Conferences

Solving Family History Mysteries in Roswell, NM: Genealogy Seminar with Lisa Louise Cooke

September 21, 2017 by Sunny Leave a Comment

You’re invited to join Lisa Louise Cooke for a Roswell, NM genealogy seminar. “Solving Family History Mysteries with Lisa Louise Cooke” will be held on Saturday, October 21, 2o17 as the Wilson-Cobb History and Genealogy Library Annual Workshop. Please come!

Roswell, NM Genealogy Seminar with Lisa Louise Cooke

The Wilson-Cobb Library in Roswell, New Mexico is hosting Lisa Louise Cooke for an exciting, informative all-day workshop that will help you solve your family history mysteries! Here’s what’s happening:

What: Solving Family History Mysteries with Lisa Louise Cooke
Where: Roswell Civic and Convention Center, 912 N Main St, Roswell, NM 88201
When: Saturday, October 21, 2017, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm (On-site registration opens at 8:30 am)
Hosted by: Wilson-Cobb History and Genealogy Library
Registration: Click here for more information and to register
Bonus: Snacks, beverages and a catered lunch will be served. (Donations gratefully accepted for lunch.)

If you haven’t registered ahead of time, plan to be there at 8:30 am for onsite registration. At 9:00, Lisa will start teaching the day’s class lineup:

Google Tools & Procedures for Solving Family History Mysteries. In this session, we will walk through the process, provide you with the tools, and wow your socks off with real-life examples of Googling success. You will leave this class inspired to revisit using Google for your online searches, and armed with the latest strategies to do so successfully. Not everything is online by any stretch, but even offline sources are more efficiently discovered and accessed when you start online. And the fastest and most effective way to locate online data, whether it resides on a university website or the blog of a distant cousin you’ve never met, is Google!

Update: Google! Everything New That You Need to Know for Genealogy. Google continues to evolve and change every day. In this session, Google Guru Lisa Louise Cooke will give you an update on the most recent Google changes. Then she will unleash advanced search strategies for genealogy that you probably aren’t using, but are ‘must-haves’ in order to get the best results possible. Here are tips and tricks you can put into practice right away.

How to Reopen and Work a Genealogical Cold Case. Become a genealogical detective in this vital session. You’ll learn to track ancestors like a criminal cold case detective, sniffing out holes in your research and getting missing information on the record with cutting edge technology.

Google Search Strategies for Common Surnames. Discover tips and tricks to find your ancestors with common surnames and surnames that double as common words in the English language with Google. Learn how to weed out irrelevant search results to save time and get to what you want faster. Then save and automate your searches to run for you! You’ll not only improve your searches, but also improve the chances that the information you post online will be found by other genealogists facilitating collaboration!

Don’t miss Lisa’s Google tips!

Solve more family history mysteries with Lisa Louise Cooke’s top-selling book, The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox (2nd edition). This “Google bible” for the genealogist tells you everything you need to know to master Google’s many powerful tools. Step-by-step instructions, clear illustrations and inspiring examples will teach you how to get the most out of Google searching (even for common surnames), Google Earth, Google Books, Google Scholar, Google Alerts, Google Translate and even YouTube.

Read these Google genealogy success stories:

An ancestor’s pen name identified–and 69 of his articles found–with Google Books

Two ancestors’ homes found on the National Historic Register with Google Searching

The Colored Farmers Alliance: Social history revealed with Google and Google Books

Filed Under: 01 What's New, Conferences Tagged With: conference, Roswell NM genealogy, seminar

RootsTech 2018 Registration Is Open! First Look at 4 Full Days of Genealogy Fun

September 20, 2017 by Sunny Leave a Comment

RootsTech 2018 registration is open! Travel plan alert: you won’t want to miss Wednesday, February 28, the new official opening day. Wednesday is all about technology, and it’s aimed at all of us (not just the techie crowd). We are a little bit giddy at the thought. Here’s our “first look” at what to expect for RootsTech 2018.

The buzz has already begun for RootsTech 2018! Here’s our synopsis of what’s going to be great about RootsTech 2018:

RootsTech 2018: “Connect. Belong”
Where: Salt Lake City, Utah
When: Wednesday, February 28 – Saturday, March 3, 2018
Hosted by: FamilySearch.org
Registration: Register online ASAP for early-bird pricing

RootsTech 2018: Don’t Miss Wednesday!

