Tracking a project from start to finish, this session demonstrates the principles of reasonably exhaustive research and how much is required to prove identity and parentage.
Presented live at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City as part of the Joy Reisinger Memorial Lecture Series, and sponsored by the Board for Certification of Genealogists.
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Syllabus
A good presentation, illustrated with an excellent example. On the one hand, the example is inspiring, but on the other hand, for a novice, it is daunting!
A master class in how to research!
A thorough and well presented case study.
a truly impressive piece of research
A wonderful speaker and a very well-laid out presentation.
Absolutely best analysis I have ever seen!
Absolutely Excellent!
Always a pleasure to hear Elizabeth Shown Mills’s research process.
Always enjoy and appreciate Elizabeth Shown Mills. I learn so much from her!
Always enjoy Elizabeth Shown Mills’ presentatiions. It’s helpful to see true research (the analyzing, the correlating, etc.) in action, so to speak.
Always enjoy ESL’s case studies!
Always helpful to follow step-by-step methodology. Many thanks!
Always learn and relearn so much from Elizabeth Mills. Thank you!
Amazing amount of information!
Amazing and mind-boggling!
Amazing detail, as always!!
Amazing explanation and useful guidelines!
Amazing genealogist! Elizabeth is like a great attorney!
Amazing presentation, very clear, gave me great ideas and areas to focus upon.
Amazing to watch her research plan. Also informative, as to what I still need to do to prove some of my ancestry where records I was hoping for are lacking of the information I wanted.
Amazing!
Amazing!
Amazing!
Amazing! Love to hear this again! She is so knowledgeable! Thank you!
Amazing! I did the same thing you did for African American Rev War in S.C. It was so rewarding. Your presentation helped my confidence as I struggle to get it right for Ireland certification. Thanks so much. Mo NYC/RI
Amazing! Learned so much. Thank you!
Amazing. I learned so much.
Amazing. Thank you for sharing your research process with us.
An incredibly clear and detailed explanation of what is meant by clear and exhaustive — and a reminder that we really need to do our own homework, not just accept what everyone knows!
as always Elizabeth Shown Mills is an interesting, informative and wonderful speaker.
As always, an easy to understand model to follow for achieving sound research! Thank you, ESM.
As always, ESM is astounding. Thanks so much for providing this webinar. Now back to turning my search into actual research
As important as E.S. Mills is to the educational part of Genealogical Research, listening to her identify and define her process ‘in her own words’ is an outstanding experience.
At the very last the webinar became muted and then went to this survey without questions and answers which disappointment me greatly.
Awesome
Awesome presentation summarizing a very complex research problem.
Awesome! ESM is the best!
Awesome! So many great research tips and ideas, so much work and correlation!
Awesomely informative. I mean, it’s ESM!
Brilliant
Brilliant!
Brilliant, thank you so much
came in late, but left me with additional insight into researching my ancestors.
Can’t imagine the cost of this research, but it was fascinating to see what was done.
Completely impressed by the thoroughness of the presentation. Definitely a must-watch! Possible a few rewatches as well as there is so much information included in this presentation. My mind was blown away more than once.
Covered a lot and on time. I appreciate Elizabeth Shown Mills. Thanks.
Does it get any better than this?
Elizabeth explains extremely well the strategies that are needed to identify brick wall people. I’m encouraged to continue researching using her method.
Elizabeth is always beyond amazing!
Elizabeth is amazing! Her doggedness in research is incredible, and he presentation skills using that research is inspiring. Thank you for the opportunity to hear her!!!
Elizabeth is an amazing researcher and presenter – always enjoy her presentations.
Elizabeth is great as always! I can relate to the upcountry research challenges of South Carolina.
Elizabeth Mills always gives us content and methodology to challenge us to do our best work. I listen to, buy or read everything she publishes.
Elizabeth Mills is excellent as always. I will be going over this webinar many times to sort through the entire process.
Elizabeth Shown Mills has a reputation for being thorough. Boy, did she demonstrate that today! Very impressive.
