Course 1: Behind the Scenes at FamilySearch: Technology and Features
Lynn Turner, AG
FamilySearch has a 128-year history as an organization. It has grown exponentially over time and kept current with a fast-moving continuously changing landscape. To capture the essence of every life in the context of recorded history, FamilySearch employs all of the technology available and strives to keep pace with opportunities worldwide. At FamilySearch, it’s all about the individual and the experience you will have either in person or online. This course is designed to illustrate the array of different opportunities to use the resources of FamilySearch and to understand the foundations of each experience. Come explore the many features and products that FamilySearch has to offer.
Course Overview
Description and objectives of the course, brief introductions, and short Q&A.
Turner
8:30–9:45 am
FamilySearch Overview: Its Roots and Some Bold Predictions for the Future
Learn the breadth and depth of the programs and features of the FamilySearch organization and website. The genealogical landscape has changed dramatically in the last decade – learn what FamilySearch has done to adapt.
Turner
10:15–11:30 am
FamilySearch Library: Premier Destination for Genealogists
Since the COVID pandemic a lot has changed at the FamilySearch Library. In addition to all the physical changes, this class will explore the exciting changes that have expanded the library’s global reach.
Turner
1:00–2:15 pm
Explore the Branches of the FamilySearch Library, Affiliate Libraries, and Help Resources
FamilySearch Centers are worldwide branches of the FamilySearch Library. Their purpose is to provide one-on-one research assistance, group activities, access to genealogical records, and resources to preserve records. Affiliate libraries help extend access to FamilySearch’s digital collection of records. And hints on effectively using the help resources available at FamilySearch.org, where beginner and advanced family history researchers can go to get answers to questions.
Joseph, Grow
2:45–4:00 pm
FamilySearch's Help Network: Online Consultations, Lookups, Community, Social Media, etc.
FamilySearch offers many free resources to help you in your genealogical journey. This class will discuss a few of these resources such as online consultations, records lookups, the FamilySearch Community, and social media accounts that can help you as you discover your family's incredible story!
Larson
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Turner
Tuesday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Turner
8:30–9:45 am
The FamilySearch Catalog: A World of Records at your Fingertips
The FamilySearch Catalog is the key to unlocking a world of records for your ancestors. Are you finding all the potential sources you could be searching? Learn techniques and tips that will ensure you haven't missed anything among the vast collections of FamilySearch.
Gurtler
10:15–11:30 am
FamilySearch Digital Book Library: Greater Access for a Global Community
The FamilySearch Digital Book Library is a diverse genealogical collection that has been built through the collaborative efforts of the FamilySearch Library and a growing consortium of institutions throughout the world. With over 560,000 books (and counting) and more than 1.3 billion searchable names, it is a valuable resource for genealogical research.
Atwell
1:00–2:15 pm
Finding Records through FamilySearch Images
FamilySearch’s Image feature grants access to our entire digital record collection. Learn what makes Images different from the Catalog and Historical Records as well as how to use features unique to Images in order to maximize your online research.
Wake
2:45–4:00 pm
Leave No Stone Unturned: Finding Elusive Ancestors on FamilySearch
FamilySearch adds millions of records every year, are you finding everything you should? This class will highlight some different ways to search to make sure you leave no stone unturned in the search for your ancestors.
Gurtler
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Turner
Wednesday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Turner
8:30–9:45 am
FamilySearch Online Collection Growth and Overview
Since FamilySearch began publishing records online, that collection has grown in depth and breadth. Learn how FamilySearch has expanded and plans to continue expanding its record offerings, allowing more people to find their ancestors.
Peterson
10:15–11:30 am
Man and Machine Learning: Bridging the Gap Between Volunteers and Handwriting-Recognition Technology in Historical Records
FamilySearch uses and Handwriting-Recognition Technology to create machine-searchable text from digitized historical images. However, quality of the data often lower than desired. FamilySearch can use this data to create personalized volunteer experiences that help them discover their ancestors and improve the quality. This will include case studies from the Hungarian Civil Records, Spanish Church Records, and the 1950 US Census.
Alexander
1:00–2:15 pm
Insider Tips for Using the FamilySearch Research Wiki
The FamilySearch Research Wiki is continually updated to aid in research all over the world. This class will include essential insider tips and strategies from the staff who create and maintain the Wiki. It will benefit both the Wiki savvy and those unfamiliar to the Wiki. Case studies will illustrate how to utilize the most useful Wiki pages to help solve your genealogical problems.
Batson
2:45–4:00 pm
Guided Research on the FamilySearch Research Wiki
The Guided Research tool optimizes the research process and takes you directly to the best places to find your ancestors' records. Search for birth, marriage, and death information, and learn some of the unique research strategies for your ancestor’s homeland and boost your chance of successful searching.
Larsen
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Turner
Thursday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Turner
8:30–9:45 am
Getting the Most out of FamilySearch's Family Tree
Learn how to navigate the FamilySearch Family Tree and maximize its features. This class will show you various ways to view the Tree and ideas of where to focus your efforts next. You will learn how to work within the Tree, such as by adding and editing information, merging duplicates, unmerging wrongly merged individuals, attaching sources (both from FamilySearch and from other websites), viewing recent changes to an individual’s page, and reversing changes when needed.
Champenois
10:15–11:30 am
FamilySearch Memories: Your Personal Artifact Archive
FamilySearch aims to inspire individuals to connect with their family in a myriad of different ways through technology. This class is designed to demonstrate the key features of FamilySearch Memories and how it can help preserve important family photos, recordings, reports, and more. In addition to this, instruction will be given on how to find other saved memories that may relate to your personal research. This class will include an overview of ideas on how to digitize artifacts in the FamilySearch Library’s Memory Lane and how to find FamilySearch Centers and Affiliate Libraries with digitization equipment.
Oldroyd
1:00–2:15 pm
FamilySearch Genealogies and Community Trees
Millions of names exist in pedigrees on FamilySearch which are not part of the FamilySearch Family Tree. In this class you will learn where those additional trees are located, how to search them, the stunning records utilized to compile the trees and their reliability.
Williams
2:45–4:00 pm
FamilySearch Control Edit Trees
The wiki-like community creation of the FamilySearch Family Tree has produced one of the largest fastest growing best sourced online genealogical trees available. However, there are some researchers in the genealogical community who require greater control over who they collaborate with and who can edit their research output. This session will walk through the details of the upcoming Personal and Society Trees offering, what it’s intended business objectives are, who should use it, and how it works.
TBD
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Turner
Friday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Turner
8:30–9:45 am
FamilySearch Future and Vision with Partners
FamilySearch provides a pivotal role in the genealogical community by vigorously working with industry partners. No organization, company, or service provides all of the solutions needed to connect your family within the fabric of the human family. This session reveals many of the behind-the-scenes efforts of FamilySearch to connect you with the answers you need for your research.
Rencher
10:15–11:30 am
FamilySearch Cemeteries
Discover the cemeteries, monuments, memorials, and historic site of your ancestors.
Cross
1:00–2:15 pm
Using the FamilySearch Memories App
Need a quick way to preserve your photos, documents, or family interviews? The FamilySearch Memories app is an easy way to preserve your family’s memories and story. This class will cover the basics of how to use the app to help in your preservation efforts.
Baird
2:45–4:00 pm
Using the FamilySearch Family Tree Mobile App
Collect, upload, and share your family stories, memories, photos, and recordings right to your family tree. Continual advancements are being made to provide nearly every function available on your desktop, now in the palm of your hand.
Baird
4:00–4:30 pm
Course Wrap-Up
Turner
Course 2: Immigration from Colonial Times to 1890
D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS, FUGA
Uncovering an ancestor’s immigration story is a rich experience for many genealogists. However, challenges exist when tracing immigrants during the colonial period through 1890. Students in this course will discover resources for identifying an individual or family’s immigration while exploring methods to contextualize and further understand their experiences. The course will explore various compiled and original source materials, including online and onsite resources. Case studies will provide methodologies for finding immigrant stories despite missing or inconsistent records. Other topics covered include forced immigration, colonial settlements, indentured servants, passenger lists, customs passenger lists, naturalization records, foreign passenger records, name variants, compiled databases, newspapers, and immigrant societies.
Immigration from Colonial Times to 1890: Historical Overview
Taylor
10:15–11:30 am
Places of Settlement in America—Colonial Period
Taylor
1:00–2:15 pm
Some Key Sources for Tracing Colonial Settlers
Taylor
2:45–4:00 pm
Effective Uses of Customs and Passenger Lists, Indexes, and Extant Port Records
Venezia
Tuesday
8:30–9:45 am
Sources of Immigration Information: Records and Methods—Part I
Venezia
10:15–11:30 am
Sources of Immigration Information: Records and Methods—Part II
Venezia
1:00–2:15 pm
Researching Colonial Settlers: Challenges and Strategies
Taylor
2:45–4:00 pm
Unwilling Immigrants
Lovelace
Wednesday
8:30–9:45 am
The Voyage—Colonial and Federal Periods
Taylor
10:15–11:30 am
How Advertising Brought Our Ancestors to the Midwest
Lyttle
1:00–2:15 pm
Pathways from the Ports: How Immigrants Moved West
Lyttle
2:45–4:00 pm
Vaya con Dios: Hispanic Immigration to North America
Gurtler
Thursday
8:30–9:45 am
Naturalization and U.S. Citizenship Laws and Records, 1780s to 1890s
Venezia
10:15–11:30 am
The West Indies and the Triangle Trade: Its Impact on Colonial Immigration
Taylor
1:00–2:15 pm
Chinese Immigration Before and After the Exclusion Act of 1882
Din
2:45– 4:00 pm
The Erie Canal and the Opening of the Midwest
Lyttle
Friday
8:30–9:45 am
Foreign Passenger Records
Taylor
10:15–11:30 am
Border—What Border? Our Ancestors Who Called Both Canada and the USA Home
Lyttle
1:00–2:15 pm
Reverse Migration: Colonial Settlers Who Returned "Home"
Taylor
2:45–4:00 pm
Researching Colonial Immigrants in the Twenty-First Century
Taylor
Course 3: Exploring Their Life: The Social History of Your Family
Gena Philibert-Ortega, MA, MAR
Genealogists seek to understand the past by searching names, dates, and places to understand a family’s place in time. Most people are descended from “ordinary” people whose impact on history was only felt by their immediate family. Because of this, the study and incorporation of history is ignored due to the belief that these family members didn’t make history.
