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Virginia Ancestry |
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Vic is available for the following lectures:
General Methodology and Sources:
Title: Beating the Odds: Using Indirect Evidence in Problem Solving
Target Audience:
Intermediate
Description: Lecture discusses types of evidence and how to
evaluate. Indirect evidence is presented as an alternative to direct
evidence solutions either by linking to other family members or based solely
on circumstantial evidence.
Compiling logical proof arguments is briefly discussed.
Title:
Burned County Research Methodology
Target Audience:
Intermediate.
Description:
Lecture discusses the effective use of surviving county records and then
focuses on Federal and state records that provide genealogical information
such as military, pensions, Southern Claims, Serial Set and state land
grants that help fill in research gaps. Non-Government sources such as
church records, manuscripts, cemetery records and local histories are also
reviewed.
Title:
Confederate Civilian Records
Target Audience:
Intermediate.
Description:
Following the Civil War, a number of claims were filed by southern citizens
for property damage. As a result of these claims, a number of records
of Confederate civilians were preserved and are available at the National
Archives. These sources can provide excellent biographical and
genealogical information on non-combatant ancestors both pro-Confederate and
pro-Union. Records discussed include Union Provost Marshall's Files,
Confederate Quartermaster General's Department Records, Confederate
Papers Relating to Citizens or Business Firms and the Southern
Claims Commission.
Title:
Deed Books: More Than Just Land Records
Target Audience:
Intermediate
Description:
Genealogical information found in real estate deeds discussed as
well as the different types of deeds and their implications for
genealogists. Other miscellaneous items recorded in deed books such as
powers of attorney, deeds of trust, surveys, slave manumissions, slave sales
and distributions, and heir releases are examined.
Title:
Efficient and Effective On-Site Research Strategies
Target Audience:
All levels
Description:
Do I need to make a photocopy or not? Learn how to make the most of
your time on a research trip to a courthouse, library or other repository
from a full-time professional genealogist. Pre-trip planning and use
of electronics are discussed.
Title:
Finding your Ancestors in Local Histories
Target Audience:
Beginning to intermediate.
Description:
Focuses on research strategies for locating ancestral biographical and
genealogical information in local histories published in the United States
between 1880-1920. Myriad examples demonstrate methods of verifying
the data. Repositories, indexes and electronic databases are examined.
Title:
Getting the Most from Court Records: Order Books, Minute Books &
Associated Loose Papers
Target Audience:
Intermediate to advanced.
Description:
Was your ancestor illegitimate, a "gentleman justice" of the court,
a horse thief, or an insolvent debtor? Court records may provide answers and
connect generations. Lecture examines
the important genealogical and biographical information found in county
court records which is often not found in other court documents such as
probate and land documents. Focuses on locating and accessing records
along with search strategies. Chancery (aka equity), common law and
criminal records are discussed along with the various types of information
that may be found in often overlooked loose papers.
Title:
How Old Was Grandpa? Estimating Ancestral Birth Dates
Target Audience:
Intermediate.
Description:
Determining an approximate birth date may be essential to identifying
ancestors. Useful methods to calculate age when no birth record is available
are examined. Lecture will examine alternative sources for estimating ages
such as the pre-1850 censuses, tax lists, guardianship records and clues
found in probate records. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the law
and how it affected minors and their ability to contract and serve as
witnesses.
Title:
I Rest My Case: Constructing a Convincing Proof Argument
Target Audience:
Intermediate to Advanced.
Description:
This session explains the difference between proof summaries and proof
arguments and examines which type of presentation is appropriate based on
research findings. Session examples will explain how to write convincing
arguments.
Title:
Land Platting and DeedMapper
Target Audience:
Intermediate.
Description:
This double session explains the benefits of land platting in problem
solving. It demonstrates manual land platting and then shows how
DeedMapper software can be utilized to plat land and reconstruct ancestral
neighborhoods. Advanced features of DeedMapper including adding plats
to historic maps and overlaying on Google Earth are also discussed.
Title:
Magic in Manuscripts and Business Records
Target Audience:
Intermediate.
Description:
Manuscripts can provide a wealth of genealogical and biographical data.
