Some Real Research Sites on the Internet. Using the Internet for genealogical research can be a confusing and time-consuming process. More information becomes available every day. Careful researchers know that much of the information on the World Wide Web is not well documented. This lecture will introduce attendees to some reliable resources for real research. Included will be such searchable sources as Virginia land grants, Bureau of Land Management General Land Office records, vital records for several states, Scottish Origins General Register Office, British Origins records, and United States and foreign telephone directories. Further examples will show how to find available information at the National Archives, Library of Congress, and regional state archives.
Spreadsheet Tricks for Genealogists. Most genealogists use only the minimum of features in their spreadsheet program. This lecture focuses on learning to use a spreadsheet to record genealogical facts and sort them in new and revealing ways. It shows the ease with which "advanced" features most users never discover can be used, from inserting a chart, to creating custom maps of family migration with Excel's mapping tool. We also reveal the "secrets" of creating headers and footers for your spreadsheet, and easily merging selected information from your spreadsheet into a word processing document.
Our National Treasure: The Library of Congress. Even if you never visit Washington, DC, you should explore the holdings of the Library of Congress. We’ll mine the online collection for its wealth of documents, maps, books, photographs, even sound recordings, and learn to successfully search the online catalogs.
Did He Serve? Researching Military Service Records. Even if your ancestors were too poor to own land or valuable personal belongings, chances are that one or more of them served in some arm of the United States military within the past 200-plus years. Men as young as 16 or as old as 60 may have participated in the local militia units. However, most men who served were between the ages of 18 and 30.
Don't overlook military records in your genealogical research. They can reveal vital statistics, ancestors' locales, health histories, and politics. Some files may even contain original birth, marriage, or death records. Many types of records exist relating to a veteran's military service. This lecture covers compiled service records, bounty land records, pension files, records relating to service, (draft records, post or regimental returns, correspondence, muster rolls, etc.) and published indexes to use as starting points in military research.