Virtual Research Tour to Washington DC 2021

Schedule & Zoom Links


Wednesday, March 24: DAR Library and Archives; Researching Revolutionary War Veterans
9:30 – 10:30 AM	Welcome and Introductions	Join Here
10:30 – 12:00 PM	Introduction to DAR Library	Join Here
12:00 – 1:00 PM	Lunch break
1:00 – 2:15 PM	Getting to Know Your Revolutionary War Veteran Ancestor, David Allen Lambert This first lecture will discuss how muster rolls, manuscript materials, published histories, lineage society databases, and more can help you establish your ancestor’s service and explore their role in the American Revolution. We will also review key repositories to begin—and deepen—your research.	Join Here
2:15 – 2:30 PM	Break
2:30 – 3:45 PM	Using Revolutionary War Pension Records, Melanie McComb Revolutionary War pensions offer important information about a veteran’s service, their family, and life after the war. This session will discuss who was eligible to receive a pension, where to find them, what information is provided, how to navigate these records, and offer strategies for leveraging these records in your family history.	Join Here
3:45 – 4:00 PM	Break
4:00 – 5:00 PM	Proving Your Descent and Applying to Lineage Societies, Katrina Fahy This final presentation will highlight some of the many lineage societies that exist to honor our patriot ancestors. We will discuss their application process and requirements, demonstrate how to prove—and document--your descent, and offer strategies for when you can’t find necessary vital records.	Join Here
Thursday, March 25: NARA; Researching Pension Files and Bounty Land
10:00 – 11:30 AM	Introduction to NARA	Join Here
11:30 – 1:00 PM	Lunch break
1:00 – 2:15 PM	Using Bounty Land Warrants in Family History Research, Ann Lawthers 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.	Join Here
2:15 – 2:30 PM	Break
2:30 – 3:45 PM	Homesteaders: Using Land Entry Case Files in Your Family History, 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.	Join Here
3:45 – 4:00 PM	Break
4:00 – 5:00 PM	Using Civil War Pension Records, David Allen Lambert Pension records can offer a goldmine of information for family historians. This session will discuss who was eligible to receive pension records, where to find them, what information is provided, how to navigate these records, and offer strategies for getting the most out of these important records.	Join Here
Friday, March 26: NARA; 19th and 20th-Century Immigration Files
10:00 – 11:30 AM	History of Immigration to America: 19th and 20th Centuries, Rhonda R. McClure This class will provide the important context for understanding your ancestors’ emigrant experience in the 19th and 20th centuries; with special consideration of what records were created and how immigration policies changed over the period. We will discuss who was coming to America, the reasons for emigrating, how world events affected immigration, the arrival process, and ports of entry, plus the introduction of the quota system, visas, and increased legislation.	Join Here
11:30 – 1:00 PM	Lunch break
1:00 – 2:15 PM	Reading and Locating Passenger Lists, Lindsay Fulton Passenger lists changed drastically from their advent in the early 19th century through the 20th century. To fully understand and analyze passenger lists, we need to understand how they were created, what information is included, and what inferences can be made. This class will also discuss strategies for narrowing your search when a passenger list can’t be found and piecing together an entire family’s movements to the United States.	Join Here
2:15 – 2:30 PM	Break
2:30 – 3:45 PM	Immigration Records, James Heffernan Beyond the all-important passenger list, immigration to America resulted in the creation of several other records. This class will demonstrate how to utilize several records, including: passports (both those from the origin nation and those later applied for by naturalized US citizens), border crossings, C-Files (naturalization certificates, 1906-1956), AR-2 Files (Alien Registration Forms, 1940-1944), WWI Alien Registrations (1918, gathered by each state), Visa Files (1924-1944), A-Files (1944-1951), and the Arolsen Archive database, which documents European refugee arrivals following Nazi persecution.	Join Here
3:45 – 4:00 PM	Break
4:00 – 5:00 PM	Immigrant Investigation and Deportation Case Files, Rhonda R. McClure An immigrant could be turned away from entering the United States for a variety of reasons: bad health, likely to become a public charge, political allegiance, etc. This final class will review materials found in Record Group 85 (RG 85) that pertain to deportation, immigrant investigation, and Chinese Exclusion Act case files. We’ll look at what information is provided, how to access the materials, and how they may be helpful in piecing together your family history.	Join Here
Saturday, March 27: Library of Congress; Using Published Resources, Newspapers, and Maps in Your Family History Research
10:00 – 11:30 AM	Introduction to Library of Congress	Join Here
11:30 – 1:00 PM	Lunch break
1:00 – 2:15 PM	Using and Evaluating Published Genealogies, Alicia Crane Williams Following the advent of American genealogy in the early to mid-19th century, thousands of genealogies were published featuring families across the country. While largely uncited—and arguably biased—these early works continue to be an important resource for modern day family historians. Learn how you can access, evaluate, and utilize early published family histories in your research.	Join Here
2:15 – 2:30 PM	Break
2:30 – 3:45 PM	Read All About It! Techniques to Find Your Ancestors in the Newspapers, Melanie McComb Newspapers were the first form of "social media" and captured more than just obituaries. From birth announcements to crime reports to land sales, this session will delve into the wealth of information that can be found in newspapers. Learn what information is available, how it can help you in your family history research, and how to access these important resources, both online and offline.	Join Here
3:45 – 4:00 PM	Break
4:00 – 5:00 PM	Using Maps in Your Family History Research, Hallie Borstel From tracing ancestors on the move to understanding boundary changes to just becoming acquainted with the landscape of your ancestors' lives, maps are an incredibly important resource in your family history research. This session explores various ways in which maps can help broaden your genealogical horizons.	Join Here