Technology day for everyone

Lisa Louise Cooke at RootsTech 2015

Big news: RootsTech 2018 will run for four full days! The dates to mark on your calendar are Wednesday, February 28 – Saturday, March 3. Don’t miss the first day! In the past, Wednesday technology sessions have been targeted at industry movers-and-shakers. This year, Wednesday is still all about technology, but the day’s events have been expanded and broadened for all audiences. There will be an opening General Keynote Session, a new Innovation Showcase, and classes that will appeal to all audiences.

The Innovation Showcase has replaced previous year’s competition. It looks more like a high-tech “show and tell” of even more of the best-and-brightest stars in family history technology. Companies from around the world–from small startups to large organizations–will have a shot at presenting their newest product or service on stage before a large online and in-person audience. The audience will select a “People’s Choice award” via live text voting. (Click here by October 15 to nominate a product or service.)

Wednesday Expo Hall Preview

Make plans to come say hello to us on Wednesday evening at the Expo Hall Preview from 6:00 – 8:00 pm. Genealogy Gems will be there with another ultimate Exhibitor Hall experience (click here to get an idea of what’s coming). The Expo Hall is a stunning, not-to-miss experience, whether you love the energy of the crowd, the glamorous displays, or the chance to talk one-on-one with people from your favorite genealogy companies and services.

RootsTech 2018 Registration: Plan Early for the Best Experience

In addition to what’s new, many great RootsTech traditions promise to continue this year: expect dazzling keynotes, over 300 official RootsTech classes, and world-class evening entertainment. (Click here to watch my 2017 “Genealogy Giants” RootsTech lecture or click here for the recently-released 2017 keynote by LaVar Burton.) More details about this year’s keynotes and performers will be announced in the coming months, so check back with us often. We are official RootsTech Ambassadors and we’ll have the inside scoop on all the latest information and updates.

RootsTech registration is now open! There are lots of registration options–from a free Family Discovery Day experience on Saturday to a budget-friendly “Getting Started” four-day pass ($69 early-bird price) to the full RootsTech Pass ($169 early-bird price). Click here for a comparison of what each pass offers. And here’s a tip from a RootsTech veteran: Make your hotel reservations early! Those downtown hotels fill up so quickly.

Going to RootsTech for the first time? Click here for a RootsTech Q&A with Lisa Louise Cooke.

The Genealogy Gems team can’t wait to see you at RootsTech 2018!

Filed Under: 01 What's New, Conferences, RootsTech Tagged With: RootsTech 2018 registration, RootsTech 2018 RT2018 conferences

Revitalize and Organize Your Genealogy: Colorado All-day Seminar with Lisa Louise Cooke

September 18, 2017 by Sunny Leave a Comment

Do you want to revitalize your genealogy energy, boost your online research skills, and better organize your many family history discoveries? Join Lisa Louise Cooke at the “Reinvigorate Your Research” all-day seminar in Denver, Colorado, hosted by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado.

Genealogists seem to face some universal challenges. Like, how to research online more effectively and efficiently. How to organize what you find (especially when discoveries are spread across various websites and in paper files). Knowing which technology tools to invest in, and how to master them. Genealogy and technology expert Lisa Louise Cooke can help you with all these challenges–in person, in fact, at this upcoming all-day event in Denver, Colorado.

Organize Your Genealogy, Revitalize Your Research

Here’s what you’ll want to know about this event:

What: “Reinvigorate Your Research with Lisa Louise Cooke:” Annual All-Day Seminar by JGSCO
Where: Jewish Community Center, Social Hall, 350 S. Dahlia St, Denver
When: Sunday, October 15, 9:00 am – 3:30 pm (doors open at 8:00 am for registration)
Hosted by: Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado
Registration: Register online by October 9, 2017
BONUS: Cost of admission ($20 members/$35 nonmembers) includes continental-style breakfast, snacks, and a Kosher buffet-style lunch.

Lisa’s host, The Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado, has chosen a fantastic lineup of Lisa’s lectures that really do hit on all those pain points we have. Here’s what classes you’ll get to enjoy all day on Sunday, October 15:

get-organized-Genealogy-Gems-Membership

How to Organize All this Genealogy Stuff! Save yourself future frustration and disappointment by putting a solid genealogy organizational plan in place for all the types of items that will be coming your way.

