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Program: Topics & Speakers • TxSGS Live! • Speaker Bios
The 2019 TxSGS Family History Conference, Blazing Family Trails, features dozens of excellent speakers presenting a total of 56 topics over the three-day weekend. In addition to these one-hour lectures, TxSGS is offering four add-on workshops that provide the opportunity for in-depth learning in a small-group atmosphere.
Want to learn what to do when your GEDMatch matches don’t respond or how to quickly write a narrative from the records you’ve uncovered about your family? What about overcoming lost records? You’ve always researched your family history by going backward. The descendancy workshop teaches you how to achieve success going forward. Take the time to focus on one or more of these topics in a workshop in Houston.
Seating is limited, so register early! Fee to attend each optional workshop is $30.00. Registration opens in July.
Workshops
Workshop 1 – Friday, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Descendancy Research: Another Pathway to Genealogy
Michael Strauss
Genealogists are often taught that the only way to successfully research a family line is to search backwards through time, going back as far as one can. This lecture assumes a new focus on research by tracing all the descendants of an ancestral couple to present. In addition, we will examine the methodology for finding living persons who may hold the key to your family history research.
Workshop 2 – Friday, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Overcoming Record Loss
Kelvin Meyers
We all face it: record loss. Whether the courthouse burned; the clerk tossed them; the relative, autograph hunter, lawyer, or surveyor took them; they succumbed to heat, humidity, insects, fading ink, or war; or distance from the courthouse was a barrier to their creation – the records that we want – the records that could answer our questions aren’t there. The solution: in many cases it’s possible to overcome the problem, but it requires diligence, perseverance, and willingness to look beyond the obvious.
Workshop 3 – Saturday, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Gone But Not Forgotten: How to Quickly Write a Narrative About An Ancestor Using the Records You Have Gathered
Devon Noel Lee
In this hands-on workshop, you will take the records you have currently and start building the story of your ancestors. Using a simple step-by-step approach, you can pull details from records and visualize how someone’s story is put together. You can see how easy it is to turn your research into stories others will want to read.
Workshop 4 – Saturday, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
DNA Tree Building When Your GEDMatch Matches Don’t Respond
Andrew Lee
When matches don’t respond, sometimes we have enough information to construct their family tree and determine how we might be related just using their DNA. This workshop teaches you the principles and takes you through examples of how you can build someone else’s family tree when they haven’t answered your emails.