2018 Conference Program – Sunday

Tracing Mexican Immigrant Ancestors Across the Rio Grande
Evan Christensen
Hispanic; B, I
How to use immigration records from the U.S., Texas, and Mexico to trace your Mexican-American ancestors across the Rio Grande back to their town of origin in Mexico.

Integrating DNA and Family History at MyHeritage.com
Schelly Talalay Dardashti
DNA; B, I
This session is sponsored by MyHeritage.

Learn how MyHeritage integrated its DNA service into our family history offerings and also about our ethnicities project — the largest study of its kind ever conducted. We’ll also cover our powerful DNA Matching technology and take a look at a few exciting case studies.

The GPS, Document Analysis, and Citations, Oh My!
Sara Gredler
Methodology; B, I
Learn about the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS), document analysis and evaluation, citation standards, and how to make the GPS second nature in our genealogical research. 

African Americans in the Military – 18th to 20th Century
Janice Lovelace
African American; B, I
African Americans served in every war starting with the Revolutionary War in 18th century although segregation impacted their roles. What was it like to be an African American soldier before the Executive Order of 1948 integrating the military? What part did African American women play in military?

Slaves + Insurance = Rich Records
Diane L. Richard
African American; I, A
Once upon a time slaves were insured. Though it’s hard for us to fathom the concept, these records provide detailed information about named slaves who were insured by a certain individual on a specific plantation. Insurance records provide invaluable information when seeking out hard-to-find ancestors who were slaves or wanting to learn more about your slave-holding ancestor.

Finding What You Need and Using What You Find
Pam Vestal
Methodology; All
Explore twenty practical strategies for searching the internet more successfully, extracting genealogical nuggets from your documents, organizing what you’ve found, and evaluating your evidence.

State and Territorial Censuses – Underused Genealogical Tools
Bernard N. Meisner
Records and Repositories; B, I
State and territorial censuses can fill in the gaps between the federal census years, providing information about your families, their occupations, and the places they lived. This presentation will demonstrate how to find these censuses online and/or through state archives or historical societies.

Old Photographs: Identifying, Preserving, and Sharing
Betsy Mills
Publishing and Preservation; All
Old photographs provide a window to our ancestors’ lives. Learn how to analyze them by identifying the type of photograph, the people in the photograph, the styles in the photograph, and other often-missed clues. Preserve those photographs by scanning and sharing them! This interactive session engages the audience and inspires them to go home and work on their own unidentified photographs.

Using a Common U.S. Source to Build an Immigrant Story
Colleen Greene
Hispanic; All
Immigrant Aurelia Compean’s 1963 obituary reads, “Matriarch Dies at 105; 21 Children.” Extended family knew little about the family history when asked in 2003. This case study demonstrates how to dissect an obituary to investigate each clue, the records and strategies used, and an analysis of the evidence discovered.

Filling in the Stories of Our Female Ancestors
Pam Vestal
Methodology; All
For most of recorded time, women didn’t leave much of a paper trail, but they still have wonderful stories to tell. We’ll look at ways in which the context of local history, laws, politics, natural disasters, probate inventories, and other resources can help illuminate your ancestress’s life.

Territorial Records
Kelvin Meyers
Land; I, A
Learn about the Territorial Records of the United States, what records are available, how to access them, and what can be found for ancestors in these areas during the territorial period. Also discussed are the three major collections: The Territorial Papers of United States, The American State Papers, and The Draper Manuscripts.

A Nose for News: Sniffing Out Stories in Newspapers
Mary Kircher Roddy
Records and Repositories; B, I
Newspaper research can break down brickwalls. See strategies for getting the most out of them. Each suggestion is illustrated with examples from newspapers from various locations and time periods.

Personal Privacy and Security
Tony Hanson
Technology; B
Hackers and scammers are actively trying to gain access to your computer and to your personal and financial information. Your family history records and your finances are at risk! This presentation will help you understand what they are doing, how they are doing it, and the steps you can take to minimize the possibility that you will become a victim.

Geography, Politics, Religion and More as Found in Post Office Records
Diane L. Richard
Records and Repositories; All
Post offices aren’t just about mail! Post Offices defined communities. In records, people used Post Office locations to identify where they lived. Post Offices also handled newspaper subscriptions and related materials. How would you like to see great great grandpa’s subscription list? Talk about insight into a person—that subscription list often indicated religious and/or political leanings.

Brickwall Busting Sources and Strategies
Patti Gillespie
Methodology; B, I
Discover strategies, sources and a variety of documents that might hammer down that brick wall. Examples using vital records, military records, census, prison, land records, newspapers, passenger manifests, and divorce records are presented along with a complicated story tracking a woman who changed her name three times in public records.

The ABC’s of Y DNA
Jim Brewster
DNA; I
Learn about the wonderful world of the Y chromosome and how it can enhance your paternal genealogy.