Organizing All This Paper! The Physical Items Organization System
Organizing All That Genealogical Data! The Family Tree Data Organization System
Organizing All These Digital Files! The Digital Organization System
Organizing All that Web Information! The Online Notetaking System

Google Search and Google Books: Tools for Every Day. Discover Google search tools and new ways for using them to solve the genealogical challenges you face. Learn the secrets of getting more than you ever imagined from the largest online collection of digitized books–Google Books. With 25 million books, many of which are digitized and fully searchable, Google Books should be the first place to which you turn as you climb your family tree. Learn how to make the most of this goldmine chock full of historical data with little-known techniques.

Time Travel with Google Earth. Get ready to experience old historic maps, genealogical records, images, and videos coming together to create stunning time travel experiences in the free Google Earth program. We’ll incorporate automated changing boundaries, and uncover historic maps that are built right into Google Earth. Tell time travel stories that will truly excite your non-genealogist relatives! You’ve never seen anything like this class!

Future Technology and Genealogy: 5 Strategies You Need. Envision your genealogy as technology speeds ahead into the future. There are five key strategies that you can employ right now that will make the ride easier and the results more exciting than ever. Discover the paradigm shift that will make it easy to find the right technology for your needs and learn how to capitalize on how technology is changing the flow of information.

Bring Lisa Home with You

I’m sorry if you’ll miss this event–Lisa’s seminar attendees always leave with a new list of strategies they can’t wait to try. (I’ve actually seen people sneak onto their devices during her presentations and start trying the apps, search strategies, and tools she’s talking about. It’s like they can’t wait after she shows them what’s possible.)

You can bring Lisa home with an annual Genealogy Gems Premium membership. Premium members have exclusive access to a packed archive of video classes–including a new class on Google Books and an entire series to help you organize your genealogy “stuff.” You also get ongoing tips and inspiration in her monthly Premium Podcast (and access to all past episodes). It’s the most affordable and consistently high-quality, tech-forward genealogy education around. And you can start trying her tips any time you like.

Filed Under: 01 What's New, Conferences Tagged With: Colorado, genealogy seminar, Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado, organize your genealogy

Georgia Genealogical Society Seminar: Coming Up on September 16

September 7, 2017 by Lisa Leave a Comment

The Georgia Genealogical Society is hosting an all-day seminar on September 16, 2017 in Marietta, Georgia. I’m the invited speaker–and you’re invited, too! Come learn cutting-edge skills and tools you can start using in your family history research immediately. Register online until September 12, 2017.

If you can make it to Marietta, Georgia on Saturday, September 16, I hope you’ll join me for an all-day seminar sponsored by the Georgia Genealogical Society. The event organizers have chosen a well-rounded set of classes I’m excited to teach! You’ll get cutting-edge tips on online search strategies, an in-depth newspaper research class, a unique and fun approach to working a “genealogical cold case,” and inspiring, attention-getting ideas to share your family history discoveries with your relatives.

Georgia Genealogical Society Seminar Details

Here’s what you’ll want to know now about this event:

What: All-Day Seminar with Lisa Louise Cooke
Where: First Presbyterian Church, 189 Church St., Marietta, GA
When: Saturday, September 16, 2017, 9:45 am – 4:15 pm (doors open at 9:15 am for registration)
Hosted by: Georgia Genealogical Society; co-sponsored by Cobb County Genealogical Society
Registration: Register online via PayPal by midnight on Tuesday, September 12, 2017, to get the regular event price and the class handouts.

And boy oh boy are we going to dig into genealogy!:

10:15 am: Google Books: The Tool You Should Use Every Day! Over 25 million digitized and searchable free books are at your fingertips with Google Books. Learn how to make the most of this goldmine chock full of historical data. (This is a brand new class in 2017 and was a BIG hit at Rootstech,)

11:30: Get the Scoop on your Ancestors with Newspapers. Yearning to “read all about it?” Newspapers are a fantastic source of research leads, information and historical context for your family history. Learn the specialized approach that is required to achieve success in locating the news on your ancestors. Includes 3 Cool Tech Tools that will get you started.

(12:30-2:00 pm: Lunch is on your own)

2:00 pm: How to Reopen and Work a Genealogy Cold Case. Become a genealogical detective in this vital session. You’ll learn to track ancestors like a criminal cold case detective, sniffing out holes in your research and getting missing information on the record with cutting edge technology.

3:15 pm: Inspiring Ways to Capture the Interest of Non-Genealogists. If you are researching your family tree but haven’t shared it with your family in a way that sparks their interest, then you are only experiencing half of the joy of genealogy! And if your descendants don’t grasp the importance of their heritage, your hard work may tragically find it’s way to the city dump when you are gone. Don’t just collect your family history and store it away in binders and files! Learn how creative displays and crafts can capture the imagination of your non-historian friends and relatives, while honoring your ancestors. These projects are guaranteed to inspire your family to ask you to tell them more about the family tree!

