Spring Virtual Seminar
Dr. Thomas W. Jones and Nicka Sewell-Smith
Deadline for Registration: April 5, 2024
THESE PROGRAMS ARE BEING RECORDED & WILL BE AVAILABLE
FOR 30 DAYS TO WATCH BY PAID REGISTRANTS
Members - $25 Non-Member $30
Refund Policy:
A Full refund will be processed, if the request is received on or before April 4, 2024. A refund of the registration fee less $20 will be given for requests received after April 4, 2024. No refunds will be given to requests received on the day of the seminar or later.
Session Schedule
8:30 a.m. Registration
9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. Opening Remarks & Introduction
9:15 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. - Session 1 - Dr. Thomas Jones
Finding Unfindable Ancestors - Q&A
Break 10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
10:30 a.m. –11:30 a.m. - Session 2 - Dr. Thomas Jones
Five Ways to Prove Who Your Ancestor Was - Q&A
Lunch 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. - Session 3 - Nicka Sewell-Smith
Betting on the Bureau - The Overview - Q&A
Break 1:30 p.m. - 1:45 p.m.
1:45 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Session 4 - Nicka Swell-Smith
The Trifecta: The Secret Sauce of Researching the Formerly Enslaved - Q&A
2:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Access will be through GoToWebinar. Instructions and Connectivity Link will be emailed to all registrants upon registration, six days prior, and again 1 hour before the event. Making the connection is quick and easy only requiring a computer and Internet connectivity from wherever you choose to watch the event. Your questions help drive the meetings, and we will be there to help each other.
Finding “Unfindable” Ancestors - Dr Thomas Jones
The failure of common research practices to identify ancestors does not mean they are unfindable. This session will describe and demonstrate nine approaches to locating difficult-to-trace ancestors.
Five Ways to Prove Who Your Ancestor Was - Dr Thomas Jones
(Some Reliable and Others Not Reliable) Case studies will illustrate five ways—some reliable and others not—that genealogists “prove” an ancestor’s identity: using information provided by others; using a single source; following a chain of evidence; correlating evidence from multiple sources; and weighing conflicting evidence. Attendees will learn how to use the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) to identify their ancestors accurately.
Betting on the Bureau: The Overview - Nicka Sewell-Smith
The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, better known as the Freedmen’s Bureau, was established by the War Department in 1865 to provide aid to the formerly enslaved and poor whites across more than 15 states. Learn the history, organization, and more about one of the most important record groups for researching people of African descent within the United States.
The Trifecta: The Secret Sauce of Researching the Formerly Enslaved -
Nicka Sewell-Smith
Genealogists and family historians alike have spent decades looking for a tried and true method for unearthing slaveholders of those enslaved before 1865. Learn how three crucial record sets (Civil War Pensions, the Freedmen’s Bureau, and Probates/Successions) can become just the wrecking ball needed to obliterate brick walls related to slavery.
