Discovering Your Kentucky Ancestors

Let’s discover what’s is available and where for this important Commonwealth. Record types, finding aids, locations, and examples will be discussed and presented.

Discover the step-by-step process of grants, entrys, surveys, processions and deeds for Virginia and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Learn how and where to find these items to further your research, and how to find those missing pieces.

Learn about the historic trails and trailblazers that lead early settlers to and from Virginia, North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and the West. Get specific clues to help you solve difficult research questions.

Kentucky and Virginia have some of the most complete tax lists in the United States. Their value in research often goes unrecognized by even the experienced researcher. Tax lists can be a primary tool for solving difficult research problems and are invaluable when used with other records. Learn how to access original records, to best organize them for study, and to interpret their meaning. The lecture will use case studies to show their use in tracking individuals across time, estimating birth dates and death dates, separating individuals of the same name, determining the identity of other family members, and using them as substitutes for deeds, court records, and estate records in burned counties.

Learn about the records (North Carolina & Tennessee) that exist for genealogists researching pre-statehood Tennessee (before 1796). Record types, finding aids, locations, and examples will be discussed and presented.

Understand the geographical and migration patterns that make NC hard to find. Learn which records will lead you to answers and how to find alternate records. Discover the records, repositories and the resources you need to find a tarheel ancestor.

Learn about the valuable resources that describe the pioneers who crossed the mountains to Tennessee. Discover the hidden wonders that may help you resolve problem ancestors in the Volunteer State. Understand how records were created and where to find the ones you need.

While many 17th-century Connecticut colonists have been researched and written about, there remain research challenges: distinguishing people with the same name, deciphering hard-to-read handwriting, understanding unique record sets, and more. This class examines the beginnings of Connecticut, New Haven, and Saybrook Colonies and the people who inhabited the lands prior to colonization. The class reviews published genealogical resources and record transcriptions and then presents strategies to locate and utilize primary sources. The webinar concludes with tips on overcoming common research challenges.

As a major center of American history and starting point for westward migration, Philadelphia has much more to offer genealogists than just tourist sites. The greater Philadelphia area is home to a variety of underrated libraries and archives that should not be missed by serious family historians.