Social history looks at the ordinary person. It’s “history…with the people put back in,” examining topics such as family life, food, education, immigration, death, labor, and industry. For family historians, it helps us understand our ancestor’s life and adds historical context.
At some point, every genealogist realizes that placing ancestors in time and place just isn’t enough and asks, “Who are these people…really?” We wonder about their lives, thoughts, challenges, and successes. When lucky, we find a source with fascinating biographical details. However, this is the exception. Most names on a pedigree chart are doomed to anonymity if we only focus on gathering names and dates. Fortunately, genealogists can discover a great deal about these ancestors through social history research.
Social history sources are readily available for genealogical research. However, genealogists, who primarily seek to identify individuals in the past, may find these sources frustrating because they rarely reference their ancestors by name. To realize the value of social history, genealogists must approach the past as the historian does so they can develop an interpretation of past events. When genealogists look through a historian’s lens, a blending of history and genealogy occurs. It yields contextual knowledge—a deep understanding—of the events they document in their research.
To do this, genealogists must acquire new research skills, use social history sources effectively, and above all else, seek historical context. This course introduces social history systematically by modeling new research skills, introducing sources, and imparting historical background to events of interest to the genealogist. Students will learn how to do comprehensive historical research, benefit from a focused look at historical topics, and learn how to present this information to their families.
Our Ancestor’s Lives: Introduction to Using Social History in Genealogy
Adding social history to genealogy allows the researcher to go from names and dates to understanding their ancestor’s day-to-day life. In order to be a successful social historian, we need to understand what social history is, it’s place in the larger field of history, and how genealogists can incorporate it into our family history research.
Philibert-Ortega
10:15–11:30 am
Case Study: A Look at the Social History of a World War I Era Ancestor
How can we take what we learn about social history and apply it? This example using a World War I era ancestor will explore records, photographs, and ephemera to add to the story of a life.
Philibert-Ortega
1:00–2:15 pm
Utilizing Academic Sources
Going beyond genealogical sources to explore academic resources for our research can help us better understand social history and historical context. In this presentation we will explore academic resources including databases, finding aids, and dissertations.
Philibert-Ortega
2:45–4:00 pm
Explosive Social History Ignited by Literature Reviews
You already know how fascinating it is adding context to your ancestors’ lives. You also already know that it can be hard work finding that context. Literature Reviews help you to be more efficient and comprehensive. By applying a process – similar to how you make a research plan for your genealogy research – literature reviews become easy and effective. The Lit Review will provide a structure to find more context faster. The session provides that structure, covers examples, and gives you a take-home process to more your social history explosive.
Jan Joyce
Tuesday
8:30–9:45 am
Managing Historical Knowledge with Zotero, Part 1
Scholars worldwide use Zotero to collect, organize, analyze, and cite research information in virtually every academic discipline. This open-source tool facilitates the acquisition and management of historical knowledge for a project or for a career. Dr. Baker will introduce the tool, its uses, its creative applications to history, and its capacity to reduce stress and guide the professionalism of historical research and writing.
Baker
10:15–11:30 am
Managing Historical Knowledge with Zotero, Part 2
Scholars worldwide use Zotero to collect, organize, analyze, and cite research information in virtually every academic discipline. This open-source tool facilitates the acquisition and management of historical knowledge for a project or for a career. Dr. Baker will introduce the tool, its uses, its creative applications to history, and its capacity to reduce stress and guide the professionalism of historical research and writing.
Baker
1:00–2:15 pm
The Kinds of Stories a U.S. Census Sheet Can Tell
In this session, students will practice reading US census sheets in new and different ways, with Dan Bouk, author of Democracy's Data: The Hidden Stories in the US Census and How to Read Them. Census sheets provide a window into the norms and ways of thinking in particular communities, as well as evidence of shifting national priorities. We will also look for evidence of creativity, negotiation, conflict, and drama lurking beneath the surface of a census record.
Bouk
2:45–4:00 pm
Painting a Picture: Using Postcards to Tell a Story
Postcards are one way to illustrate a family story. In this presentation we will look at the history of postcards, subjects found on postcards, and where to find them.
Philibert-Ortega
Wednesday
8:30–9:45 am
How the Weather Affected Your Ancestor
Earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and droughts impacted the lives of our ancestors. Learn how weather events may explain disease, death, migration, property loss and much more. This interesting lecture will show how numerous sources such as vital records, newspapers, oral histories and manuscript collections can aid in genealogical research.
Wilkins
10:15–11:30 am
Your Ancestor’s Education – More Than the Three R’s
When your ancestor said that he had a sixth grade education – what did it mean? Learn about education in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Wilkins
1:00–2:15 pm
Your Ancestor’s 1920 Menu: Studying Food History
Food history is an easy fit with family history. Food is something we all can relate to. When we look to understanding our ancestors’ lives, food provides one way to tell that story. In this presentation we will focus on food in the 1920 era. We will explore food availability, popular foods, and where housewives learned about recipes and cooking. Prior to this presentation, during lunch, we will explore our ancestors foods via 1920 era sandwiches.
Philibert-Ortega
2:45–4:00 pm
Homestead Hebrews: A Social History Study
Homestead Hebrews is a large-scale social history study that began when Tammy Hepps wished to understand her ancestors’ lives in the context of their Jewish community in America’s most famous steel town. What did it mean to be Jewish in such a place? Tammy will review how she researched deeply into a wide set of records for traces of thousands of her ancestors and their friends and neighbors. She will show how the records she found made it possible for her to build a robust narrative of her ancestral community and, in the process, alter scholars’ conceptions of this historically significant town.
Hepps
Thursday
8:30–9:45 am
Get Organized to Write Your Family Stories
Sharing our family stories with others is critical, so those stories don’t get lost. But it can be very daunting to know how to get started. Learn some ways to organize your space, your time, your ideas, and your research results that will make it easier for you to write them up.
Lyttle
10:15–11:30 am
The National Road: America's First Federal Highway
Built between 1811 and 1837, the National Road was the first federally-funded highway in America. Extending from Maryland to the frontier of Illinois, this migration route allowed thousands of people to settle in the Midwest.
Lyttle
1:00–2:15 pm
Ephemera and Social History Research
Ephemera constitutes items not meant for or typically not archived. This usually refers to paper items. In family history research we use some ephemeral items but there are plenty others that are typically ignored because of their perceived lack of value for genealogical research. In this lecture we will discuss what ephemera is and look at ephemera that can add to our social history research.
Philibert-Ortega
2:45– 4:00 pm
Material Culture's Place in Genealogy
The study of material culture is a focus of some historians and as we focus on social history, its place in that research is obvious. Material culture is the study of “stuff” that are made and used by our ancestors. Learning more about the study of material culture will help us to understand what is available to study our ancestors’ social history.
Philibert-Ortega
Friday
8:30–9:45 am
The Story of Eleanor in 5 Objects
Researching female ancestors can be difficult. In this example, we will take a look at some material culture and how it can be used to tell a story.
Philibert-Ortega
10:15–11:30 am
Going from a Record to a Story
Using a genelaogical record we will dive in-depth into the history of the record and how to use it to tell a story that goes beyond facts.
Philibert-Ortega
1:00–2:15 pm
Student presentations
2:45–4:00 pm
Student presentations
Course 4: Advanced Research Tools: Land Records
Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG, CGL
"The major fortunes in America have been made in land," is a quote attributed to John D. Rockefeller. The major economy of the nation from the colonial period through the 1860s was agriculture. The acquisition of land was a promise of a better life, and a major draw to immigrants from other nations. In this course, we explore land development, law, and aquisition across the nation's history. State and federal land records are discussed as well as maps and land platting. Genealogically-rich, deeds and other types of land records are full of relationships, community, and context for the savvy researcher.
Intermediate-level experience in general courthouse research.
Exposure to legal land descriptions (metes & bounds, not Public Land Survey System) in land documents such as deeds, patents, surveys, etc. The ability to decipher and understand these descriptions is not necessary; the course will include instruction on that topic.
Familiarity with their computing environment. Students must know how to read files from a flash drive; create folders; save files to folders.
Experience with using Dropbox and have at least a free version downloaded to their computer.
A desire to learn by doing in an environment where students work to solve a variety of problems. Much of the course time will be hands-on practicum work, both in class and as homework.
Computing/Technology Prerequisites
Students are required to arrive with Metes and Bounds (free version minimum; https://www.tabberer.com/sandyknoll/more/metesandbounds/metes.html) installed on a computer that they will use during the course. The work cannot be done on a phone or tablet. No previous experience with the software is necessary; the course is designed to develop basic skills with this software. Students spend a significant amount of this course using Metes and Bounds to work practicum problems. Beginning the class with the software installed on your computer is essential!
Purchase Prerequisites
For hand platting, students must have a land plat compass and ruler with both a millimeter scale and a scale with inches divided into tenths. These materials may be obtained from the coordinator prior to the course for a fee. Some students may already have them from other land courses.
If not already owned, Land & Property Research in the United States by E. Wade Hone is strongly suggested.
