Catalog of Lectures

The choice of a genealogical software program may be one of the more personal decisions in genealogy. This lecture reviews the essential features of a smorgasbord of programs currently available to the family historian.  Programs differ in how they handle names, dates, places, sources and merging duplicates. The talk highlights key features of each with a focus on data entry, importing data, ability to tailor citations, reporting capabilities, chart generation, and reliability checks. By the end of the program, the attendee should have a good sense of which program might suit their needs and research habits. 

City and rural directories can be incredibly useful resources for genealogists. They can help you pinpoint a time and place for ancestors on the move, offer occupational information, and even help give clues to death and marriage dates. You will learn how these resources were created, what information is generally provided, where to locate these sources online or in print, and how to use these records effectively in your family history research.

Once you know what denomination your ancestor belonged to and the church they attended, it’s time to find the records. With the understanding that not everything is online, this lecture will discuss navigating online resources, researching manuscript materials at denominational archives, and working directly with the church. 

Was your ancestor a Freemason, an Odd Fellow, a Knight of Columbus, or a member of another fraternal organization? In this webinar, we will teach you how to identify different fraternal organizations, provide valuable tools for locating a lodge and its records, and discuss how these records can enrich your family history research.

You may know that your ancestor was Christian, but to really make headway in your research, you need to know what denomination(s) they followed. To find that information, you must first understand context. This lecture will provide a brief history and background of Christian denominations in the United States and how geography, time period, community, family artifacts, and more can give you the clues you need to proceed. 

In this lecture, we will walk you through the beginning steps of German research: understanding waves of immigration to America, getting back to the immigrant generation, finding where in Germany your ancestors came from, and understanding the many German border changes pre- and post-unification.

This lecture looks at how to get started in researching your Italian ancestors by examining records generated in the U.S. and Italy and what is most important in effectively researching in Italian records. 

Família! Learn the basics of Portuguese family history research. Our expert will discuss some of the common challenges in Portuguese research, review go-to records and resources, and demonstrate key search strategies.

With so many records and resources available online, what could possibly be offline at research centers and repositories? The answer: A lot! we will discuss the importance of taking your family history research offline, provide examples of what you might find when you do, and how to prepare for doing research at an archives, library, historical society, or other repository.

The website of the National Archives and Records Administration (Archives.gov) is your at-home portal to a myriad of records. This lecture will demonstrate how to navigate the online catalog, access or request records from home, and, because not everything is online, discuss tips for planning a research trip. We will also discuss the difference between the National Archives in Washington, DC and the regional branches found across the country.