Expo Schedule

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​8:30–9:30 a.m. Check-In / Exhibits and Vendors

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9:30–9:45 a.m. Welcome (John W. Skardon, York County Library Genealogy Librarian)

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9:45–11:00 a.m. Keynote: From Blackstone to the Statutes at Large: How Knowing the Law Makes Us Better Genealogists (Judy G. Russell)

To understand our ancestors’ lives — why they did what they did — we need to understand the law that governed their lives in so many ways. Learn how knowing the law our ancestors lived by helps us make sense of the records they left and find clues to more and different records.

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11:00–11:15 a.m. Break / Exhibits and Vendors

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11:15 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Presentations and Lectures

 

• Lecture Hall A: How I Built My Own Brick Wall and the Sledgehammer of Experience (Rebecca Whitman Koford)
  In this lecture, we identify ways that researchers have built their own "brick wall" through inexperience, lack of organization, and incorrect assumptions, and how to resolve these issues.
   

• Lecture Hall B: Putting Those Records to Work (Judy G. Russell)
  Every document we locate in genealogical research has its clear use: a census record will help us identify family members and trace them over time; a court record will tell us what was happening with that person at that time; a will or probate record will help us recreate a family at a specific point in time. But every document we locate can be mined — directly or in combination with other records — for more: a deeper, richer context for our family members and their place and time.
   

• Lecture Hall C: Finding the Last Slave Owner (Ari Wilkins)
  Locating the last slave owner is essential in African American research. Explore records that will help transition your research from 1870 into the Antebellum Era.
   

• Lecture Hall D: How to Clear the Mess on Your Desk (Kelli Bergheimer)
  Learn tips and tricks to organize your papers, photos, documents, research, DNA cousins, research trips, and digital records. Learn some common backup tools to protect what you have acquired. Get the most out of your family tree software program to allow your ancestry information to be available on the go. Organize yourself in a way that leaves you more time for the fun stuff of genealogy — sharing, publishing, and finding even more!

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12:30–1:45 p.m. Luncheon / Exhibits and Vendors

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1:45–3:00 p.m. Presentations and Lectures

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• Lecture Hall A: Military Pension Records: Revolution to the Civil War (Rebecca Whitman Koford)
  This lecture introduces students to the wealth of information for whole families available in pension records of military war veterans from the Revolution through the Civil War. Terminology and pension law are also explored.
   

• Lecture Hall B: The Discriminating Genealogist: Telling Good Evidence from Bad (Judy G. Russell)
  The "best evidence" rule in law requires the presentation in court of an original rather than a copy, and a copy won’t even be admitted if the original is available. In genealogy, our rules require us to do the same — to discriminate, choose in favor of, and prefer certain types of evidence to others, certain bits of information to others, and certain sources to others.
   

• Lecture Hall C: Unique African American Records (Ari Wilkins)
  Move beyond the more common genealogical records to discover some of the most unusual and underutilized African American records. This lecture will discuss the plethora of information that can be gleaned, where to find these records, and how to apply them to your research.
   

• Lecture Hall D: Collateral Research: The Secret Sauce to Finding Family Records (Cheri Hudson Passey)
  Your ancestors didn't live and have experiences alone. Researching collateral lines may be the secret sauce you need to find clues that will answer genealogy questions. What is collateral research? It's the research of family members you are not a descendant of.

 

3:00–3:15 p.m. Break / Exhibits and Vendors

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3:15–4:30 p.m. Presentations and Lectures

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• Lecture Hall A: DNA Success: Understanding Genetic Networks (Kelli Bergheimer)
  Understanding genetic networks is key to determining who your DNA matches are and where they fit into your tree. Come learn about three types of genetic networks to help you make progress in your research.
   

• Lecture Hall B: "Don't Forget the Ladies": A Genealogist's Guide to Women and the Law (Judy G. Russell)
  In early America, women were all too often the people who just weren’t there — not in the records, not in the censuses, not on juries, not in the voting booth. The common law relegated women to "protected" second-class status, and understanding how they were treated under the law provides clues to finding their identities today.
   

• Lecture Hall C: From Name Collection to Name Confirmation: Adding Leaves to the Right Branch (Cheri Hudson Passey)
  In our desire to find family and build our tree, we may be guilty of name collection instead of name confirmation. Learn steps to help slow down, take a good look, and verify to add leaves to the right branch.
   

• Lecture Hall D: "Don't Miss a Beat!": Unlocking Ancestral Clues in Newspapers (Lisa T. Lisson)
  Newspapers are a goldmine of information for family historians, but are you tapping into their full potential? From obituaries and marriage announcements to news articles and advertisements, newspapers offer a wealth of valuable details that may be missing from traditional genealogical records. Discover how to effectively search, interpret, and utilize newspapers to unearth fascinating stories and gain deeper insights into your family's history. Make sure you're not overlooking any clues that newspapers can reveal about your ancestors!

 

4:30–5:00 p.m. Door Prize Drawings and Closing Remarks