2022 Genealogy Webinar Series – Your Roots Pursuits
The Your Roots Pursuits live virtual presentations are free and open to the public. Recordings of the presentations are available to members only for a limited time.
Schedule
Each webinar is scheduled for the third Wednesday of each month at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard or Daylight Savings time (depending on the date) for approximately one hour.
GSNJ is pleased to announce that all 2022 webinars will have the ability for attendees to utilize Zoom’s Closed Captioning feature. The webinar host will explain how to select this option at the beginning of each monthly webinar.
January 19 – Cari Taplin – From Deeds to Dirt: Case Studies in Analyzing Research with Maps
Our ancestors existed in a time and a place. Maps are one way to give the names and dates in our genealogical research more life, context, and excitement. Where did they live? What would they have seen? How did they get around? Cari Taplin will examine various ways researchers can use maps to trace their ancestors and their research. Some of the topics she will cover are:
A look at different types of maps
Tech tricks for using maps such as Google Maps’ “My Places”
Using maps to determine possible migration routes
Using collected research to recreate neighborhoods
Using maps as an alternative (or additional) research log
Online map collections
Mini-case studies to illustrate using maps for analysis
February 16 – Susan Rogers – Finding Your Irish Ancestors: My Favorite Websites for Irish Genealogy
Learn ways to overcome the challenges to Irish research, and visit “live” the websites Susan finds most useful for researching both Northern Ireland and Ireland. A case study shows how Susan stitched together information from six different websites to identify her son’s Irish 3G and 4G paternal grandparents.
March 16 – Dr. Penny Walters – Dissecting the Documents: UK Censuses from 1801 to Present
This session will look at UK census from 1801, deconstructing the information, revealing tips and hints for lateral thinking, also looking at census substitutes and an overview of social, political and economic landscapes. Some quirky examples will also be given, such as the Suffragettes filling in the 1911 Census, and people who included their opinions on the forms.
April 20 – Kate Townsend – Tips and Tricks to Optimize Your Genealogical Search Net
Are you utilizing search techniques to their potential? Do you know what “Boolean” means? Learn how to optimize your searches to find new genealogical treasures.
May 18 – Bryna O’Sullivan – Trace Your Revolutionary Roots
What did your ancestor do to support the American cause? Whether you’re looking to document service for the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution or simply to learn more about your family’s past, this program will help you find out.
June 15 – Joy Neighbors – A Grave Interest: Searching for Clues in the Cemetery
Cemeteries hold a wealth of information – if you know what to look for, and where. During this session we’ll focus on the different records available, learn the types of cemeteries that exist, whom to contact, and how to pull it all together. Plus, Joy unearths “21 Crypt Clues.”
July 20 – Annette Burke Lyttle – Bounty Land: It’s Complicated
Bounty land was offered for soldiers of the Revolution, War of 1812, and Mexican War, but veterans didn’t simply take up residence on their land grants. Some did, but many other people ended up with these lands. Learn about laws, people who got involved, and where to find the records.
August 17 – Seema Kenney – Julian to Gregorian: When and How our Calendar Changed
Dates are important to genealogists but how well do you understand the relationship between the dates recorded and the calendar in use? The switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar started in 1582; lasting into the 20th century. Understanding the adoption process impacts your 18th to 20th century research.
September 21 – Sara Cochran – Who Needed It Anyway? Getting Around the 1890 Census
The loss of the 1890 Federal census is a source of great frustration for American Genealogists, but all hope is not lost! Learn strategies and gather tips for success in locating your family in other records between the 1880 and 1900 Federal censuses.
** Rescheduled for November 30 ** – Tara Shymanski – Finding American Ancestors in Canadian Land Records
Did you have ancestors who lived in Canada? Land records contain valuable genealogy information but can be tricky to find. By examining actual land records, you’ll discover information of value to family historians. You’ll learn which websites and indexes contain these records and the intricacies in finding them.
November 16 – Mary K. Risseeuw – 19th & 20th Century Dutch Migration Patterns
Learn to recognize the economic and personal pushes that influenced the migration of Dutch immigrants from New York to Washington. Tracing small migrations within a state and larger western migrations helps to understand the connection to the original immigrant communities and how the vast distances between families affected them.