Click here for more about the event and to register.

4 More Ways to Learn New Genealogy Skills

If you can’t be in Marietta (darn!) on September 16, check out these free options for learning with me and the rest of my team here at Genealogy Gems:

- Subscribe to my free weekly e-newsletter. You’ll get my free Google research e-book as a thank you gift. Simply enter your email address into this box, and I’ll deliver news, how-tos and stories from my blog, including my popular weekly update of new genealogy records online.

Newsletter Sign Up

For Email Newsletters you can trust.

Listen to the free Genealogy Gems podcast. My flagship audio show has been delivering in-depth stories, research strategies, tech tips and more for more than 10 years–with more than 2 million times worldwide. Why not listen for yourself?
Subscribe to my YouTube channel. Watch, learn and be inspired with the many genealogy how-to videos I’ve shared on my YouTube channel.

Thanks for sharing this event invitation with your friends. I hope to meet you in Marietta, on social media or as a new listener or email subscriber!

Filed Under: 01 What's New, Conferences Tagged With: Georgia Genealogical Society, lisa louise cooke, seminar

Fort Worth Genealogical Society End of Summer Seminar this Weekend with Lisa Louise Cooke

September 5, 2017 by Sunny Leave a Comment

Recharge your genealogy research at the Fort Worth Genealogical Society End of Summer Seminar this Saturday, September 9, 2017. Genealogy and technology expert Lisa Louise Cooke will help you to discover, organize and share your family history more effectively.

If you’re in or near Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, you’re invited to attend the Fort Worth Genealogical Society ‘s End of Summer Seminar this Saturday, September 9, 2017.

To celebrate their 60th anniversary, the Society has invited internationally-renowned genealogy and technology expert Lisa Louise Cooke for a full day of genealogy fun and inspiration. She’ll be presenting four sessions packed with simple yet powerful strategies, how-to’s and examples that will help you discover your family history more effectively online, organize what you learn, and share it with attention-getting style.

THIS SATURDAY: Fort Worth Genealogical Society Seminar Details

Here’s what’s happening:

What: 2017 End of Summer Seminar
Where: Trimble Tech High School, 1003 W. Cannon Street, Fort Worth, TX
When: Saturday, September 9, 2017, 8:45 am – 4:30 pm (doors open at 8:15 am for registration)
Hosted by: Fort Worth Genealogical Society

Lisa will be teaching some of her most empowering classes–the ones that give attendees immediate action items to help them take the next steps in their own genealogy research. Three of the four classes are entirely new in 2017. Here they are:

1. Google Books: The Tool You Should Use Every Day! Over 25 million digitized and searchable free books are at your fingertips with Google Books. Learn how to make the most of this goldmine chock full of historical data. (This was a BIG hit at Rootstech,)

2. Create a Free Google Earth Map Collection for Your Research. Learn how to find free digital maps for your ancestral locations, add them as permanent overlays to Google Earth, and then organize them into your personal map reference collection. You’ll learn best practices for keeping them organized and enriching your research.

3. Making Evernote Effortless. Learn the best strategies for making Evernote a breeze to use for your genealogy research. Shave time off your note-taking with quick keys, shortcuts, saved searches, search operators, Reminders, note sharing, source citation, and building Evernote into any browser you use (including mobile devices). (Evernote is one of the world’s top free organization tech tools: click here to learn more about it.)

4. 7 Awesome Apps that Eliminate Eye-Rolling! Eliminate your relative’s bored eye-rolling and captivate them with compelling stories and imagery! We’ll cover seven easy-to-use and free mobile apps that will help you tell your family history stories in a riveting way.

More Learning Opportunities with Lisa Louise Cooke

If you can’t make it this weekend, you can still get the benefit of Lisa’s expertise and inspiring teaching style.

First, head to her Seminar schedule to see if she’ll be headed to a town near you!

Then, check out her books and quick guides. They are packed with her signature approach to technology: she shares creative ideas and simple, step-by-step instructions for using powerful, mainstream and mostly free technologies for family history.

