2016 Virtual Genealogy Fair

The National Archives has announced the presentation topics for the 2016 Virtual Genealogy Fair which will be held Wednesday, October 26th and Thursday, October 27th, 2016. 

In this annual two-day event archivists and employees of the National Archives give presentations on records NARA holds that are of interest to genealogists. The fair is free, and can be viewed online. You can download the handouts and follow along with the presenters.

You do not need to register. Just go to the link 2016 Virtual Genealogy Fair on October 26th & 27th and watch the sessions live. If you are unable to make it to the live sessions, they will be recorded and available for viewing later on YouTube. The Virtual Genealogy Fair page has links to the web pages for previous years, if you are interested in the presentations.

Schedule for Wednesday, October 26th (Eastern Time)

10 a.m.	Welcoming Remarks by Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero
10:05 a.m.	Introduction to Genealogy at the National Archives by Claire Kluskens
11 a.m.	The Best National Archives Records Genealogists Aren't Using by Lori Cox-Paul
12 p.m.	National Archives Innovative Online Resources and Tools to Help with Your Genealogical Research by Sarah Swanson and Kelly Osborn
1 p.m.	You too can be a Citizen Archivist! Getting the most out of the National Archives Catalog by Suzanne Isaacs and Meredith Doviak
2 p.m.	Department of State Records for Genealogical Research by David Pfeiffer
3 p.m.	American Battle Monuments Commission by Ryan Bass

Schedule for Thursday, October 27th (Eastern Time)

10 a.m.	Nonpopulation Census: Agriculture, Manufacturing, and Social Statistics by Claire Kluskens
11 a.m.	The Morning After – Changes as Reflected in Morning Reports by Theresa Fitzgerald
12 p.m.	The Iwo Jima Flag Raisers – Chaos, Controversy and World War II Marine Corps Personnel Records by Bryan K. McGraw
1 p.m.	What's New in the Lou: A Look at the Latest Accessions at the National Archives at St. Louis by David Hardin
2 p.m.	The Faces of the National Parks Service by Cara L. Moore
3 p.m.	Closing Remarks by Acting Executive for Research Services Ann Cummings

2015 NARA Virtual Genealogy Fair Schedule

Mark your calendars for October 21 & 21, 2015 so you don't miss the NARA Virtual Genealogy Fair. The schedule has been released, and is listed below. These free classes will be live broadcast via YouTube, and you can send in your questions for the presenters. If you do miss the live sessions they will be archived for viewing later. 

Handouts and session descriptions can be found here.

Day 1: Wednesday, October 21 (Eastern Time)

Session 1 at 10 a.m. ET
Introduction to Genealogy at the National Archives by Claire Kluskens.

Session 2 at 11 a.m. ET
Preserving Your Family Records:  Conversation and Questions by Mary Lynn Ritzenthaler.

Session 3 at 12 p.m. ET
Personnel Records of the National Archives– St. Louis. By Bryan K. McGraw. 

Session 4 at 1 p.m. ET
It’s in the Cards: Finding Family Members in National Archives–St. Louis’ Card Series by Daria Labinsky & David Hardin. 
Session 5 at 2 p.m. ET
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Personnel Records by Ashley Mattingly.


Day 2: Thursday, October 22 (Eastern Time)

Session 6 at 10 a.m. ET
Where’d They Go?  Finding Ancestral Migration Routes by Jean Nudd.
Session 7 at 11 a.m. ET
Access to Archival Databases (AAD): Looking Down, From Above, to Look it Up!  by John LeGloahec. 

Session 8 at 12 p.m. ET
Finding Your World War I Veteran at the National Archives at St. Louis by Theresa Fitzgerald. 

Session 9 at 1 p.m. ET
Women in War Time Civilian Government Employment by Cara Moore.

Session 10 at 2 p.m. ET
Broke, But Not Out of Luck: Exploring Bankruptcy Records for Genealogy Research by Jessica Hopkins. 

Watch live video stream on YouTube

NARA Hosts Second Virtual Genealogy Fair

The National Archives is going to host it's second Virtual Genealogy Fair on October 28 - 30, 2014. These presentations are designed to teach genealogists about federal records and their use in genealogy research. The presentations will be given by National Archives experts from around the country and from the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service. The live broadcasts begin at 10:00am Eastern time each day and will be available for free on the internet. The live broadcast format will allow participants to ask questions at the end of each presentation. Click here to see the schedule.

