MY GENEALOGY PRESENTATIONS

Upcoming Talks 

  • May 20: Clues to Conclusions: Can You Prove It? (live webinar hosted by Fairfax Genealogical Society, German Genealogy SIG) 

Bonus! Here's my seven-minute talk on how to make an ancestor coloring book:


Need a speaker? My topics: 

  • Planning a Future for Your Family's Past - Ancestors' photos, stories, documents, and heirlooms are part of your family's past, but there's no guarantee that they will outlive you. Protect your genealogy collection by: organizing and storing materials safely; curating your collection; writing a "genealogical will" to safeguard your collection for the future; and sharing your family's history now. Put a plan in place today to preserve your family's legacy tomorrow, even if there are no obvious heirs for your collection.
  • Researching Military Records and More on Fold3 - The Fold3.com website is a gateway to millions of military records and more, including naturalization documents and city directories, useful for family history research. This program provides an overview of Fold3’s wide-ranging genealogical content and then demonstrates, step by step, how to navigate the site, with specific examples of research strategies for military/non-military documents. Attendees will also learn how to create or expand memorial pages for ancestors who served in the military, accessible to anyone who searches on Fold3. 
  • Genealogical Clues and Cousin Bait on FindaGrave - Tips and tricks for using the free FindaGrave.com site to research ancestors, and memorialize their burial places, and connect with cousins. Beyond the basic search techniques that can uncover new genealogical clues, see how to catch the eye of cousins and researchers by linking family-tree members, posting ancestor bios, submitting edits and flowers, and personalizing your member profile. Also learn why and how to create a virtual cemetery for your ancestors--so relatives and descendants will know exactly where the bodies are buried! 
  • Bring Family History Alive in Bite-Sized Projects - Learn how to document family history stories in engaging, practical, bite-sized projects that can be shared with relatives and posted on genealogy websites. See why and how to narrow your focus to one ancestor, occasion, heirloom, photo, or place. Like a sprint rather than a marathon, each project takes a short time and gives you flexibility to be creative in spotlighting one aspect of family history to share with relatives now. Ideas include brief ancestor bios and booklets, heirloom stories, ancestor coloring books, photobooks, and video-based family history. 
  • Free (and Almost Free) Genealogy - Find out how to locate family-history information online and through non-digital sources without spending a fortune. In addition to using the big-name websites, see how to search for clues about ancestors by checking Linkpendium, the Ancestor Hunt, state and local genealogy societies, and asking local historians, archives, and libraries. Learn tips for deciding when it pays to pay for a document, based on what's missing from your family tree, what your family already has in hand, and how unique that document really is. 
  • From Clues to Conclusions: Can You Prove It? - To go from clues to answers for tough family history challenges, find out what it means to "prove" something in genealogy. With intriguing real-world case studies, this how-to presentation defines and demonstrates the use of the Genealogical Proof Standard for planning research, analyzing sources and details, resolving conflicting clues, and coming to a credible solution with higher confidence. Seeing the proof process in action can provide insights and ideas for turning clues into provable conclusions. 

Note:  The second edition of my popular genealogy book is available as a paperback and ebook on Amazon in USCanadaUK, and worldwide.

Please email (marianbww@charter.net) for more information and scheduling!