Elizabeth Shown Mills is a master at putting all the pieces of evidence together! The details matter! Love to hear her speak.
Elizabeth Shown Mills is a rock star!! I could listen to her lecture forever. She distilled down 1002 hours of research into an amazing 1 hour lecture. I’m not worthy.
Elizabeth Shown Mills is always so wonderful to hear. I learn so much from her on how to do things the right way
Elizabeth Shown Mills is amazing! That was the best webinar I’ve ever seen!
Elizabeth Shown Mills ties it all together so well. Love the visual map of the FAN Club concept too. Great topic for a webinar!!
Elizabeth Shown Mills’ work is a beacon for the rest of us. The sharing of her methodology is a priceless gift Thanks to all who made today’s presentations possible.
Elizabeth’s presentation showed clearly the amount of work required to resolve some questions and how detailed it needs to be. It is not just a matter of looking at records but the necessity of analysis and writing out the information to aid this analysis.
Elizabeth’s research was overwhelming but so many lessons were learned. Thank you
Engaging, suspenseful story! Thoroughly investigative without losing the purpose for her research. This could be a model for a course on RER. Thanks for hard work and sharing!
Enjoyed it so much because ESM really went into details of ‘reasonably exhaustive search’ with her case study. I always needed more context and boy did she provide it today!
Enjoyed seeing the report samples, the process, the reasoning, and the mention of the hours spent on the case study.
Enjoyed this webinar! This has helped me refresh my plans for my own Watts Research Project!
enlightening!
ESM continues to surpass genealogical educators with her knowledge and explanation of many aspects of Genealogical practices. This webinar serves as a perfect example of Reasonably Exhaustive Research and all it entails.
ESM due diligence, attention to detail, and logic is the standard bearer for all family historians to reach.
ESM is absolutely amazing! Spectacular webinar! Best one ever! I’m utterly blown away, exhausted, and inspired!
ESM is amazing! I love listening to her lecture.
ESM is brilliant… fact.
ESM provided both a model for undertaking reasonably exhaustive research and a terrific (though VERY expansive) example of its application. This webinar was inspirational and very applicable to my current BCG portfolio preparation. Thank you!
ESM spent over 1,000 hours on this research, but I’m the one exhausted. Many thanks for an eye-opening webinar!
ESMills is amazing – she shows what a truly professional researcher does – her process makes such sense! I feel like a swallowed a whale of information on the research process!
ESM’s approach is certainly reasonably exhaustive, and rather overwhelming. I have so much to learn, and I’m happy about that.
Every webinar by Elizabeth Shown Mills needs a scale of 10 rating! We are not worthy!!! Such a high standard to which we must all strive!
Excellent and thorough explanation of the process. I have a similar project that I worked through before I knew there was a process and standard. This webinar has helped me understand how to better explain and document the work I’ve done and what I still need to do. Thank you!
Excellent case study!
Excellent content, well-delivered
Excellent information. I am not ready for this step but will have the correct information when time is right
Excellent lecture from the Queen of Genealogy! I wish time had permitted a slightly slower presentation of the principles and process.
Excellent new analogies to organize planning and research!!!!
Excellent presentation! Sometimes it is hard to keep up with all the names in a case, but Elizabeth’s presentation made it easy to follow. Not only is this presentation excellent for the information, but also a good example of how to present a complex case in a way that audiences can understand.
Excellent presentation.
Excellent presentation. I worked as an analyst for the US government for over 25 years, so it is very interesting to listen to genealogist with such an analytic approach to historical research.
Excellent process
Excellent talk – an organized explanation of a very convoluted process
Excellent webinar!
Excellent webinar. Need to see it again to catch all the nuances presented.
Excellent!
Excellent!
Excellent!
Excellent!
Excellent!
Excellent! I am motivated to again work on my research. So gratifying to here that the many hours can eventually pay off!
Excellent! She provided so much useful information that I will need to watch it again!
Excellent! Thank you!
Excellent!!
Excellent!! There are very many good Webinars, but this is one of the absolute best! And one of my favorites!!