December 14 – Matt Weismantel – “Are You My Mother?” A New Jersey Adoptee’s Perspective on Search and Reunion
There is always a great deal to unpack in any closed adoption search and reunion effort, and it is not easy to assess how someone will handle their discoveries. No matter the approach, it is rarely an antiseptic process— and can be further complicated by the rose-colored glasses of expectation. DNA advances have sped things up, leaving precious little time to internalize new information before reunion commences. By examining a personal case history, we will consider the implications of how search and reunion have transitioned from private investigator cases into a typical genealogical exercise along with significant changes in New Jersey law. How have these changes influenced the life experiences of adoption triad members, both those who want or do not want to search? The presentation will also provide a view on the long-term progression of reunion.
Note: The schedule and speakers are subject to change.
Registration and System Requirements
The Zoom platform will be used for the webinars. A working internet connection is required to access the webinars.
Click on the Click Here to Register button for each webinar to register. You may register for each webinar until the webinar ends.
Each attendee will receive an email with the webinar link. A reminder will be sent prior to the webinar. To cancel, click on the cancellation link provided in the email received at the time of registration.
Handouts
The handout for each webinar will be provided during the webinar.
Speaker Biographies
Annette Burke Lyttle loves helping people uncover and share their family stories. She coordinates the Fall Virtual Intermediate Foundations course for the Salt Lake Institute for Genealogy (SLIG). Annette is editor of The Florida Genealogist.
Sara Cochran, The Skeleton Whisperer, uses her 25 years of experience to assist clients in their genealogical research and preserve their photographic legacy. Her research has taken her across the U.S. and into Ireland. She completed the ProGen Study Group and is a Boston University Genealogical Research certificate holder.
Seema Kenney is an experienced software instructor and President of MSOG, Inc. Her known roots are deep in New England as well as England, Germany, and Sweden.
Joy Neighbors is the author of The Family Tree Cemetery Field Guide. She writes the cemetery blog A Grave Interest and speaks nationally on cemetery research.
Bryna O’Sullivan is a Middletown, CT based professional genealogist and French to English genealogical translator. As proprietor of Charter Oak Genealogy, she specializes in lineage society applications.
Mary Risseeuw is a genealogist, historian, writer and lecturer. She has researched 19th & 20th century Dutch immigration to Wisconsin for over 30 years and has published and lectured throughout the Midwest and the Netherlands.
Susan Rogers is more than 25% Scots-Irish, primarily through her father’s grandparents who emigrated from Ireland in the late 1800s. She leads the Facebook group “McFadden Genealogy – County Cavan, Ireland.” Susan has an M.A. from UCSB in Communication Studies and teaches online genealogy classes for the Sierra College OLLI program.
Tara Shymanski is a genealogy researcher, lecturer, and blogger. She has a BA in History and specializes in Canadian record research. A self-proclaimed genealogy geek, she loves to delve into diverse collections.
Cari A. Taplin is related to Roy Rogers. Or at least that’s what her family told her. As a result, finding her true heritage has been her focus since the year 2000. She is a native of Wood County, Ohio but now lives in Longmont, Colorado. Cari holds the Certified Genealogist® credential and has served in a wide variety of volunteer and leadership positions for state, local, and national societies. As the owner of GenealogyPANTS, she provides speaking services. Cari currently works for Ancestry ProGenealogists. Cari’s personal research focuses on mid western and Great Lakes states. When she’s not working on her genealogy, she is a wife, and a mother of two young adults.
Kate Townsend is a professional genealogist who previously worked as an investigator in corporate America. She brings this investigative know-how to her genealogical record sleuthing and analysis.
Dr. Penny Walters has been a University lecturer for 30 years. Penny’s interest in genealogy started after having her first child and then wondering about her biological parents, as she was adopted. Penny lectures internationally in-person, writes articles, and is sought after for a wide range of webinar topics. Penny has authored the books: Ethical Dilemmas in Genealogy and The Psychology of Searching.
Matt Weismantel has lived across New Jersey, was born and adopted in Newark, raised in Sussex County, went to school in Middlesex County, and now lives in Burlington County. His undergraduate and graduate degrees are in historical geography, and he was an administrator at Rutgers University for 34 years before retiring in 2019. Matt has been active in several adoption triad support organizations, has spoken on adoptee and reunion issues at several adoption conferences.
Contact
If you have any questions, please contact GSNJ at programs@gsnj.org.
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