
Classes
Class Schedule & Descriptions | March 15, 2025
Doors Open (8:00 AM - 9:00 AM)
Doors open at 8:00 a.m. for genealogy displays and same-day registration. A complimentary light breakfast will also be available. At 8:30 a.m. there will be instructions and early bird door prizes.
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Block 1 (9:00 AM - 9:50 AM)
You may choose from one of three courses offered during the first block:
Ancestry Adventures: Let AI Be Your Guide! (Part 1)
Ruth Campbell, Experienced Genealogist and DNA Genealogical Research
Learn the basics of artificial intelligence (AI) and how to use it in your family history research. We'll cover AI's history, explore different AI tools and companies, and show you practical ways to use AI for finding your ancestors.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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“What Was it Like in the Olden Days, Gramma?”
Sue VerHoef, Director of Oral History and Genealogy at the Atlanta History Center
How to Successfully Capture, Preserve, and Use Oral Histories in Family History Research It has been said that the shortest distance between two people is a story. This workshop will provide you with tips, techniques, and effective strategies for collecting, preserving and sharing the stories of your family.
Don't Take That Record at Face Value! Analyzing Records and Evaluating the Evidence
Tamu Taylor, President of the Metro Atlanta Chapter of AAHGS
That feeling of accomplishment when we find more clues about our ancestors is not the end of the research. Analyzing the records and evaluating the evidence of what you have found is an important part of the process of your genealogical work. We will learn about this process with a case study.
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Block 2 (10:10 AM - 11:10 AM)
You may choose from one of three courses offered during the second block:
Ancestry Adventures: Let AI Be Your Guide! (Part 2)
Ruth Campbell, Experienced Genealogist and DNA Genealogical Research
Take AI and genealogy skills further! Learn how to craft effective questions to get the most helpful responses for your family history challenges.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Plus help creating reports, obituaries, transcribing handwritten documents and more.
Who AM I?
Maureen Keillor, Experienced Genealogist, Trainer and Media Specialist
This class discusses why it’s important to know where you came from. Does knowing YOUR roots make a difference in your life? PLUS – registering for a www.FamilySearch.org free account, and Family Search basics.
Recording Your Family History: Online trees vs. Software
Jennifer Petrino, Sicilian Family Tree
How are you saving all the awesome family history information you are finding? This course will review and compare genealogy software options and online tree building websites. We will discuss the pros and cons of each and how they can work together to help you preserve your family’s story. We will also touch on how to save digital documents and images so you can easily find them again later.
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Block 3 (11:20 AM - 12:20 PM)
You may choose from one of three courses offered during the third block:
A Picture’s Worth a Thousand Words: Collecting, Identifying, Preserving, and Sharing Your Family Photographs and Videos
Sue VerHoef, Director of Oral History and Genealogy at the Atlanta History Center
Family photographs and videos present unique challenges to the family historian. While these materials can provide additional information about the lives of our ancestors and open a window on the past, they can also be difficult to organize, challenging to preserve, and nearly impossible to identify.
I Need HELP!! Where can I find personalized help for my genealogical and family history work
Maureen Keillor, Experienced Genealogist, Trainer and Media Specialist
Today there are so many resources to aid us in finding our family roots, our family story. What are some of the best resources? How to use them? Where to find them? These resources will be shared in this very helpful class.
Super Search Engines—Using Steve Morse’s One Step Webpages
Jennifer Petrino, Sicilian Family Tree
This course will introduce you to Steve Morse’s One Step Webpages and the fabulous search engines available to help genealogists find elusive census records, ship manifests, vital records and more. These search engines pull data from sites like Ancestry and FamilySearch but allow users to search in ways that are not possible using the search engines on those websites. Instead of the typical presentation, this course will consist mainly of searching in real-time, so attendees can see these tools in action.
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12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
Displays & Networking with Presenters