Who doesn't have genealogical brickwalls--those intractable problems that we cannot seem to get beyond? What is even more frustrating is that the brick wall is probably of our own making. We will explore the various ways we make our own brick walls and strategies for successfully breaking through them. This will take some hard work, but you can demolish that wall!

 

Speaker Bio:

Jill Morelli, CG, CGL is a writer, lecturer and co-founder of the online Applied Genealogy Institute, providing practicum-based educational opportunities for intermediate and advanced genealogists. In 2017, she founded the Certification Discussion Group, an online series discussing her certification journey to demystify the process for others.  She specializes in Scandinavian research and is constantly honing her methodological skills. She lectures nationally and has written articles for National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Swedish American Genealogist, NCGS Journal and many others. Jill is past president of the Seattle Genealogical Society, co-chair of SGS Centennial 2023, Puget Sound-APG program chair, and a member of many local and national genealogical societies.

 

The status of the Howards County historic cemetery preservation efforts will be summarized.  Specific details of the projects funded by the County grant funds dispensed through the HCGS will be discussed along with the GS role in the preservation of St Mary’s Cemetery. 

 

We all have them: ancestor stories that tend to be hushed up: illegitimate children, desertion, abuse, mental illness, etc. How do we discover the facts and what do we do when our family history research uncovers something unexpected? Recording these kinds of details can be difficult. We’ll explore ways to tell our ancestor’s story with integrity and kindness.

 

Speaker Bio:
Diana Elder AGⓇ is a professional genealogist accredited in the Gulf South region of the United States and serves as a Commissioner for The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen). Diana authored Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide and co-authored the companion volume, Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist’s Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence. She created the study group and eCourse that teach the Research Like a Pro process through videos and learning modules. Diana and her daughter, Nicole, share research tips on their website, Family Locket (https://familylocket.com/), and are the hosts of the Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast.

Diana teaches regularly at genealogy conferences such as RootsTech and the National Genealogy Society Conference. She also presents webinars and seminars to local genealogy societies across the United States.

 

This lecture will focus on mid-19^th century through 20^th century immigration from present day Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, Hungary, Russia, and more.  Learn how to find your Eastern European ancestors through traditional and online sources, including how to identify your ancestral village.  We will also cover various challenges with researching Eastern European ancestors and how to overcome them.