2025 TxSGS Conference Speakers and Topics | Texas State Genealogical Society

2025 TxSGS Family History Conference Menu

Deborah A. Abbott, PhD

Using Manuscript and Oral Collections in Your Genealogical Research

Often overlooked, manuscripts are rich, original records that offer firsthand accounts of the people, places, and events that shaped communities and families. These often unindexed treasures—letters, diaries, ledgers, and more—require patience to explore but can reveal details unavailable anywhere else. Learn how to locate, access, and interpret manuscript collections housed in archives, libraries, universities, and historical societies. Unlocking these underused sources can transform your research and bring your ancestors’ stories to life.

Category: TxSGS Live! |Track: Skill Building | Levels: All Levels

Julia A. Anderson, AG®, AGL®

In Their Own Words: Women and the War of 1812

The War of 1812 changed American lives for generations. Explore its effects on women and families as revealed in War of 1812 pension files.

Category: TxSGS Live! | Track: Wartime: Genealogy Research | Levels: All Levels

Henrietta M. Christmas

Colonial Wills and Testaments

What can a list of clothing, cookware, or furniture tell us about colonial ancestors? A surprising amount. This session delves into household inventories from the outer reaches of the Spanish frontier to uncover how early settlers—especially women—lived, adapted, and thrived in remote and often challenging environments. These material records shed light on priorities, cultural values, innovation, and resilience in a new land.

Category: Recorded | Track: Ethnic – Hispanic | Levels: Intermediate

Donation Lists in Colonial Texas – Substitute Censuses

Learn how to transform colonial-era donativo (donation) lists into powerful research tools. This session shows how these unique records—often overlooked—can function like a census, revealing names, goods donated, timelines, and community connections. Discover strategies for analyzing donativo documents to place your ancestor in historical context and advance your research.

Category: Recorded | Track: Records & Resources | Levels: Intermediate

Nicole Dyer

AI & Genealogy: Enhancing Your Research Process

Discover which AI tools best enhance your genealogical research workflow. Learn to match specific tasks with the right AI capabilities: reasoning models for analysis, deep research for locality guides, and side-by-side editors for report writing. This session covers practical applications for objectives, timelines, citations, research planning, and logging. Master the features of major AI platforms while maintaining genealogical standards. Leave with actionable strategies to immediately implement in your family history research.

Category: Recorded | Track: AI & Other Technology | Levels: Intermediate

Cotton Farming Through Generations: Using Tax Records to Track Economic Status

Discover how tax records reveal the changing fortunes of cotton-farming families from Reconstruction through the Great Depression. Using the Harris family as a case study, we’ll examine tax rolls from Milam, San Saba, Lampasas, Bell, and Lubbock counties in Texas, Love County, Oklahoma, and Las Animas County, Colorado. Learn how to interpret personal property valuations, land assessments, and tax delinquencies to reconstruct economic realities and migration decisions of farming families across generations.

Category: Recorded | Track: Records & Resources | Levels: Intermediate

Diana Elder, AG®, AGL®

Small Bites, Big Impact: Crafting Focused Narratives to Illuminate Ancestral Lives

Transform your family’s past into compelling narratives through manageable, focused themes. This approach breaks down the overwhelming task of documenting ancestral stories into digestible segments, allowing for deeper exploration of specific events and experiences. By combining thorough research, historical context, and engaging storytelling techniques, you’ll create a collection of well-documented small stories that gradually build upon one another, revealing the complete, multi-dimensional portrait of your ancestors’ lives, challenges, and accomplishments for future generations.

Category: TxSGS Live! | Track: Storytelling | Levels: All Levels

From the Embers: Uncovering Female Ancestry Through Cluster Research and DNA When Records Perish

Learn to identify female ancestors’ fathers through the Cline family case study. Discover techniques for navigating burned counties using land patents, tax records, and migration patterns across Arkansas, Missouri, and Texas. See how cluster research reveals family connections despite record loss and how DNA evidence confirms John C. Cline as Clemsy’s father. Apply these strategies to your own challenging research when traditional records are missing.

