Fall 2012 Conference Program

Family Tree University’s Fall 2012 Virtual Conference features 15 instructional videos in three tracks: genealogy technology, ethnic research and research strategies. We’re also planning many live chats with our experts over the weekend—these are exclusive to conference attendees! Additional classes and chats will be added as confirmed.

Video Sessions

TECH TRACK

Power Up Your Web Searches

Host: Thomas MacEntee

Feel like your Google and website searches are going nowhere? Learn to pull those elusive ancestors out from the depths of search engines and genealogy websites with this session on how to sharpen your search skills. We’ll cover Google’s Search Tools and specialty search engines including Mocavo and others.

Scanning Secrets

Host: Denise May Levenick

Got oodles of photos and documents you want to preserve digitally? In this class, discover tips and tricks for scanning your family ephemera, from choosing the right resolution to cropping and more.

Smarter Online Census Searching

Host: Diana Crisman Smith

Searching US censuses online can feel like sifting through a haystack with tweezers. If your ancestors are still missing in action despite your sweeping census sleuthing, this class is for you.

Best Websites for Finding Historical Maps

Host: Lisa Louise Cooke

Every genealogist assumes the position of ancestral-line cartographer, so when it comes to charting family history it stands to reason that historical maps are a must-have. With a mouse as your compass, presenter Lisa Louise Cooke will teach you about the best online resources for exploring these artifacts.

Tricks for Using FamilySearch.org

Host: Thomas MacEntee

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ free genealogy website offers a plethora of searchable family trees, historical records and resources—but how do you find what you’re looking for? This class will show you how to become a seasoned and savvy FamilySearch navigator.

RESEARCH STRATEGIES TRACK

Secrets to Tracing Female Ancestors

Host: Lisa A. Alzo

From maiden names mysteries to great-grandmas named “Mrs.”, researching your female forebears is full of challenges. In this class, you’ll learn tools and tactics to overcome those dead ends and uncover your female ancestors’ stories.

Finding Land Records Online

Host: Diana Crisman Smith

Ahoy ye web-lubbers: Lay anchor on the Bureau of Land Management’s General Land Office website to search a wealth of federal land patents. If your ancestor purchased a plot from the US government, this class will teach you tricks to locating your kin’s digitized land record.

Research Logs for the Rest of Us

Host: Thomas MacEntee

From Captain Cook to Christopher Columbus, numerous noteworthy explorers kept comprehensive journals to document their adventures, so why should your genealogical expedition be any different? In this class, you’ll learn why you (yes, you!) need a research log and how it can help you make genealogical discoveries more effectively and efficiently.

Paperless Pedigrees: Organizing Your Genealogy Electronically

Host: Denise May Levenick

There’s a bigger benefit to going green in your genealogy than simply saving the environment: Embracing electronic documentation can preserve and put in order your exhaustive research. Just because the material you work with is old doesn’t mean your organization techniques should be outdated. Check out this class to get your e-files in order.

Top 10 Tools for Social History

Host: Gena Philibert-Ortega

The lives of famous figures from the past like Susan B. Anthony or Thomas Jefferson can certainly make for intriguing reading material, but what really piques the genealogists’ interest is social history: Stories of our ancestors’ day-to-day lives. Take this video course for the 411 on how social history can enhance your genealogy.

ETHNIC RESEARCH TRACK

Using UK Civil Registrations

Host: Rick Crume

Leap over your brick walls across the pond by learning to crack the code on civil registrations in England, Scotland and Wales. This class shows you how to find your UK ancestors’ birth, marriage and death records online.

Mastering German Place Names

Host: James M. Beidler

So your ancestors came from Neustadt—but is that Neustadt an der Aisch in Bavaria, or Neustadt am Rennsteig in Thuringia? And what’s the difference between a kreis and a kanton? Our German genealogy expert explains how to dissect geographical terms and administrative divisions so you can find your ancestors in their German homeland.

Canadian Immigration Records

Host: Lisa A. Alzo

Do you have origins in Ontario or a maternal line in Montreal? Then you’ll find this class on immigration records in the Great White North as sweet as maple syrup. Discover the essential resources for tracing immigrants to Canada, including border crossers who ended up in the United States.

Cook Up Answers About Immigrant Ancestors

Host: Gena Philibert-Ortega

The key to an ancestor’s life story is through his stomach. In this class, learn how to research your ethnic heritage through the foods your family ate in the old country and the traditional recipes immigrants brought with them to America.

Tracing Irish Ancestors in Griffith’s Valuation

Host: Rick Crume

Struggling to fill out your Famine-era Irish family tree? Pinpoint your Emerald Isle ancestors’ place of origin of with this pot o’ gold–a guide to Griffith’s Valuation. You’ll discover how to find your forebears in this valuable 19th-century census substitute, and use what you learn to extend your Irish line in the old country.

Chat Schedule

Virtual Conference registrants get exclusive access to live chats with our genealogy experts. No fancy software needed—just log on to the conference and join a live session!

All chats are text-based and 30-45 minutes long. If you can’t join a live session, no worries—all chat transcripts will be saved in the conference area for you to read at your leisure.

FRIDAY

Choosing a Cloud Genealogy Program

2 p.m. Eastern/ 1 p.m. Central/ 12 p.m. Mountain/ 11 p.m. Pacific

Host: Thomas MacEntee

Discussing Source Documentation

4 p.m. Eastern/ 3 p.m. Central/ 2 p.m. Mountain/ 1 p.m. Pacific

Host: Kerry Scott

SATURDAY

Researching Courthouse Records

2 p.m. Eastern/ 1 p.m. Central/ 12 p.m. Mountain/ 11 p.m. Pacific

Host: Judy G. Russell

Best Genealogy Tablet Apps

4 p.m. Eastern/ 3 p.m. Central/ 2 p.m. Mountain/ 1 p.m. Pacific

Host: Kerry Scott

Time Saving Computer Tricks

6 p.m. Eastern/ 5 p.m. Central/ 4 p.m. Mountain/ 3 p.m. Pacific

Host: Allison Dolan

SUNDAY

Sunday Brunch Free-For-Fall

1 p.m. Eastern/ 12 p.m. Central/ 11 a.m. Mountain/ 10 a.m. Pacific

Host: Kerry Scott

Share Your Stumpers: Ideas for Your Brick-Wall Problems

4 p.m. Eastern/ 3 p.m. Central/ 2 p.m. Mountain/ 1 p.m. Pacific

Host: Lisa A. Alzo

Conference Wrap Chat

8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central/ 6 p.m. Mountain/ 5 p.m. Pacific

Host: Open Chat

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