealogy Cruises to Alaska, the Baltic and the South Pacific. 

     The first institute he attended as a student was SLIG in 1999 with a course coordinated by Dean Hunter, another UGA Fellow. He took additional courses from Dean and Burt Rawlings. The first institute he taught at was in 2002 at the Genealogical Institute of Mid-America. He has subsequently taught English and Scottish tracks at the Genealogical Institute of Mid America, the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, the British Institute, and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy.

     Paul has served in numerous capacities on the boards of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, Association of Professional Genealogists, the Genealogical Speakers Guild, as well as his local society – the British Interest Group of Wisconsin and Illinois.

     Paul has written six how-to books on English and Scottish research as well as nearly 1,000 book reviews for the FGS Forum. He was the newsletter editor of his local society newsletter – BIGWILL for ten years, and has written reviews on British Isles-related resources for 25 years.

      Paul continues to develop new presentations to grow and to pass his wisdom and experience along to his enthusiastic students.