Category: Recorded | Track: DNA | Levels: Advanced

Colleen Robledo Greene, MLIS

Primo Arnulfo, a Case Study: The 1906 Basic Naturalization Act & 1929 Registry Act

The Basic Naturalization Act of 1906 brought U.S. naturalization under federal government control with new standardized processes and forms. Yet one of those new standardized processes created significant complications for immigrants who arrived in the U.S. via the Mexican Border. The Registry Act of 1929 sought to rectify that complication. Find out why and how you should obtain those records.

Category: Recorded | Track: Skill Building | Levels: Advanced

Debbie Gurtler

FamilySearch 2025: New Tools, New Discoveries

Join us as we explore the latest tools and innovations at FamilySearch in 2025. These tools and new features are designed to enhance your family history research and help you to discover, gather, and connect with your family in new and exciting ways.

Category: Recorded | Track: AI & Other Technology | Levels: Beginner

Daniel Horowitz

Advanced DNA Features on MyHeritage

MyHeritage offers numerous advanced features that help you make the most of your DNA results and integrate them into your family tree. These features can provide you with useful clues, and even suggested relationship paths, to help you discover how you and your DNA Matches may be related.

Category: Bonus | Track: DNA | Levels: All Levels

Around the World in 35 Billion Records

The MyHeritage Search Engine is a state-of-the-art tool for finding historical records that mention your ancestors. Discover the advanced technology behind the scenes and learn how to take full advantage of the search engine’s robust features to explore the lives of your ancestors.

Category: Bonus | Track: Records & Resources | Levels: All Levels

Building a Timeline for Your Family Tree

The Family Tree Timeline feature on MyHeritage allows you to visualize the lives of your ancestors in their chronological context. In this session, Daniel will walk you through this feature and show you how to use it to easily spot and correct time-related errors or missing details in your tree.

Category: Bonus | Track: Skill Building | Levels: All Levels

Kevin Klaus

Farewell to the Old World

An overview of the history of the Adelsverein which provides background for German Texan research from the 1840’s. This will cover in depth the immigration process for these early Germans that left their homeland to start a new life in the frontier of Texas! With a focus on the documents found at the Texas General Land Office, Archives and Records.

Category: Bonus | Track: Records and Repositories | Levels: All Levels

Tina LaFreniere

Navigating Obstacles to Facial Recognition Success

Proper digitization of your photos can be the difference between successfully identifying unknown people in your photos and losing their identity to the sands of time. This class delves into the most common issues with digitized photos that can impede proper identification of individuals when using facial recognition. From color saturated to colorized, from photo size to photo type, and a lot in between, this class will prepare you for success!

Category: Bonus | Track: AI & Other Technology| Levels: All Levels

J. Mark Lowe, FUGA

Break It Down, Build It Up: Solving Research Puzzles with Plans

Stuck on a tough research problem? Discover how to resolve those problems with simple, strategic steps. Wherever you’re chasing ancestors, we will focus on how to find the right resources, follow the trails they left behind, and build a smart, flexible research plan.

Category: TxSGS Live! | Track: Skill Building| Levels: All Levels

The Truth in the Transcript: The Evidence That Changed What I Knew

Often our previous paths are discovered by the stories of our earlier lives. Court records and related testimony often include the stories and locations of a previous event or homeplace. Discover real ways to find the stories and records that help you uncover the whole situation and more.

Category: Recorded | Track: Skill Building| Levels: All Levels

Annette Burke Lyttle, CG®

Turn Family History Facts into Stories You Can Share

You’ve uncovered lots of wonderful facts about your ancestors and you want to share them with your family, but pedigree charts put them to sleep. You need to turn those facts into stories. Two simple principles can get you started writing your family stories: look at what the facts imply and “take small bites.”

Category: Recorded | Track: Storytelling| Levels: All Levels

Margaret McMahon

Ancestors, AI, and Prompt Engineering: Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Genealogy

Whether you’re brand new to Artificial Intelligence (AI) or already exploring its potential, this program is for you. Learn how to begin using AI tools to enhance your genealogical research and writing—and how to take your skills to the next level. Dr. Margaret McMahon, a professor of computer science, engineering, and cybersecurity, will guide you through practical applications, creative strategies, and the limitations of AI in genealogical work.

