Selected Topics
One Heck of A Genealogist
Few authors could boast of touching more American hearts than Laura Ingalls Wilder. Yet her greatest audience should be among genealogists, for her stories echo in her family's genealogical records. What does this lesson say about your family?
The Pre-1850 Census: Perils and Delights
Don't throw up your wings and let out a fowl cluck when faced with those chicken-scratch early census returns. The pre-1850 Census is the greatest stress-reliever known to genealogists. This talk emphasizes the methods necessary for success. Whew!
Faded Pages: Families With Few Records
Researching certain ancestors can make genealogists tear out what little hair is left on our heads. Learn to produce results when you find hopelessly unremarkable ancestors. What other avenues of research, records, time periods, and places are most likely to shed light on your darkest corners? Examples across American history give you a fresh perspective on problems.
A Taxing Situation
The tax man cometh, bringing us an extraordinarily important source. Tax lists have been levied since the earliest coming of Europeans to America and survive sporadically far back in history. From these come birth dates, death dates, relationships, and more. You'll be surprised that effective use of tax records solves so many genealogical puzzles.
Making Hay With DNA
It's hardly a surprise, but most genealogists desperately want to make effective use of this exciting new tool in our research toolboxes. What must you know about DNA, who should be tested, how do you find candidates ... and how do you make progress with the results?
Timelines and Lifelines: Developing a Chronology
No matter their quirks, our ancestors were likely more normal than abnormal, and certainly lived their lives one day at a time. Have you used this to predict where records about them were created? Form included.
Betty Woodall
Nancy Matthews
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