Name changes, enumerator errors, and terrible informants can combine to create major inconsistencies in documentation. Records that, at first glance, appear to be major mismatches can later turn out to be correct. Researching non-English-speaking immigrant families requires a comfort level with these layered conflicts-upon-conflicts. This session demonstrates how to use logic to confirm that a wrong-name, wrong-age, wrong-everything record can actually be right, with an emphasis on immigrant families. Participants will learn how to transfer that logic to a written proof argument.

Genealogy Standards 38 and 58 strongly express a preference for using original sources. Diligent researching and a few tricks of the trade enable genealogists to find original sources that underlie authored narratives and derivative sources.

A family from Ireland emigrated in a chain migration scheme to western Pennsylvania between 1825 and 1845. See how using the standards for researching connected the siblings and their descendants and led to their origins in County Tyrone.

What if you could consult with genealogical experts each time your work slows? Together you could explore options for new paths of discovery. The right approach to a literature review allows you to do that. Other experts have encountered the same challenges that you do, and they have written about them even if not overtly. These challenges could range from beginning work in a new geography to parrying with a difficult brick wall. Learn how to conduct a targeted literature review, cull the information you need, and advance your research. A case study on the use of the FAN Club will highlight the methodology.

Henrietta Dixon was never enumerated with individuals identified as her parents in a federal census. Records revealing her family members, including her father, are often conflicting and open up new questions. Additionally, multiple marriages further obscure her identity. This case study uncovers Henrietta’s maiden name and emphasizes the importance of a focused research question when attempting to meet the Genealogical Proof Standard.

Tales of illegitimacy, divorce, and desertion aren’t limited to soap operas and modern reality television. Discovering trails that lead to unanticipated events can be shocking, confusing, and exciting all at the same time. This session will explore how genealogists can utilize the law, conflict resolution, and tools like date calculators and timelines to help build a clearer understanding of some potentially challenging historical situations.

Pennsylvania and Ohio records, correlated with those of a German immigrant who died in Virginia revealed Adam Cosner’s parents.

Whether you’re missing a naturalization record or finding an unexpected one, this session helps you discover how female ancestors – both foreign-born and birthright – gained, lost, or regained citizenship in the United States between 1790 and 1945. US citizenship and attendant rights for women could be fragile, depending on marital status, prevailing laws, social norms, and other shifting factors. Examples of US naturalization and citizenship records, and search strategies for finding these records are featured in this presentation.

Marks and signatures can be highly effective tools when researchers are attempting to untangle the identities of our forebears. But how do you know whether the signature in front of you is original? Can you still use it as evidence in your case even if it’s not? These questions and more are answered by looking at the fundamental concepts of source and evidence analysis. Once you know how to evaluate your sources, we’ll go over a few records to look at when searching for those marks and signatures in your own research. And finally, we’ll look at some examples of published articles which incorporate the use of marks and signatures.