Preserving Family Records and Photos in Digital Form. 

This will be a 2-part in-person program presented by an NGS Panel, with the second session on June 3, 2023 

This program is an overview of the variety of ways to preserve records and photos electronically, including computer storage, scanning, and digitalizing videos and photographs. Commercial and software platforms will be reviewed.

Early Colonial and Northeastern Mexican Research  Presenter: Moises Garza
GSHA-SC General Meeting: Saturday, May 6, 2023
Hybrid Meeting (In-Person and Online) Southern California Genealogical Society Library 417 Irving Dr., Burbank, California Join us in-person for networking, access GSHA-SC reference books, and join us for a Pizza lunch after the 11 am presentation.

In this presentation, you will learn about the current research that Moises Garza is doing on Early Co-lonial and Northeastern Mexico (Coahuila,Tamulipas, Nueva Leon). You will also learn where to access this research to help you find more ancestors.
A Zoom invitation will be sent to all GSHA-SC members for Moises Garza presentation. Make sure you have a free Zoom account. Non-members must RSVP by emailing [email protected]

PRESENTER: Moises Garza has been doing Mexican Genealogical Research since 1998. He has put into writing his vast knowledge and experience when it comes to finding ancestors in Mexico in his book
“Mexican Genealogy Research Online: A Guide to Help You Discover Your Mexican Ancestry”. He is also the creator of www.wearecousins.info and www.mexicangenealogy.info. We Are Cousins is a genealogy blog whose main focus is South Texas and Northeastern Mexico Genealogy and Mexican Genealogy is a blog focusing on helping you find your Mexican Ancestors. He has also been able to trace many of his own family lines in Mexico back till the 1500’s.

“Overcoming the Blank Page: Strategies for Starting to Write Up Your Family History”, Featuring Kimberly Powell

If you struggle with procrastination, perfectionism, or paralysis when you sit down to write up your hard-won family history research, this is the session for you! We'll explore why we need to keep good research notes, how to accomplish it without overwhelm, and strategies for getting from a blank page to the first rough draft. RSVP and attend at the Pinecrest Public Library, or register to join via Zoom at www.gsgmfl.org

Bring a Friend! Open to the public and FREE!  Starting at 3:00 pm ET. (Members of the Society can join at 2:30 pm ET for the business meeting).

Genealogy In Bloom with special guest presenter Jean Wilcox Hibben; PhD, MA

The Rochester Genealogical Society located in Rochester, New York will be hosting its annual Genealogy in Bloom full day conference on Saturday, April 29th in-person and over Zoom. Please see the session descriptions below and for full-conference details, please visit our on  events calendar. We look forward to having you join us.

Session Descriptions
Life on the Farm: Records, Reports, & More - Learn more about how to find your farming ancestor in the records left behind – not only in the databases of Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org, but also in the Courthouses and annual reports, available through the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

Clue to Clue: Tracking a Family Over Time and Miles (2 Part Session) - Using various clues, this presentation shows how to move from one piece of information to the next to piece together the life of an ancestral family. The steps used are illustrated so that they can be followed by the beginner as well as the seasoned genealogist. Use of census, probate, property, and personal records are explained. 

Doing Background Research for Genealogy Television: It’s Not Like it Looks on TV - With the popularity of genealogy-focused television programs, many people are getting excited about doing their family history in an hour or so. Genealogists know that the appearance of the ease of finding long lost ancestors is nothing compared to the actual experience of doing the research (much of which is not shown on these TV programs). However, many genealogists are finding themselves approached by television production companies for assistance in this type of research. What is it really like to find ancestors with the limitations of a TV production timeline? Get a look behind the scenes, ask some questions about the final product vs. what was really found, learn about a different aspect of genealogy that is fast becoming a fad. And we’ll do it in an hour!

Please click here for a full bio on the Genealogy in Bloom speaker, Jean Wilcox Hibben; Ph.D., MA.

The Colorado Genealogical Society is pleased to announce that Judy G. Russell, the Legal Genealogist, has accepted our invitation to be the speaker at the CGS seminar on 29 April 2023 as a hybrid meeting – in-person and via Zoom.  The early bird fee for this event is only $35.  After March 15, the fee will be $40.  You do not want to miss this fabulous seminar. Register by March 15, 2023, and your name will be entered in a drawing for lunch with Judy. Judy will present 4 programs:

9:45 – 10 am – registration and announcements.  There will be 15-minute breaks between sessions.  Drawings for door prizes will be after lunch and following the fourth session.

10 – 11 am: Revelers, Hogkillers and Disobedient Children: Early State Laws .The laws our ancestors lived by tell their own story of life in earlier times, and early state laws from every part of the nation tell the stories of Blue Laws, wild animals, and children needing humbling. 

11;15 am – 12;15 pm: Advertising the Law: The Gems in the Legal Notices. So many statutes required notice that someone wanted something done, and the legal notices in newspapers can be priceless sources of genealogical clues.

12:15– 1:30 pm – lunch and door prizes

1:30 – 2:30 pm:  “An Act for the Relief of Gregory Thomas and Others” – The Private Laws of the Federal and State Governments. Few researchers realize that many early federal and state laws were private laws - specifically for the benefit of individuals or families. The records can be fabulous for genealogists. Learn how to find these genealogical gems in federal and state collections

2:45 – 3:45 pm:  Margaret’s Mother: Using DNA to Solve a Mystery. Family lore assigns the maiden name of Battles to Margaret (c1827-c1890), wife of Daniel Shew, of Cherokee County, Alabama. Documentary evidence identifies William Battles (c1794-1874) as her father, but he was married twice and no paper trail identifies either wife as the mother. Can DNA solve the mystery and identify Margaret.

