Discovering Your Roots 2021: How to Begin a Journey of a Lifetime (REPEAT SESSION)

                                                                       NOVEMBER 13TH TICKET PRICE COVERS BOTH DATES

Researching your family is like beginning a journey of a lifetime; yours and your ancestors. It can also take great patience and sometimes a lifetime to discover the intricate details of the lives of ancestors before you. Through the Discovering Your Roots workshop you will be introduced to the resources and techniques for finding your ancestors in documents available at Ancestry.com, FamilySearch, and several other research sites. 

Each one-hour workshop will focus on a key set of research skills and developing familiarity with records availability and use. To maximize opportunities for successful research projects, participants will be asked to complete a family history assessment which will allow them to compile their knowledge into one form.  An adaptation of FamilySearch’s “Do You Know Scale,” will be used to assess which participants have enough information and record access to research back at least 150-200 years. Participants with U.S. documented ancestry at least as far back as the 1940 census will have access to an abundance of records. Those whose ancestors came to the United States after 1940 will have access to international records but the search may take more effort and time, as international record availability varies from country to country. Others who have less information will be tracked to undertake steps to build their family history knowledge before embarking on a full research project. This would be done through an individualized research approach. Adoptees with little to no information will need more of an individualized approach many of the basic techniques may not be initially helpful to them.

Topics for discussion:  

1. Compiling what you know about your family
2. Getting started with the basics.
3. Using federal, local records, genealogy databases
4. Using DNA results to enhance your family history knowledge.

Breakout sessions:

1. How to use eBay in your family research
2. How to write your family history
3. How to successfully apply to lineage societies
4. How to explore your Caribbean ancestors*  

           *(Only offered on November 13 due to availability of the genealogist) 

The Genealogist Collective members:

Workshop Leader:  Robin Semple is a Founding Member and Co-President of The Richard B. Dickenson Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS), Staten Island, New York. She is a Professional Genealogist and holds a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University. Robin focuses on Virginia, African American genealogical issues, and the use of DNA in expanding African American genealogical research. She is a member of The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), and The International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISSOG). She holds a B.A. in Middle East Studies and Black Studies and serves as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives for Development at Rutgers University-Newark.

Other guests will be invited to sessions and may include:

Debbie-Ann Paige, Public Historian and Professional Genealogist and Co-President of The Richard B. Dickenson Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS), Staten Island, New York.

Thomas Hill, Family Historian and Author, “How to Best Utilize eBay in Genealogy,” Nuestra Raices, Genealogical Society of America.

Muriel Roberts, Family Historian and Member, New Jersey Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS), Member, Sons and Daughters of the Middle Passage.

Shanida Carter, Writer, Producer, Author, “How to Start Your West Indian Family Tree From Abroad,” Caribbean Collective Magazine.