The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox (2nd edition) is a must-have for all family history researchers who work online (and that’s just about everyone). Find detailed instructions and explanations for making your Google searches more effective, along with entire chapters on using Google Earth, Google Books, Google Scholar, Google Alerts and even YouTube for genealogy.
The Evernote for Genealogists quick reference guide (available for Windows and Mac users) is a handy cheat sheet you’ll want to keep close at hand. It takes you from the “getting started” level quickly into navigating Evernote to maximize and organize your research note-taking.
Mobile Genealogy: How to Use Your Tablet and Smartphone for Family History Research will help you put your iPad, tablet and/or smartphone to work for your genealogy research. This expanded second edition of her original, groundbreaking book on mobile genealogy goes into greater depth with more apps and is loaded with tips and tricks that make your mobile device a genealogy powerhouse.

Filed Under: 01 What's New, Conferences Tagged With: Forth Worth Genealogical Society, seminar

Australasian Genealogy Congress 2018: Join Me There

August 19, 2017 by Lisa Leave a Comment

It’s a joy to announce that I’ll be keynoting at the Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry in Sydney in 2018! Mark your calendars and meet me there!

Join Me in Sydney, Australia!

The Australasian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry will meet in March 2018 in Sydney, Australia. I’m honored to be one of the four-day event’s keynote speakers. Here’s what you’ll want to know now:

What: 15th Australian Congress on Genealogy and Heraldry
Where: International Convention Centre, Darling Harbor, Sydney, Australia
When: March 9-12, 2018
Hosted by: Society of Australian Genealogists

Australasian Genealogy Congress details

This event is held every three years to “bring together passionate family historians from around Australia, New Zealand and many parts of the world,” explains the event website. They’ve invited a range of expert speakers from Australia, New Zealand, England and the US to give a lively combination of plenary sessions and concurrent streams of lectures on a variety of topics. Their vision for 2018 is to bring together the best of their own past events plus the things people love about big events like RootsTech:

“Our aim is to give you a great range of speakers, the opportunity to speak with sponsors and exhibitors, the chance to share your experiences with both new and old family history friends, and to do all this in a relaxed and friendly environment.” -Congress organizers

Click here for more information and to register.

Can’t come? Join me online!

We’ll miss you if you can’t make it, but you can still sit in on some of my most popular classes. Genealogy Gems Premium membership offers 24/7 access to video classes of my most-requested lectures AND the full archive of the Genealogy Gems Premium podcast. You get a full year’s access to all this with one low fee. Click here to learn more.

Filed Under: 01 What's New, Australian, Conferences Tagged With: Australasian Congress, Australia, conferences, New Zealand

Get the Big Picture and the Little Details

August 5, 2017 by Lisa Leave a Comment

I’m excited to keynote Family Tree University’s Fall Virtual Genealogy Conference, September 15-17, 2017. Get three days of video presentations packed with DNA research strategies, the latest tech tools, organization and preservation tips, and MORE! Sign up by September 15, 2017 with our coupon code for $30 off registration.

My grandmother was fond of saying, “The devil’s in the details.” I’m not sure about the devil’s current residence, but I do know that even the smallest details can add up to a really big picture. As genealogists, we’re all hunting for even the tiniest facts and features that will bring that picture into clear focus.

Family Tree University’s 2017 Fall Virtual Genealogy Conference (September 15-17) aims to help you discover and apply all those little details to your family history. With fifteen presentations ranging from DNA testing to research strategies, technology and preservation tools (and everything in between), you’ll gain a host of tricks for understanding your ancestors’ lives better. Some lectures focus on specific record sets, like Genealogy Gems Editor Sunny Morton’s presentation on mining the U.S. census. Other classes help you reconstruct compelling ancestral stories; for example, Nancy Hendrickson’s “Resources for Visual Storytelling” and my own classes, “Time Travel Technology” and “5 Google Secrets Revealed.” Click here to see the full (and impressive!) lineup of presentations.

I’m tying all these virtual classes together with a live keynote presentation, “Big Pictures in Little Details,” on Sunday, September 17, after which I’ll do a brief, live Q&A.

The best part about the FTU virtual conference weekend: Not only can you participate from the comfort of your own home, but you won’t have to choose between presentations occurring at the same time. They’re all available to stream and download. So you can keep them and refer back long after the conference is over. Even my live keynote and Q&As will be recorded, so you won’t have to miss a thing!

Sign up by September 15 and save $30 with our exclusive coupon code GEMS30.

Come join me for a fun-filled three days at the 2017 Fall Virtual Conference!