Excellent!!! Another ESM treasured presentation!
EXCELLENT!!!!
Excellent!!So very helpful. Thank you!
Excellent, as always. Thank you, ESM!
excellent, very high quality presentation, tons of good information
Excellent.
Excellent….Excellent….Excellent!! The best explanation of a reasonably exhaustive search I’ve ever seen. Very helpful to my ongoing research.
Excellent; clear and precise with great visuals.
Exceptional!
Extraordinary in its content, presentation, and motivation!
Fabulous information and process…very inspiring.
Fabulous presentation!
Fabulous!
Fantastic … what thoroughness … truly exhaustive research!
FANTASTIC PRESENTATION
Fantastic presentation!
fantastic presentation. will need to review it again.
Fantastic webinar with some great information to follow through on putting assumptions aside.
Fascinating to see both the sources searched and the strategies used.
Fascinating, but overwhelming to think about committing that much time to a research project
Great
Great but too fast
Great example of the process in her case study!
Great explanation of how to attack a problem. I can apply it to my Dodge and Kelly ancestors in Dutchess and Albany counties, New York. Thank you!
Great information on what it takes to prove research.
Great information. But, I wonder if we can afford that much time for each roadblock we face. Maybe you have to prioritize, which is deserving of so much time.
Great practical tips for researching via the case study.
Great presentation. an extremely knowledgeable presenter who moved quickly and didn’t repeat herself.
Great presentation. So many details. It’s my first time hearing ESM. Quite an exhaustive searcher and writer.
Great research tips and techniques! Presented excellenty, and easy to understand!
Great webinar, I learn a great deal.
great webinar, very clear
Her research was fascinating – and a little daunting! It has inspired me to work a little harder on my elusive great-great grandfather.
I always know that Elizabeth Shown Mills is going to be logical and to the point and that I will learn something very useful. Thank you, a very useful presentation and encouraging for some of my challenging ancestors who left no forwarding address!
I am in awe of the work!
I am unfamiliar with the religious records existing at the time the webinar examined. Might they have provided any assistance? Mrs. Mills is truly a phenominal researcher, speaker, teacher, writer and genealogist. Thank you so very much for the opportunity to learn from this webinar.
I am very glad that ESM showed and explained how she wrote her research reports during her investigations, and also how she began a new report for each different angle of search and analysis. That was extremely helpful to me in learning to write as I research.
I can’t decide if her example of exhaustive research is inspiring or will scare aspiring genealogists away! Wonderfully clear presentation.
I can’t wait to watch it again!
I enjoyed how the presenter shows her strategies and thought process into her report.
I especially appreciated not only the step-by-step planning and what next, but a candid statement of the hours of research (and planning) and across what time period (at least two years). In this case, the results were worth it and revealed smoking guns (but very far away). She didn’t know if her research would pay off, she just
persisted; we don’t know, either, just persist. We just plan and research and go further down the path of discovery. WOW! Simply wow! Thank you.
I have a lot more search and research to perform.
I have admired and listened to ESM for many years. She is amazing in her techniques, thoroughness, and a classic in the genealogy world. I wish there were more of her lectures available on FamilyTreeWebinars, even her older lectures are of significant value.
I learned a lot about research strategies and exhaustive research! Love the spider web concept.
I learned a lot that I can apply to my own research and how to better handle projects that never seem to end. Some are little tweaks to things I already do, while others are things I wish I’d done and will do in the future. I always learn a lot from Elizabeth’s talks. I look forward to applying what I learned.
I love Elizabeth Shown Mills!
I love learning how other genealogists approach an unknown, especially with a scarcity of records.
I love these webinars. This one was really great, especially the case study.
I now have a better understanding of just how much work is needed to do a reasonably exhaustive search.
I now understand why Ms. Mills has a reputation as one of the principle experts on genealogical research! I have a much better understanding of just what is meant by the term reasonably exhaustive research than I did at the beginning of this webinar. I also know I need to buy her book! Thank you for one of the most thought provoking webinars I have attended!
