December 2020
The December 2020 webinar was cancelled due to the speaker's illness.
November 2020
How Research Plans Prevent Distractions
- Presenter: Tammy Priolo
- Date: November 17, 2020
- Webinar Description: This lecture discusses barriers in genealogical research and how sticking with a research plan can help avoid barriers for correct documentation of family history preservation. Topics to be covered are the Genealogical Proof Standard, distractions, research plans and rewards.
October 2020
Gravestones and Epitaphs of Our Ancestors
- Presenter: Michael L. Strauss, AG
- Date: October 20, 2020
- Webinar Description: Locating the gravestones of our ancestors can solve mysteries that might otherwise remain hidden. This presentation focuses on the history of markers along with the materials used to construct them. Particular attention is given to symbols, markings, and tracing the carvers as a means to discover new information Discussion on how to preserve and read old tombstones using mirrors; along with epitaphs and other written personal messages that can bring us closer to our ancestors.
September 2020
Swedes in Wisconsin and Beyond: Unlocking Your Swedish Family History
- Presenter: Deanna E. Korte
- Date: September 15, 2020
- Webinar Description: A brief history of how and why Swedes immigrated to the USA and Wisconsin, what life may have looked like after immigration, and how to trace one's history back to Sweden using genealogical records.
August 2020
Bounty Land: It's Complicated
- Presenter: Annette Burke Lyttle
- Date: August 18, 2020
- Webinar Description: Bounty land was offered as compensation for soldiers who fought in the Revolution, War of 1812, and Mexican War, but veterans of these wars didn’t simply take up residence on their land grants. Some did, but many people who weren’t veterans ended up with these lands. Learn about the laws, all the people who got involved, and where to find the records.
July 2020
What Is the Genealogical Proof Standard and Why Do I Need It?
- Presenter: Janice Lovelace
- Date: July 21, 2020
- Webinar Description: Are you puzzled about how and why to use Genealogical Proof Standard? Does it even matter when researching your own family? This presentation reviews the five elements of GPS and discusses why they are important in all genealogical research.
June 2020
Smarter Search Strategies for Genealogy
- Presenter: Thomas MacEntee
- Date: June 16, 2020
- Webinar Description: The majority of genealogists begin their research online and often become frustrated with the lack of results. The cause might not be a lack of records at the specific site, but the manner in which you're performing the search! While basic search techniques work on all the major genealogy sites, you need to power up your search skills to get the most out of niche genealogy websites and uncover those hidden record sets!
May 2020
Who Needed It Anyway? Researching Around the Missing 1890 Census
- Presenter: Sara Cochran
- Date: May 19, 2020
- Webinar Description: The loss of the 1890 Federal census is a source of great frustration for American genealogists, but all hope is not lost! Learn strategies and gather tips for success in locating your family in other records between the 1880 and 1900 Federal censuses.
April 2020
Digging Into Finding Aids: The Road Map to Any Manuscript Collection
- Presenter: Melissa Barker
- Date: April 21, 2020
- Webinar Description: 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.
March 2020
Using Timelines in Your Research
- Presenter: Lois Abromitis Mackin, Ph. D.
- Date: March 17, 2020
- Webinar Description: Timelines (chronologies of events in the lives of your ancestral families) are a terrific genealogical tool. Not only can they help you solve problems and identify holes in your research, they can help you get ready to write up and share your findings.
February 2020
Dissecting a Civil War Pension Record - Union and Confederate
- Presenter: Jill Morelli, CG
- Date: February 18, 2020
- Webinar Description: Do you have a Civil War soldier who fought? Lucky you! A Civil War pension file is one of the most informational records we can obtain about our ancestor, but we don't often take the time to dissect this one record in depth. We will look deeply at this one record type--why were they created, when they were enabled by law, what a typical pension contains and what atypical items might be found? We will also discuss how to determine if your ancestor fought in the Civil War and how to order the file. Both Union and Confederate pensions will be discussed. We will discuss and illustrate tools to analyze and correlate the information contained within, and methodologies will be discussed which make the job of recording the complexity of a pension record understandable and useable.
January 2020
"Deed" You Hear About These Underutilized Records?
- Presenter: Amie Bowser Tennant
- Date: January 21, 2020
- Webinar Description: Deeds are just one of many underutilized record sets genealogists need to use. Warranty and quit-claim deeds hold vital information that will lead you to great discoveries in your family tree. We will also discuss estate packets, guardianship records, civil case files, and more. After the lecture, you will feel more comfortable about making that trip to the courthouse you've been needing to.
