Methodology & Problem Solving Track

Discover new records and ways to analyze the records you’ve already found in 13 sessions covering methodology and problem-solving techniques. Examine ways to use the information found in records to identify and solve problems.

See all tracks and learn more about speakers on our website. Register online now!

Friday, 11:00 a.m. – Synergizing Seven reSources to Solve Family Mysteries, Devon Noel Lee
Having trouble solving your family mysteries? When you combine five record sets and two research skills, you can crack the case on your challenging research questions. (Intermediate)

Friday, 2:00 p.m. – Mysterious Relatives, Ari Wilkins
Learn how to analyze and connect mysterious relatives to one’s family history.

Friday, 2:00 p.m. – 5 Steps for Successfully Stating in Genealogy, Devon Noel Lee
Want to climb your family tree further, faster, and with more fun? Then don’t start in the wrong place in genealogy. Come learn the best place to find your family history and then how to build your family tree. (Beginner)

Friday, 3:30 p.m. – I Remember Mama – But Not Her Maiden Name, Mary Kircher Roddy
Women can be hard to identify. If they married, they probably changed their names. See more than 20 great strategies for finding the maiden name of “troublesome” women in your family’s past—and a few more strategies for discovering married names for those sisters, daughters, and aunts who have “disappeared.” (Beginner, Intermediate)

Friday, 5:00 p.m. – Kin Killers: Epidemics & Diseases in Your Family Tree, Carl Smith
In the era before vaccines and modern medicine, disease was a grim and ever-present reality for individuals and societies. This lecture covers some of the major epidemics in U.S. and world history, the common diseases that touched the lives of your ancestors, and how a knowledge of disease and epidemics can provide additional context and insight into the stories of your ancestors. (Beginner, Intermediate)

Saturday, 9:30 a.m. – Tracing a Woman Named Smith by Researching a Collateral Line, Bernard N. Meisner
Collateral research can reveal information not discovered through the direct lineage, add to the overall historical story of your family, lead you to others researching the family, and break down brick walls. Research techniques are illustrated in a search for Margaret Smith Meisner through her niece Agnes Joyce, then Agnes’ parents Sarah and Thomas Hogan. (Beginner, Intermediate)

Saturday, 11:00 a.m. – Researching Your Urban Ancestors, Michael L. Strauss
Marriage records are considered the oldest of the vital records. This presentation will consider the jurisdictions governing these records, the types of marriage records available, and how to locate these records. (Intermediate)

Saturday, 2:00 p.m. – Roosevelt’s Tree Army: Your Ancestors in the CCC, Michael L. Strauss
The New Deal response to the great depression focused on the “3 Rs:” Relief, Recovery, and Reform. Genealogists today can record the personal experiences of their ancestors who sought help from the Federal Government through these programs. Concentrating on the Civilian Conservation Corps, numerous genealogical resources are examined including official personnel files, discharge certificates, accident reports, camp and district reports, photographs, and motion pictures. (Intermediate)

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. – Building a Research Plan, Janice Lovelace
Do you have a plan or goal before you start researching? Careful planning can lead to greater success. Learn steps to build a plan to answer a specific question. (Beginner, Intermediate)

Sunday, 9:30 a.m. – The GPS, Document Analysis, and Citations, Oh My!, Sara Gredler
Learn about the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS), document analysis and evaluation, citation standards, and how to make the GPS second nature in our genealogical research. (Beginner, Intermediate)

Sunday, 11:00 a.m. – Finding What You Need and Using What You Find, Pam Vestal
Explore twenty practical strategies for searching the internet more successfully, extracting genealogical nuggets from your documents, organizing what you’ve found, and evaluating your evidence. (All levels)

Sunday, 2:00 p.m. –Filling in the Stories of Our Female Ancestors, Pam Vestal
For most of recorded time, women didn’t leave much of a paper trail, but they still have wonderful stories to tell. We’ll look at ways in which the context of local history, laws, politics, natural disasters, probate inventories, and other resources can help illuminate your ancestress’s life. (All levels)

Sunday, 3:30 p.m. – Brickwall Busting Sources and Strategies, Patti Gillespie
Discover strategies, sources and a variety of documents that might hammer down that brick wall. Examples using vital records, military records, census, prison, land records, newspapers, passenger manifests, and divorce records are presented along with a complicated story tracking a woman who changed her name three times in public records. (Beginner, Intermediate)

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