Thank you for registering for the online seminar, Land Records Unlocked: A Genealogist's Guide to Deeds and Other Records!
For generations, land has meant opportunity, independence, and even survival in America. It is what drove many of our ancestors to immigrate and what motivated some to migrate across the country. While land records are essential to our family history research, they are often overlooked or misunderstood. Hidden in the legalese and metes and bounds, there can be critical clues to extended family members and family relationships, the location of ancestral homelands, and why our ancestors move from point A to point B. From colonial land grants and charters to proprietorship records and federal land programs, this 5-week online seminar will give you the historical context of land records in America, the tools to find and decipher deeds, and strategies for leveraging land records in your family history research.
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.
JOIN THE LIVE BROADCASTS
Click here to join the live broadcasts: https://zoom.us/j/94796724898
Wednesdays, June 3, 10, 17, 24, & July 1, 6:00-7:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
If you are unable to attend the live sessions, you will be able to view recordings on this course page.
CLASS TOPICS
June 3 - Class 1: History of Land Records in America, presented by Kyle Hurst
The story of land division and ownership in America begins with colonization by the English, French, and Spanish. This first class lays the ground work and historical context for understanding how land records progressed over time to the deeds of today.
June 10 – Class 2: Using Land Deeds, presented by Sheilagh Doerfler
With an understanding of the types of land records that exist and their progression over time, this class will look at how to find land deeds, navigate and understand grantor and grantee indexes, how to abstract deeds, what information you are likely to find, and provide tips on how to locate historic parcels of land in the present day.
June 17 – Class 3: Bounty Land, presented by David Allen Lambert
From 1775 to 1855 the United States awarded bounty-land warrants to veterans of the Revolution, War of 1812, the Mexican War, and Indian Wars. These grants may not have only affected your family’s migrations, but greatly impacted the reach and settlement of the fledgling nation. This class will discuss who was eligible to receive bounty land warrants, what records exist documenting the grants, where to find these resources, and ultimately determine if your ancestor received a warrant.
June 24 – Class 4: Homesteaders, presented by Melanie McComb
The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged mass settlement of federal lands in the frontier, resulting in millions of records documenting the transfer of public land to private ownership. Learn how these land entry case files can assist in researching your homesteading ancestors.
July 1 – Class 5: Using Land Records to Break Down Brick Walls, presented by Rhonda R. McClure
Land records may be the only source of a person’s origins, woman’s maiden name, parentage, or other family connections. Using a variety of case studies, this final class will demonstrate how land records can be used to break down genealogical brick walls and how to use several land records to piece together a more complete picture of your ancestors’ lives.
COURSE HANDOUTS
To come.
RECORDED PRESENTATIONS
To come.
INSTRUCTOR BIOS
Sheilagh Doerfler, Senior Genealogist, joined American Ancestors in 2013. As a member of the Research and Library Services team, she works to connect patrons and members with their family histories by fulfilling research requests, providing educational programming, and writing for American Ancestors magazine and our blog, Vita Brevis. Most recently, Sheilagh has been working to uncover the names and identities of enslaved individuals as a part of the 10 Million Names Project. Sheilagh holds a B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Her specialties include colonial New England, New Netherland, Ireland, Atlantic Canada, Ontario, Quebec, Scandinavia, and African American research.
Kyle Hurst, Senior Genealogist of the Newbury Street Press, As a member of the Learning & Interpretation team, Kyle researches and writes family histories. She has authored several books under the Newbury Street Press imprint, including Ancestors and Descendants of Charles Le Caron and Victoire Sprague, winner of the 2020 National Genealogical Society Award for Excellence in Genealogy and Family History. She contributes the State Spotlight column for our quarterly American Ancestors magazine. Each article highlights a topic especially relevant for the selected U.S. state. Kyle presents frequently on proper source documentation and writing in a narrative style via courses, conferences, and webinars. In her research, she focuses on the mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New England, and various European countries. Leading up to a career in genealogy, Kyle earned a BA in both History and Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and a Master’s certificate in Museum Studies from Tufts University. She volunteered with in American Ancestor’s conservation lab for two years before joining the staff in 2008.
David Allen Lambert, Chief Genealogist, has been on the staff of American Ancestors since 1993. David is an internationally recognized speaker on the topics of genealogy and history. Lambert has published many articles in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, the New Hampshire Genealogical Record, Rhode Island Roots, Mayflower Descendant, and American Ancestors magazine. He has authored and or co-authored in the published genealogies presented to David McCullough, Ken Burns, Angela Lansbury, Michael and Kitty Dukakis, Nathaniel Philbrick, Doris Kearns Goodwin, and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. He has also published eleven books including A Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries (American Ancestors, 2018), and Vital Records of Stoughton, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1850 (Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, 2008). David received his B.A. in History from Northeastern University. 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 and the General Society of the War of 1812. David also serves as the tribal genealogist for the Massachusett Tribe at Punkapoag in Massachusetts. His areas of expertise include New England and Atlantic Canadian records of the 17th through 21st century; American and international military records; DNA research; and Native American and African American genealogical research in New England.
Rhonda R. McClure, Senior Genealogist is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer specializing in New England and celebrity research as well as computerized genealogy; is compiler of more than 120 celebrity family trees; has been 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 ten books, including the award-winning The Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Genealogy, now in its second edition, Finding Your Famous and Infamous Ancestors, and Digitizing Your Family History. Her areas of expertise include: Immigration and naturalization, Late 19th and early 20th Century urban research, Missionaries (primarily in association with the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions), 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 (FTM, RootsMagic, TMG, Reunion), digital peripherals, and uses both Mac and Windows machines.
Melanie McComb, Senior Genealogist, assists library visitors, both on-site and online, with their family history research. She is an international lecturer who teaches on a variety of topics. Melanie holds a B.S. degree from the State University of New York at Oswego. She previously served as the social media coordinator for the NextGen Genealogy Network, a non-profit that creates a community for younger genealogists, where she managed the Facebook and Twitter accounts. She continues her interest in helping younger genealogists get involved at American Ancestors by assisting with educational programs from local schools, scout groups, and universities. Her areas of expertise include Irish genealogy, DNA, Atlantic Canada, Jewish genealogy, and military records.