Our ancestors voted in local, state and federal government elections. Many of our local, state and national archives, libraries and genealogical societies have election and voting records that could help genealogists find their ancestors. These records could include the polling places where your ancestor voted and even your ancestor’s signature.

 

Melissa Barker is a Certified Archives Manager currently working as the Houston County, Tennessee Archivist. She is also a professional genealogist lecturing, teaching and writing about the genealogy research process, researching in archives and records preservation. She conducts virtual webinar presentations all across the United States for genealogical and historical societies. She writes a popular blog entitled “A Genealogist in the Archives”. She is the Reviews Editor for the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) magazine FORUM. In 2016, she started a bi-weekly advice column entitled “The Archive Lady” that can be viewed at Abundant Genealogy. She has been researching her own family history for the past 26 years.

Tracing your Louisiana ancestors can be challenging. Get off to a great start with a brief introduction to her varied legal history, important migration events and blended ethnic influences. Review repositories, unique record collections and vital records access requirement along with strategies for successful research.

 

Rorey Cathcart is a professional genealogist and owner of The Who Hunter LLC based in Charleston, South Carolina. She has spoken locally and nationally on topics of interest to genealogists and society leadership alike. In addition to serving individual and corporate clients, Rorey has researched for two seasons of the hit PBS series, Genealogy Roadshow and was a Senior Researcher for the show’s third season. Her research specialties include Southern States, Migratory Patterns, South Carolina and Irish heritage with a unique subspecialty emphasizing Irish Publicans of Philadelphia. She currently serves as President of the Federation of Genealogical Societies.

Our ancestors led lives, just like us - only different. Using our life as an example, how can we parallel it to theirs? They ate and drank, married and had families, dressed, had trades and occupations, practiced a religion, dabbled in the arts and sciences, participated in politics and economics, etc. This lecture will examine the various aspects of life and provide resources to discover the historical context and personal details of our ancestors' lives.

 

Ann Staley is an instructor, consultant, trip leader and a lecturer at local, state and national conferences. Raised in Mobile, AL, Ann has been researching her family since 1980 from Alabama, Mississippi, and Virginia to France, England, and Germany. She is the Education Chairman and Webmaster for the Jacksonville Genealogical Society, Inc.; the Secretary of the Genealogical Speakers Guild; a trustee of the Florida State Genealogical Society; on the faculty of The National Institute for Genealogical Studies; and has been an associate of the Board for Certification of Genealogists since 2000.

Did great-grandpa traverse this nation as he worked for the railroad? For which railroad did he work? Where did it run? Are there railroad records which may give us personal details? Visuals and references demonstrate the wealth of historical materials available all across the U.S. When this lecture is over you will know where to turn to find out more about the railroad, its records, and where to find them.

 

Paula considers herself fortunate to be an internationally recognized genealogical educator, researcher and consultant focusing on unusual resources, manuscripts, methodology, and analyzing records. She also specializes in Native American research. She loves to interact with her clients and audiences. She is a long-time course coordinator and instructor for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh and an instructor for Ancestry Academy. Her lecturing experience includes the Federation of Genealogical Societies and National Genealogical Society conferences and seminars in many states and Canada. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, the Minnesota Genealogical Society (MGS), and is a former officer of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and is the Past President of the Northland Chapter of APG. She initiated the MGS education committee and classes and was one of the founding members of the MGS Library. She co-chaired the FGS 2001, 2011, and 2013 conferences. Her ancestors came to the U.S. from eight ancestral countries. She has researched onsite from coast to coast at and has written for, FGS FORUM, NGS Magazine, Family Tree Magazine, New England Ancestors, Minnesota Genealogist, findmypast.com, was editor of the former FGS Conference News Blog and currently has her own educational website and blog at http://genealogybypaula.com.

Indexes for county records are the key to finding deeds, probates and more. As FamilySearch digitizes more and more records, it's crucial to be familiar with different indexing systems and how to use them. The same skills are necessary for onsite courthouse and archive research. Learn about 15+ indexing systems discover strategies to use when you can't find the index or instructions to it.