Course Schedule
Times
Class Title
Instructor
Monday
8:00–8:30 am
Welcome and General Instructions
Koford
8:30–9:45 am
Development of Land Division in the United States
This overview introduces the colonial systems pre-revolution and land systems of other governments who held land early in our history. Historical events (cessations, treaties, wars) which affected land acquisition and the development of western states will outline the course for the week.
Koford
10:15–11:30 am
Understanding State-Land States
The original thirteen colonies have a common land theme: they are measured in complicated systems known as metes and bounds. Beyond that, they have other models of land distribution often influenced by the immigrants who settled the areas. We discuss the history, styles of survey, and general methodology.
Koford
1:00–2:15 pm
Understanding Federal Land Division
After the Revolutionary War the new United States Congress passed the Land Ordinance of 1785 which set up a standardized system to survey land. This was the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) and after some fine tuning in Ohio, it was used to survey the 30 federal land states. The PLSS used a method of creating townships and sections which provided a unique land description for each piece of federal land.
McGhie
2:45–4:00 pm
Working With Deeds: A Refresher Workshop
Whether a student has worked with deed and conveyance records frequently or has not had opportunity in a while, this class will be a refresher on reading land records, survey terminology, methodology, organizational techniques. Students will have time to workshop practice exercises in class.
Koford
4:00–4:30 pm
Assignment: Understanding Deeds
Koford
Tuesday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review: Understanding Deeds
Koford
8:30–9:45 am
Records of the General Land Office
Understanding the records and resources of the General Land Office is critical to success in federal records. Finding aids will be introduced.
Koford
10:15–11:30 am
Using the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Website
The BLM-GLO website is an invaluable asset to researchers looking for federal land patents and bounty land awarded to military veterans or their heirs. User-friendly, this site works as a master index to land entry papers held by the National Archives.
Koford
1:00–2:15 pm
Land Entry Papers
The land entry papers are the application files individuals submitted to purchase or obtain land in the public domain. They document the first transfer of land from the federal government to private ownership. The land entry papers contain useful information for genealogists and include land obtained by cash or credit purchase, donation land, homesteads, and other acts of Congress such as pre-emption, timber culture, desert land, and mineral entries.
McGhie
2:45–4:00 pm
Using Tract Books
Tract books contain a record of the disposition of each section of federal land. These volumes show the name of each purchaser as well as those who applied for land but never completed the process, creating a “genealogy of the land.” Tract books are used to locate information needed to access the land entry papers at the National Archives; locate individuals who applied for land but are not listed in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) online database; and identify neighbors who acquired land in the same location and time period as an individual.
McGhie
4:00–4:30 pm
Assignment: Land Entry & Tract Books
McGhie
Wednesday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review: Land Entry & Tract Books
McGhie
8:30–9:45 am
Finding & Using Land Ownership Maps
Maps have more genealogical value to our research than we may imagine. We will discuss a variety of map styles and where to find them online and offline. We will also sample GIS system applications and resources for specific areas.
Koford
10:15–11:30 am
Online Sources for Land Records
Genealogical websites, state archives, historical societies, and county record offices can be valuable resources for accessing land records online. This session will cover strategies and tips for effectively utilizing these online resources like a pro.
Powell
1:00–2:15 pm
Metes & Bounds Plats
The session begins with a motivational presentation using case studies to show how land plats solve genealogical problems. After an introduction to metes and bounds concepts, students will learn how to abstract the metes and bounds from a historical record and then draw plats from the legal boundary descriptions.
Powell, Smith
2:45–4:00 pm
Intro to Computer Platting Software
In this workshopping session, students will practice platting land descriptions with computer software using a free trial version of "Metes and Bounds" by Sandy Knoll, Inc.
US Military Bounty Lands
Veterans from the Revolution to Mexican War and Frontier Conflicts all (eventually) were granted awards of land as a benefit for their service. The laws and application processes were complicated, but the surviving records may prove invaluable to your genealogical research.
Koford
10:15–11:30 am
Introduction to Private Land Claims
Land was granted to individuals by governments in a variety of ways througout this history of the country. This class will introduce grants to people from France, Mexico, and Spain before those areas were part of the U.S. Discussion will also cover land administered by Congress by private act.
Koford
1:00–2:15 pm
Buying The Farm… or Selling, Mortgaging, Inheriting It (and More)
Land law seems like it ought to be the simplest of matters: you buy land, you own it, and that's the end of it. Nothing could be further from the truth: land law is complex and murky, and understanding its complexity is often the key to answering some of the most challenging questions facing genealogists.
Russell
2:45–4:00 pm
Land Division in Ohio, Texas, & Other Unique Areas
Some areas within the United States have unique systems of land division, such as Ohio with its several methods of survey, and Texas, with a land division system influenced by the Spanish, Mexicans, and others. This class describes some of the areas that don’t follow the norm of other state land or federal land states.
Sayre
4:00–4:30 pm
Assignment: Bounty Land & Private Land Claims
Koford
Friday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review: Bounty Land & Private Land Claims
Koford
8:30–9:45 am
Workshop: State-Land States & Mapping
This workshop will take a case study from a state-land state and follow it through the process of finding the deed, platting, and placing it on a historic map.
Koford
10:15–11:30 am
Land Records in the US Serial Set, American State Papers, Territorial Papers, and Other Government Documents
These three government publications contain unique and significant information concerning land transactions in the public domain. These documents cover most of the nation’s history and contain, among many things, information on land titles, bounty land applications and claims, and private land disputes. Students will discover the nature of these records and how to effectively search them.
Sayre
1:00–2:15 pm
Workshop: Government Documents, Tract Books, & Maps
Students will practice finding and mining the information in genealogically-rich records related to land in government documents, tract books, and maps. Records will be online or provided by instructors.
Koford, Sayre
2:45–4:00 pm
Don't Fence Me In: Federal Land Case Studies
Single women and African-American homesteaders will feature in case studies showcasing a variety of records for people who took advantage of the 1862 Homestead and later related acts.
Koford
Course 5: The Family History Law Library
Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL and Richard G. Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA
This course will cover the basic legal concepts and legal research approaches appropriate for genealogists. Topics will include courts and their records, estate laws, legislative records, pensions, land law, and more. Elements of both English common law and Roman law will be introduced through classes on the legal concepts found in Irish, German, and French law that relate to research in those countries and their relevance to research in the United States.
Students must attend 15 of 20 sessions to include by making up watching the video.
Course Schedule
Times
Class Title
Instructor
Monday
8:30–9:45 am
Introduction to Genealogy & the Law
This session will provide an overview of the major legal systems (common, civil, canon and statutory law) encountered by researchers, and their importance to and application in solving genealogical questions.
Russell
10:15–11:30 am
State Courts and Their Records
Courts created by state law are the ones our ancestors interacted with most frequently--where they served as jurors, proved wills, registered deeds, were chosen as road overseers, or answered for their misconduct. Records of these courts provide an intimate glimpse into and, often, the best available evidence of the lives and times of ancestors. Understanding the types of courts that existed and the types of records they produced is essential to making the best use of court records as part of genealogical research.
Russell
1:00–2:15 pm
Legislative & Executive Records
Understanding the procedures to access the published debates, journals, statutes, and documents generated by the Continental, Confederation, and U.S. Congresses is critical to locating genealogically valuable information such as petitions. Knowledge of public and private laws relevance to genealogical research is also important. The legislative process is also described.
Sayre
2:45–4:00 pm
Federal Courts & Their Records
Federal court records are hard to locate and harder to use, generally unindexed and often unavailable online. This makes them among the least-utilized court records, despite their breadth and depth. Understanding the structure of the federal courts, the nature of the records they create, and how and where to find them will greatly enhance their utility for family history.
Russell
Tuesday
8:30–9:45 am
State Property Law and Its Records
Land acquisition, through grants, purchase, inheritance and more, was closely controlled by colonial and state law. Who could acquire land, what limits were imposed on sale, transfer and use, and how those transactions were recorded were all dictated by law, and the records created can be the key to resolving many questions of relationship.
Russell
10:15–11:30 am
Serial Set, et al., Illustrated
This session continues the discussion of legislative and executive documents. Explains The United States Congressional Serial Set (SS) and the American State Papers (ASP) in greater detail and explores the Territorial Papers of the United States (TPUS). Understanding these publications is part of the path to find the kinship information buried in them.
Sayre
1:00–2:15 pm
Claims Committees of Congress & U.S. Court of Claims
Beginning in 1794 and continuing well into the twentieth century Congress created fourteen different claims committees, acting in effect as an appellate authority over the decisions of the executive branch. The process of applying for relief from Congress generated a unique body of records both in published and original documents. Favorable resolution of these claims often resulted in the passage of a private act.
Sayre
2:45–4:00 pm
Lab 1
A hands-on session in finding, understanding and using legal resources available online at the FamilySearch Library.
Russell
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework 1 Assignment
Russell
Wednesday
8:30–9:45 am
Probate Law and Its Records
No records are more generally valuable for genealogical research than probate records - that wide array of documentary evidence created in anticipation of and following an individual's death. From wills to probate case files, from dower applications to guardianships of minor children, probate records offer an in-depth look into lives, relationships, economic status and more.
Russell
10:15–11:30 am
German Research and the Law
Germany is a civil law jurisdiction, which means the basis of German law is the sixth century Code of Justinian. Modern German law influences genealogical research both by dictating the content of records created today and controlling access to records of the past. But, it is Germany’s legal history that impacts genealogical research the most, for what we know as Germany today is a recent construct, and the laws that governed our German ancestors were often adopted in regional jurisdictions that no longer exist.
Bittner
1:00–2:15 pm
Federal Land Law – Creating the Public Domain
Understanding the various land tenure systems in place before the creation of the public domain provides the basis for the creation of the Public Land Survey System (PLSS). Beginning with the Land Ordinance of 1785 key acts of Congress that established the public domain and created the Public Land Survey System (PLSS) will be described. The General Land Office website is introduced.