I really appreciated how the slides enabled me to follow the presentation, I hadn’t used research reports upfront but I will now as I see that it keeps the research focused. Many thanks.
I really liked both the forward- and backward-looking cross-references to (which one never knows during the actual process) what will become important in later stages, and how foundations had beeen laid earlier
I enjoyed it
I think the presenter did a great job. My genealogical needs are outside of the US, so I think it wasn’t as relatable for me.
I valued very much Elizabeth’s explanation of when she had been forced to re-organize her notes in a different way. And her acknowledgment of not feeling satisfied with the state of the proof along the way. Her persistence in the face of these things might give me the persistence to carry on when things don’t look the way I want
them to look.
I was overwhelmed by the amount of research necessary to prove tough cases. Depressing, actually.
I will use some of the information presented about sources and documents to plan my own research.
I will watch this again & again. So well done and interesting. I learned a lot.
I’d rate this higher than 5 if I could! This webinar alone is worth the membership price. It’s applicable to many kinds of projects, not just genealogical. Great syllabus too.
I will be listening to this one again and again, and will be finding the books Elizabeth Shown Mills has written, and visiting her website.
I’d read the published article covered, it was wonderful to hear about the work that went into it!
I’ll have to listen to it again to understand the detail, but the main points were well represented.
I’ll have to watch it again–so many helpful ideas and useful informationi in one hour!
I’m always completely blown away with Elizabeth Shown Mills’ lectures and the details she provides.
Impressed and distressed with the amount of research needed to prove the relationships. It showed me how much I need to step up my game. Thank you for this informative and well-presented webinar.
Incrdible
Incredible
Incredible! Fast-paced, extremely well-organized, chock full of useful information about how to approach our own problems.
Incredibly inspiring, thank you!
Inspirational!
Inspiring to see methodology explained so clearly
Inspiring.
Interesting research
It is always useful to listen to ESM. I am again stunned by the level & thoroughness of her research and analysis. She sets the standard for the rest of us.
It was very informative to me explaining the meaning of reasonably exhaustive research.
It was wonderful! This gives me inspiration to continue working on my brick walls that I have spent so many hours (and years) working on. Thank you!
Just a bit too fast; otherwise very beneficial but exhausting.
Learned a lot!!
Link to handout didn’t stay long enough to click on it.
Lot to cover in one hour. Very thorough.
Lots of great information given. A lot of time, but mysteries are worth it.
Lots to learn here. Excellent!!!
Love webinars by Elizabeth. Such great info on being more thorough in my researching!
Loved the case study. It gave me several strategies to address my brick walls.
Mind blown!!
Ms Mills is the best!
Ms. Mills’ bulls eye approach really clarifies what constitutes reasonably exhaustive research. It gives a framework in which to pursue some research I am working on. I am also so interested in her research reports and will pondering how that system will help in my research. Thank you for an excellent webinar!
Ms. Mills does an amazing job explaining her research process and analysis! Thank you.
New to the webinars. Very instructive. Thank you.
Nicely detailed presentation, confirmed my own practices so this was a real winner for me. Excellent visuals, short and clean but not boring.
Now I know what RER is!
Oh my goodness. I do not have years left in my life to prove via exhaustive research my own target end of line ancestor. However, the process Elizabeth shows has given me insight into why I’ve never found the links needed for proof. The era is the same as example 1707 to 1825.
OMG What a fascinating presentation! The depth of research she did is terrifying but she made it very clear exactly why it must be done. It also helped me understand how to be a bit more organized in my strategy.
OMG! That is so impressive and vaguely disheartening.
Opened my eyes to the value of other associates research. I cant wait to begin….
Outstanding
Outstanding example and much, much detailed than I expected. Very glad to have the opportunity to see this today 🙂
Outstanding presentation – very educational !!!
Outstanding!!! Thank you!!!
Overwhelming
Persistance, thoroughness, and analysis, analysis, analysis to make sure the documents are really telling you the story. Things are really clicking for me, now. Elizabeth is such a good teacher that nothing remains abstract for long.
