We are thrilled to introduce you to one of the dynamic speakers teaching at our 2016 Family History Conference in Dallas Texas on October 28-30! Online Registration closes this Sunday, October 23rd…grab your spot now!
About the Speaker
Deborah A. Abbott, Ph.D., is a genealogist specializing in African American research, genealogy methodology and manuscript collections. She is an instructor at the Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research (IGHR) in Birmingham, AL; the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) in Salt Lake City, Utah and co-coordinated “Researching African American Families” at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP). She currently serves as a Trustee on the Board of the Ohio Genealogical Society and is an associate with the Kentucky-Tennessee Associates. Dr. Abbott is past president of the African American Genealogical Society of Cleveland and a retired Professor of Counseling from Cuyahoga Community College. She holds both the Bachelor of Science and Masters of Education degrees from Tuskegee University in Alabama and the Ph.D. degree from Kent State University.
Dr. Abbott has presented lectures and workshops at a variety of national, state, and local genealogy conferences, as well as businesses & libraries. One of her major research projects which traces an African American family from slavery in Kentucky to freedom in Illinois was highlighted in The Cleveland Plain Dealer under the title of “Six Volumes to Amplify a Family History.” She has had articles published in the Ohio Genealogy News and Family Tree Magazines. Dr. Abbott can be seen on an instructional video about African American Research entitled “Needles & Threads” for AncestryAcademy.
Dr. Abbott is a member of the National Genealogical Society (NGS), the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), and the Genealogical Speakers Guild (GSG), as well as other state and local genealogical societies. She coordinates and teaches monthly genealogy classes at both the Lakewood (Ohio) Public and Cleveland Public Libraries.
A Cleveland native, Dr. Abbott is a graduate of Cleveland Public Schools and an active member of the Cleveland Tuskegee Alumni Club and Antioch Baptist Church.
About the Sessions
Beginning Genealogy: Finding Your Way to the Past
Learn the basic genealogy tools needed to successfully trace family histories. The importance of staying organized, using pedigree charts, family group sheets, home sources, oral histories, census records, etc., will be emphasized.
Strategies & Techniques of Slave Research
Learn how to analyze various documents for clues and resources needed to recreate an African American’s journey from freedom to slavery to identifying potential slave owner(s). Through a case study, the importance of using census records, cluster/collateral research and understanding social and historical history in genealogy research will be emphasized.
Manuscripts & Special Collections in HBCU Libraries
The libraries and archives of Historical Black Colleges and Universities hold a gold mine of records relative to the lives of former slaves and newly emancipated African Americans. Most HBCU’s were established after the Civil War and are located in the former slave states and territories, but there are exceptions, with a few being established in the north. Learn the unique records that are held by HBCU’s and are not available any place else.
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