Following is the list of classes / presentations /topics that will be given on the Mediterranean Family History Adventure. As our presenters update the information, we will update this page.
Though this is not a full breakdown of our agenda, it is the most we can give until we have confirmation on our conference space on the cruise ship. With this being a new ship we are at the mercy of their time table. Once that is confirmed I will be able to create our full agenda for the sea days, which is when the conference will happen.
Presentations
Tom Jones
Probate Strategies: Analysis, Interpretation, and Correlation
Purposes of estate records; petitions, wills, intestates, guardianships, inventories, sales, accounts, years support, distributions, partitions; provisions for widows and minors; primogeniture, dower, and other common-law principles affecting a deceased person’s property; evidence that can be gleaned from records of all the above and how to use it to solve genealogical problems
Finding Immigrant and Migrant Origins
Problems hindering success; push, pull, and personal factors motivating immigration; getting genealogical evidence from “chain” migration; sources identifying origins; emigration and immigration records and finding aids; strategies when no source specifies a person’s origin; tracking families, neighbors, churches, and other groups rather than individuals; hidden clues to origins; strategies for “unfindable” locations; separating a migrant from others of the same name
Resolving Conflicting Evidence
Recognizing agreements and disagreements in records; distinguishing significant evidence conflicts from the trivial; strategies for reporting a conclusion when records disagree; evidence-based, rational, non-substantiation, and other approaches to resolving conflicting evidence
Correlating Sources, Information, and Evidence to Solve Genealogical Problems
Analysis and interpretation principles applicable to any kind of genealogical source; working with evidence from many sources; seeing patterns, parallels, and conflicts in evidence; working with records in a series (including censuses, tax rolls, rent rolls, city directories, communion lists, guardian and estate accounts); timelines, matrices, and other ways of graphically arranging evidence; explaining how records correlate and using correlation to build a convincing case
Building a Credible Lineage, Despite Missing Information, Conflicting and Incorrect Records, and Undocumented Publications
A case study teaches how to establish credibility of undocumented genealogies, merge seemingly separate identities, remedy record errors, resolve conflicting evidence, and separate same-named men.
Can a Complex Research Problem be Solved Solely Online?
Step by step, attendees will suggest online sources and research strategies for tracing an ancestor who seems to disappear and reappear. The presentation shows how cases can be solved online and the limits of material online today.
Karen Mauer Jones
Low Bridge, Ev’rybody Down: Navigating the Erie Canal Records
Records useful for researching the people who built and/or lived near the Erie Canal were created by the Canal Board and by the towns and counties along the route. The canal’s impact on the economic conditions, settlement patterns, population growth, and business development of the area was significant and provides the researcher with some unusual sources, especially for researching those who settled along the route.
Cluster Methodology: A Case Study in Upstate New York
This lecture uses the Joseph Johnson Chase research problem to illustrate breaking through a brick wall in upstate New York in the first half of the nineteenth century. While New York-based, the methodology of expanding the search into associates is applicable anywhere, and was essential to solving this case, indeed in solving all brick wall cases.
Finding the Parents and Origin of William Witt of Cincinnati
A case study determining the English place of origin of the immigrant William Witt of Cincinnati. Illustrates the value of thorough research in America (especially in often-overlooked sources) before jumping to England.
Illegitimacy, Desertion, and Divorce: Using Indirect Evidence to Identify Nicholas Mauer
Nicholas fathered an illegitimate child in Germany, then brought the child and his mother to southern Indiana, where he deserted them. Did he go to Minnesota and begin a new family? Is the Nicholas Mauer in Stearns County, Minnesota, the same man who left his family in Indiana? This lecture explores the indirect evidence necessary to make the case that he is indeed the same man and discusses the application of the Genealogical Proof Standard.
Don’t Ignore the Sisters: The Keys to Unlocking Genealogical Mysteries
Typically, but not always, a family’s females are the keepers of the family history. Ignoring sisters–and their descendants–means losing the photographs, Bibles, memoirs, diaries, and legends passed down through those branches. The women in a family are often the key to breaking down those brick walls. We will examine several examples of research potential including a problem solved using an unmarried sister’s will; a mug book of a sister who had gone west; the associates movements of five sisters; a sister’s hair book; and and three silver spoons passed through different branches of the same family.
David Allen Lambert
Researching Your Ancestors Last Days; Going Beyond the Death Record
This lecture will discuss records relating to the last days of your ancestor. Covering probate, doctor’s account books, newspapers, funeral home records, and cemetery records. Learn how to strategically piece together the facts and primary documents associated with your ancestors last days.
Mustering Resources for American World War I Research
Understand the resources available on the local, county, state and federal level on your ancestor’s service during World War I. Learn how to “Adopt the Regiment” to gather details on the service of your ancestor through the records of his fellow soldier.
World War II Records and Resources for United States Veterans
Learn how to confirm the stories of your World War II veteran using local and federal resources. This lecture will continue the “Adopt the Regiment” technique to aide you in your research. Discover where your relative was in Europe and the Pacific theaters of War.
Exploring records of early Immigration to the American shores 1607-1819
Learn the resources available in the archives, published and online for the earliest immigration of European settlers to America. Learn the resources to establish the arrival of your ancestors when the records are missing.
Exploring Immigration Records to the United States 1820-1920
Discover the vast collections of Federal passenger lists and how to use them to seek your ancestors arrival. Determine how to discover the vessels that brought your family over to the United States and where that vessel disembarked. Learn to examine the other passengers to seek out neighbors and possible relatives your ancestor may have immigrated with.
