Genealogical Research in the Dakotas

Many Midwestern and Plains states have superb state census records. Learn about the indexes, the many personal details these censuses include, locating the censuses, and alternate sources. The lecture includes many specific examples from these enumerations, provides an overview of state censuses for Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri�

Michigan is a state of many people: Native Americans, fur traders, French explorers, British military, and then settlers from all over the world including many from Canada and the Northeast U.S. The records and indexes are amazing as are the libraries, historical societies, archives, universities that are filled with resources. Online indexes and record images add to the dream. Learn about the people, resources, businesses, farms, military, and vital records.

The resources for tracing Minnesota ancestry are plentiful and the number of indexes, digitized records, and microform editions are growing constantly. The plentiful published indexes, guides, and histories are also important to your research. Many of these are accessible no matter where you live. Many Minnesota related records and publications…

While many 17th-century Connecticut colonists have been researched and written about, there remain research challenges: distinguishing people with the same name, deciphering hard-to-read handwriting, understanding unique record sets, and more. This class examines the beginnings of Connecticut, New Haven, and Saybrook Colonies and the people who inhabited the lands prior to colonization. The class reviews published genealogical resources and record transcriptions and then presents strategies to locate and utilize primary sources. The webinar concludes with tips on overcoming common research challenges.

As a major center of American history and starting point for westward migration, Philadelphia has much more to offer genealogists than just tourist sites. The greater Philadelphia area is home to a variety of underrated libraries and archives that should not be missed by serious family historians.

What are the secrets to finding New England vital records today? If you understand how they were made, and all the things that have happened to them since, you will bring new skills and insight to your vital records research. Also, let's develop some strategies for those times when the record cannot be found.

The Oregon Trail extended approximately 2,000 miles from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon from 1840 to 1869. More than 50,000 people traveled to Oregon and a great number died on the journey. This talk will cover resources for conducting research on the people and their lives along the trail.

Kentucky and Virginia have some of the most complete tax lists in the United States. Their value in research often goes unrecognized by even the experienced researcher. Tax lists can be a primary tool for solving difficult research problems and are invaluable when used with other records. Learn how to access original records, to best organize them for study, and to interpret their meaning. The lecture will use case studies to show their use in tracking individuals across time, estimating birth dates and death dates, separating individuals of the same name, determining the identity of other family members, and using them as substitutes for deeds, court records, and estate records in burned counties.

Researching Puerto Rican ancestors is a unique experience, requiring a knowledge of both Latin American and North American record types and strategies. We'll talk basics about finding your hometown and what records can help you trace your ancestry on both sides of the sea.