Sayre
2:45–4:00 pm
Lab 2
A hands-on session in finding, understanding and using legal resources available online beyond the FamilySearch Library.
Russell
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework 2 Assignment
Russell
Thursday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework 1 Review
Russell
8:30–9:45 am
Federal Land Law: Disposing of the Public Domain
Some 3,000 laws governed the management and disposition of the public domain. Understanding this body of law lays the foundation to understand the disposition of the public domain. Using case studies, we will explore the key laws governing land entry. Contests over land entry and the ensuing legal complexities generated rich records of genealogical significance and will also be a topic of the case studies.
Sayre
10:15–11:30 am
Military Pension Law
Understanding pension law is essential to effectively search for kinship information relating to soldiers and sailors. Knowledge of the law is even more important to understand benefits awarded to women and children. Pension benefits varied considerably by the specific conflict until the general law system created by the Act of 14 July 1862 (12 Stat. 566) was adopted. Though there would be many more pension acts passed the basic system established by this law remained in place until World War I.
Sayre
1:00–2:15 pm
Civil Law and Genealogy
Most family history researchers in the United States are familiar with common law, which is the legal system in every state in the United States except Louisiana. But the majority of legal systems in the world, including Louisiana, Quebec, colonies in California, parts of the Mississippi Valley, the Gulf Coast, and the American southwest, are or were governed by civil law. This course provides family history researchers with a general understanding of the basic principles of civil law that affect records routinely consulted in genealogical research.
Hansen
2:45– 4:00 pm
Civil Law Notarial Records
Civil law notarial records are one of the most valuable genealogical resources. They are a figurative gold mine. Notarial records are some of the oldest records in the world. In France, for example, they date back to the 1300s. In addition, they are packed with family data, including information about an ancestor’s family life, social standing, financial status, and business and social relationships. In civil law societies like France, Spain, Italy, (French) Canada, and many other countries, notaries function like contract lawyers, creating legally binding acts (also called contracts or protocols) that regulate private relationships among individuals.
This course provides an overview of: (1) the history of the civil law notarial system; (2) purpose and functions of notaries; (3) notary files; and (4) types of notary acts. This course also reviews in detail specific notary acts, including acts related to marriage, succession records, wills (testaments), and other notarial records.
Hansen
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework 2 Review
Russell
Friday
8:30–9:45 am
Family Law and Its Records
Marriage, legitimacy, divorce, inheritance, obligations between spouses and between parents and children, and so much more were and are elements of every-day life greatly impacted the legal norms. Records arising from family law are essential to accurately reconstructing ancestral lives, and understanding the law that dictated those records is essential to getting the most from the records.
Russell
10:15–11:30 am
De-cyphering U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Law
This session will provide a broad overview of US immigration and nationality law since 1790, with emphasis on laws that generated records available for research today. Included will be a review of online legal resources that help one determine the law or rule in effect on any given date, as well as guidance on what records survive, where, and how they may be accessed.
Smith
1:00–2:15 pm
Introduction to the Irish/English Courts & Legal Records: An Overview for Genealogists
Ireland’s unique history unveils the differences between the early Brehon Law of the Gaelic tribes, and the influences of the imposed English Common Law system established as early as 1189. Ireland’s legal system is a blend of the Manorial court and the English common law systems leading to Ireland’s independence and the modern Dáil Éireann Court System.
Rencher
2:45–4:00 pm
Case Studies in Legal Research & Analysis
A review of case studies showing how the law can often provide the key to solving difficult genealogical problems.
Russell, Sayre
4:00–4:30 pm
Course Wrap-Up
Russell, Sayre
Course 6: Guide to Treasures Found in Federal Records
Michael L. Strauss, AG
This course is intended to take students to the next level by digging deeper in the Compiled Military Service Records, Pensions, Private and Public Military Acts and Laws, Dog Tags, Federal and State Bounty Land among other topics. This will be done by both conventional lecturing and the use of critical thinking exercises.
Unlocking your Family's Hidden Story: Harnessing the Powers of the United States Census for Genealogy Research
Brophy
1:00–2:15 pm
Tax Tracks: Navigating Federal Revenue Trails for Genealogical Research
Brophy
2:45–4:00 pm
Introduction to Government Documents—Part I
Strauss
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Strauss
Tuesday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Strauss
8:30–9:45 am
From Revenue to Settlement: U.S. Federal Land Laws
Lyttle
10:15–11:30 am
Whose Land Should It Be? The Public Domain and Disposal of Lands
Lyttle
1:00–2:15 pm
Federal Bounty Land: It's Complicated
Lyttle
2:45–4:00 pm
Introduction to Government Documents—Part II
Strauss
Wednesday
8:30–9:45 am
Military Records I—Service Records and Personnel Files
Strauss
10:15–11:30 am
Military Records II—Draft and Selective Service
Strauss
1:00–2:15 pm
Military Records III—Pension and Claim Files
Strauss
2:45–4:00 pm
Refugees, Claims, and Pardons: The Reconstruction Era
Strauss
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Strauss
Thursday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Strauss
8:30–9:45 am
The New Deal: Putting your Ancestors to Work
Strauss
10:15–11:30 am
Bankruptcy to Equity: Using Federal Court Records
Strauss
1:00–2:15 pm
U.S. Passenger Arrival Records and Indexes
Venezia
2:45– 4:00 pm
U.S. Citizenship: The Law and Records of Naturalization
Venezia
Friday
8:30–9:45 am
Records of Invention in the United States Patent Office
Strauss
10:15–11:30 am
Copyrights and Trademarks
Strauss
1:00–2:15 pm
Records of the United States Postal Service
Strauss
2:45–4:00 pm
Federal Penitentiary, Pardon, and Extradition Records
Strauss
4:00–4:30 pm
Course Wrap-up
Strauss
International Research
Course 7: Genealogy Research in France: An Introduction
Paul Woodbury, MEd, AG
Genealogical and historical research in France benefits from some of the most detailed and well-preserved records in Europe. In this course, learn to trace your French ancestry through civil registration, church, census, military, and newspaper records. Gain hands-on experience working with real cases and associated documents. Observe several case studies highlighting methodological considerations in context, and learn about some of the regional considerations of research in different areas of mainland France. If you don’t know French, have not touched your French ancestral lines or have only dabbled in French research, this course is for you.
Students need to attend all hands-on sessions live (Civil Registration Part II and Parish Registers Part II on Tuesday and Wednesday at 2:15 p.m.) They must attend the majority of sessions in person, and must make up any missed sessions by watching the video.
Course Schedule
Times
Class Title
Instructor
Monday
8:00–8:30 am
Welcome and General Instructions
Woodbury
8:30–9:45 am
Finding the Place
Woodbury
10:15–11:30 am
A Brief History of France
Marie, R
1:00–2:15 pm
Introduction to French Archives
Marie, A
2:45–4:00 pm
Case Studies in Tracing Immigrant Origins
Woodbury
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Woodbury
Tuesday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Woodbury
8:30–9:45 am
Overview of Online Resources for French Genealogy
Woodbury
10:15–11:30 am
Civil Registration Part I
Woodbury
1:00–2:15 pm
Civil Registration Case Studies
Munyer
2:45–4:00 pm
Civil Registration Part II
Woodbury
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Woodbury
Wednesday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Woodbury
8:30–9:45 am
French Paleography
Baird
10:15–11:30 am
Parish Registers Part I
Woodbury
1:00–2:15 pm
Parish Registers Case Studies
Beck
2:45–4:00 pm
Parish Registers Part II
Woodbury
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Woodbury
Thursday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Woodbury
8:30–9:45 am
Census Records (Recensements)
Woodbury
10:15–11:30 am
Military Conscription (Registres Matricules)
Woodbury
1:00–2:15 pm
Newspapers and Death Announcements (La Presse et Avis de Décès)
Woodbury
2:45–4:00 pm
Census, Conscription and Newsppaer Case Studies
Woodbury
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Woodbury
Friday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Woodbury
8:30–9:45 am
Research in Paris
Hansen
10:15–11:30 am
Research in Alsace and Lorraine
Woodbury
1:00–2:15 pm
Additional Regional Considerations for Mainland France
Woodbury
2:45–4:00 pm
Regional Case Studies and Additional Possbiilities
Woodbury
Regional & Ethnic Resources
Course 8: Researching Along the Northern Plains
Gary Ball-Kilbourne, MDiv, PhD, CG
The Great American Desert, Flyover Country, and Buffalo Commons are all terms used to describe the Northern Plains of the United States. They imply an empty country, with little of interest and few residents. Nothing could be further from the truth. This region—which embraces the entirety of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, plus western Minnesota, western Iowa, and eastern Montana—is filled with intriguing peoples, rich and varied histories and cultures, and wide-ranging genealogical challenges and opportunities. This course will provide genealogists with insights into researching the region as a whole, as well as its distinctive states. Special attention will be given to Native Americans of the Northern Plains and key ethnic immigrant groups. Important brick-and-mortar repositories, online availability of sources, and helpful agencies will be discussed. Guidance for participants to develop their own location guides will be provided. This course is intended for researchers with at least an intermediate level of knowledge and experience with the range of sources competent genealogists are expected to use.
There is no nightly homework for this course. However, students will be asked to select one county or larger city within the Northern Plains region. Throughout the week, students will develop their own locality guide for the county or city they selected. During the last class session, students will be encouraged to share their guides and the insights gained from developing them.
Course Schedule
Times
Class Title
Instructor
Monday
8:00–8:30 am
Introductions
Ball-Kilbourne
8:30–9:45 am
The Northern Plains as a Region—An Overview
What are the elements that define the Northern Plains as a region? What makes the Northern Plains different from other regions of the United States? What are the unique challenges genealogists find when researching subjects in the Northern Plains? These questions and more will be discussed during this session.