Phenomenal! I am working a very perplexing case right now and this was very inspiring. I am a fan!
Presentation provided a really good view into the work and techniques it takes to tackle a research known.
Presenter was concise and easy to understand. Her powerpoint was visually very helpful in understanding the steps and the research required on her case. Great webinar.
Really good!
She certainly is dedicated and inspires me to follow her example.
She is an amazing presenter! Unbelievably organized, thoughtful, timed. So much knowledge and always sharing.
She is fantastic!
She is the most thorough researcher I have ever heard of. I have learned how much I still have to learn.
She is wonderful! So much information.
She’s amazing!!!
She’s the best. So much good info, I will need to re-watch.
Six months of searching, and she knows what she is doing leaves me feeling rather hopeless!
So compacted, will require another listen for another day.
So informative. Thank you for allowing me to access this today!
So much helpful information in such a short time! Elizabeth Shown Mills is an exceptional genealogist! I appreciated the opportunity to experience her presentation.
so much really good information. loved the visuals, helped to bring everything together
So thorough and very well presented. ESM is an inspiration for us.
Some of the most logically presented research I’ve ever seen presented. This woman is amazing!
superb
Superb!
superb!
Superbly presented – a really great webinar as an Intermediate student in NIGS.
Thank you for being clear about how much effort and time genealogical research can involve. It is not as simple as TV shows often suggest.
Thank you for sharing the process of proving this extensive project
Thank you for the bullseye approach!
Thank You for this amazing lecture!
Thank you so very much Elizabeth for such an in depth lecture….. Now i don’t feel so alone with my sometimes daunting research.
Thank Your for sharing these webinars today.
Thanks for the great webinar
Thanks you for the extremely informative webinar. I found it very helpful.
That was an amazing case study on John Watts’. This is the first time I heard Elizabeth Shown Mills, I hope to hear her again!
The best example of how to do exhaustive research I have seen. Bravo!
The best speaker I have ever heard. Love methodology lectures. This is my sescond time hearing her.
The example was an amazing description of how to find and prove a very hard-to-identify person. But I’m working mostly with people after 1820, who I can track in censuses, birth, death, marriage records, sometimes land, and very rarely newspapers. One of the things I was hoping to learn was how exhausted to I need to be to the stories of these people. The what is enough for the usual cases wasn’t described.
The example was very illustrative of her message
The presentation was very detailed and easy to follow. Great information was provided.
The presenter’s thoroughness was very impressive.
The project example was the most helpful part of the webinar because it went into great detail about the degree of research and analysis needed to make good assumptions about relationships.
The step by step approach in the case study gave clear and understandable ways to think about how to go from searching to true research in order to determine or verify the correctness of believed facts, and the length of time and effort often needed to find and trap that mysterious individual’ through extensive research on all people connected with them.
The top of the top of webinars! I’d give it a 10 if that were the option!!! Thanks, Elizabeth Shown Mills!!!
The visuals were excellent in helping explain the approach ESM used. It is also gratifying to know how much time she spent on the project. Makes me feel better abut y own research.
The webinar was too short.
There are no words!!
There were some points I wish had either been on the handout or that the screen had been on longer. I’ll have to try and re-examine slides at a later date….
This has probably been the most informative and awesome webinar for me to date.
This is one of those webinars whose value will come from viewing it a couple of times. There is a lot to consider and think about. It has truly opened my eyes!
This made we realize that there is so much more I can do in my research. Elizabeth Shown Mills is a rock star in the genealogical world! Thank you so much for such a wonderful webinar.
This reinforced and expanded my understanding of what R-E-R entails – thank you!
This step-by-step case study was extremely helpful!!
This was an extremely well developed presentation that was clear, engaging and easy to follow.
This was incredibly informative and eye opening as to what is considered reasonable exhaustive research! Thank you!!
This was such an amazing presentation. Really gets the thought processes rolling.
This was very helpful to see what the presenter did in order to resolve all of the issues. I did not imagine that much effort to prove a relationship. The charts were extremely helpful to display the tasks and research patterns.
