Summary

This lecture gives an overview of the Archives’ history, locations, and accession style. Records valuable to genealogists are highlighted and where they can be obtained.

Speaker

Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG, CGL, holds credentials as a Certified

Genealogist® and as a Certified Genealogical Lecturer®. Her research specialties focus in Maryland, Upstate New York, Virgina, the District of Columbia, military records, as well as land records of all types. She has lectured at RootsTech, National Genealogical Society conferences (NGS), Legacy Family Tree Webinars, and local conferences across the states. She is co-author of the NGS Research in the States series book on Maryland. Rebecca is the Course I coordinator for Georgia’s Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research (IGHR) and in Utah, the course coordinator of the Advanced Research Tools: Land Records course at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG). She is a graduate and former administrator from 2015–2020 of the ProGen Study Group. Rebecca was Executive Director of the Board for Certification of Genealogists® from 2018–2024. From 2024–2026, she served as vice-president of the National Genealogical Society. She currently serves as Director of the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records (Gen-Fed) held annually at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.