When Wrong is Actually Right: Constructing Proof Arguments for Counterintuitive Conflicts (a 2022 Reisinger lecture)

Religious records are essential in genealogy research. Do you know all ancestors’ religions? Review the Protestant Reformation and religions in the U.S. Find your ancestor.

Traditional documentation clearly identified Fayette's father without conflict. However, the DNA results of Fayette's descendants told a different story. Learn how DNA evidence combined with a trail of clues and the application of the Genealogical Proof Standard revealed a secret from the summer of 1913.

Yes, it has been possible to be born in one country, get married in another, and die in a third -- without ever leaving your home. The boundaries in Eastern Europe have been redrawn many times over the years, presenting challenges for modern-day genealogical researchers. But this phenomenon has not been confined to that area; even Canada has seen at least 50 boundary revisions between its provinces and territories. When jurisdictions have changed, it is especially important to learn how to interpret and record information.

Bad news about records can often be overcome with persistence and flexibility. Put on your own Discovery hat and create your treasure maps to lead you to the answers.

Time and time again, we’re told to look at records in the context of the law at the time and in the place where the records were created. Easier said than done! With 50 states and the federal government all passing laws, how do we find the laws we need? One answer is Google Books—if we use it to full advantage.

Every document that is used during genealogical research must be thoroughly and accurately analyzed. Abstracting is a fundamental part of this research and analyzing process. Yet many genealogists are not confident in their ability to perform this task effectively and efficiently. This causes researchers to avoid the abstracting process resulting in research errors. An abstract is a summary of all the important details in a document. This presentation will examine the abstracting process by using examples that show how to abstract a variety of documents, general guidelines for abstracting, what to include and what to eliminate when creating an abstract, and lastly will explore some problems that might be encountered while abstracting.

Have you been researching for years and reached a brick wall? Have you just started and gathered all the easy information but aren’t sure where to go next? Discover new techniques and re-discover tried and true methods. Teri’s presentation takes a fresh look at research strategies that will get your research moving, whether you’ve been researching your family history for 30 years or 30 weeks.

The library holds the world’s largest collection of maps—over 5.2 million maps according to their website. This webinar will describe the collections most valuable for genealogical research. We are going to explore the online resources and how they can help our research. Exploring the phenomenal learning resources is also on the agenda. We will also talk about finding aids, research guides, reproduction capabilities, and alternative ways to access the map collections. Lastly, we will discuss the resources that are only available onsite, such as the cartographic library, cartographic exhibits, and other unique holdings.

Rein in that project with tools and techniques to start or re-start a project in a directed approach. This lecture will discuss methods and tools to help work more effectively including research logs, tables, research planning, and the gift that citations bring to our education.