Program Preparation

Participant Form

Expert Bios

	Hallie Borstel, Genealogist, has a BA in history with minors in art history and German language, as well as an MA in historic preservation. She joined American Ancestors in 2019 after several years of working in architectural restoration and preservation. Other previous work experience includes the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society, the West Virginia Railroad Museum, and Bender Library at American University. Her research interests include Germany (and German-speaking regions), Norway, New York City, westward migration, immigration history, and 19th-century America. Hallie also assists patrons in assembling documentation for Italian citizenship applications.
	Katrina Fahy, Genealogist, a native of Dedham, Massachusetts, earned a B.A. in History and Art History from St. Anselm College. Previously, she interned at the New Hampshire Historical Society, constructing biographies of New Hampshire quilt makers as well as transcribing a mid-nineteenth century New Hampshire diary and creating an educational program based on its contents. Katrina's research areas include New England and South East regions, the American Revolution, and lineage society research.
	Lindsay Fulton, Vice President for Research and Library Services, joined the Society in 2012. She has been the head of Research Services since 2016. In addition to helping constituents with their research, Lindsay has also authored a Portable Genealogists on the topics of Applying to Lineage Societies, the United States Federal Census, 1790-1840 and the United States Federal Census, 1850-1940. She is a frequent contributor to the American Ancestors blog, Vita-Brevis, and has appeared as a guest on the Extreme Genes radio program. Before, American Ancestors, Lindsay worked at the National Archives and Records Administration in Waltham, Massachusetts, where she designed and implemented an original curriculum program exploring the Chinese Exclusion Era for elementary school students. She holds a B.A. from Merrimack College and M.A. from the University of Massachusetts-Boston.
	James Heffernan, Genealogist, earned his BA in history at Boston College. Before joining the American Ancestors team, he worked in the conservation department of the John J. Burns Library at Boston College and the research library at Plimoth Plantation. Propelled by his interests in genealogy and history, James spent a semester abroad at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. In addition to Slavic history, he is very interested in the history of Colonial America and 19th century Massachusetts.
	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. 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, Mayflower Descendant, and American Ancestors magazine. He has also published A Guide to Massachusetts Cemeteries (American Ancestors, 2009). 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.
	Ann Lawthers, Genealogist, assists visitors to the American Ancestors Research Center, both in the building and online, with their family history research. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and the Harvard School of Public Health, with Masters and Doctoral degrees in Health Policy. With a long-term interest in history and family research, Ann lectures frequently on behalf of American Ancestors. Areas of particular interest include New England and New York, the Mid-Atlantic states, the southern colonies, Ireland, and migration patterns.
	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. 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 machine.
	Melanie McComb, 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.
	Alicia Crane Williams, Genealogist, is the lead genealogist on the American Ancestors study project, Early New England Families, 1641-1700. Prior to joining the American Ancestors staff, she compiled and edited numerous important genealogical publications including Mayflower Descendant, the Alden Family Five Generations project, and The Harlow Family: Descendants of Sgt. William Harlow (1624/5-1691) of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Alicia has served as Historian of the Massachusetts Society of Mayflower Descendants, Assistant Historian General at the General Society of Mayflower Descendants, and as Genealogist of the Alden Kindred of America. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in History from Northeastern University.