Oral history provides the foundation for all family research. Documentary evidence builds structure on that foundation. But documents often conflict with family traditions. How do we determine the core truths that are essential to understanding our own past? This class examines the causes of those conflicts and demonstrates how to peel away generations of confusion to find the real story that underpins family lore. Case studies include both Native American and African American traditions.
Across a long career, Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS, has been an innovator of research methods and strategies. Published widely by academic and popular presses, she edited a national-level scholarly journal for 16 years, taught
Once again Elizabeth Shown Mills with methodology, sound research, using maps and DNA those brick walls can be broken and family stories can be set right. Elizabeth does not disappoint and I need to slow down my process and evaluate the information I have. You give us all hope that with good basic research methodology techniques, we all can break those brick walls.
I always enjoy ESM’s presentations and this one did not disappoint. Sometimes I need to slow down and absorb the steps, so re-watching might be a good thing.
Good use of the concepts of “verify and document” that guide us in all of our research. Ms. Mills demonstrates that we need to verify all of the facts in the story in detail to be certain of the facts.
As always ESM’s lectures inspire me to not give up on my brick-wall research, with so many new avenues to follow. There are so many ways to look at these genealogical “problems”. She is amazing.
Identity Crises: Right Name, Wrong Man? Wrong Name, Right Man?
What do we do with ancestors whose names don’t “match” from one record to the next? Or those who pose the opposite problem: too many men or women of the same name? This session examines a litany of social customs and naming patterns that cause ancestors to be known by different names—then offers techniques and strategies by which we can establish that any two records do or do not apply to the same person. A variety of case studies demonstrate the problems and the methods we can use to overcome them.
What do we do with ancestors whose names don’t “match” from one record to the next? Or those who pose the opposite problem: too many men or women of the same name? This session examines a litany of social customs and naming patterns that cause ancestors to be known by different names—then offers techniques and strategies by which we can establish that any two records do or do not apply to the same person. A variety of case studies demonstrate the problems and the methods we can use to overcome them.
Tax Rolls: Getting Our Money’s Worth from the Taxes Our Ancestors Paid
Tax rolls have traditionally been used as a “census substitute”—a list of names to show that someone of a certain name was in a certain jurisdiction, in this year or that. But tax rolls can be developed into so much more. This session demonstrates how to use tax rolls to separate same-name people, determine ages of men and date their marriages, establish times of death, identify parents and the maiden identity of wives, track migration, document inheritances when probate records are destroyed, and so much more!
Tax rolls have traditionally been used as a “census substitute”—a list of names to show that someone of a certain name was in a certain jurisdiction, in this year or that. But tax rolls can be developed into so much more. This session demonstrates how to use tax rolls to separate same-name people, determine ages of men and date their marriages, establish times of death, identify parents and the maiden identity of wives, track migration, document inheritances when probate records are destroyed, and so much more!
Census Clues: Sweet Potato Simon, White Potato Willie, & Cows that Grow Wool
Census records are the most used—and yet the most underused—of all genealogical resources. Every major provider offers them, along with an index so we can easily find our people. Aside from a year here or there, when a pesky ancestor seems to have eluded the census taker, the use of censuses seems fairly straightforward: We use a search engine to find our person and we copy down the data. There, done!
No. Not at all! Censuses provide “facts,” but in between those “facts” there are a wealth of clues we can mine to solve our worst problems with identity, origin, and parentage. This session is for advanced researchers who think they “already know all about census records” and for newer researchers who want to avoid the mistakes most researchers make.
** This is a members-only webinar **
Census records are the most used—and yet the most underused—of all genealogical resources. Every major provider offers them, along with an index so we can easily find our people. Aside from a year here or there, when a pesky ancestor seems to have eluded the census taker, the use of censuses seems fairly straightforward: We use a search engine to find our person and we copy down the data. There, done!
