Sessions at Atlanta Family History Expo 2010 about Family History on Saturday 13th November

This class will demonstrate the best strategies for searching Ancestry.com’s more than 28,000 databases to get the most information about your ancestors. Learn about various search methods ‐‐ and how each method will benefit your family history. (Designed for beginning to intermediate users of Ancestry.com).

This session will focus on the application of location in genealogical research to break down brick walls and getting a deeper understanding for how your ancestors lived their lives. A new approach for location based research will be presented as well as multiple case studies of its successful application. These case studies will include cemetery research, land records and historical maps, census records, and the impact of geography on genealogy as expressed in our DNA. An additional case study will be presented of how the application of location based genealogy has yielded a surprising direction to cracking a real brick wall from the early 19th century.

Description: Professional editors and book designers guide you through the process of producing your family history book. We will explore the options for self‐publishing.

It is not true that all the records of Ireland have been destroyed. Civil Registration, Census and Church records can aid in your Ireland research. Understanding jurisdictions, immigration patterns, and land records will enable you to locate your family and be proud of your Irish heritage.

Creating personalized gifts and games that showcase your family history is a great way to connect the generations. The possibilities are endless; the important thing is to create something that makes family history fun and engaging. The purpose of this class is to stimulate your thinking and make you aware of some helpful resources. Have fun!

A discussion of using immigrant cluster communities to advance genealogical research, and how to use technology and the Internet to build “virtual cluster communities.

In this session, we will discuss new directions and resources for obtaining help in the use of the FamilySearch products. We will also discuss a new paradigm in the FamilySearch support process.

If two heads are better than one, then it goes without saying that two family historians are better than one. Discover easy ways to use social networking to get your family excited about your work and to openly share their ideas, stories and those well‐kept family secrets. Includes basic Facebook account creation, security and group setup.

In this session you will be instructed in ways to effectively inspire members and assist leaders in their personal involvement with family history and temple work.

This class will focus on genetic genealogy ‐‐ DNA testing as a tool for genealogy. We'll review the "traditional" genetic genealogy tests ‐‐ Y‐DNA and mtDNA ‐‐ which can identify relatives on the direct paternal or direct maternal line. We'll then discuss Family Finder, which utilizes recent advances in autosomal DNA testing to identify relatives via any ancestral line.

While many thing of a wiki as an on‐line, collaborative encyclopedia, the wiki structure can be used by genealogists to document their research for both clients and their own families. Learn the various wiki platforms and the basics of setting up a wiki.

A general overview of writing a personal history and overcoming the obstacles that prevent us from doing it. This class covers brainstorming, memory‐jogging techniques, organizing your work, and making your writing more interesting.

Create a family history that is relevant and interesting by including family stories. How to collect, organize and present both the facts and the drama of your family in a self‐published book.

Our presentation is to reveal the potential benefits of the common digital cameras and to demonstrate the speed at which documents can be digitized, put on‐line and made available with little cost. We hope to encourage others to venture into genealogy projects utilizing the information we will present.

For many African Americans, finding ancestors can present a unique set of challenges. A vast collection of resource materials are now available. This lecture will outline steps to success in using the collections on Ancestry.com.

If your ancestors were in the US in the 1800 ‐ early 1900s, they may have been mentioned in family or local history books, or newspaper or journal articles. Learn how to find your family stories online.

In this session you will learn about new and exciting research tools and resources that have been developed to help answer questions and provide up‐to‐date information on how to find ancestors. You will hear about real life examples of how using the tools and resources will help you in your research efforts for finding your ancestors.

Plantation records are a genealogical treasure. Dr. Lisa Bratton, a genealogy scholar and a fifth descendant of formerly enslaved Green and Malinda Bratton, will present her research using the Bratton Family Papers - plantation records that includes wills, letters, store records, and other documents. Providing unique insight into the lives of the enslaved, this case study will help attendees as they pursue their own plantation‐era research.

Records of Ante‐Bellum Southern Plantations From the Revolution Through the Civil War is a microfilm collection of manuscripts held in several major research libraries throughout the South. It was published under the imprint of University Publications of America (UPA), which is currently publishing a companion collection, Records of Southern Plantations From Emancipation to the Great Migration. These two projects originated as part of an effort to make primary source materials related to slavery more available to the researcher. This presentation will explain what the Records are, how they are organized, how to go about locating materials in the collection, and how these materials can help your family history research.

Don’t keep your family history to yourself. RootsMagic is the award-winning genealogy software that makes family history easy. Learn how to add pictures and media, create beautiful charts and reports, publish complete books, make Shareable CDs and DVDs, and share your research with friends and family.

This Panel Discussion will give instruction and allow you to ask questions and receive answers on the benefits of social media and how to leverage it for connecting with experts, education, and collaborating with family historians interested in common family lines and resources. Session will be moderated by Family History Expos – Amy Coffin.

Cut through all the hype about Twitter and learn the basics on how to best use this social media platform to enhance your genealogy research.

This session will demonstrate AncestralHunt.com ‐ a unique location based collaboration platform that will help genealogists and family historians break through brick walls to unearth lost relatives, ancestors, and ancestral homes that can not be found by conventional means.

Having a genealogy blog can take your genealogy research to another dimension. Learn how to get started in this easy‐to‐understand demo! Then get started building your OWN genealogy blog!

Digital cameras don't work quite the same way as film, and understanding the differences ensures you can capture precious moments. This class goes beyond the point‐and‐shoot basics and extends to research techniques you can use from the genealogical library to the graveyard. Among other topics, attendees will learn methods to use a camera in place of a scanner, capture microfilm images, and maximize graveyard photography.

In this session we will discuss the tools and resources that are available to you as a stake extraction director, assistant, or priesthood leader, to help you inspire and motivate indexers in your stake.

Come and see this innovative new way to scan your family history photos and documents!

Come and learn from author and editor, M. Bridget Cook of The Perfect Word how to write compelling true stories.

These migrations are the key to your ancestral origins in the South as well as Ireland, Scotland, Wales, German Provinces, France, and even Italy and Poland. Church records often supply much more evidence than the usual births/baptisms, marriages, and deaths/burials‐‐you may have just overlooked their evidence. England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales sent more than 1.2 million ancestors directly to the South‐‐including yours This class will discuss actual patterns and identify key Locater Indexes of names. The hard work is done, you get an easy button for a change

RootsMagic is the award‐winning genealogy software that makes family history easy. Learn how to clean up your places and sources, find possible errors and problems in your data, find and merge duplicate records, split and merge trees, and use powerful research tools to help you find those elusive ancestors.