Virtual Chapter Upcoming Webinar

Title	Presenter	Date
Records and Research in New York State, 18th-19th Centuries: Looking Beyond Vital Records	Amy Rose Ward, MSc	November 20, 2025 7:00 pm
English Poor Law Records before 1834	Amy Harris, PhD, AG ® , FRHistS	October 16, 2025 7:00 pm
That’s English?!: Reading Old English Handwriting	Kori Robbins, AG®	September 18, 2025 7:00 pm
19th & 20th Century Immigration Records	Ariana Franco	August 21, 2025 7:00 pm
Logic 101 for Genealogists	Rob Wallace	July 17, 2025 7:00 am
Digital Library on American Slavery and Related Projects from Across the South	Diane L Richard, MEng & MBA	June 19, 2025 7:00 pm
Which Hans Jensen is Mine? Navigating Patronymics in Scandinavian Research	Jenny Hansen AG®, AGL®	May 15, 2025 7:00 pm

Records and Research in New York State, 18th-19th Centuries: Looking Beyond Vital Records

Presented By: Amy Rose Ward, MSc on November 20, 2025 7:00 pm

How do you research a family when vital records do not exist? This presentation will go beyond the conventional focus on vital records by exploring other types of documentation that exist for New York State during this time period.

Amy Rose Ward received her BS degree in History from Utah State University. In 2022 she completed her Masters in Genealogical Studies from University of Strathclyde. She is currently working to become accredited in the New England region through ICAPGEN. She has worked in the FamilySearch library in Salt Lake City as a research specialist, and has presented several webinars about FamilySearch and other topics. Amy enjoys doing client research, and is especially passionate about writing family narratives. She serves the Utah Genealogical Association on several committees. She also is the president and founder of her community’s orchestra program in Morgan, Utah where she plays violin and viola. She loves hiking, biking, and skiing in the beautiful Utah mountains. Amy and her husband, Jeff, have five children.

English Poor Law Records before 1834

Presented By: Amy Harris, PhD, AG ® , FRHistS on October 16, 2025 7:00 pm

The Old Poor Law, or Elizabeth Poor Law, was a national system of poor relief in England and Wales between the late sixteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This webinar covers the main poor law records generated between 1601 and 1834 and how they reveal details about property relations, migration, illegitimacy, marriage, and employment. We will also discuss how to access the records and use them effectively in genealogical research. Content, examples, and case studies will concentrate on the years between 1662 and 1834.

Amy Harris, PhD, AG ® , FRHistS is the current Family History Program Coordinator at Brigham Young University. She has published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, in the Genealogists’ Magazine, and on the history of genealogical practices. Her historical research focuses on families, women, and gender in eighteenth-century Britain. Her first book, Siblinghood and Social Relations in Georgian England (Manchester, 2012) explored sibling relationships and their connections to political and social ideas of equality. Her most recent book, A Single View: Family Life and the Unmarried in Georgian England (Oxford, 2023) is a case study of family life from the perspective of those who did not marry, married late, or did not have children. Amy is a professor in the BYU Department of History where she teaches history and family history/genealogy courses.

That’s English?!: Reading Old English Handwriting

Presented By: Kori Robbins, AG® on September 18, 2025 7:00 pm

As you research further back in time, you will find that the English alphabet has evolved over the years. Sometimes, it doesn’t even look like English! Learn how to read the handwriting on old documents in this paleography class for genealogy.

Once a British Isles Research Specialist at the FamilySearch Library, Kori Robbins, AG®, now manages the team that oversees FamilySearch affiliates, which include libraries, museums, and archives. She holds a BA in Family History/Genealogy from Brigham Young University and is accredited in research in England. Alongside her husband, H.J., she tag teams wrangling six kiddos. Her interests outside of family history include learning, music, personality tests, and a good night’s sleep.

19th & 20th Century Immigration Records

Presented By: Ariana Franco on August 21, 2025 7:00 pm

This is an intermediate class discussing a range of immigration records. We will review influential naturalization laws, what types are records are available for genealogical research beyond ship manifests and naturalization, and how to get records you cannot find online. Includes handouts.