 

Mary Roddy, a Certified Public Accountant, has been a genealogist since 2000, becoming interested in the subject in anticipation of an extended trip to Ireland. She earned a certificate from the Genealogy and Family History program at the University of Washington in 2005. She lectures frequently on various genealogical topics in the Seattle area and at conferences across the country.  She has written a number of articles for Internet Genealogy, Family Chronicle (now Your Genealogy Today) as well as Speak! (the publication of the Genealogical Speakers Guild) and FGS Forum. Mary also writes a regular blog at www.mkrgenealogy.com/searching-for-stories-blog. She is a participant in ProGen 31.

In this series, Legacy’s Geoff Rasmussen will guide you through the step-by-steps of properly adding genealogy documents, citations, and digital media to your Legacy Family Tree 9 software. Each class is based on a different chapter in his popular book, Legacy 9 Unlocked: Techniques, Tips and Step-By-Steps for Using Legacy Family Tree to Record Your Genealogy. Watch them in order if you want to follow the mystery or jump around to capture the instructions.

 

In this class, “Adding an Entry from an Online Database,” you’ll learn the six steps of adding information from any online database to Legacy. You’ll also learn about the Find A Grave tool.

 

Geoffrey D. Rasmussen is the father of four budding genealogists. He graduated with a degree in Genealogy and Family History from Brigham Young University and has served as director and vice-president of the Utah Genealogical Association. He is a dynamic genealogy speaker on all forms of genealogy technology, and as host of the Legacy Family Tree webinar series, has spoken virtually to nearly 100 different countries. He has authored books, videos, articles, and websites, and develops the Legacy Family Tree software program. On a personal note, Geoff enjoys playing the piano, organ, cello, basketball and bowling. His favorite places are cemeteries, the ocean, and hanging out with other genealogists. He met and proposed to his wife in a Family History Center.

 

He is the author of the recently-released, Kindred Voices: Listening for our Ancestors, and the popular books Legacy Family Tree, Unlocked! and Digital Imaging Essentials.

Tired of the regular fan, left to right or top to bottom chart? Want to show off your family relationships, places and time periods in an engaging way? If your clients and family members aren't clamoring for more, maybe you're just not showing it off effectively. The visual presentation of a family's history is one of the most powerful communication tools for genealogists. What is the difference between a butterfly, hourglass, waterfall, DNA and bow-tie chart and which format will show ALL of your family members? How do you squish a whole bunch of people onto a teeny tiny paper? Get lots of creative, artistic hints and come learn about the best tools for displaying your family's history.

 

Janet Hovorka and her husband own Family ChartMasters, a genealogy chart printing service and official printing service for Legacy Charting. She is the author of the Zap the Grandma Gap book and workbooks about engaging youth with family history. Janet writes The Chart Chick and the Zap The Grandma Gap blogs and has widely written and lectured about family history. She is a past president of UGA and teaches genealogy and library science at SLCC.

Learning to write genealogical citations is part art, part science and potentially terrifying. Learn what important components to note while researching, and how to put them together while writing to subdue the panic, and produce quality work.

 

Shellee Morehead has a Ph.D. in evolutionary ecology and is an adjunct instructor of Biology at NEIT. She was certified by BCG in 2012, and researches, writes and lectures on family history. Her most recent article is "Thomas Hamilton -- Progenitor of a Colonial American Family: His Ulster Origins revealed using DNA" which appeared in the Directory of Irish Family History Research. Recent speaking events include NGS 2016, The Genealogy Event in New York, the Ukrainian Historical and Education Center in New Jersey, and NERGC 2015 in Providence. She was one of the program Tri-Chairs for NERGC 2015. In 2010, she appeared in an episode of Danish Television's "Who Do You Think You Are?"

 

Her specialties include Rhode Island, Italian, and French-Canadian research and genetic genealogy. She is an associate of the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG), an active member of the Rhode Island Genealogical Society, American-French Genealogical Society, a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) New England Chapter.