Basic Family History
Does you group want a refresher to revisit the basics? Do you want to put on a program to attract new members? We can prepare a presentation on any aspect of beginning research on your family’s history
Research
If you’ve exhausted your favorite family tree database, you next step is to research your family. But where do I start? We can do an overview, drill down into one of the dozens of research techniques, or have a workshop on the research tools of your choice.
Using non genealogy web sites in your Family History research
There are dozens of sites on the internet that have to do with libraries, scholarly journals, local history, or just search engines that can be valuable new tools when researching our family history. Let’s go see where they are!
How to find location specific records
Many states, if not all of them, have state repositories or large libraries that have some of their collections digitized and online, waiting for you to use them. Let’s look at how you find these resources
Unlocking FamilySearch
Many people use FamilySearch to look for their ancestors, but never make it past the initial search and discover the multitude of results it yields. Behind the initial pages is a vast collection of genealogy gold! Let’s see how to mine some of it!
Courthouse Research
The counties where our ancestors lived contain most of the records of their daily lives. Let’s take a detailed tour of the County Courthouse and look at what records are available, to find what our ancestors did on a day to day basis. Did they own property, where was it located, did they borrow money, did they run a business and need a permit, did they raise livestock and have a brand? All of these answers and more were recorded in the county courthouse!
What to Do When You Hit That Brick Wall
We all have those Brick Walls in our research. However, experienced genealogists universally believe that your ancestor’s records exist, you just have not been able to find them…yet! There are strategies that you can use that may help you break through that Brick Wall and become a better researcher as well!
The Promise of Land
The availability of land has been a driving force in the migration of Americans across the continent. The promise of land has caused Americans to leave their homes, risk their lives for uncertain causes, and settle many a foreboding wildernesses. The records they left behind give us the opportunity to know who they were and even to retrace their footsteps!
Colonization of the South
When the United States began, what is now the southern part of our country was under the rule of several different countries and several different states, sometimes all at once! The colonization of the south was full of political upheaval, deal making, and multiple boundary changes. This presentation can cover from the 1700’s to 1830, and can concentrate on one country or give a high level overview of the settlement of the southern US.
Methodology
Heroes of the Past can present on a wide variety of genealogy techniques. Some samples would include:
Getting the most out of the census (including pre 1850)
How to handle those pesky citations!
Including digital images in your family tree
Writing research reports
Finding your ancestors land
Mining vital records for all they are worth!
Interviewing for Oral Histories
Making the leap from Family Historian to Professional Genealogist
Society Management
Genealogy Mistakes and how to avoid them
and many more
Workshops
Some of the above topics can be pretty involved. Host a workshop! Take a complex topic (breaking through brick walls, mapping your ancestors land) and break it into easy to follow sessions.