Filed Under: 01 What's New, Conferences, Family Tree Magazine Tagged With: family tree university, family virtual conference, genealogy conference

Join the Genealogy Gems Expert Team for Sources, Storytelling & DNA

July 24, 2017 by Lacey Cooke Leave a Comment

The Dallas Genealogical Society 2017 Summer Seminar is fast approaching on August 4-5, and will feature the entire Genealogy Gems Team! Join us for two fun-filled days devoted to Sources, Storytelling & DNA! Sunny Morton is coming in from Ohio, and Diahan Southard from Florida, to join Lisa Louise Cooke in her own “backyard” of Dallas, Texas at the Dallas Central Library.

The Details

When: August 4 & 5, 2017

Time: 10:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Where: Dallas Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, Texas

Who: The Dallas Genealogical Society

The Sessions

The Genealogy Gems ladies will be delivering a variety of carefully curated sessions to help boost your ability to locate solid sources, incorporate genetic genealogy, and then pull all of your findings together in a compelling story:

Friday, August 4, 2017

Session 1 Sources: Google Tools & Procedures for Solving Family History Mysteries – Lisa Louise Cooke
Session 2 Story: Write Your Life Story – Sunny Morton
Session 3 DNA: Genetic Genealogy: Here’s What you Need To Know – Diahan Southard
Session 4 Sources: Get the Scoop on Your Ancestors with Newspapers – Lisa Louise Cooke

Saturday, August 5, 2017

Session 1 Sources: Why We Care Where Grandma Went to Church: An In-Depth Look at U.S. Religious Records – Sunny Morton
Session 2 Sources & Story: 10 Ways to Enhance Your Genealogy with Video – Lisa Louise Cooke
Session 3 DNA: The Combined Power of YDNA and Autosomal DNA: A Case Study – Diahan Southard
Session 4 Story: How to Create Exciting Interactive Family History Tours with Google Earth – Lisa Louise Cooke

The Discounts

I’ll be there with special discounts just for this event on our best products!

If you’ll be in the Dallas area on August 4-5, 2017, I hope you’ll join us at this fabulous event!

Click here for more details and to register.

Not Gonna Be in Dallas – Not a Problem

If you can’t make it to Dallas (we’ll miss you!) and you need a speaker for your next event, Click here for information about booking Lisa!

And there’s another great way to keep your genealogy society members engaged with quality programming that’s exciting, educational, and best of all, affordable! Click here to learn about our Genealogy Gems for Societies package.

Filed Under: 01 What's New, Conferences Tagged With: dallas genealogy seminar

Learn about Homestead Land Records with Lisa Louise Cooke

June 7, 2017 by Sunny Leave a Comment

Homestead land records tell us more about our forebears who settled the western U.S. Learn more with Lisa Louise Cooke at the Land Records and Genealogy Symposium July 14-15, 2017 in Beatrice, Nebraska.

Lisa Louise Cooke will be a featured speaker at the Land Records and Genealogy Symposium in Beatrice, Nebraska on July 14-15, 2017. The 2-day event is co-sponsored by the Homestead National Monument of America, a unit of the National Park Service, and the Beatrice Campus of Southeast Community College.

Homestead land records and our ancestors

Omer Madison Kem, (later, Representative to the United States Congress) in front of his sod house in Nebraska (1886). Click image to view at American Memory (Library of Congress digital archive).

“The Homestead Act of 1862 had a profound affect on the United States and throughout the world,” states the symposium webpage. “Under the provisions of this law, the U.S. government gave away 270 million acres of land to 1.6 million individuals and families for the purposes of settlement and cultivation. Today there may be as many as 93 million descendants of homesteaders.”

Our homesteading ancestors may show up in land patent records and related paperwork. Over five million documents are searchable by name and location at the Bureau of Land Management’s General Land Office Records website. These databases found at major genealogy websites may also be helpful for finding homestead land records and related paperwork:

Free at FamilySearch.org: United States, Cancelled, Relinquished, or Rejected Land Entry Case Files, 1861-1932;
By subscription at Ancestry.com: U.S., Homestead Records, 1861-1908;
By subscription at Fold3.com: Homestead Records NE

Out ancestors’ homestead land records may reveal when they purchased and/or applied for land and where they were living at the time. In many instances, immigrants had to be citizens to purchase land, so you may find information about their naturalization. You’ll often find land records in the same area purchased by relatives, which can help you reconstruct family groups and more confidently identify your family.