Ball-Kilbourne
10:15–11:30 am
Locality Guides & Introducing This Week’s Homework
Whenever genealogists approach research within a locality where they have not researched before, they need to gain an understanding of the unique history, geography, demography, and other contexts of that place. Furthermore, they need to learn where to find sources relevant to their research. This session will provide hints and guidance for participants to develop their own locality guides in connection with the week’s homework assignment: Develop a locality guide for a county or larger city within the Northern Plains.
Ball-Kilbourne
1:00–2:15 pm
Township, Range, and Section: Mapping the Northern Plains
Maps are more than a bird’s-eye view of the lands of our ancestors. For the Northern Plains, they will help us navigate the geography that attracted peoples from different cultures or understand better Native American reservation lands. We will discuss historical maps, GIS systems, and the Bureau of Land Management surveys.
Koford
2:45–4:00 pm
Life on the Northern Plains: Using Social History
Social history helps researchers understand the everyday life of their ancestors. As we explore life on the Northern Plains, we must ask ourselves what daily life was like. What history, events, and activities did our ancestors experience? What was their day-to-day life like? How can we learn more about that life and describe it to the next generation? We will explore some of the unique social history of the area, what records exist, and where to find them. Research emphasis will focus on sources found in archives and digital collections.
Philibert-Ortega
Tuesday
8:30–9:45 am
Native Americans of the Northern Plains: Repositories, Records, and Connections I
Methods for locating and using the abundant and rich sources available to research Native American family history will be reviewed in these two sessions. The discussion and syllabus will cover Indian census and annuity rolls, oral history, manuscripts, Indian school records, church records, and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and related collections at the National Archives. The importance of understanding the historical context of the records and the lives they reflect will be discussed.
Many are unaware of the connections between the original residents of these Northern Plains states and those who came later, including marriage, children, businesses, trading, and farming. Learn about the records available at county, state, and national repositories.
Stuart-Warren
10:15–11:30 am
Native Americans of the Northern Plains: Repositories, Records, and Connections II
See above.
Stuart-Warren
1:00–2:15 pm
Origins and Migrations of Northern Plains Settlements
Europeans occupied and settled the Northern Plains in two broad migrations: trans-Appalachian migrations across the eastern Midwest and direct migrations from Europe. Learn how land policies, the expansion of the Midwest rail network, and physical geography influenced the settlement of the Northern Plains from 1865 to 1915.
Fonkert
2:45–4:00 pm
Emigrant Guides: Paving the Way to the Northern Plains
Emigrant guides influenced the migration to the Northern Plains by providing essential information and practical advice about travel, weather, geography, opportunities, and much more. The ideal guide had a table of contents, included maps, and was cheap and compact. This session will illustrate how to locate the guides and use them for insight into the “whys” and “hows” of an ancestor’s preparation and journey to the Northern Plains.
Miller
Wednesday
8:30–9:45 am
Finding Treasure in Homestead Records
The Homestead Act of 1862 provided free land to U.S.-born and naturalized citizens, significantly affecting the Westward expansion of the United States. Many immigrants were able to own land for the first time. Over 250,000 homestead applications for the states in the Northern Plains contain valuable genealogical information on the homesteaders who settled in this area.
McGhie
10:15–11:30 am
Locating and Working with Federal Land Entry Files—Workshop
In addition to homestead records, other federal land records document purchases in the Northern Plains. This session will provide hands-on practice working with these records and discovering the information they contain.
McGhie
1:00–2:15 pm
Nordic Immigrants on the Northern Plains
This class will focus on immigrants from Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway, and Sweden who settled in the Northern Plains states. Resources in the countries these people left from and the states they settled in will be addressed.
Svare
2:45–4:00 pm
Germans from Russia
This session focuses on a large group of ethnic immigrants who settled in the Northern Plains, especially within North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska: the Germans from Russia. Emphasis will be placed on how and where to locate records that might show villages of origin and routes of migration.
Ball-Kilbourne
Thursday
8:30–9:45 am
Western Iowa
This class session will examine the genealogical challenges and resources involved in researching one of the first three Northern Plains areas to gain statehood: Western Iowa.
Ball-Kilbourne
10:15–11:30 am
Western Minnesota
This class session will examine the genealogical challenges and resources involved in researching one of the first three Northern Plains areas to gain statehood: Western Minnesota.
Ball-Kilbourne
1:00–2:15 pm
Nebraska
This class session will examine the genealogical challenges and resources involved in researching one of the first three Northern Plains areas to gain statehood: Nebraska.
Ball-Kilbourne
2:45–4:00 pm
Researching Immigrant Settlers—Workshop
Participants will be led through a hands-on exploration of a case study involving a family of immigrants settling in the Northern Plains.
Ball-Kilbourne
Friday
8:30–9:45 am
North Dakota
This class session will examine the genealogical challenges and resources involved in researching one of the last three Northern Plains areas to gain statehood: North Dakota.
Ball-Kilbourne
10:15–11:30 am
South Dakota
This class session will examine the genealogical challenges and resources involved in researching one of the last three Northern Plains areas to gain statehood: South Dakota.
Ball-Kilbourne
1:00–2:15 pm
Eastern Montana
This class session will examine the genealogical challenges and resources involved in researching one of the last three Northern Plains areas to gain statehood: Eastern Montana.
Ball-Kilbourne
2:45–4:00 pm
Sharing and Providing Feedback for Participant Locality Guides
Participants will be provided an opportunity to share and receive feedback on the locality guides they developed as they worked on the week’s homework assignment. Last questions and answers will be addressed.
Ball-Kilbourne
Course 9: The Fundamentals of Southern U.S. Research and Resources
J. Mark Lowe, FUGA
We will begin with the basic methodologies, and review the records and resources that lead to answers. Highlights include transportation routes, manuscript collections, occupational resources, land, court and estate records (and the laws that created them) along with problem-solving techniques used by real Southern researchers.
Students may watch the videos to complete the course. Homework is not required to be submitted for review.
Course Schedule
Times
Class Title
Instructor
Monday
8:00–8:30 am
Problem Solving
Lowe
8:30–9:45 am
Strategies for Southern Research
Lowe
10:15–11:30 am
Early Laws and Record Keeping Across the South
Lowe
1:00–2:15 pm
Using Tax Lists for Answers & Clues 1
Miller
2:45–4:00 pm
Using Tax Lists for Answers & Clues 2
Miller
4:00–4:30 pm
Tax List Assignment
Miller
Tuesday
8:30–9:45 am
Case Studies in Using Tax Lists with Other Records
Miller
10:15–11:30 am
Maps, Trails and Travel Journals
Lowe
1:00–2:15 pm
Flatboats, Stage Routes & Steamboats
Lowe
2:45–4:00 pm
Railroads, Freight & Transportation Contracts
Lowe
4:00–4:30 pm
Transportation Assignment
Lowe
Wednesday
8:00–8:30 am
Transportation Assignment Review
Lowe
8:30–9:45 am
Land and Agriculture
Lowe
10:15–11:30 am
Following Land & Assets Through Estates
Lowe
1:00–2:15 pm
Southern Historical Collection - Finding Aids and Access
Wilkins
2:45–4:00 pm
Southern Historical Collection - Analysis and Problem Solving
Wilkins
4:00–4:30 pm
Southern Historical Collection - Assignment
Wilkins
Thursday
8:00–8:30 am
Tax List Homework Review
Miller
8:30–9:45 am
Soldiers & Their Families
Abbott
10:15–11:30 am
Documenting Oral Family Stories
Miller
1:00–2:15 pm
Documenting Written Family Stories
Miller
2:45– 4:00 pm
Deep Roots: Discovering the Deep History of the Family Farm
Alley
4:00– 4:30 pm
Pension - Military Record Assignment
Lowe
Friday
8:00–8:30 am
Pension - Military Record Assignment Review
Lowe
8:30–9:45 am
Pensions and Records of Confederate & Federal Soldiers
Lowe
10:15–11:30 am
The Baptism of Sarah Harrison Kerr: Using Baptist Newspapers to Solve a Genealogical Mystery (Case Study)
Alley
1:00–2:15 pm
Gardening With the Ancestors: Using Documentation to Grow the Things Grandma Grew
Alley
2:45–4:00 pm
Tying It All Together
Lowe
4:00–4:30 pm
Plans on Tying It All Together
Lowe
DNA
Course 10: DNA Dreamers: Integrating DNA Evidence to Resolve Complex Cases
Karen Stanbary, MA, LCSW, CG
This course is designed to deconstruct, and study researcher decisions, strategies, and methodologies employed in the correlation of documentary and genetic evidence to establish proven genealogical conclusions. Examples include case studies suitable for publication, research reports, and proof summaries/arguments useful in a Kinship Determination Project (KPD). The research problems are all long-standing genealogical brick walls that could not be solved without the skillful use of DNA and documentary sources. We will focus on a variety of strategies to meet the newly minted DNA-Related standards and the Genealogical Proof Standard.
We will dissect familiar skills, with a DNA twist:
Crafting a meaningful research question
Developing and refining research plans
Mining for evidence
Correlating evidence
Sorting and grouping evidence
Analyzing with logic and inference
Testing hypotheses
Resolving conflicts
Reporting of findings
Writing clear proof arguments detailing evidence and reasoning to support the conclusion
The emphasis is on the strategies and decision making each researcher employs to meet genealogy standards.
Instruction Level:
Advanced
Prerequisites
This is an ADVANCED course. The prerequisite requires previous completion of the following full-week institute courses at any genealogical institute in three categories:
Beginning DNA, Introduction to Genetic Genealogy, Practical Genetic Genealogy;
Establishing Genealogical Proof with DNA, Intermediate DNA, Chromosome Mapping, Advanced DNA, or SLIG Virtual DNA Practicum.
If a registrant does not meet the prerequisites, a work sample may be submitted for consideration that correlates genetic and documentary sources to establish a conclusion meeting the Genealogical Proof Standard.
