Following is the selection of Topics and Speakers available through the Partner Society Webinar Series for 2022. Speakers and topics were selected to provide a variety of subjects from well-known speakers. For more information on scheduling and purchasing a topic for your society, please see https://www.txsgs.org/partner-society-resources/2022-partner-society-webinars/. These presentations will be available until December 31, 2022. TxSGS recommends that partner societies submit webinar requests at least two weeks in advance to allow sufficient processing time.
Information on this page can be copied for purposes of promoting a webinar as a society program.
Susan E. Ball, President, TxSGS
Topic: “Using Timelines to Focus Your Research”
Topic Description: The most important tool you can use to research your ancestor is a timeline. Learn how to construct a timeline for your ancestor and use it to uncover previously overlooked avenues for research.
About the Speaker: A genealogist for over 30 years, Susan Ball is TxSGS president, co-editor of Stirpes, and president of the San Angelo Genealogical and Historical Society. A strong supporter of records abstraction and publication, Susan has compiled four books of genealogical records, three of which have won TSGS book awards including the coveted grand prize. She also serves her local society as editor of the SAGHS Newsletter and assistant editor of Stalkin’ Kin of Old West Texas, the SAGHS biannual journal. Having received a master’s degree in electrical engineering, Susan worked as a project engineer for a defense contractor, as a patent engineer, and as CEO of her own database development company. In addition to giving presentations and seminars to numerous societies and the TxSGS Annual Conference, Susan has been the workshop speaker for the Amarillo Genealogical Society, the Permian Basin Genealogical Society, and twice for the Kerrville Genealogical Society.
Henrietta Martinez Christmas
Topic: “Researching Non-Hispanic Names with Hispanic Records”
Topic Description: Are you a descendant of a cross-cultural marriage? Did your ancestor marry a Hispanic? In this session, you will be looking at various records and how you can push your research back working with records you may not be accustomed to using.
About the Speaker: Henrietta Martinez Christmas, a native New Mexican, a well-known genealogical and historical researcher; she descends from eleven of the soldiers that came with Oñate in 1598. She has written several books related to New Mexico’s small town and history and over 175 articles about New Mexico’s Colonial Families. She is a long-time member and the current President of New Mexico Genealogical Society. She has worked with the History Museum of New Mexico, The Albuquerque Museum, The El Camino Real Heritage site in preparing exhibits and researching historical data. She is a frequent contributor to author’s book in terms of researching biographies of individuals. She works with a group that honors historic women in New Mexico for their NM Historic Marker Program. Honored by the DAR for historic preservations, she has extracted and transcribed over 50 books which consist of hundreds of thousands of records.
Susan Kaufman
Topic: “The Final Event: Funeral Records”
Topic Description: The event of death creates a number of record sources about the individual and events associated with the death. Funeral records include documents generated by funeral homes. Other associated records of the death event prior to these funeral service records along with the sources created by the funeral service officials of modern day are explored.
About the Speaker: Susan Kaufman is the Senior Manager of the Houston (TX) Public Library’s Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research in Houston. An Illinois native, Susan has more than 30 years of experience as a genealogy librarian, starting her career in Peoria, IL, then moving to the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and later moving to Texas in 2004. A presenter at local, state, and national genealogy conferences and meetings, she also has held numerous genealogical society board positions in Illinois, Indiana, Texas, and at the national level.
Susan was awarded the National Genealogical Society’s P. William Filby award for outstanding service as a Genealogical Librarian in May of 2019. At the 2019 TxSGS Family History Conference, she was honored with the designation of TxSGS Fellow. Sue has also received the Lloyd Bockstruck Award from the Dallas Genealogical Society. Susan is past President of the Texas State Genealogical Society and currently serves as its Director of Education. She is a member of the Texas Library Association and the American Library Association.
Hannah Kubacak, Genealogy Librarian, Genealogy Center Waco-McLennan County Library
Topic: “Discover Genealogical Treasure Using Historic U.S. Maps”
Topic Description: Maps provide a valuable tool for understanding the world as it was when our ancestors were living. Explore a variety of resources for finding and using historic maps. A few of the maps to be discussed during this presentation will include Fire Insurance maps, county boundaries, Public Land Survey System maps, and land grants.