Participants in the Land Records and Genealogy Symposium will learn to use records of different kinds–and strategies for researching them–in their genealogical and historical research. Lisa Louise Cooke’s lectures will focus on using powerful online tools to map out your family history and find mention of ancestors that may be buried deep in online resources. Other lectures will also help you chart the stories of your frontier ancestors, many of them immigrants, who purchased land from the government in the Midwest and Western United States.

What: Land Records and Genealogy Symposium, co-sponsored by the Homestead National Monument of America (National Park Service) and the Beatrice Campus of Southeast Community College

When: July 14-15, 2017 (8 am – 4 pm on Friday, with optional dinner presentation; 8:30 am – 3 pm on Saturday)

Where: Southeast Community College, Beatrice, Nebraska

Can’t make it to Nebraska?

Learn to plot your ancestors’ homestead records in Google Earth in Lisa Louise Cooke’s Google Earth for Genealogy video series.

Genealogy Gems Premium website members can learn more about homestead land records in Genealogy Gems Premium Podcast episode 33, in an interview with expert Billie Edgington. (Click here to learn more about all the benefits of Premium membership, including access to the full Premium Podcast archive of nearly 150 episodes!)

Click here to see all of Lisa’s upcoming presentations: is there one near you?

Filed Under: 01 What's New, Conferences, Maps, United States Tagged With: conference, family history, genealogy, Homestead land records, land records, land records and genealogy symposium

RootsTech 2017: Come Celebrate 10 Years with Us!

February 8, 2017 by amietennant 2 Comments

RootsTech 2017 is the biggest genealogy conference of the year, and Genealogy Gems will be celebrating in a big way! Here’s your chance to win fantastic prizes, and join in even from home through our live-streaming, as we celebrate 10 years and 200 episodes of The Genealogy Gems Podcast.

RootsTech is being held on February 8-11, 2017 in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is sponsored by FamilySearch International and is a conference that brings together family history lovers and technology innovators for a truly one-of-a-kind event.

RootsTech 2017 Exhibit Hall: Visit Genealogy Gems Booth #1039

Free 30 Minute Sessions
Join us for our famous power-sessions at our booth #1039, very close to where we were located in the hall last year!

Here’s what you can look forward to this year:

Not able to make it to Rootstech in person? Join us for a selected classes via live-streaming via the free Periscope app, or on our Facebook page.
Look for the Periscope symbol next to the live-streamed sessions on the schedule above.
(All time listed are Mountain time)

Prizes!

As part of our 10th year & 200th episode celebration, you will have a chance to win fantastic prizes at every session in our booth. This is thanks to the generous genealogy community and our podcast sponsors! Here’s what you can win:

Thursday, February 9

10:15 AM – Beginning Genetic Genealogy with Diahan Southard
Your DNA Guide Video Series ($29.95)
Getting Started Quick Guide ($8.95)

12:15 PM – 5 Ways to Jog Memories with Sunny Morton
Story of My Life workbook ($19.99)
Famicity Premium Subscription ($95.88) This is a brand new, private family social network. Think of it as your family’s Legacy Center!

12:40 PM – Naturalization Records with Amie Tennant
RootsMagic 4 CD Set ($119.80) includes RootsMagic Software from our long time and valued sponsor, the spectacular RootsMagic!

2:30 PM – German Ancestral Villages with Jim Beidler, video from Family Tree University
Trace Your German Roots Online book ($21.99) Fabulous resource for Germany research!
Genealogy Gems: Ultimate Research Strategies book ($15.95) Lisa Louise Cooke’s hard to find first book.

4:00 PM – Google Methodology with Lisa Louise Cooke
The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox book, Second Ed. ($24.95) Lisa Louise Cooke’s Google Methodology in one complete and updated volume.
Genealogy Gems Premium Membership (New or renewal) ($39.95) Includes over 30 class videos and over 140 exclusive Premium podcast episodes!

Friday, February 10

10:15 AM – Creating Family History Videos with Lisa Louise Cooke
Animoto Subscription ($96.00) You’re going to flip for this tech tool! Click here to learn more right away.

12:15 PM – Your Ethnic DNA Pie with Diahan Southard
Exciting DNA themed prize to be announced soon!

12:45 PM – Genealogy Jackpot with Sunny Morton
SnagIt Software by Techsmith ($49.95) Lisa uses SnagIt constantly, and you’re going to love it for genealogy! Techsmith tools are tops!
Ultimate Family Tree Chart Templates CD ($29.99) Every genealogist needs this from the #1 genealogy magazine, Family Tree Magazine.