Pre-Reading Requirements
Board for Certification of Genealogists, Genealogy Standards, 2nd ed., rev., Nashville, Tenn.: Turner. 2021
Mills, Elizabeth Shown. “Fundamentals of Evidence Analysis” and “Fundamentals of Citation.” In Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, 3rd ed. rev., edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2017
Pre-Reading Recommendations
Jones, Thomas W. Mastering Genealogical Proof. Arlington, Va.: National Genealogical Society, 2013.
Jones, Thomas W. Mastering Genealogical Documentation. Arlington, Va. National Genealogical Society, 2017.
Jones, Thomas W. “Reasoning from the Evidence.” In Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice, and Standards, edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2018.
Wayne, Debbie Parker, ed. Advanced Genetic Genealogy: Techniques and Case Studies. Cushing, Texas: Wayne Research, 2019.
DNA Dreamers
Prior to SLIG, several lucky volunteers will provide a written summary of a real-life “stuck” case. During SLIG week, the class will study the written summaries and then participate in a “think-tank” about the various options for next steps. The focused discussion will help the volunteer choose THE BEST option using decision-making strategies based on standards.
Golden Nuggets
The class will collaborate on a “Golden Nuggets Quicksheet” of handy tips and strategies learned throughout the week.
Course Schedule
Times
Class Title
Instructor
Monday
8:00–8:30 am
Course Overview/Coffee with Karen
Stanbary
8:30–9:45 am
Password: The Genealogical Proof Standard
Karen starts the week with a fun self-assessment designed to dispel the myths and thereby, bring the GPS into sharp focus.
Stanbary
10:15–11:30 am
Research Strategies and Decision-Making
This lecture reviews scientific research principles. The concepts provide a framework for analysis of case examples throughout the week. Identification of decision-making points and multiple options are emphasized.
Stanbary
1:00–2:15 pm
Genealogy Standards and Rubrics Part I
Karen discusses Genealogy Standards within the context of tried-and-true genealogical research strategies. Rubrics will be presented with examples of Meets Standards, Partially Meets Standards and Does not Meet Standards. The emphasis is on developing a sound genealogical mindset with hands-on activities.
Stanbary
2:45–4:00 pm
Genealogy Standards and Rubrics Part II
See above.
Stanbary
4:15–5:30 pm
DNA Dreamers
Throughout the week, we will discuss real-life case examples of volunteer participants. Each discussion will analyze a crucial decision point and brain-storm options for next steps in the research strategy.
Stanbary, Jones, TBD
Tuesday
8:00–8:30 am
Coffee with Karen
Stanbary
8:30–9:45 am
Proving the Line by Generation: The Packers
Angela establishes biological proof of parentage for five generations of a well-documented Mormon pioneer family. This case correlates genetic evidence with documentary evidence including LDS church records, probate records and family compiled genealogies. The parentage proofs illustrate research strategies useful in Kinship Determination.
McGhie
10:15–11:30 am
Chromosome Mapping and Misattributed Parentage—The Anonymous Case
Karen demonstrates the use of negative evidence on a chromosome map to identify and solve an unsuspected case of 1922 misattributed parentage. Strategic targeted testing confirms the hypothesis.
Stanbary
1:00–2:15 pm
What Really Happened to Ann and Her Parents?—The Lemmon Case
Paul introduces us to Ann Lemmon (1821–1888), born in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She and her husband joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1845 and migrated to Nauvoo, Illinois, then to Winter Quarters in Nebraska, eventually settling in Salt Lake City. Family lore whispered her father left, disappeared, or was killed resulting in a wealthy Byers family raising young Ann. Temple records suggest a second husband for Ann’s mother and a close association with the Byer family servants. Land, tax, and census records provide historical and geographic context. Surprise autosomal DNA matches and targeted mitochondrial testing contributes to the reconstruction of Ann’s mother’s life and clues regarding the fate of Ann’s father.
Woodbury
2:45–4:00 pm
Which Mother was Calvin’s?—The Bair Case
Varying ages and birthdates associated with the same name in a Pennsylvania family provides an identity conundrum. Was there one Calvin Bair or two, and which of his father’s wives was his mother? Ambiguous and conflicting documentary evidence create the challenge. DNA analysis helps to surmount it.
Desmarais
4:15–5:30 pm
DNA Dreamers
Volunteer DNA Dreamers participate in a “Think Tank” to strategize next steps.
Stanbary, Jones, TBD
Wednesday
8:00–8:30 am
Coffee with Karen
Stanbary
8:00–9:45 am
A Recordless Wedding—The Jones Case
Conflicting evidence provides three different names for Henry Brook’s wife. A courthouse fire destroyed the marriage record. Aggregated, documented, and explained indirect evidence creates a hypothesis. Autosomal DNA testing results in a genetic network and its analysis supports a credible conclusion. Tom demonstrates mitigation of pedigree collapse as part of the research strategy.
Jones
10:15–11:30 am
Endogamy, Double-Cousins, a Mysterious Birth, and a Murder in Tennessee—The Evans Case
Martha B. Evans was born in Franklin County, Tennessee in either 1872 or 1873 to a mixed-race family that for generations was enumerated on federal censuses as either a mulatto or a free person of color. Family lore long claimed that Martha’s purported Evans father went away to collect wood, and when he returned years later (carrying the wood), he found Martha born in his absence. Her descendants speculated about her birth father’s identity. Some insisted he was killed by Martha’s aunt, mother, or sister. This case demonstrates the use of visual phasing and segment data to isolate Martha’s DNA and create a hypothesis. Finding the truth is complicated by intermarriage, illiteracy, and the paucity of records in the rural south during the late nineteenth century.
Larsen
1:00–2:15 pm
Three Generations in Forty-five Years?—The Heitzmann-Dettinger Case
Melanie was born in Australia in 1975. She only knew the given name of her father who had met her mother in a Sydney guest house. Autosomal DNA evidence connects her to several close French cousins. Based on an analysis of the amount of shared DNA, hypothetical grandparents are identified. But there’s one problem, the grandparents were not married until 1930 leaving only 45 years for three generations of an ancestral line. Geographic, historical, and legal context resolves the problem and reveal Melanie’s connection to the Yenish people—an endogamous ethnic minority composed of nomadic weavers and peddlers.
Woodbury
2:45–4:00 pm
Conflicting Evidence and Pedigree Collapse: What Do We Do with Nute?—The Powell Case
Rick follows-up his previous Powell case study set in western Pennsylvania and rural Ohio in the nineteenth century. William Powell fathered children with his second wife and raised his second wife’s child Nute. Why does Nute share Powell DNA with William’s biological children? Do William Powell and his second wife share a common ancestor? Autosomal DNA analysis drives the research strategy.
Sayre
4:15–5:30 pm
DNA Dreamers
Stanbary, Jones, TBD
Thursday
8:00–8:30 am
Coffee with Karen
Stanbary
8:30–9:45 am
Identifying an American Family’s Irish Ancestors via New Zealanders’ atDNA—The Boyd-Taggart Case
A cryptic note mentions an unidentified person with the family surname. Who was he? Was he related? If so, how? Serendipitous atDNA matches connecting related Americans with related New Zealanders led to relevant records, but the shared DNA became irrelevant to the case’s solution The documentary trail to the questions’ answers began in Missouri and continued through relevant records in Pennsylvania, New York, Northern Ireland, Canada, New Zealand, and Ireland.
Jones
10:15–11:30 am
Visual Phasing—The Sonnemaker Case
Karen illustrates the use of a visual phasing project to identify Sonnemaker chromosomal locations of three siblings. The visually phased segments are tagged to specific generational inheritance and correlated with documentary evidence to prove biological relationships. The case study explores an 1840’s immigrant Niedersachen community one day’s journey west of the infant trading city of Chicago. Karen provides an example of a documented Compiled Genealogy for the ancestral line incorporating Evangelical-Lutheran church records on both sides of the ocean, federal land records, and Civil War pension records.
Stanbary
1:00–2:15 pm
Research Report to Self: Educated Guesses and Creating a Focal Study Group—The Kidd Case
Family lore suggests Karen’s second great-grandmother, born about 1852 as the result of an assault by a Native American biological father on a Caucasian biological mother. The child was adopted into a Native American family in Peoria and Fulton Counties, Illinois. Karen analyzes the documentary and genetic evidence in an ongoing Research Report to self. She demonstrates the use of a visual phasing project to capture unknown matches to create a focal study group.
Stanbary
2:45–4:00 pm
A Targeted Testing Cohort— The Deisinger Case
Onsite research in the Lancaster Historical Society vertical files revealed a single piece of correspondence and launched a hypothesis about a German family’s migration from Berks County to York County, Pennsylvania. Autosomal DNA matches correlated with documentary research supports a credible conclusion.
Rencher
4:15–5:30 pm
DNA Dreamers
Volunteer DNA Dreamers participate in a “Think Tank” to strategize next steps.
Stanbary, Jones, TBD
Friday
8:00–8:30 am
Coffee with Karen
Stanbary
8:30–9:45 am
Genetic Clustering—The Valentine Case
Anthony Valentine was born about 1813, immigrated to Ohio in the 1830’s, married and then disappeared forty years later. A deep dive into vital records, asylum records, court proceedings, and newspapers did not reveal his European origin. A genetic network of autosomal DNA matches drives a hypothesis. But alas, common French surnames hinder progress. Continual mining of DNA match lists identifies a key match who places Anthony into a birth family in Lorraine, France.
Woodbury
10:15–11:30 am
School of Hard Knocks
Lecturers will describe the lessons each learned about research decisions at the “School of Hard Knocks.” There will be an opportunity for participants to ask the panel questions.