No. Not at all! Censuses provide “facts,” but in between those “facts” there are a wealth of clues we can mine to solve our worst problems with identity, origin, and parentage. This session is for advanced researchers who think they “already know all about census records” and for newer researchers who want to avoid the mistakes most researchers make.
** This is a members-only webinar **
One of the toughest challenges faced by genealogists is the difficulty of identifying and tracking females. Wives and mothers traditionally have been “supporting characters” to the roles played by their husbands and sons—bearing no known name other than that of the males they married or bore. Historically, social mores and law codes made them second-class citizens, without a legal identity of their own and few rights or opportunities to create the range of records that genealogists customarily use to trace males. This session presents an array of resources—and, more importantly, techniques and strategies backed by case studies—we can use to establish the identities of elusive females.
One of the toughest challenges faced by genealogists is the difficulty of identifying and tracking females. Wives and mothers traditionally have been “supporting characters” to the roles played by their husbands and sons—bearing no known name other than that of the males they married or bore. Historically, social mores and law codes made them second-class citizens, without a legal identity of their own and few rights or opportunities to create the range of records that genealogists customarily use to trace males. This session presents an array of resources—and, more importantly, techniques and strategies backed by case studies—we can use to establish the identities of elusive females.
Finding Fathers: Tracking Males Who “Disappeared” or “Just Showed Up”
The legendary Choctaw Chief Pushmataha swore that he sprang full grown from Mother Earth. As genealogists, we sometimes wonder whether our ancestors did the same. Most elusive men do have traceable origins, once we learn to deal with the issues that thwart us—migration, high mortality rates, and illegitimacy being not the least of them. This hour offers practical suggestions and strategies for extending paternal lines, focusing upon the pre-1850 period when censuses don’t identify children in parental households.
The legendary Choctaw Chief Pushmataha swore that he sprang full grown from Mother Earth. As genealogists, we sometimes wonder whether our ancestors did the same. Most elusive men do have traceable origins, once we learn to deal with the issues that thwart us—migration, high mortality rates, and illegitimacy being not the least of them. This hour offers practical suggestions and strategies for extending paternal lines, focusing upon the pre-1850 period when censuses don’t identify children in parental households.
Elizabeth Shown Mills and Geoff Rasmussen preview the second year of "The Best of Elizabeth Shown Mills: Genealogy Problem Solving" webinar series. Elizabeth discusses what she hopes genealogists will gain from the series, what brings her back for another year, and what advice she has for genealogists of all expertise levels. She also reveals genealogy's biggest challenge—identity—and how we will overcome it through this year's classes.
Elizabeth Shown Mills and Geoff Rasmussen preview the second year of "The Best of Elizabeth Shown Mills: Genealogy Problem Solving" webinar series. Elizabeth discusses what she hopes genealogists will gain from the series, what brings her back for another year, and what advice she has for genealogists of all expertise levels. She also reveals genealogy's biggest challenge—identity—and how we will overcome it through this year's classes.
Using Evidence Creatively: Spotting Clues in Run-of-the-Mill Records
The records we use are filled with “trivia,” bits and pieces of information that seem to have no “genealogical” value—at least not until we become more innovative in our research and analysis. Each piece of trivia in every document is an opportunity waiting to be connected to something else. Our ability to resolve problems depends upon our ability to make those connections. This class explores eighteen types of records and the kind of hidden clues each offers to help us resolve problems of identity, kinship, and origin.
*** This class requires an active webinar membership to attend. ***
The records we use are filled with “trivia,” bits and pieces of information that seem to have no “genealogical” value—at least not until we become more innovative in our research and analysis. Each piece of trivia in every document is an opportunity waiting to be connected to something else. Our ability to resolve problems depends upon our ability to make those connections. This class explores eighteen types of records and the kind of hidden clues each offers to help us resolve problems of identity, kinship, and origin.