4:00 PM – Mastering Ancestry.com video from Family Tree University
Genealogy Gems Premium Membership (New or renewal) ($39.95)

5:45 PM – Journaling & Scrapbooking Tech with Amie Tennant
FlipPal Mobile Scanner ($149.99) You’ll flip if you win this wonderful prize from our good friends at FlipPal.

6:15 PM – Organize with Trello with Drew Smith
Organize Your Genealogy book ($25.99) After you win the book, Drew will sign it for you!

Saturday, February 11

10:15 AM – “Big 4” Databases with Sunny Morton
Findmypast Premium Subscription ($239.50) You don’t have to have just British ancestors to love this prize!

2:05 PM – Google Earth Strategies with Lisa Louise Cooke
Google Earth for Genealogy Video Series ($24.00) This series will help you go into the genealogy geography stratosphere after learning the basics from Lisa’s session.
Genealogy Gems Premium Membership ($39.95) 7 of the 30 video classes included are on geography and genealogy, like Time Travel with Google Earth! Sweet!

Saturday Starting at 12:15 p.m.
Pick up an entry form, fill it out, and bring the completed form to our booth starting at 12:15 on Saturday for a chance to win our GRAND PRIZE and get our FREE syllabus e-book with all of our booth session handouts. No purchase necessary, and you must be present to win.

Grand Prizes – Saturday at 12:45 PM

3^rd Grand Prize: 1 Complete MyHeritage Subscription ($250.74) AND MyHeritage DNA Test Kit ($99.00) from our wonderful podcast sponsor. Thank you MyHeritage!

2^nd Grand Prize: Discovery Research Package from Legacy Tree Genealogists ($350.00) Hit a brick wall? These experts will help you bust through! The winner will receive 3.5 hours of research in a digital format which includes: preliminary analysis on your family tree or DNA; discovery of what records are available for the area and time period of interest; development of a research plan; and some work towards your research goals.

1^st Grand Prize: 1 Year Ancestry.com World Subscription ($298.00) AND Ancestry DNA Autosomal Test Kit ($99.00) An amazing duo from our friends Ancestry.com.

Book Signings: All Week

Lisa will also be signing copies of her books, including her books Mobile Genealogy: How to Use Your Tablet and Smartphone for Family History Research
and The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox Second Edition. Sunny Morton will be available to sign her new book, Story of My Life. Diahan Southard will also be there answering your DNA questions!

RootsTech 2017 Classes: All Week

Lisa Louise Cooke and her regular Genealogy Gems team members will be teaching several sessions:

Wednesday:
3:00 p.m. Lisa Louise Cooke: Google Books: The Tool You Should Use Every Day! Location: Ballroom C
3:00 p.m. Diahan Southard: DNA: The Glue that Holds Families Together Location: Ballroom J

Thursday:
11:00 a.m. Lisa Louise Cooke: Organizing All This Stuff (Beginner) Location: 155D Getting Started Pass
1:30 p.m. Lisa Louise Cooke: Eliminate the Eye-Rolling with These 7 Awesome Apps! Location: Ballroom C
3:00 p.m. Diahan Southard: From Click to DNA Connection (Lab)
5:00 p.m. Lisa Louise Cooke: 5 Amazing Things Google Earth Can Do for Genealogy (Rootstech Demo Theater, Exhibit Hall)

Friday:
3:00 p.m. Sunny Morton: Comparing the Big 4 (Ancestry, Findmypast, MyHeritage, FamilySearch; Location: Ballroom B
3:00 p.m. Amie Tennant: Crowdsource with Social Media Breaks Through Walls; Location: Room 251D
3:00 p.m. Lisa Louise Cooke: Google Search Power Strategies (Rootstech Demo Theater, Exhibit Hall)
4:30 p.m. Diahan Southard: From Click to DNA Connection (Lab)

Saturday:
11:00 a.m. Lisa Louise Cooke: How to Create a Free Google Earth Map Collection; Location: Ballroom G
11:00 a.m. Diahan Southard: Let Your DNA Tell the Story
11:00 a.m. Amie Tennant: Troll Virtual Cemeteries & Using Cemetery Records; Location: Room 254A
1:30 p.m. Sunny Morton: Relatively Recent Relatives: the 20th Century Search; Location: Room 150

We can’t wait to meet as many of you as possible! We hope you have a marvelous experience at RootsTech 2017.

Filed Under: 01 What's New, Conferences Tagged With: family history, genealogy, prizes, RootsTech, RootsTech 2017, Salt Lake City