Category: Recorded | Track: AI & Other Technology| Levels: All Levels

Crash Course on Researching Ancestors in the U.S. Military

Join genealogist Margaret M. McMahon, Ph.D., to discover effective strategies for uncovering your ancestors’ U.S. military service—even if their personnel files were lost in the 1973 fire. Learn how to leverage online databases, military archives, repositories, and social networks, and other resources to piece together their stories. This session also offers creative ideas for sharing your findings and honoring your ancestors’ service through compelling narratives and presentations.

Category: Recorded | Track: Wartime: Genealogy Research| Levels: All Levels

Kelvin L. Meyers, FTxSGS

Probate: More Than a Will

Most people in America, who lived to adulthood, left some type of an estate to be administered. Some left wills, some did not. Either way, if there was land or large amounts of personal property, this estate had to be disposed of. The records of probate can be some of the most fruitful for the genealogist. This lecture covers wills, distributions, administrations, and inventories, all vital parts of the probate process and full of genealogical information.

Category: TxSGS Live! | Track: Skill Building| Levels: All Levels

Gail Jackson Miller, CG®

Avoid Pushing the Same Rock Up the Hill: Develop a Successful and Efficient Research Plan

We often just play at doing research and then wonder why we do not find answers. Learn how success can be found through identification of goals, implementation of a simple research plan, recognition of time limitations, and analyzing efforts through writing. This method has been successful in my 25 years of doing work for clients in solving their research problems.

Category: Recorded | Track: Skill Building| Levels: All Levels

They Moved From Kentucky and Tennessee To Texas: Case Studies in Following the Records

After Texas statehood, many families moved to Texas from Kentucky and Tennessee. Following these families through the records can be difficult as they moved across different states and within Texas. Strategies for following these families through records in different locations will be shown through case studies of several families in their moves to become Texans.

Category: Recorded | Track: Methodology| Levels: Intermediate

Andrew Redfern

Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe?

This presentation examines current AI advancements in genealogy, highlighting its dual role as facilitator and challenge. It positions AI within the technology adoption continuum and explores how it enhances data analysis and decodes historical records. The session covers specific AI tools for revealing familial connections while discussing efficiency gains in speed, accuracy, and pattern recognition, along with practical time-saving applications for genealogical research. Ethical considerations are also explored including accuracy, privacy and security.

Category: TxSGS Live! | Track: AI & Other Technology| Levels: All Levels

Digital Storytelling for Historians

Transform your narratives with this presentation by incorporating images, sound, and video into compelling stories. Master the storytelling process while learning effective techniques using technology you already have. Packed with tips and tricks to make content creation easier, you’ll discover how to create shareable, multi-generational content that brings your stories to life. Perfect for storytellers seeking inspiration and practical skills to produce outstanding multimedia narratives.

Category: Recorded | Track: Storytelling| Levels: All Levels

2016 TxSGS Speaker Diane Richard — Diane L. Richard

Diane L. Richard

Deep Roots, Enduring Legacy: African American Funeral Home Records and Funeral Program Collections

Many 20th century newspapers did not include or underrepresented death notices for African Americans. This resulted in the creation of and the lasting legacy of funeral programs. They include priceless information. When these can’t be found, delving into the extant records of funeral homes in the African American community can also help us fill gaps as we pay homage to our ancestors. We’ll explore relevant collections in Texas and beyond that you will want to check out.

Category: Recorded | Track: Ethnic – African American| Levels: All Levels

Speaking a Thousand Words: Using Photograph Collections in Your Genealogy Research

A picture does speak a thousand words. Who doesn’t want to see an image of an ancestor? Many of us are bereft of personal ancestral photos or would like to supplement what we do have. Starting with Flickr, there has been an explosion of sites where we can find images relevant to our ancestors or where they lived. Let’s review some of the bigger (and smaller) online/digitized platforms/projects to check out when seeking images and discuss some of the challenges we face.

Category: TxSGS Live! | Track: Records & Resources| Levels: All Levels

Katy Rowe-Schurwanz

Multiple Relationships: How mtDNA Can Prove Connections When Autosomal DNA Struggles

A mystery has plagued Katy’s family for generations—who were her third great-grandmother’s parents? Using her grandmother’s autosomal DNA results, she ran into an impediment—multiple ancestral lines connected to her matches. This case study focuses on techniques to break brick walls despite multiple relationships with an emphasis on direct-line mitochondrial DNA testing.