Most Popular Posts from 2013

Well, the big event on my blog this year was the release of Mastering Genealogical Proof by Thomas W. Jones and the accompanying Gen Proof Study Groups. The posts about the book and the study groups were three of the most popular posts on this blog in 2013. This is fitting, as I think this book is excellent and one of the best genealogical education tools available this year.

Two of the other most popular posts were about the Virtual Genealogy Fair at the National Archives, and Preparing for a Research Trip to Washington, D.C. The National Archives and Federal records are among my areas of specialization, and I think I will write more about them in 2014. I will also write more about my favorite genealogy educational opportunities for 2014 tomorrow. Here are links to the most popular posts of 2013:   "Gen Proof" Groups to Study Mastering Genealogical Proof

Gen Proof Study Groups – How To Get In

NARA Virtural Genealogy Fair Schedule

Mastering Genealogical Proof - The Newest "Must Have Book”

Preparing for a Research Trip to Washington D.C.

British Institute Registration Discount Extended

Five Gen Proof Study Groups Open for Registration

Unexpected Lessons from Tom Jones - Part 1

Recent News on Genealogy Conferences and Institutes

There has been a lot of news regarding genealogy institutes and conferences recently, so I complied this list for the ProGen Study Group participants, and thought I would share it here on my blog as well.

National Archives Virtural Genealogy Fair – September 3-4, 2013

• For the first time ever, the National Archives will host a virtual Genealogy Fair with live lectures available on the internet and a call-in genealogy help line
• The schedule and handouts on are now available on the NARA website

APG Professional Management Conference -- January 10-11, 2014

• The Association of Professional Genealogists will host a two day conference in Salt Lake City, Utah right before the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. The conference schedule will be released soon, but mark your calendars now so you can attend two genealogy events and only have to travel once. 

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) – January 13-17, 2014

• SLIG has added a new course for 2014 on Utilizing Social History in Your Research
• SLIG has opened a second section of the Advanced Evidence Analysis Practicum course – there are spots for 15 more people to attend
• For details on SLIG 2014 and registration information click here. The early bird discount rate is good until October 31^st. Space is still available in the following courses:

o   American Research and Records: Focus on Families

o   Advanced Research Tools: Land Records

o   Credentialing: Accreditation, Certification, or Both?

o   Advanced Evidence Analysis Practicum

o   Problem Solving

o   Utilizing Social History

o   Researching in Eastern Europe

RootsTech 2014 – February 6-8, 2014 in Salt Lake City

• Registration is now open with a discount until September 9^th.

The Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh

• Announced a new GRIP on the Road program for August 3-8, 2014 in Orchard Lake, Michigan
• GRIP in Pittsburgh will be held July 20-25, 2014
• Registration will begin February 12, 2014 for GRIP and February 25, 2014 for GRIP on the Road

Federation of Genealogical Societies

• FGS announced the 2015 FGS Conference will be Combined with RootsTech, February 12-14, 2015, in Salt Lake City.

Note: This is not a complete listing of programs, just recent news.

NARA Virtural Genealogy Fair Schedule

As I mentioned last week the National Archives is to host a Virtual Genealogy Fair.  The free webcasts will be broadcast on Tuesday, September 3rd and Wednesday, September 4th. The National Archives website does not list the schedule and topics yet, but the National Archives Researcher News published the schedule today, and I have permission to share it with my readers.

The presentations will be made by NARA and USCIS staff members and will be archived and available for viewing later if you miss the virtual fair in September. Note that the presentation times listed below are Eastern time.

National Archives to host Virtual Genealogy Fair

I was at the National Archives in Washington D.C. today and was excited to learn that they will be hosting a Virtual Genealogy Fair! I was disappointed when the annual NARA Genealogy Fair was cancelled last spring, but now that it is a virtual event many more people across the country will be able to participate. This will be a FREE event and if you miss the live webcasts then you can view them later as they will be archived on the National Archives YouTube page. The schedule has not yet been released (I will post it as soon as it is available), but you can mark your calendars for September 3 & 4, 2013 if you are interested in participating.


