Tips and Tools for Navigating the English Probate System

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.

Examine migration patterns from Wales to the US and Canada, looking at the push and pull factors. An understanding of the group migration and historical processes can help in determining the place of origin. We will examine all the Welsh settlements in the US and Canada.

We will examine the migration patterns from Scotland to the US and Canada, looking at the push and pull factors, relevant to individual migration time periods. References and guidance will be provided for multiple waves from 17th Century to the present.

Slavery existed in some northern states well into the 19th century. Learn about the motives for gradual emancipation, how it affected enslaved African Americans and enslavers at this time, the state laws surrounding slavery, and the records that it created.

There are many examples of Unknown Parentage cases in Ireland - illegal adoptees, a foundling grandparent, or simply an Irish Brick Wall. This talk explores the approach to solving these cases, the challenges faced with Irish records, and some hints & tips to overcome them.

Most Canadians have connections to the three Prairie provinces, through cousins if not through ancestors. Researching those Prairie families can be rewarding, although it is important to note which sources are common to all three provinces, and which ones are unique to each province. Using examples from Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta, this session looks at a variety of resources, and offers tips to help you learn more about your families on the Prairies.

Discover online records for German-speaking ancestors from Brandenburg, East Prussia, Pomerania, Posen, Silesia, and West Prussia. Despite some record loss for these geographic areas, hundreds of years of church and civil records can be found in archives in Poland, Germany, and the US, using the search strategies in this presentation.

Thousands of localized censuses, or padrones, were taken all over Mexico during the Colonial era. Mostly created during the 17th to 19th centuries, these censuses provide a snapshot in time of our ancestral families. Learn to find these censuses for your research locations and discover the content they may hold.

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.