Following on from the ‘Irish Ancestors – Top 5 Websites You Need To Know About’ webinar delivered in January 2024, this talk examines five more key websites. These websites, most of which are free to access, hold a wealth of information that can help to build your family tree and build a picture of their lives. We will examine the type of records held on each site and will include search hints and tips to get the most out of your research on the following websites: The National Archives, Griffith’s Valuation, The Registry of Deeds, Roots Ireland, The British Newspaper Archive.

Explore the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands to discover details of the Reconstruction lives of black freedmen and free people of color as well as white farmers and wealthy planters.

Over the past few years, the website for Library and Archives Canada has undergone a number of changes. For some long-time users of the old site, this has caused moments of frustration. In this talk we take a look at the new site, touch upon using the new census search system, and explore other resources they have made available to us.

Discover methods to trace the enslaved in your ancestor’s records to their descendants, bridging generations to connect families.

In this presentation, Adwoa Ulzen-Setrakian, founder of spanDNA and Human Temple Therapeutics LLC, explores how genetic genealogy has become a powerful tool for families of African descent to reclaim their histories and restore connections severed by displacement, migration, and historical traumas. Through a family-centered approach, Adwoa demonstrates how commercial DNA testing can do more than uncover personal ancestry—it can reconstruct the bonds of kinship across generations and continents. Drawing from real-life case studies, Adwoa will share stories of how African-descended families are using genetic genealogy to facilitate reconnecting with lost relatives, restoring collective memory, and explore opportunities for healing from intergenerational wounds. Attendees will learn about the unique challenges faced by these families, especially when traditional records and oral histories fall short, and how spanDNA’s method helps bridge the gaps using DNA analysis, compassionate research, and a collaborative, community-based approach. A key focus will be the culmination of these efforts at gatherings such as the upcoming Transatlantic Genealogy Summit 2025, where families who have reconnected through DNA will come together to celebrate their shared heritage, foster deeper connections, and continue building their family legacies. Attendees will walk away with: Insight into how genetic genealogy can be a transformative tool for family legacy-building, particularly within the African diaspora. Practical knowledge of how to use commercial DNA testing platforms to connect with genetic relatives and uncover ancestral histories. A better understanding of how family reunions and summits, such as the Transatlantic Genealogy Summit, can serve as a powerful culmination of genealogical research and DNA connections. Real-life examples of success stories and the emotional impact of restoring long-lost family ties. This presentation may inspire families to see themselves as protagonists in their own stories, capable of uncovering veiled memories and reclaiming their place within the larger, interconnected human family.

Researching early families in Kentucky and Virginia can be particularly challenging. Every location has multiple people of the same name making even surviving records difficult to sort. There are few available birth and death records and other records may be difficult to locate or non-existent. Learn effective strategies for researching that difficult early Kentucky or Virginia family.

This video explains the types of records you may find for your ancestors in the Slavic world. Even Black Sea and Volga Germans will have records written in Cyrillic. I’ll talk about tools you can use to learn to decipher and read these records.

An insight into the wealth of information that is available within newspapers including the British Newspaper Archive and The Gazette as well as hints and tips for getting more out of searching and finding useful articles within the newspapers.

As genealogical interest continues to grow, new sources become available, new tools are published and new approaches are developed. Successful research demands keeping up to date, especially for a state as complex as New York. From colonial to 20th century, both online and print only, these new tools can supercharge your stagnant New York research problems!