Countdown to St. George Family History Expo - 3 Weeks

My turn. A little self-promotion never hurts. Today I want to cover what I will be presenting at the St. George Family History Expo on Jan. 21-22. On Friday, I'll be discussing Music and Our Ancestors and On Saturday I will be presenting Clue to Clue and Who is That? Here are the details:

Friday, 4:30-5:30pm, Class #50, Sunbrook C -
How the Music and Instruments of Your Ancestors are Relevant to Family History Research

Most people don't think of the entertainment activities of their ancestors as being relevant in genealogical research, but it certainly is for those who want to delve into family history - learning the various aspects of the family dynamics. Just as music is important in our lives today, so it was for our multi-great-grandparents. What music was common in certain regions? What types of instruments were played and songs were sung? How does one find out about these things? Is there a way to learn about your ancestor's music life even if no artifacts remain (i.e., no instruments have survived)? This program will answer some, if not all, of these questions; give the researcher new things to search and look for; and shed some light on that other part of the ancestors' lives. Researchers of all levels are welcome.


Saturday, 11:00am-noon, Class #81, Sunbrook C -
Who is That? Why Did Your Ancestor Associate with Apparent Strangers?

I examine those "other" people who seem to appear on records with our ancestors. This includes people on census reports who live in the same home as our forebears, people who sign as witnesses on various documents, and people who are buried in our family plots. Why are they there? Were they related? Friends? Or just people who ended up associating with our families? We will consider different ways to research these people and learn how/if they are connected. These research processes can often shed light on other family members. Good for most levels of research, especially if this has not been a method you have used before.

Saturday, 1:00-2:00pm, Class #91, Sunbrook C -
Clue to Clue: Tracking a Family Across Time and Miles

I examine the step-by-step process of researching a single family as they moved from place to place throughout their lives, from 1828 through 1893, and covering 1500 miles in their moves from New York to Michigan to Iowa to Tennessee to Texas. Using a variety of records, including census schedules (Federal and State), city directories, church documents, interviews, land records, cemetery records and tombstones, newspaper articles, County websites, and more, those in attendance should go away with some new research ideas, even if their ancestors did not live in any of those states. This is good for beginning to intermediate researchers. We have a lot of laughs as we look at the different records, comparing them to family stories, etc.




So there you have it - my offerings for this special event. Click on the icon above to access the full schedule of all there is to learn. In the next weeks we'll look at what the exhibit hall will include and some specifics about some other presentations.