Category: TxSGS Live! | Track: DNA| Levels: Intermediate

David Ryan

“Hidden Treasures:” Discovering Local Sources in Your Irish Research

What many overlook when researching their Irish family history is the treasure trove that is local repositories and the records they contain. These include street directories, cemetery registers, maps, school rolls, workhouse records, and even personal family archives. This webinar will examine some of the records contained in local repositories and how best to use them for your genealogical research.

Category: Recorded | Track: Ethnic – Irish| Levels: Intermediate

Craig R. Scott

Every Ancestor Records: Places I Look

Learn of the places that I am likely to look for my ancestors that are not the normal places genealogists turn to in their research, but should be, with examples of my success in doing so.

Category: TxSGS Live! | Track: Records & Resources| Levels: Intermediate

Using Fold3 to Your Advantage: Texas Style

Fold3.com is the premier website for military records. There are nuances and little-known strategies that can enhance your Fold3 experience, helping you navigate the site more effectively and uncover valuable details about your ancestors’ military service.

Category: Recorded | Track: Wartime: Genealogy Research| Levels: Intermediate

Michael L. Strauss

From Tariffs to Federal Taxes: Investigating America’s Economic Foundations

Collecting taxes was written into the Constitution, providing clues on identity, residence, and economic conditions, leading to the first Direct Tax in 1798. Other taxes by statutes in 1813, 1815, and 1816 funded the debt from the War of 1812, with additional taxes levied in the Civil War. It wasn’t until 1913 that the United States Government passed the Internal Revenue Tax codes, thereby creating a national income tax.

Category: Recorded | Track: Records & Resources| Levels: All Levels

Spies, Slackers, and Aliens: The American Protective League

When the United States entered World War I in 1917, we entered the amateur spy business in the fight against espionage. The American Protective League was a pseudo-patriotic organization given unyielding power to stop ordinary citizens and check whether men were legally registered for the draft, sympathetic to the Germans, or unregistered aliens living in the United States.

Category: Recorded | Track: Wartime: Genealogy Research| Levels: All Levels

Larry W. Thomas

The Tax Man Cometh

Don’t overlook the rich details in tax records! As Daniel Defoe said, “Things as certain as death and taxes…” — and those taxes can reveal valuable insights into your ancestors’ lives. Before the 1900s, people were taxed on land and possessions, creating records that trace family history. In this session, we’ll explore tax records from across the U.S., showing how they can help you uncover new connections and break through genealogical brick walls.

Category: Recorded | Track: Records & Resources| Levels: Beginner/Intermediate

Pam Vestal

Why They Left, Where They Went, and What Their Journeys Can Reveal

Why did our ancestors leave their homes? Why did they settle where they did? Using unexpected records, social history, the law, and more, we’ll discover the secrets our ancestors’ migrations can reveal as we track them from place to place, across the ocean, across the country, even across town!

Category: Recorded | Track: Methodology| Levels: All Levels

Pinning Down Your Ancestors’ Locations

Where did your ancestors come from? Where did they disappear to? Although finding locations can be the key to following our ancestors back in time, we often slam up against brick walls. In this talk, we’ll explore practical strategies for tracking down our ancestors’ whereabouts by overcoming spelling and handwriting problems and using collateral research, gazetteers, image searches, maps, and loads of unexpected and underused resources.

Category: Recorded | Track: Methodology| Levels: All Levels

Ari Wilkins

Let Your Fingers Do the Walking: Exploring City Directories, Telephone Books and Criss-Cross Directories

Explore the history and usefulness of city directories, telephone books and crisscross directories along with the variety of information included.

Category: Recorded | Track: Records & Resources| Levels: All Levels

Tracing the Enslaved and Formerly Enslaved in Newspapers

Discover how newspapers can be powerful tools for researching the lives of the enslaved and formerly enslaved. This lecture explores how to locate individuals in newspaper advertisements, interpret the information they reveal, and follow clues to additional sources. Learn to navigate diverse types of newspapers, recognize editorial bias, and discern the political slant of newspapers to enrich your understanding of these vital records.

Category: TxSGS Live! | Track: Ethnic – African American| Levels: All Levels

2025 TxSGS Family History Conference Menu

The TxSGS DNA Project