2021 Joy Reisinger Memorial Lecture Series Raw facts do not tell a story. They may not even tell the truth about what they do relate. As researchers, we seek original documents that offer us "the facts." But facts are impish devils, and historical records do not speak for themselves. They cannot explain themselves. They are inert objects created by individuals of a different time, a different culture, and who-knows-what mindset. If taken at face value, records and their "facts" can deceive, mislead, or confuse us. The only voice that documents have is the voice we give them. With every document we find, and every story we tell, we have a choice: We can take what we see at face value, report it devoid of context, and run the risk of […]
2021 Joy Reisinger Memorial Lecture Series Family historians face significant challenges tracing immigrant ancestors. Changes in language, culture, family composition, given name, surname, country of residence, and occupation tend to obscure the origins of many immigrants. This presentation introduces seven methodologies to effectively trace immigrant origins, illustrated with examples from the early 1600s to the early 1900s. Presenter: David S. Ouimette, CG, CGL David Ouimette,CG, manages Content Strategy at FamilySearch, prioritizing records of genealogical value worldwide for digital preservation and online publication. David has researched in hundreds of archives in over sixty countries spanning all continents. A Trustee for the Board for Certification of Genealogists and former board member of the National Genealogical Society, he authored Finding Your Irish Ancestors: A Beginner’s Guide.
2021 Joy Reisinger Memorial Lecture Series This lecture reveals the most powerful methodology available to genealogists. Family historians often begin their genealogical quest by researching only their direct ancestors. For many reasons the direct ancestor they search for may have left few records. The records that survive may not shed light on where the ancestor came from or who his parents were—or any other question about an ancestor. The records that answer questions about an ancestor are sometimes only found by researching his relatives, friends, neighbors, associates, or enemies. Presenter: Melinda Henningfield, CG Melinda Daffin Henningfield, CG®, is a professional genealogist, lecturer, and author. She specializes in solving complex genealogical problems involving DNA, separating and identifying individuals with common names, as well as migration, and immigration. She has a bachelor’s […]
Beginner genealogists often research their surname origins first, and get stuck at a certain point. The skills needed to surmount these early brick walls come in time, with study and practice, and the increasing availability of DNA and online resources. In this webinar, Shellee describes her brick wall ancestor, Samuel Morehead, of Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, and the techniques that she used to identify his parentage and place of origin. Sticky problems like this require a variety of approaches including Y-DNA analysis, the FAN club, tax, land and court records, censuses, historical analysis and mapping techniques, to name a few. She will detail the clues acquired from all of these methods as she developed an hypothesis to satisfy the Genealogical Proof Standard. Presenter: Shellee Morehead, PhD, CG Shellee Morehead, PhD, […]