This webinar was one of the best I’ve heard. I am currently in the certificate program at Boston University in preparation for BCG certification. I wish some of these webinars were required for class. Thanks so much for a quality product.
Tremendous presentation.
Truly enjoyed it.
unbelievable! Totally impressed by the amount of time and diligence that went into this — although, not surprised, knowing who was doing the research. Great job!
Very clearly organized and presented. Made a complex scenario understandable and educational.
Very detailed.
Very enlightening!
Very helpful
Very helpful to see the GPS in action.
Very helpful, ready to tackle a difficult research project for a great-grandfather. Importance of FAN made very evident!
Very informational and detailed. She provided an excellent example of exhaustive research.
Very informative
VERY informative and inspiring!
Very informative, and discovered I am already practicing some of the more advanced research strategies. I particularly use the bull’s eye strategy in many different to show relationships-used this mapping when teaching years ago very informative, as her lectures always are.
Very informative.
very informative. makes it a little scary to contemplate doing a similar project
Very instructive; I learned a lot.
Very interesting and illustrative.
Very interesting and learned quite a bit new information.
Very interesting re the detail of research
Very thorough and clear even to an amateur
Very thorough and has given me many ideas to search a brick wall.
very well organized
Very well organized and informative.
Very well presented. Details basically demonstrate the broad strokes of the process, but it was difficult to follow the material because of time constraints. Good to hear Ms. Shown-Mills because of her reputation.
Very well set out on how this was done.
Very well-organized and presented! I really liked how the speaker made the distinction between search and research
Was interesting to see how Ms. Mills approached her research report(s).
Well presented, easy to follow process. She is a delight to listen to.
What a wonderful webinar! On my end, I could not write fast enough to take decent notes, so will rewatch on Legacy and get the syllabus there. I enjoyed Elizabeth Shown Mills talk, and using an actual project that she had done amplified the processes. Thank you!
What an incredible amount of information. This was an excellent presentation, one that I’ll review many times in the future.
Where on family search do you locate wills and land grants?
Whew! Excellent.
Whew! Really good demonstration of an exhaustive search
Will use as a guide to research my Michael Moyer in PA!
Wonderful and informative! Confirms what I am doing with one of my ancestors–
wonderful case study to illustrate reasonably exhaustive research!
Wonderful case study to reinforce the need for proper planning and exhaustive research… and demonstrates how time-consuming proper research can take.
Thank you ESM!
Wonderful lecture!
Wonderful presentation!
Wonderful presentation. Very informative and impressive!
Wonderful webinar especially as she recites all the steps she takes to research on John Watts. Amazing
Wonderful! Clear, precise and so very useful. Many thanks.
Wonderful! So much information!
Wonderful!!!! Want more from her!!!! One of, if not the best!!!
wow i had no idea
Wow — she talked a little fast, but I guess she had to to cover 1002 hours of research in a one-hour seminar.
Wow – what a great look at the process!
Wow!
Wow!
Wow!
wow!
Wow!
Wow! Great insights.
Wow! What a GREAT webinar!!! I love the advanced analysis. ESM is SUPERB!!
Wow! Excellent case study!
Wow! Fabulous case study showing the importance of the FAN club. Very inspiring.
WOW! I will be using this research report format going forward.
Wow! Just WOW!
Wow! So clearly explained!
WOW! This is a great example to people who may want to hire a professional to solve a genealogical problem to show them how many hours go into doing things right. How much is a professional’s time worth? ESM said she spent about 1000 hours on this. At a measly $25/hr that comes up to $25K, not including materials, fees, etc. I think a more realistic fee for a professional of this quality is at least double that and likely more! Very few people can truly afford, but that’s what it takes!
WOW! What a bucket-load of information! My head is spinning and I cannot wait to go back through my notes to be able to re-read and better assimilate all that info.
Wow! What a great overview of what is required to do good research both in terms of documentation and hours – and that it does take hours was a good reminder not to get frustrated when I feel like I’m not getting anywhere.
Wow!!!!
Wow.. my head is spinning. So much information to take in. Such great information.