Here is the information that is currently on the NARA website:

National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair

WHAT:  National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair

• For the first time ever, the National Archives will host a virtual Genealogy Fair via webcast using the Internet.
• This two-day program will showcase tips and techniques for using Federal records at the National Archives for genealogy research. Lectures are designed for experienced genealogy professionals and novices alike.
• Lecture topics include Native American and African American history, immigration, Civil War pensions, U.S. Colored Troops, and Navy Deck logs.
• “Help! I’m Stuck” Call-In Consultation: National Archives staff will be available to answer research questions during the Fair.

WHEN:  Tuesday and Wednesday, September 3–4, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. EST

WHO:  Speakers include genealogy experts from the National Archives and U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services.

HOW:  The National Archives will make this event available via webcast. The webcast will include options for the hearing-impaired. Recorded sessions will be available online after the event.

Background:  The National Archives holds the permanently valuable records of the Federal government. These include records of interest to genealogists, such as pension files, ship passenger lists, census and Freedmen’s Bureau materials. For information on National Archives holdings see www.archives.gov.

For more information about the fair, e-mail KYR@nara.gov. Join the Genealogy Fair conversation on Twitter using #genfair2013.

Preparing for a Research Trip to Washington D.C.

I am giving a presentation next week to the The North Hills Genealogists (of Pittsburgh) and the students of the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh on "Preparing for a Research Trip to Washington D.C." The handout has quite a few links in it and they are easier to click on than retype, so I decided to post them here. The benefit is that although many of you will not be at GRIP to hear the presentation, you can still use the advice and links.

Researching in Washington D.C.

 

Preparing for your research trip:

1. Check to see what records are available online, and what is available only in the repositories.

2. Use the online catalogs to identify the books and records relevant to your research.

3. Create a research plan of records to search. This will help make your research time more efficient.

National Archives

 Think of ways that your ancestors may have interacted with the federal government so you will know what types of records you want to research. Did they serve in the military? Did they buy federal land or apply for a homestead? Did they immigrate to the U.S.? Did they work for the post office or another federal agency?

The most commonly used records for genealogists are military service and pension records, and federal land records. The census, passenger lists and naturalization records have been digitized and are available online.

Land: Search the BLM database for ancestors who obtained federal land http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/

Military: Search indexes at FamilySearch, Ancestry and/or Fold3.com for ancestors who served in wars. See links to military indexes below.

Other records: See links to research guidance by topic at http://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/topics/

Online Catalog (OPA) http://www.archives.gov/research/search/

Downloadable PDF publications  http://www.archives.gov/publications/ref-info-papers/index.html

NARA resources for genealogists  http://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/

Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Library

The books are cataloged by “call words” rather than a numerical cataloging system. Search the online catalog by subject, geographic location, or family surname. HINT: Create a research plan, but also go and “sit” in front the books for the area you are researching and browse all the titles available.

Online Catalog  http://www.dar.org/library/onlinlib.cfm

Genealogical Research System  http://services.dar.org/public/dar_research/search/?tab_id=0

In the Genealogical Research System (GRS) you can search for Revolutionary War patriots and their descendants, as well as the Genealogical Records Committee volumes (family bibles, cemetery transcriptions, etc. collected by DAR members).

Library of Congress

There are wonderful resources in the Library of Congress and you may want to visit the following reading rooms: Local History and Genealogy, Newspapers and Periodicals, and Geography and Maps.

Online Catalog http://catalog.loc.gov/

Research and Reference Services  http://www.loc.gov/rr/

Military Indexes on FamilySearch.org

Pension Indexes

United States, Civil War and Later Pension Index, 1861-1917

United States, General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934

United States, War of 1812 Index to Pension Application Files, 1812-1910

United States, Index to Indian Wars Pension Files, 1892-1926

United States, Mexican War Pension Index, 1887-1926

Service Record Indexes

United States, War of 1812 Index to Service Records, 1812-1815

United States, Mexican War Index and Service Records, 1846-1848

United States, Index to Service Records, War with Spain, 1898

Regular Army Registers of Enlistment

United States, Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914

National Park Service

The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database

Military Indexes on Ancestry.com

U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934