Many challenging research problems involve understanding where our ancestors lived, their land, neighbors, jurisdictions, and landmarks. While historical maps can sometimes be found for the geography of our research problem, they often don’t cover the timeframe or include specific data that our research has uncovered. Genealogists frequently need to edit or create maps to communicate their findings and conclusions. This presentation will focus on leveraging existing maps, using online tools to annotate and edit, and/or create new maps that can be utilized for individual analysis, as well as in research reports and articles. With over 40 years of experience as a professional graphic designer, the lecturer will illustrate techniques using free and paid tools that can be used to produce effective maps.

Research on formerly enslaved people is difficult by its very nature because enslaved people were classed as property prior to the Civil War and faced the challenges of marginalization in the segregated society that developed after the War. Crucial to uncovering information on enslaved people prior to emancipation is studying their lives as freedpeople after for clues as to who their families were and who their former owners might have been. As with any family, clues regarding identity, relationships, and ownership during slavery, are often uncovered as the result of applying the FAN principle and piecing together potential family groups.

When records are scarce—or names are all too common—cluster research can be the key to unlocking your genealogical puzzles. By examining the people who surrounded your ancestor—the friends, associates, and neighbors—you can separate individuals with the same name, untangle multiple families in one place, and uncover biographical details you might otherwise miss. Join us to explore practical strategies and real-world examples that show how powerful the FAN principle can be.

What happens when all evidence cannot possibly be correct? The process of assembling evidence may reveal inconsistencies and the Genealogical Proof Standard emphasizes that resolving conflict is essential for credible conclusions. Through case examples, this lecture will help genealogists recognize conflicts and provide strategies to resolve them in order to build family stories that are authentic and accurate.

Using several families that were enslaved on the same plantation as case studies, this presentation will demonstrate research that meets the Genealogical Proof Standard. Examples of reasonably exhaustive research, evidence analysis, correlation, and resolving conflicts will be presented. This class is presented live at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City as part of the Joy Reisinger Memorial Lecture Series and is being broadcasted by Legacy Family Tree Webinars.

Genealogical research often presents conflicting information across records. This presentation will focus on four practical strategies for effectively resolving such conflicts. Using two case studies as examples, attendees will learn to identify conflicting information, search for additional records, assess the reliability of each source, and correlate information from various sources. The importance of documenting the rationale for conflict resolution will also be emphasized. This class is presented live at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City as part of the Joy Reisinger Memorial Lecture Series and is being broadcasted by Legacy Family Tree Webinars.

The standards are not just for measuring our abilities, they are working tools to help us advance our research opportunities. This lecture will use case study examples to show how Standard 40, Evidence Mining, and Standards 12, 60, 64, 73, and 74 relating to context lead to more effective research methodology and success in our research goals. This class is presented live at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City as part of the Joy Reisinger Memorial Lecture Series and is being broadcasted by Legacy Family Tree Webinars.

This case study demonstrates reasonably exhaustive and whole-family research linking three generations of the Burkhart family. Successive generations lived in Maryland, Ohio, and Missouri. Missing or unavailable church, vital, and census records veil relationships. This story begins in eighteenth century Maryland and ends in the late nineteenth century in Missouri. Through the years, probate, court, and land records connect people to their families of origin. This class is presented live at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City as part of the Joy Reisinger Memorial Lecture Series and is being broadcasted by Legacy Family Tree Webinars.

We all accumulate family data and perhaps organize it into pedigree charts and family group sheets. By looking at the data differently and giving it a new “twist,” we can see patterns and holes emerge. Lineage applications may point out weaknesses in our proof of descent from a certain ancestor. By writing the family narrative, whether for a book or a short article for a newsletter, new questions requiring further research are made evident. Even formulating a query for an Internet list will cause us to take a new look at our data. By sifting through old data collected years ago with our more mature genealogical eyes we can see things and relationships we would not have recognized earlier. Placing our ancestors in history through timelines can point out reasons why the records are in the jurisdictions they are found and give suggestions on where to look further. Using land platting techniques will point out relationships previously hidden from the casual observer. Many ideas are presented to help the attendee think about how the data they have already accumulated may give the next clue to continued successful results. This class is presented live at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City as part of the Joy Reisinger Memorial Lecture Series and is being broadcasted by Legacy Family Tree Webinars.

Learn the tried-and-true methodology to defeat the Genealogy Gremlin and achieve accurate results using DNA for genealogy. This lecture discusses the evaluation of match pedigrees to identify potential snafus and demonstrates mitigation strategies to address the problem. Don’t let researcher confirmation bias pollute your family trees! This class is presented live at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City as part of the Joy Reisinger Memorial Lecture Series and is being broadcasted by Legacy Family Tree Webinars.

Do you have an unsolved research problem? Have you critically examined assumptions made during the research process? Some assumptions are valid, or even fundamental, but incorrect or misguided assumptions can act as mortar for genealogical brick walls. Learn to recognize, categorize, and address various types of assumptions to form sound genealogical conclusions. This class is presented live at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City as part of the Joy Reisinger Memorial Lecture Series and is being broadcasted by Legacy Family Tree Webinars.

Genealogists are expected to conduct research not just reasonably exhaustively but also broadly. Understanding the social milieu of the specific time and place within which an individual lived is an essential element of broad research. A case study focusing on an early twentieth-century blue-collar worker in western Minnesota and his several wives illustrates how social history provides insights illuminating their lives. This class is presented live at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City as part of the Joy Reisinger Memorial Lecture Series and is being broadcasted by Legacy Family Tree Webinars.