Heffalumps and Woozles—The McBurney Case
Karen proved her adopted great-grandmother’s biological father using X-DNA. But a competing hypothesis haunted her dreams. The strategy to disprove the hypothesis leads to the discovery of an all-new Irish ancestral line originating in County Armagh and settling in an early Illinois Mississippi River community.
Stanbary
2:45–4:00 pm
Golden Nuggets
The class will work collaboratively to create a “Golden Nugget Quicksheet” — a handy summary of essential points learned throughout the week.
Stanbary
Methodology
Course 11: Beyond the Brick Wall: Strategies for Pre-1850 U.S. Research
Julia A. Anderson, MA, AG; Beth Taylor, CG; Lyn Rasmussen, CG; and Jacqueline Kanyuck, AG
Researching in the United States prior to 1850 presents unique challenges. Records contain less information, are seldom indexed, and can be difficult to find. In this class, we will introduce pre-1850 record types and highlight strategies for identifying relationships prior to 1850. This class will also demonstrate and provide hands-on practice in applying advanced research skills, record analysis, and evidence correlation.
Experience finding and using post-1850 U.S. records such as census records, vital records, newspapers, military records, and cemetery records.
Certification Completion Requirements
Attend 16 of the 20 classes live and review the recordings of all the remaining classes. The homework is supplemental and not required.
Course Schedule
Times
Class Title
Instructor
Monday
8:00–8:30 am
Welcome and General Instructions
Anderson
8:30–9:45 am
Back to the Basics: A New Look at the Research Process
Researching in the United States prior to 1850 presents unique challenges. Records contain less information, are seldom indexed, and can be difficult to find. In this class, we will revisit the research process and introduce the methodlogy of focusing on three time periods when researching pre-1850 ancestors.
Anderson
10:15–11:30 am
Hold Your Horses! Start with Post-1850 U.S. Records
Solving pre-1850 U.S. research problems usually requires research in the post-1850 time period. This class will discuss how to use post-1850 records to help solve pre-1850 research questions. In this class, we will introduce post-1850 records including census records, vital records, newspapers, city directories, and more. We will then discuss how to find and use these records for pre-1850 research.
Rasmussen
1:00–2:15 pm
Pre-1850 U.S. Census Records: They're Better Than You Think!
Using pre-1850 U.S. census records can be difficult. U.S. censuses from 1790 through 1840 only name the heads of households and provide little other identifying information. In this class, we will discuss the value of pre-1850 censuses, explain how to gather information from these records, and demonstrate how to trace your family from census to census.
Rasmussen
2:45–4:00 pm
Are You Your Own Brick Wall? Common Genealogical Mistakes and their Solutions
Don’t get so focused on your research, your family, or your family traditions that you ignore or overlook essential clues and resources. This class will identify some common genealogical mistakes and teach strategies for overcoming them.
Taylor
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Rasmussen
Tuesday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Rasmussen
8:30–9:45 am
Finding Original Records: The Real Game of Hide and Seek
Most online indexed record collections only cover the post-1850 time period. Pre-1850 original records may not be indexed or may not even be online. This class will explain the difference between original and derivative records, introduce various repositories for original records, and teach strategies for finding original records.
Anderson
10:15–11:30 am
Where There's a Will, There's a Probate: U.S. Probate Records
What happened to your ancestor’s property after they died? Though not everyone wrote a will or owned land, most people left something behind. Probate is the process of settling an estate by distributing property, paying debts, and appointing a guardian for minor children. This class will introduce the types of records created during the probate process, the information they contain, and how to find them.
Taylor
1:00–2:15 pm
Order in the Court! Introducing U.S. Court Records
From lawsuits to divorces to guardianships, U.S. court records can provide exciting details about your ancestors and how they interacted with others in their communities. This class will introduce the history and background of court records in the United States, describe their genealogical value, and demonstrate ways you can locate and use these interesting records in your research.
Anderson
2:45–4:00 pm
Organizing Your Research Process
Researching your family produces stuff, including names, dates, places, families, documents, newspapers clippings, pictures, charts, DNA results, and much, much more. Understanding what you have found, determining whether that information is valid, planning the next step in your research, and finding that information again later on all requires that you spend time organizing that stuff. Come learn how to organize all of your names, dates, and documents, and stuff.
Taylor
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Taylor
Wednesday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Taylor
8:30–9:45 am
Reading Between the Lines: Analyzing and Evaluating Records
When you find records about your ancestors, do you spend time reading through and analyzing those documents? The fourth step of the research process is to evaluate new information. In this class, we will discuss the importance of not just gathering records, but evaluating them. Come learn how to squeeze the records until they talk.
Taylor
10:15–11:30 am
Perches and Rods: Introducing U.S. Land Records
Land plays an important role in American History. The documents created by the survey and sale of land are a treasure trove of genealogical information. Come learn about the history of land in the United States, the major survey systems, and the types of land records available from local county offices.
Taylor
1:00–2:15 pm
Beware, the Tax Man Cometh: An Introduction to U.S. Tax Records
When other records have been lost due to courthouse fires or other disasters, tax records often survive. Though not available in every locality, tax records provide evidence of residence and allow you to track individuals over time. This class will discuss the history of how and when United States citizens were taxed, explore the genealogical value of tax records, and explain how to find and use tax records for genealogical research.
Rasmussen
2:45–4:00 pm
Organizing with Research Logs, Timelines, Tables, and More
You've heard about research logs, timelines, and tables and how they may help you organize as you work to solve pre-1850 research problems. This hands-one class will provide an opportunity to use various tools to practice building tables to track your research, evaluate records, and correlate evidence.
Kanyuck
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Anderson
Thursday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Anderson
8:30–9:45 am
Exploring the Community: Researching Beyond Your Ancestor
The records of your ancestor alone may not be enough to solve your pre-1850 research problems. You may need to expand your research to your ancestor's neighbors, community, and beyond. This class will introduce the concept of FAN Club research and explore resources to help you better understand the jurisdictions and history of the areas in which your ancestor lived.
Anderson
10:15–11:30 am
O Say, Can You See? Introducing Pre-1850 U.S. Military Records
Millions of men and women served in the United States Armed Forces throughout American history. The U.S. Military has created many different types of records, including service files, pensions, and bounty land warrants. This presentation will focus on conflicts prior to 1850, introduce the records created for those conflicts, and provide resources for finding and using military records.
Kanyuck
1:00–2:15 pm
Can I Get an Amen? Introducing United States Church Records
The United States is a melting pot of many different peoples and cultures, all of whom brought their own unique religious identity and traditions. Without a state-run church in the United States, your ancestors could choose to join any religious community. This makes it difficult to identify the denomination and associated records of the church your ancestor attended. This class will introduce the history and background of record keeping by churches, describe the value of church records, and teach you how to find church records.
Rasmussen
2:45–4:00 pm
Adding to Your Research Toolbox: Using DNA for Pre-1850 Research
When records along can't solve a pre-1850 research problem, DNA may be able to help. Exploring DNA matches related through your brick wall ancestors can add to your research toolbox. This class will introduce the types of DNA, explain how and when they can help with a pre-1850 research problem, and explain how to add DNA to your pre-1850 research strategy.
Taylor
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Kanyuck
Friday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Kanyuck
8:30–9:45 am
Putting It All Together: Resolving Conflicting Information, Indirect Evidence, and More
An important part of the research process is to share your research through a written conclusion. That conclusion may use negative and indirect evidence and should resolve conflicting information. This class will explain the difference between direct, indirect, and negative evidence, discuss how to resolve conflicting information, and demonstrate how to write a conclusion as a proof summary.
Anderson
10:15–11:30 am
But Wait, There's More! Other Pre-1850 Records
This course has introduced many valuable record types which can help with pre-1850 research. This class will introduce other pre-1850 records including newspapers, cemetery records, city directories, legislative records, manuscript collections, and more. We will then discuss how to find and use these records for pre-1850 research.
Taylor
1:00–2:15 pm
Tackling a Pre-1850 Research Problem from Start to Finish, Part 1
This final two part session will give you an opportunity to use the skills and knowledge learned during the entire course to help solve a pre-1850 research problem.
Kanyuck
2:45– 4:00 pm
Tackling a Pre-1850 Research Problem from Start to Finish, Part 2
This final two part session will give you an opportunity to use the skills and knowledge learned during the entire course to help solve a pre-1850 research problem.
Rasmussen
Course 12: Advanced Genealogical Methods
Paul K. Graham, CG, AG
Students in Advanced Genealogical Methods will learn how to assemble and use evidence to rediscover ancestral origins, identities, and relationships that have been forgotten over the passage of time. The course will address advanced use of evidence derived from a variety of genealogical sources and will explore research techniques for populations for which the usual records are in short supply. Students will also learn how to document their research and develop written proof summaries to reach accurate conclusions and create a credible record of their findings for present and future generations of family historians.
This intense course is targeted to high intermediate genealogists who have completed an intermediate level methodology course or who have equivalent experiences. Their research has led them to encounter relationships that cannot be documented only with direct evidence. They have taken at least one DNA test.
Pre-reading
Students are encouraged to obtain and read Mastering Genealogical Proof prior to the start of the course.
Jones, Thomas W., Mastering Genealogical Proof (Arlington: National Genealogical Society, 2013)
Technology Requirements
Students will need access to a computer with Internet access to participate fully in the course.
Course Schedule
Times
Class Title
Instructor
Monday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Morning Gathering
Graham
8:30–9:45 am
Evidence and the Advanced Genealogist
Advanced genealogists mine sources for information that they turn into evidence used to establish genealogical proof. Learn how to think about the research process conceptually and methodologically.
Graham
10:15–11:30 am
Research Questions, Hypotheses, and Plans
Effective research requires thorough planning. Learn how to ask the right questions and write a research plan designed to answer challenging research questions.
