A one place study explores an ancestral place in depth by studying the history, the environment, and the people of a place over time. Learn practical strategies for conducting your own OPS and how it helps you meet the Genealogy Standards. See how the assembled information can add rich context to your ancestors’ lives, fill gaps where records are lacking, and uncover forgotten connections within a community.
In a compelling webinar hosted by the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG), Denise Cross introduces genealogists to the powerful methodology of the one-place study—an immersive research approach that investigates all aspects of a single geographic location over time. This strategy blends genealogy with local history, demographics, and spatial analysis, creating a robust framework for answering complex research questions. Whether used to break through brick walls or enrich ancestral narratives, the one-place study reveals hidden connections and deepens contextual understanding.
Key Takeaways
Ready to deepen your genealogical expertise?
View the full webinar replay to witness practical demonstrations and explore the methods Denise uses to map relationships and reconstruct historical communities. Her examples—from reconstructing census neighborhoods to placing landowners on historical maps—offer actionable insights for applying these techniques to your own research.
Be sure to explore the additional resources included in the webinar syllabus. It features guidance on relevant tools, repositories, and genealogical standards—an excellent companion for anyone considering or already undertaking a one-place study. With Denise’s guidance, this enriching methodology becomes a gateway to deeper understanding and more robust family history narratives.
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Syllabus
Thank you, Denise. You are very knowledgeable and comfortable sharing your knowledge with the community. You are a treasure, and we appreciate you.
I’ve listened to this OPS webinar twice and learned so many good tips. Does the syllabus have examples of her spreadsheets? I’m trying to visualize what she’s describing, but an example would make things easier.
Hello again, Elizabeth.
I didn’t see examples of spreadsheets on the syllabus, however in my experience, I find you can create a simple spreadsheet once you have a few items of information, and you want to correlate them. You can play with it to make the most sense, adjusting the columns rows accordingly. To me it’s like furniture in a room, you need to move things around until you are comfortable. Does that make any sense?! Lol
Hi Elizabeth,
Did you see the syllabus to the bottom left of the video? You can download a copy.
This is awesome!! I can’t wait to get started
You should investigate the computer program “Custodian4” which is designed for one this kind of research
Wow, I had not heard of this program, it looks perfect for the task. Although I love saving my research in tools I know, this one looks like it will be worth putting in the effort to learn. Thanks for bringing to my attention. -Denise
I will be in Jan Joyce’s GRIP Merging & Separating Identity Course next week. This webinar served as an excellent warm up for strategies to help me separate some same named men from each other
I will be in that class too!
Being in the middle of a one place study I was so happy to find this extremly helpful guide. I enjoyed it, found validation in what I have been doing, and helpful tools to continue. Thank you so much Denise
I’ve been thinking of doing a One Place Study of a small cemetery where some known ancestors are buried beside others with the same or familiar names in my genealogy. I’d like to know if and how they could be related. I think I know how to go about it now thanks to this very informative webinar!
I am doing this also! Cemeteries are perfect for this task.
After this One Place Study webinar by Denise Cross, I feel inspired to improve the OPS I had inadvertently started years ago, by adding more research components and perhaps even submit it to the the Society. Thank you Denise Cross, I’ll watch your webinar again to follow your wise advise!