*** This class requires an active webinar membership to attend. ***
Dissection & Analysis of Research Problems: 10 Steps to a Solution
Solutions to tough problems are not just “found.” They are analytically constructed. This session explains how to break down problems into their most-critical elements. It summarizes the types of questions and tests that should be applied to each. Then it demonstrates how to analyze, rank, and assemble the resulting answers into an effective research plan. In this process you’ll walk through ten steps, learning how to apply micro and macro analysis, evaluate prior conclusions, argue with their evidence, develop targeted worksheets, and complete a plan of action that can be pursued as time permits.
*** This class requires an active webinar membership to attend. ***
Solutions to tough problems are not just “found.” They are analytically constructed. This session explains how to break down problems into their most-critical elements. It summarizes the types of questions and tests that should be applied to each. Then it demonstrates how to analyze, rank, and assemble the resulting answers into an effective research plan. In this process you’ll walk through ten steps, learning how to apply micro and macro analysis, evaluate prior conclusions, argue with their evidence, develop targeted worksheets, and complete a plan of action that can be pursued as time permits.
*** This class requires an active webinar membership to attend. ***
Using Negative Evidence: The Power of Silence in the Records
Can genealogists take a negative (the absence of something) and develop it into a positive (proof of something)? Yes! If we understand what we’re working with and how to develop it. Negative evidence is a tool used by many investigative fields; but its definition varies between disciplines. This session defines the concept used by genealogists and historians: contextually suggestive silence. In layman’s language, Mills clearly separates negative evidence from concepts that are often confused with it: negative searches, negative findings, negative arguments, and negative conclusions. Case studies using autosomal and Y-DNA, censuses, church records, death certificates, land deeds and grants, topo maps, and other source types to demonstrate how to recognize contextually suggestive silence and develop it into solutions for situations in which no document explicitly answers our research question.
*** This class requires a password and an active webinar membership to attend. On the day of the webinar, obtain the password (located at the top of FamilyTreeWebinars.com when logged in as a member). Then click the Join Webinar link in your confirmation/reminder email, and enter the password when prompted. ***
Can genealogists take a negative (the absence of something) and develop it into a positive (proof of something)? Yes! If we understand what we’re working with and how to develop it. Negative evidence is a tool used by many investigative fields; but its definition varies between disciplines. This session defines the concept used by genealogists and historians: contextually suggestive silence. In layman’s language, Mills clearly separates negative evidence from concepts that are often confused with it: negative searches, negative findings, negative arguments, and negative conclusions. Case studies using autosomal and Y-DNA, censuses, church records, death certificates, land deeds and grants, topo maps, and other source types to demonstrate how to recognize contextually suggestive silence and develop it into solutions for situations in which no document explicitly answers our research question.
*** This class requires a password and an active webinar membership to attend. On the day of the webinar, obtain the password (located at the top of FamilyTreeWebinars.com when logged in as a member). Then click the Join Webinar link in your confirmation/reminder email, and enter the password when prompted. ***
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Once again Elizabeth Shown Mills with methodology, sound research, using maps and DNA those brick walls can be broken and family stories can be set right. Elizabeth does not disappoint and I need to slow down my process and evaluate the information I have. You give us all hope that with good basic research methodology techniques, we all can break those brick walls.
This was the most exciting and exhausting of any of ESM’s presentations over the more than 20 years I have been acquainted with her. Unbelievable!
I always enjoy ESM’s presentations and this one did not disappoint. Sometimes I need to slow down and absorb the steps, so re-watching might be a good thing.
Good use of the concepts of “verify and document” that guide us in all of our research. Ms. Mills demonstrates that we need to verify all of the facts in the story in detail to be certain of the facts.
As always ESM’s lectures inspire me to not give up on my brick-wall research, with so many new avenues to follow. There are so many ways to look at these genealogical “problems”. She is amazing.
Elizabeth’s webinars are amazing. There is so much to learn from her about methodology. Thank you so much for the wonderful webinar series.
Wonderful presentation, as usual!
Excellent as always! Thanks especially for the information about the Dawes Commission.