Family History   

You’ve heard of Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org, but there are so many more websites that will help you find information on your ancestors and their life and times. Learn about the many other websites you can use for genealogy research to help break down your brick walls.

Finding hidden or lost family history information is fun and exciting. Research Questions steer the direction of your quest to learn more family history information – where to look and what to ask. Learn the basics of creating individualized research questions to help identify the correct person, place, time, and event you seek. This can be especially important if there are three people with the same name living in the town you are searching.

Are you one of the more than 33 million Americans who have Irish or Scots-Irish ancestors? This class will cover how to get started, websites for Irish and Scots-Irish genealogy and a Case Study demonstrating how the instructor used six of those websites to find two generations of Irish ancestors (and exactly where they lived in Ireland) after starting with only the names of two immigrants to America. Includes 10-page handout.

Although it’s not a “records” database like the major genealogy sites, FindAGrave.com has many less-known features that can be powerful tools for your genealogy work. Learn how to maximize this database of 250+ million names and places to improve your genealogy research. Includes 6-page handout.

Timelines are a great tool for analysis and breaking through a brick wall. Learn how and why creating a timeline of an ancestor’s life can help you: 1) decide if a record you found is about your ancestor and not someone else with the same name; 2) differentiate between two people with the same name; 3) identify gaps that need more research, and more. Many examples will be shown.

Birth, marriage, and death data form the building blocks of your family tree, but the records aren’t always easy to find. Learn the fastest way to identify where these “Vital Records” are for each state and most countries, how to use them, substitutes for when you can’t find them, and more.

You have found some interesting Family History information and want to share it. Discover a variety of ways to share your findings with others in both written and electronic forms.