Presented by Melissa Barker, Certified Archives Manager & Public Historian on 18 Apr 2024.

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Genealogists use all kinds of tools to help them with their genealogy research. One of the best tools to understand and use when working with Manuscript Collections is the Finding Aid. Archivists develop Finding Aids to help genealogists navigate through Manuscript Collections to find their ancestors. This presentation will help genealogists read, follow, and use a Finding Aid to find your ancestors in the records.

Melissa Barker is a Certified Archives Manager and Public Historian currently working at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives & Museum. She is affectionally known as The Archive Lady to the genealogy community. She lectures, teaches, and writes about the genealogy research process, researching in archives and records preservation. She conducts virtual presentations across the United States and other countries for various genealogy groups and societies. She writes a popular blog entitled A Genealogist in the Archives and is a well-known published book reviewer. She has been a Professional Genealogist for the past 19 years with expertise in Tennessee records. She has been researching her own family history for the past 33 years.

Presented by Mary Kircher Roddy, CG on 16 May 2024.

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It’s hard to do genealogy well without studying your ancestors’ Friends & Family, Associates, and Neighbors - their FAN club. If your ancestors are Irish, you might have no luck at all without those FAN principles. But if you combine FAN club research with DNA, you might have just the winning ticket to get you back to your Irish ancestor’s origins. In this case study presentation, learn how focused research pointed the way from Ohio to townlands in County Mayo for an 1850s era Irish immigrant.

Mary Kircher Roddy, CG®, grew up in San Rafael, California. She earned a Bachelor's degree in Liberal Studies from The University of California, Riverside in 1982 and a Master's in Professional Accounting from the University of Texas in 1984. She earned a certificate in Genealogy and Family History at the University of Washington in 2005. She was credentialed by the Board for Certification of Genealogists® in 2019.* She is a trustee of the Board for Certification of Genealogists and is a former treasurer for the Association of Professional Genealogists. She is co-editor of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly.

Mary became interested in genealogy in 2000 in anticipation of a sabbatical in Ireland where her husband was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Limerick. She was sure she would complete all her Irish genealogy while her husband taught at UL and her children attended Monaleen school. Two decades later, the genealogy is still a work in progress. But the trip to Ireland awakened something deep in her Celtic bloodlines, the Irish tradition of the Seanachi, the storytellers and historians of yore.

Presented by Allyson Maughan, CG on 20 June 2024.

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Before birth records, there were church records, family bibles, headstones, and census records. Come on a genealogical journey to discover a wealth of records that state the age, birthdate and birthplace of your ancestor. Sarah Ellen Loveless born in the 1820s yet there are a variety of recorders who wrote down her birth information. Come solve the mystery of when and where she was born.

Allyson is a research consultant, speaker, and writer.  She graduated from Idaho State University in secondary education in 2001. She completed Gen Proof in 2023, ProGen 53 in 2022 and a Genealogy Research and Writing Certificate from Salt Lake Community College in 2019. She passed her Level 1 December 2023 for her AG. She will take Level 2/3 tests in February 2024. She enjoys historical pictures and poetry writing and shares tips on familypicturesandpoetry.blogspot.com. If she is not researching, she is with her husband and three girls enjoying family time in Salt Lake City.

Presented by Cynthia K. Patton, CG on 15 Aug 2024.

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Having trouble finding that death certificate for Grandpa Johnson on your laptop? Cannot remember if you have a copy of the syllabus from a webinar you watched last week? Digital files are wonderful—but naming, filing, organizing, and searching them can be daunting. Using the 3 C’s – color, consistency, and naming conventions—you will learn how to tackle the task and regain control of your digital files. We will explore cloud storage options, redundant backups, and provide many examples of best practices in organization.
• Where do I start?
• Backup, backup, backup
• Naming conventions
• Using color coding
• Clean up as you go
• Consistency is the key!

Cynthia K. Patton is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and former owner of Patton Leadership Consulting. Cynthia has a Bachelor’s in Journalism and a Master’s in Political Science, both from the University of Southern Mississippi. She lives now in Kansas City, Missouri and is a Professional Genealogist part-time. She is a BU Certification Program graduate and also serves as the Registrar of a local DAR Chapter in Parkville, Missouri. She is a member of APG (Heartland Chapter); NGS; and numerous local Historical and Genealogical Societies. She has written two Pro Tip articles for the APG eNews on Work-Life Balance and Time Management and has presented for numerous historical, genealogical, and other organizations.