About the Speaker: Hannah Kubacak is a Waco native with a life-long interest in family stories. She has worked professionally in genealogy for eight years, and as the reference librarian for the Waco Genealogy Center since 2015. She previously taught genealogy continuing education classes at McLennan Community College and worked for the Chickasaw Nation’s Holisso Research Center in Sulphur, Oklahoma. She has published multiple articles illustrating ways to use maps in genealogical research for Stirpes and Heart of Texas Records. Her areas of research include the Five Civilized Tribes, Texas, and the Southeastern United States; however, as a reference librarian, she has assisted individuals researching their ancestors across the map.
Bernard Meisner
Topic: “Surname Distribution Maps: A Valuable Tool for Genealogical Research”
Topic Description: Learn how surname maps can enable you to determine where to look for your ancestors — both individuals and couples — explore variant spellings of their names, and perhaps identify their religion. Understand what factors to consider before using a surname map. In addition to a summary of the talk, attendees will also receive a
comprehensive, annotated list of current surname maps Web sites.
About the Speaker: Bernard is a genealogist and lecturer based in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. He began researching his family over 30 years ago and enjoys sharing lessons learned from that experience, including his mistakes. Although he knew only one grandparent (his maternal grandfather) he has successfully identified all of his great-great grandparents, several triple- and quadruple-great grandparents, and his Meisner 8th great grandparents. He is a past president and current social media chair of the Mid-Cities Genealogical Society, and co-leader of the Dallas Genealogical Society’s German Genealogy Group of North Texas.
Bernard retired from the National Weather Service Southern Region Headquarters where he was the Chief of the Science & Training Branch. He is certified as a consulting meteorologist by the American Meteorological Society and has taught at the Universities of Texas, Oklahoma, and St. Thomas (Houston).
Bernard earned a B.S. in physics/German from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and an M.S. and PhD in meteorology from the University of Hawaii. He has completed courses at the National Institute for Genealogical Studies and attended the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh each of the last five years, completing courses in Irish research, German research, Digital Research Skills, and Genetic Genealogy.
John Sellers
Topic: “The Other Court in Texas” – The District Court
Topic Description: A methodology lecture on knowing and accessing records in the district courts of Texas. Research procedures and methods are discussed. A case study is reviewed and its genealogical value to research. This court has been part of the Texas Constitutions since 1846. These records include divorce, civil and criminal cases, adoption and Exparte cases.
About the Speaker: John A. Sellers, a fifth generation native to Hopkins County, Texas, graduated from Texas Tech University, with a degree in advertising/public relations, and received his teaching certificate in history from Texas A & M, Commerce. A genealogical researcher since 1985, John’s favorite area of research is in the courthouse. He has visited courthouses in several southern states and has conducted extensive research in Texas and Louisiana.
John is an active member of the Hopkins County Genealogical Society and has served fifteen years on the executive board and as President. He was a speaker at the FGS National Conference in 1997 and 2004, and NGS in 1994. He has been the featured speaker for more than 65 all day seminars located in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. John has given over 275 programs on genealogy and history. He was the featured speaker at the DRT Genealogical Conference at the Alamo in 2002, 2003, and 2011, and also the Louisiana Historical and Genealogical Seminar in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 2007 and 2011. He has been a faculty member for Angelina College Genealogy Conference, 1999-2014 in Lufkin and was a featured instructor at the new Texas Institute of Genealogical Research. He has completed Genealogy as a Profession, Advanced Methodology, and Advanced Library Research courses at the Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research, Samford University. John was a lecturer at the Institute of Genealogical Research, Samford University, 2009, 2010, 2014, and University of Georgia, 2018. He compiled an addendum to the 1850 Census of Hopkins County.
He is an Assistant Vice President – Director of Marketing with City National Bank of Sulphur Springs. John is Mayor of Sulphur Springs and serving his third term on the City Council.