Types of manuscripts such as personal papers and genealogists' records are
explored as are business sources such as merchant records, physician records
and lawyer's ledgers. Methods of locating and accessing the records such as
NUCMC and other databases and guides are discussed.
Title: Newspaper
Research - More than Deaths and Marriages
Target Audience:
Intermediate.
Description:
Local newspapers contain a hidden treasure of genealogical information
beyond obituaries, marriage notices and birth announcements. Learn how
to put your ancestors in social context and solve brick-walls. Published
estate data, court suits, "letters at the post office," political and civic
affiliations are examined. Local news or gossip sections are discussed
for their use in identifying family members. Access via local and
state libraries or historical societies, Library of Congress as well as
on-line sources is explored.
Title:
The Research Process
Target Audience:
Intermediate to advanced.
Description:
Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) Standards offer guides for the
way we should conduct our work. This overview will demonstrate using
standards in research, reporting, and problem solving. Specifically
examines using the standards in problem definition, analysis, formulating
research plans, the research process and reporting for personal and client
research. Emphasis on efficiency is stressed and specific examples are
discussed.
Title:
Solving Problems with Tax Records
Target Audience:
Intermediate.
Description:
When other sources fail, tax lists often provide resolution to same name
scenarios, direct or indirect evidence of family relationships, estimated
birth and death dates, proof of migration and place ancestors in social
context. Learn how to effectively use these records.
Title:
Statistically Speaking - the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Vital Record
Research
Target Audience:
Beginner.
Description:
How do I obtain great-grandma's death certificate and how do I know the
information is correct? Learn how to access and analyze vital records
for veracity and find additional sources to extend ancestral lines. Sample
documents are reviewed for each piece of information with focus on how to
analyze and determine additional sources that may be available. The
pitfalls of registers vs. actual documents are examined. Discusses
evaluation of information and how incorrect data can be used to identify
valid genealogical information.
Title:
Using Associates and Collaterals to Extend Ancestral Lines: James and
Hannah Dunn of Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Target Audience:
Intermediate to advanced.
Description:
A case study of records of associates and collaterals of a family illustrate
the use of information to determine migration and establish a family unit.
The lecture focuses on the methodology used in "Reconstructing Parents from
Indirect Evidence: Robert Dunn of Frederick County, Virginia" which
was published in the September 2006 edition of National Genealogical
Society Quarterly. Potential record sources naming associates and
collaterals are also discussed.
Virginia Methodology and Sources:
Title:
Before Virginia: Finding the Origins of Colonial Immigrants
Target Audience:
All Levels
Description:
Determining a Virginian immigrant's origins can be a challenge.
Find out what sources and techniques are available.
Title:
Colonial Migrations In and Out of the Shenandoah Valley
Target Audience:
Intermediate.
Description:
Before migrating to the Carolinas or westward, many Scotch-Irish, English
and Germans first came down through the Valley on the Great Wagon Road.
This lecture examines the ethnic and religious groups who traveled from the
Northern states as well as eastern Virginians who crossed the Blue Ridge
into the Valley. County-by-county origins are examined.
Title:
Deeds, Surveys, Land Books, and Other Records.
Target Audience:
Beginning to intermediate.
Description: Research in land records is essential in solving
Virginia genealogical research problems. Explore the records that are
available including little known sources that may provide the key to solving
your problem.
Title:
Finding Virginia’s Wives, Mothers, and Sisters
Target Audience:
Intermediate.
Description:
Identifying early Virginia women can be challenging since marriage records
often do not exist prior to the 1780s. This session explores successful
methodology techniques to identify women and the sources that may yield
answers such as vital, census, probate, guardianship, land, court, church,
military and newspaper records. DNA evidence is discussed, and case studies
are presented.
Title:
In Chancery: Using Court Papers to Add to and Enhance Your Pedigree.
Target Audience:
Intermediate.
Description: Chancery, also known as equity, court records are
often overlooked by researchers, but they can provide a wealth of
genealogical and biographical data on your ancestors, and occasionally add
multiple generations to your family tree.
Title:
In the Beginning: Tidewater Settlement
Target Audience:
All.
Description:
From the settlement of Jamestown in 1607, Virginians
began claiming land throughout the Tidewater region. Learn migration
patterns and their effect on research.
