Thank you for registering for the online seminar, Expert Strategies for Breaking Down Genealogical Brick Walls
Research your ancestry long enough and you’re bound to hit a brick wall—the paper trail vanishes, the family seemingly disappears, and you’re unable to go back to earlier generations. Whether you are struggling to find an immigrant’s exact origins, uncover a maiden name, determine parentage, discover where a family moved to, untangle common names, or find vital records about your ancestors, this five-week online seminar can help! Tackling a different research challenge each session, expert genealogists David Allen Lambert, Rhonda R. McClure, and Melanie McComb will provide real life examples and successful strategies for breaking down your genealogical brick wall.
This course includes five 90-minute classes and exclusive access to handouts and recordings of each presentation. These recordings and all course materials will be available for the foreseeable future.
CLASS TOPICS
Class 1: Who's Who?: Same Name, Same Place, Same Time, presented by Rhonda R. McClure
You may encounter several people of the same name, living in the same community, at the same time. How do you know which is your ancestor? This first class will introduce you to best practices and organizational tools to untangle common names and add people to your family tree with confidence and accuracy.
Class 2: When the Record Doesn't Exist: Strategies for Determining Vital Data About Your Ancestors, presented by David Allen Lambert
Vital records do not survive for all time periods, or they may never have existed. Many regions in the United States, for example, didn’t start recording vital records until the late nineteenth century. In this class we will discuss how to ensure you are doing an exhaustive search, provide information on alternate sources, and how to draw conclusions from multiple sources when a “smoking gun” record doesn’t exist. We will also discuss how to narrow a timeframe when even less information can be found.
Class 3: Finding the Elusive Maiden Name, presented by David Allen Lambert
Learning about your female ancestors and their families is dependent on knowing her maiden name. Unfortunately, all too often we find women listed by their married names only or that their maiden name is simply not recorded. Learn what records are most likely to provide this information and gain important strategies for finding that elusive maiden name.
Class 4: Confirming Parentage, presented by Rhonda R. McClure
Building your tree requires going back one generation at a time. What happens when you can’t find or confirm your ancestor’s parents? This class session will discuss broadening your search and demonstrate how to build your tree out wider to go back further.
Class 5: Origins and Migrations: Where Did They Come From, Where Did They Go?, presented by Melanie McComb
Our ancestors moved near and far seeking economic opportunities, religious freedoms, and closeness to family. These mobile ancestors, however, are notoriously difficult to research. We might have an ancestor in our sights and then—poof!—they’re gone; or we may have an ancestor for whom we have no idea of where they came from. This final session will offer several strategies for discovering ancestral origins and future movements.
COURSE HANDOUTS
Class 1 Handout
Class 1 Slides (Large)
Class 1 Slides Worksheet
Class 2 Handout
Class 2 Slides (Large)
Class 2 Slides Worksheet
Class 3 Handout
Class 3 Slides (Large)
Class 3 Slides Worksheet
Class 4 Handout
Class 4 Slides (Large)
Class 4 Slides Worksheet
Census Templates
Census Tracker
Class 5 Handout
Class 5 Slides (Large)
Class 5 Slides Worksheet
Class 5: Resource shared in Zoom chat during Live Q&A: California Pioneer Migration Index: https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2137266
RECORDED PRESENTATIONS
Class 1: Who's Who?: Same Name, Same Place, Same Time
Live broadcast: 09/03/2024
Presented by Rhonda R. McClure
Running time: 1:44:15
Class 2: When the Record Doesn't Exist: Strategies for Determining Vital Data About Your Ancestors
Live broadcast: 09/10/2024
Presented by David Allen Lambert
Running time: 1:44:16
Class 3: Finding the Elusive Maiden Name
Live broadcast: 09/17/2024
Presented by David Allen Lambert
Running time: 1:12:02
Live broadcast: 09/25/2024
Presented by Rhonda R. McClure
Running time: 1:48:44
Class 5: Origins and Migrations: Where Did They Come From, Where Did They Go?
Live broadcast: 10/01/2024
Presented by Melanie McComb
Running time: 1:42:57
OTHER RESOURCES
Research Guide: Getting Started
Research Guide: Getting Organized
Research Guide: Genealogical Software
INSTRUCTOR BIOS
David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist has been on the staff of American Ancestors since 1993 and is the organization’s Chief Genealogist. David is an internationally recognized speaker on the topics of genealogy and history. His genealogical expertise includes New England and Atlantic Canadian records of the 17th through 21st century; military records; DNA research; and Native American and African American genealogical research in New England. Lambert has published many articles in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, the New Hampshire Genealogical Record, Rhode Island Roots, The Mayflower Descendant, and American Ancestors magazine. He has also published A Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries (American Ancestors, 2019). David is an elected Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston, Mass., and a life member of the New Hampshire Society of the Cincinnati. He is also the tribal genealogist for the Massachuset-Punkapoag Indians of Massachusetts.
Rhonda R. McClure, Senior Genealogist is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer. Before joining American Ancestors in 2006, she ran her own genealogical business for 18 years. She was a contributing editor for Heritage Quest Magazine, Biography magazine, and was a contributor to The History Channel Magazine and American History Magazine. In addition to numerous articles, she is the author of twelve books including the award-winning The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Online Genealogy, Finding your Famous and Infamous Ancestors and Digitizing Your Family History. She is the editor of the 6th edition of the Genealogist’s Handbook for New England Research. Her areas of expertise include, immigration and naturalization, late 19th- and early 20th-century urban research, missionaries, State Department Federal records, New England, Mid-West, Southern, German, Italian, Scottish, Irish, French Canadian, and New Brunswick research as well as Internet research, genealogical software and online trees.
Melanie McComb, Senior Genealogist assists library visitors, both on-site and online, with their family history research. She also provides lectures on a variety of genealogical topics. Melanie holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at Oswego. Her areas of research interest include Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Kansas, Prince Edward Island, Québec, and Ireland, and she is experienced in DNA, genealogical technology and social media, Jewish genealogy, and military records.