Mapping for Research Success (a 2025 Reisinger Lecture)

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.