Graham
1:00–2:15 pm
Identifying and Citing Sources
Evidence analysis begins with proper source identification. As advanced genealogists we need to be able to correctly and thoroughly identify unfamiliar sources. That information is then used to make source citations.
Graham
2:45–4:00 pm
Federal Research: Government Documents
Learn the genealogical value of publications of the executive branch and the Congress of the United States and understand how to locate them.
Sayre
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Sayre
Tuesday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Sayre
8:30–9:45 am
Military and Pension Records Strategies: Analysis, Interpretation, and Correlation
Many types of military records provide family information, which is particularly important if the soldier or dependents did not receive a pension. Explore the ins and outs of pension and other important military records that may reveal that kinship data.
Sayre
10:15–11:30 am
Correlating Sources, Information, and Evidence while Resolving Conflicts
Strong genealogical proof comes from correlation of evidence from numerous sources and resolution of any conflicts between evidence items. Think about methods of presenting information and the ways we categorize types of conflicts.
Graham
1:00–2:15 pm
Bringing the Law to Bear on Complex Genealogical Problems
The lives of our ancestors were governed by laws, and the records created because of those laws are often the richest sources of information that helps us answer complex genealogical questions. Understanding the law gives us insight not only into the records that were created but often the reasons why our ancestors acted as they did.
Russell
2:45–4:00 pm
Communities and Clusters
The advanced researcher documents extended family, understands geography, and explores communities. Documenting a person’s relationships and life experience requires bringing together all the source knowledge and analytical skills we can muster.
Graham
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Graham
Wednesday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Graham
8:30–9:45 am
Advanced DNA Methods: Genetic Networks and Genetic Coverage
Increasingly, DNA evidence is an important at least as a consideration for achieving genealogical proof. Two advanced methodologies for applying DNA evidence are consideration of genetic networks and application of coverage estimates for targeted testing and multiple subject comparisons. Learn to make the most of current test results, and advance your genetic analysis, improve your DNA organization, and thoroughly consider multiple DNA test subjects.
Woodbury
10:15–11:30 am
Resolving Questions of Identity
Many people share the same characteristics (such as name, age, and location) and distinguishing between them is a vital skill for genealogists. Explore the data used to define identity and the methods for separating conflated individuals.
Graham
1:00–2:15 pm
Identifying Landless, Enslaved, Peasant, and other Impoverished Ancestors
This class addresses sources that might be available despite absent or scarce genealogical sources for a population, time, and place. It emphasizes the methodology of transforming fragmentary surviving information into genealogical evidence and assembling the evidence into a cohesive picture of a previous generation's identities, lives, and relationships.
Jones
2:45–4:00 pm
Understanding Estates and Inheritance
Probate records are central to our work as genealogists. They document relationships and inheritance among entire families in ways few other records can.
Graham
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Graham
Thursday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Graham
8:30–9:45 am
Revealing Direct and Indirect Evidence through Local Land Records
Local land records offer a wide variety of information about our ancestors, providing strong direct and indirect evidence for many types of relationships, events, and questions of identity. Learn how to mine these sources effectively.
Graham
10:15–11:30 am
Mining Tax Records for Genealogical Evidence
Our ancestors may not have enjoyed paying taxes, but the records they left are an important source for tracking their movements, documenting relationships, and revealing details about their lives.
Graham
1:00–2:15 pm
Federal Land Records: Analysis, Interpretation, and Correlation
Federal records establishing the first purchase of land in the public domain are many, varied, and have evolved over time. Learn to navigate the challenges and complexities involved in using these records in genealogical research.
Sayre
2:45–4:00 pm
Writing Genealogy
This class covers the components, structure, content, and characteristics of clear and effective genealogical writing. It touches on genealogical numbering systems, self editing, and written genealogical products, including family histories, proof arguments, and reports.
Jones
4:00–4:30 pm
Optional Homework Assignment
Graham
Friday
8:00–8:30 am
Optional Homework Review
Graham
8:30–9:45 am
Rural and Urban Map Strategies: Analysis, Interpretation, and Correlation
A wide variety of maps relevant to genealogical research in the United States exist from the 1600s, which have evolved to the modern world of Geographic Information Systems. Explore these essential tools for effective genealogical research.
Sayre
10:15–11:30 am
Documenting Female Ancestors
Learn about the laws, customs, records, and methods for documenting women and their ancestors.
Graham
1:00–2:15 pm
Immigration and Migration
Documenting ancestors on the move is one of the most difficult things we do as genealogists. To accomplish those goals, we must understanding the reasons for their movements, the sources speaking to migrating people, and utilize appropriate research methodologies.
Graham
2:45–4:00 pm
Continued Advancement
Advanced genealogists never stop learning. Discuss the many opportunities available for continuing education.
Graham
Writing & Proficiency
Course 13: Guided Research and Consultation
Craig Roberts Scott, MA, CG, FUGA
Experience the power of having your own personal guide for an entire week as you research both online and in the Family History Library. Students will review progress and findings in regular group meetings and one-on-one consultations throughout the week as they work on their own personal research projects. Assistance will be available as needed during specific research hours.
FamilySearch has a 128-year history as an organization. It has grown exponentially over time and kept current with a fast-moving continuously changing landscape. To capture the essence of every life in the context of recorded history, FamilySearch employs all of the technology available and strives to keep pace with opportunities worldwide. At FamilySearch, it’s all about the individual and the experience you will have either in person or online. This course is designed to illustrate the array of different opportunities to use the resources of FamilySearch and to understand the foundations of each experience. Come explore the many features and products that FamilySearch has to offer.
This course is sponsored by FamilySearch.
Uncovering an ancestor’s immigration story is a rich experience for many genealogists. However, challenges exist when tracing immigrants during the colonial period through 1890. Students in this course will discover resources for identifying an individual or family’s immigration while exploring methods to contextualize and further understand their experiences. The course will explore various compiled and original source materials, including online and onsite resources. Case studies will provide methodologies for finding immigrant stories despite missing or inconsistent records. Other topics covered include forced immigration, colonial settlements, indentured servants, passenger lists, customs passenger lists, naturalization records, foreign passenger records, name variants, compiled databases, newspapers, and immigrant societies.
Genealogists seek to understand the past by searching names, dates, and places to understand a family’s place in time. Most people are descended from “ordinary” people whose impact on history was only felt by their immediate family. Because of this, the study and incorporation of history is ignored due to the belief that these family members didn’t make history.
"The major fortunes in America have been made in land," is a quote attributed to John D. Rockefeller. The major economy of the nation from the colonial period through the 1860s was agriculture. The acquisition of land was a promise of a better life, and a major draw to immigrants from other nations. In this course, we explore land development, law, and aquisition across the nation's history. State and federal land records are discussed as well as maps and land platting. Genealogically-rich, deeds and other types of land records are full of relationships, community, and context for the savvy researcher.
This course will cover the basic legal concepts and legal research approaches appropriate for genealogists. Topics will include courts and their records, estate laws, legislative records, pensions, land law, and more. Elements of both English common law and Roman law will be introduced through classes on the legal concepts found in Irish, German, and French law that relate to research in those countries and their relevance to research in the United States. 
This course is intended to take students to the next level by digging deeper in the Compiled Military Service Records, Pensions, Private and Public Military Acts and Laws, Dog Tags, Federal and State Bounty Land among other topics. This will be done by both conventional lecturing and the use of critical thinking exercises.
Genealogical and historical research in France benefits from some of the most detailed and well-preserved records in Europe. In this course, learn to trace your French ancestry through civil registration, church, census, military, and newspaper records. Gain hands-on experience working with real cases and associated documents. Observe several case studies highlighting methodological considerations in context, and learn about some of the regional considerations of research in different areas of mainland France. If you don’t know French, have not touched your French ancestral lines or have only dabbled in French research, this course is for you.
The Great American Desert, Flyover Country, and Buffalo Commons are all terms used to describe the Northern Plains of the United States. They imply an empty country, with little of interest and few residents. Nothing could be further from the truth. This region—which embraces the entirety of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Nebraska, plus western Minnesota, western Iowa, and eastern Montana—is filled with intriguing peoples, rich and varied histories and cultures, and wide-ranging genealogical challenges and opportunities. This course will provide genealogists with insights into researching the region as a whole, as well as its distinctive states. Special attention will be given to Native Americans of the Northern Plains and key ethnic immigrant groups. Important brick-and-mortar repositories, online availability of sources, and helpful agencies will be discussed. Guidance for participants to develop their own location guides will be provided. This course is intended for researchers with at least an intermediate level of knowledge and experience with the range of sources competent genealogists are expected to use.
We will begin with the basic methodologies, and review the records and resources that lead to answers. Highlights include transportation routes, manuscript collections, occupational resources, land, court and estate records (and the laws that created them) along with problem-solving techniques used by real Southern researchers.
This course is designed to deconstruct, and study researcher decisions, strategies, and methodologies employed in the correlation of documentary and genetic evidence to establish proven genealogical conclusions. Examples include 
Researching in the United States prior to 1850 presents unique challenges. Records contain less information, are seldom indexed, and can be difficult to find. In this class, we will introduce pre-1850 record types and highlight strategies for identifying relationships prior to 1850. This class will also demonstrate and provide hands-on practice in applying advanced research skills, record analysis, and evidence correlation.
Students in Advanced Genealogical Methods will learn how to assemble and use evidence to rediscover ancestral origins, identities, and relationships that have been forgotten over the passage of time. The course will address advanced use of evidence derived from a variety of genealogical sources and will explore research techniques for populations for which the usual records are in short supply. Students will also learn how to document their research and develop written proof summaries to reach accurate conclusions and create a credible record of their findings for present and future generations of family historians.
Experience the power of having your own personal guide for an entire week as you research both online and in the Family History Library. Students will review progress and findings in regular group meetings and one-on-one consultations throughout the week as they work on their own personal research projects. Assistance will be available as needed during specific research hours.