Following the founding of the colony of Australia, individuals born in the British Empire were considered British subjects, irrespective of the nationality of their parents. Residents of Australia whose native place was outside of the British Empire were not afforded the same rights and privileges as British subjects. These rights, in particular the right to buy land and vote, could be conferred to an individual by a process known as naturalisation. This bureaucratic process generated multiple sets of records that contain a wealth of genealogical information. This talk will outline the complex history of naturalisation in Australia, the changing terminology used, how, when and why naturalisation records were created, and discuss the likely availability of records and for whom they may have been created.

Autosomal DNA tests are utilized in genetic genealogy to solve historic research questions by exploring the genetic traces left by deceased ancestors in the genomes of their living descendants. Any given descendant only inherits a portion of their ancestor’s DNA, and different descendants inherit different portions of that DNA. Based on the relationships between tested descendants of a research subject, it is possible to estimate how much of an ancestor’s DNA is represented in any given database. This information can help in prioritization of testing candidates and can also aid in interpretation of shared DNA between multiple groups of individuals.

What exactly are the 1850 and 1860 United States Slave Schedules and what is their value to researchers? A closer look at this enumeration of “slave inhabitants” will streamline interpretation of these records and will help define the do’s and don’ts of working with them.

We all have stories we know or discovered in our family history, we are constantly looking for ways to engage our families, especially the younger generation in family history. We need more than just preserve these stories, we need to bring them to life and pass them on, be known, and remembered for generations to come. Well, the search stops here, with DeepStory. What can be more exciting, moving and more memorable than our ancestors telling their story in first person? We all have this tool at the tips of our fingers. The use of artificial Intelligence has never been easier.

DNA testing has transformed the options available to people with unknown parentage or other unknown ancestor mysteries. This presentation will explain how to use DNA results from MyHeritage to help with solving these previously unsolvable enigmas. Michelle will guide you through how to use the tools and features provided by MyHeritage specifically for unknown parentage situations from investigating MyHeritage matches, utilising the detailed shared match lists on offer, building master research trees for your projects, using the 30 helpful color-coding labels to cluster and organise mystery matches right through to identifying links and obtaining solutions. She will provide practical demonstrations of the core techniques you should employ and genuine case studies and success stories will be included to show how DNA results from MyHeritage can be used in tandem with traditional research to solve mysteries and gain answers.

Researching Hispanic and/or Latino ancestors? Daniel Horowitz will introduce you to the wealth of historical collections from Spain and Latin America on offer at MyHeritage and give you important pointers for searching and analyzing them.

Regular sailing schedules between Liverpool and North America began in 1818, and during the 19th century Liverpool became the primary port for emigrants from the British Isles, northern Europe and Russia to North America, Australia, and the rest of the British Empire. Learn how and why this came about, understand what the experience was like going to, in, and leaving from Liverpool. Learn how to identify, access, and use the records of the port and shipping that are available.

When it comes time to write the stories of your ancestors’ lives, whether you want to write a blog post or a book, you are going to want more than names, places and dates. These lists of facts make for boring reading. This lecture will reveal Janice’s secret method to uncovering hidden episodes of our ancestors’ lives that bring their stories to life.

Utilizing the FAN Club method, DNA, and enslaved ancestral research, Collier finally found major clues to help solve a longtime mystery – who was the previous enslaver of his great-great grandmother, Polly Partee of Panola County, Mississippi, and where did she come from? Her last enslaver was Squire Boone Partee of Panola County, and Polly had been the head cook on his plantation during and after slavery, according to oral history. According to the censuses, she was born somewhere in North Carolina and sold to Squire by 1852, but her origins had been largely unknown. Collier will present a plethora of DNA evidence, in conjunction with genealogy research and the FAN Club methodology, to uncover Polly’s North Carolina origins. Collier will also argue how a court-investigated lunatic, Alfred Alston of Fayette County, Tennessee, was most likely her previous enslaver.