3:45 – 4 pm; Wrap up and final door prizes.

About Judy:

Judy G. Russell is a genealogist with a law degree, whose purpose is, in part, to help folks understand the often arcane and even impenetrable legal concepts and terminology that are so very important to those of us studying family history. Without understanding the context in which events took place and records were created, we miss so much of both the significance and the flavor of what happened.

Judy has a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a political science minor from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and a law degree from Rutgers School of Law-Newark. She has worked as a newspaper reporter, trade association writer, legal investigator, defense attorney, federal prosecutor, law editor and was an adjunct member of the faculty at Rutgers Law School.

Judy is a Certified Genealogist® and Certified Genealogical Lecturer^SM from the Board for Certification of Genealogists® and a member of the National Genealogical Society, the Association of Professional Genealogists, and, among others, the state genealogical societies of Colorado, New Jersey, North Carolina, Virginia, Texas and Illinois. I’m privileged to serve on the faculty at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR), the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP), the Midwest African American Genealogy Institute (MAAGI), and the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed).

Our 2023 Spring Conference features two nationally known speakers – Blaine Bettinger, world-renowned Genetic Genealogy expert, and Sydney F. Cruice, an expert in Mid-Atlantic genealogy. The dual-track event features four sessions on Genetic Genealogy/DNA along with four sessions on military records, probate records, church & cemetery records and land platting.

1A: Using Autosomal DNA for 18th and 19th Century Mysteries

Blaine Bettinger

Even though our 18th and 19th century ancestors have been dead for decades, their DNA still survives in their descendants. Learn how to use autosomal DNA to attack and potentially solve genealogical mysteries and brick walls for ancestors who were born or lived in the 1800’s, 1700’s, and beyond.

2A: Are You Doing Everything to Identify Your DNA Matches?

Blaine Bettinger

In this lecture, we will examine numerous ways you can use a match’s profile to identify who they might be. We will also examine ways to use the In Common With tool and the Shared Matches tool to estimate how that elusive match is related to you.

3A: The Danger of Distant Matches

Blaine Bettinger

Those distant genetic matches are exciting, but they can be dangerous! Evidence shows that distant matches sharing a small amount of DNA are often false positives and fail to match either of our parents. Together will examine the problems that can arise when reviewing distant genetic matches at your testing company. We will also examine ways to evaluate these matches and use them in ways that avoid these potential issues.

4A: The Helen Marley Story

Blaine Bettinger

A case study identifying the mother of my adopted great-grandmother, born Helen Marley Johnson. Although no single record identifies her mother, indirect evidence and DNA testing makes the case.

1B: The Miracles and Sins of Church and Cemetery Records

Sydney F. Cruice

Church and cemetery records are the top resource for vital record information for family research. They exceed state and municipal records, since churches and cemeteries started collecting this information long before our government agencies. However, trying to access these records can be difficult and very frustrating. We will discuss how you can examine many of these records without involving their religious creators, and we will explore the best strategies when you do have to go through the religious organizations to examine these valuable materials.

2B: Using Probate and Estate Records to Raise the Dead

Sydney F. Cruice

Probate and Estate records are one of the most important record groups when conducting family research. They often reveal clues to the previous generations, and they include names of the current heirs. They can provide the names of married daughters, as well as siblings and nieces and nephews. A full investigation of probate records can lead to other valuable genealogy sources like land records, guardianship records and tax records. We will explore where to find these records and how to interpret all of their valuable clues. We will discuss how to use these records with other record groups and solve your most difficult family mysteries.

3B: Learn How to Find and Plat Your Ancestor’s Land

Sydney F. Cruice

Land records are one of the most valuable record groups for genealogy research. We will explore where to find them and go through the different parts of a deed with special attention to the land description. We will also learn how to plat a Metes and Bounds land description and discuss ways of anchoring the land plat to historic maps.

4B: Finding Treasures in Military Records

Sydney F. Cruice

In this course you will learn the who, what, where, when, why and how of researching your ancestor’s military service and histories. The lecture covers and explains the benefits, and how to navigate some of the difficulties of researching at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL (The Legal Genealogist) will present four lectures; Finding the Law, Making a Federal Case Out of It, From 1619 to Juneteenth-Slavery and the Law Before the Civil War, Dower and Dowry-Women, Property and Legal Records.

The seminar will be hybrid; you may participate in person at the Dallas Central Library or live-stream via Zoom. Registration is open through April 19. Prices are $50-80 and discounts are available for those who join DGS. Box lunches may be ordered in advance. Participants will have access to the recorded lectures for two weeks post event.

Learn about the new products & services available through Vivid-Pix

This event is free and open to RGS members & non-members!

Join us in person or over Zoom!

Questions about this program, please contact Eric Vaughn at [email protected] .

Program: Solving a Family Mystery with DNA Presenter: Diana Elder AGⓇ

Learn how combining traditional research with DNA evidence revealed an unknown grandfather in this compelling case study. Follow the project from the beginning steps of creating an objective to writing the conclusions. Discover the importance of a research log and careful tracking of sources. Finally, see how Y-DNA and autosomal DNA used in tandem with the documentary sources solved this family’s mystery.

Diana Elder AGⓇ is a professional genealogist accredited in the Gulf South region of the United States. Diana authored Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide and co-authored the companion volume, Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist’s Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence.

Diana and her daughter, Nicole Dyer, are the hosts of the Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast and share research tips on their website, FamilyLocket.com.