Title:
Lands from the Crown: Records of the Colonial Land Office
Target Audience:
Beginner to Intermediate
Description:
Virginia's early land patents contain a wealth of
genealogical data. Learn how to locate and interpret these records as well
as identify immigrant ancestors through headrights.
Title:
The Law of the Land: Inheritance in Early Virginia
Target Audience:
Intermediate to advanced.
Description: Understanding colonial law, basically modified British
common law, and the changes brought by the Revolution may help resolve
ancestral issues. Primogeniture and entailment are explained.
Title:
Out of State, Out of Mind? Finding the Answers in Virginia's Neighbor's
Records
Target Audience:
Intermediate.
Description:
Virginia and West Virginia share borders with a number of
neighbors: Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee
and Washington, D.C. Often the borders are artificial boundaries
resolved after years of disputes. In other cases, natural boundaries
such as the Ohio and Potomac rivers and Chesapeake Bay could be easily
accessed. This lecture focuses on a number of records of Virginians
that were created outside the state. Records included newspapers, marriages,
church, probate, court and others. Specific geographical situations where
Virginians migrated out of the state and back are discussed.
Title:
Planning a successful Virginia Research Trip
Target Audience:
All levels.
Description:
Before heading to the Old Dominion, determine how to prepare for your trip
and where to go when you arrive. Online websites are explored such as
sources and finding aids for the Library of Virginia, Virginia Tax List Club
and other online indexes are discussed. Sources available through
interlibrary loan are examined as well as major Virginia research
repositories.
Title:
The Probate Process in Early Virginia
Target Audience:
Intermediate
Description:
Whether your ancestor died testate or intestate, he
may have left probate records. Learn how to locate and interpret these
records as well as identify other associated genealogical records.
Title:
Records of the Northern Neck Proprietary
Target Audience:
Intermediate.
Description:
Also known as the Fairfax Proprietary, this area consists of over 5 million
acres in present day Northern Virginia and West Virginia including the
northern section of the Shenandoah Valley. This lecture discusses
information found in warrants, surveys and grants which is frequently rich
in genealogical and biographical data. Discussion also focuses on
other manuscript records largely overlooked by researchers such as
correspondence, rent rolls and proprietary leases.
Title:
Sacred Sources: Virginia Church and Bible Records
Target Audience:
Beginner to intermediate.
Description:
Pre and post-colonial Virginia church records can provide a wealth of
information, particularly when court records are lost. Focus is on
identifying the major religious groups and accessing their surviving
records. Virginia's vast collection of Bible records available to the public
are also examined.
Title:
The Scotch-Irish from Pennsylvania Through Virginia and the Carolinas
Target Audience:
Beginner to intermediate.
Description: After
settling in Pennsylvania in the early eighteenth century, these elusive
ancestors began migrating southward into Virginia and the Carolinas. Focus
is on the migration from Pennsylvania and later directly from Ireland to
Virginia. Migration out of
Virginia is also discussed as are settlement patterns throughout the Valley
and Southside Virginia. While
methods of locating land owing ancestors are discussed, much focus is placed
on identifying non-land-owning ancestors through court records and
manuscript sources.
Title:
Virginia Geography 101
Target Audience:
All.
Description: Examine Virginia's geographical regions from the
Coastal Plains to the Appalachian Plateau. Focus is on how the state's
landscape such as rivers and mountains determined settlement patterns.
Title:
Virginia's Manuscript Records On-site, On Film and Online
Target Audience:
All.
Description:
Learn what records and indexes are available and can
be examined prior to your Virginia research trip and discover repositories
to visit once you arrive in Virginia.
Title:
Virginia Research 101
Target Audience:
Beginning to Intermediate
Description:
Session highlights the county, state
and Federal records useful for Virginia research along with a brief
mention of strategies to work around burned counties. Miscellaneous sources
such as newspapers, Bible and business records also discussed as are major
Virginia repositories and websites.
Title:
Westward Bound - Settlement Beyond Tidewater
Target Audience:
All levels.
Description: As
tobacco exhausted the tidewater lands, Virginians moved westward. Discover
where they settled and the records they created.
Title:
Women, Children, Aliens and Servants: The Law in Early Virginia.
Target Audience:
Intermediate.
Description: Learn
what laws affected these individuals and how to interpret the records they
are found in. |