Ariana Franco is a professional genealogist who specializes in Southern Italian research, naturalization records, and New England localities. Recently she has expanded into the chain migrations of Sicilians to the Heartland States. She began researching in late 2020 to uncover and discover who she belongs to. She quickly realized her ancestors were complex and indirect in the paper trails they left behind pushing her towards educational development. She holds certificates of completion from Boston University for Genealogical Research, GenProof, ProGen, GRIP, IGHR, and SLIG to name a few. Her research uses the Genealogical Proof Standard as an evaluation tool. She holds a BFA in sculpture from Ringling College of Art and Design and uses her creative skills to create presentations and family narratives. Originally from Boston, Ariana grew up in Florida, studied in Providence, Rhode Island, lived in Colorado, and has recently returned to Miami, Florida. She is a participating member of an NGSQ study group, the Genealogical Society of Greater Miami, Italian Genealogical Group, and Association of Professional Genealogists including the Colorado and New England chapters.

Logic 101 for Genealogists

Presented By: Rob Wallace on July 17, 2025 7:00 am

Have you ever read one of those articles in NGS Quarterly or some other genealogical publication where they give several data items and then say "So all this means ..." Have you ever wondered whether their logic was correct, following the rules of logic? If so, join us for an Introduction to Basic Rules of Logic for the genealogist.

I started doing family history research in high school in the 1970s. I worked on my family history off and on until the early 2000s, when I decided to make it a serious hobby. Since then, I have logged well over 3000 hours of research. I have studied family history extensively, reading, taking courses, and attending conferences. I have been and still am a member of several regional and national genealogical societies. I have served as a consultant in our community family history library and taught community family history classes (in California). I have extensive leadership experience professionally, in church, and in youth organizations. I am a retired engineer living in Cedar Hills, Utah, and I have the time, desire, and energy to serve. I am currently on the UGA Board, having served as Co-President of the Virtual Chapter and currently as the Chair of the Membership and Technology Committees. For the last two years, I have served as the UGA Webmaster, saving UGA over $10,000, as the position was a paid position before I took over.

Digital Library on American Slavery and Related Projects from Across the South

Presented By: Diane L Richard, MEng & MBA on June 19, 2025 7:00 pm

The Digital Library on American Slavery is composed of 3 main projects -- slave petitions, runaway slave advertisements, and bills of sale. Slave petitions cover all southern states and include county and state-level petitions. Runaway slave advertisements and bills of sale have an NC focus. Once these concepts are introduced (runaway slave advertisements and bills of sale), similar projects for other southern states (and beyond – don’t forget, not just the South or US enslaved individuals) will be discussed. Recent years have seen an explosion in the records that researchers can easily access to pursue their formerly enslaved or FPOC ancestors.

Diane L Richard, MEng & MBA, Mosaic Research and Project Management (MosaicRPM), www.mosaicrpm.com, has been doing genealogy research since 1987 and in 2024, celebrates her 20th anniversary of professionally researching client ancestors while also channeling the “inner teacher” in her by sharing her knowledge via the written and spoken word. She regularly contributed to Internet Genealogy (2006-2023) as an author, writing a regular Net Notes column and authoring over 500 articles. From 2010-2017, Diane edited Upfront with NGS, the National Genealogical Society’s blog, and published over 2000 posts. She spent a decade as editor of Wake Treasures, the journal of the Wake County Genealogical Society, and since 2016, she has been the editor of the North Carolina Genealogical Society (NCGS) journal.

Which Hans Jensen is Mine? Navigating Patronymics in Scandinavian Research

Presented By: Jenny Hansen AG®, AGL® on May 15, 2025 7:00 pm

The majority of ancestral Scandinavians shared a small number of given names and surnames. Following ancestors without becoming mixed up in the patronymic pot can be a challenge. This class will provide guidance for focusing on your ancestor and eliminating other possible family lines. We will discuss methodology specific to Scandinavian research to enable your success.

Jenny Hansen has a bachelor’s degree in Family History and Genealogy. She earned the Accredited Genealogist® credential in Danish research in 1999, and she completed the requirements for the Accredited Genealogist Lecturer™ designation in 2023. She is currently a free-lance researcher and instructor, specializing in all things Scandinavia. She also serves as a commissioner for The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen). Her hobbies include reading, finding old churches and cemeteries, and doing anything outdoors with her family. She blogs at www.MyFavoriteAncestor.com.