UGA Virtual Chapter

Monthly Virtual Chapter Presentations!

The Utah Genealogical Association is pleased to present a monthly "Virtual Chapter" meeting in which invited guests make presentations on topics of current interest in the field of family history and genealogy. These live presentations are available, at no cost, to the public without the need of logging into the Member's Area. Past presentations are archived as they are completed and are available to UGA members only.


Virtual Chapter Presentations are made in the months of January through November each year. We do not have a December presentation due to the holidays.

Past Presentation topics, available for members and require logging in. Please consider joining if you find these topics of interest, and help support us to provide these presentations!

The virtual-chapter@ugagenealogy.org e-mail address is now being monitored. If you have questions, concerns, suggestions, etc., please feel free to contact us using that address.

Schedules

2024

Month Presentation Presenter
August Organizing Your Digital Files-Using Color, Consistency, & Naming Cynthia K. Patton
June Too Many Birthdays for Sarah - Finding a birth date before birth records Allyson Maughan
May Zeroing in on a Place through Fan Club Research Mary Kircher Roddy, CG
April Digging Into Finding Aids: The Road Map to Any Manuscript Collection Melissa Barker, CAM&PH
March Tracing Public Catastrophes: Disasters, Pandemics, Mine Explosions, and Hurricanes J Mark Lowe, FUGA
February Make Your Own Genealogical Charts Rob Wallace
January AI and Genealogy: Trouble Ahead? Thomas MacEntee

2023

Month Presentation Presenter
November Reminiscing, Reunions, and Recipes. Megan Heyl, M.Ed.
October If Walls Could Talk. Christina Yetzer Drain
September Breaking the Silence: Healing Family and Adding Voice to One Sailor’s Story Lauren Peightel,
M. A.
August Church and Religious Records Rev. David McDonald
July Christian Churches in the Colonial Era Rev. David McDonald
June Deep South Research: A Beginner's Guide and Case Study Julia A. Anderson
May Finding the Living: Genealogy in Reverse Cheri Hudson Passey
April Analysis and Correlation: A Case Study on a Family the Enumerator “Missed” Peggy Clemens Lauritzen
March Pre-1850 Census Records: Turning Tick Marks into People Linda Debe
February Searching for Your Elusive Prussian Ancestors: A Case Study Stephen Wendt
January Will the Real Warren Harris Please Stand Up? Mary Milne Jamba

2022

Month Presentation Presenter
December No Presentation Enjoy the Holidays!
November Mayflower/Lineage Societies Dana Palmer, CG, CGL
October Have You Seen Me: Missing Children and Proof of Parentage Amie Bowser Tennant
September Sheriff Minnie; Forgotten No More. Women’s Records 1880-1950 Cheryl McClellan
August PERSI 2.0: The New PERSI for Everyone Sunny Morton
July Memory Keepers – Sharing Our Keepsakes Around the World Peggy Lauritzen, AG

2021

Month Presentation Presenter
December Google My Maps: Visualizing Your Ancestors Lives Linda Debe
November Was your Ancestor Truly Gone or Just Hidden Within the Records Pam Vestal
October Grandpa Worked for the Railroad: An Introduction to Railroad Records Janice Lovelace, PhD
September Using Canadian Land Records to Find American Ancestors Tara Shymanski
August In their Own Words: Genealogy in the Slave Narratives Renate Yarborough Sanders
July A-Files Bootcamp Alec Ferretti
June I’m Warning You! The Poor and Impoverished in New England Colonial Times Peggy Clemens Lauritzen
May Locating Widows, Spinsters & Bachelors Sara Cochran
April Financing War: 18th & 19th Century Federal Tax Records-They Do Exist Diane Richard
March 10 Things a Genealogist Should Do Before Leaving a Library or Archive Melissa Barker
February Gravestones and Epitaphs of our Ancestors Michael L. Strauss, AG

2020

Month Presentation Presenter
December Is My Great-Grandmother Really Native American? An Introduction to Native American Genealogical Research Janice Lovelace, PhD
November Beyond Names and Dates: Filling in the Stories of Our Female Ancestors Pam Vestal
October Dethorning Interviews, Cold Calls, and First Contact Tammy Priolo
September Seafaring Ancestors – Early 19th Century Port Records That Document Mariners Diane Richard
August Researching your tree when you're adopted: have you ever found your ‘real’ family? Dr. Penny Walters, PhD
July Digging for Roots in the Garden State Michelle Chubenko
June Female Connections are the Best Road to Research Success Kevin Cassidy, JD
May Internet Archives Text Terms Don Snow, PhD
April Museums Have Records Too: Your Ancestors Behind Closed Doors Melissa Barker
March Finding Clues to your Ancestors in City Directories Lisa Lisson
February Records of the U.S. Postal Service Michael L. Strauss, AG
January -- --

2019

Month Presentation Presenter
November Obituaries: A Family History Goldmine Cara Jones, MA
October Case Study: Where Was She Born? Pat Richley-Erickson
September Organized Research from Cradle to Grave Lori Lee Sauber
August Patents and Copyrights Christine Johns Cohen
July Voting Records: Genealogy’s Best Kept Secret Pam Vestal
June Funeral Homes And Family History: They Are Dying To Meet You! Daniel Earl, MA
May Genealogy Research In The Keystone State Ralph Tobias
April The Power Of Probates Zachary Hamilton
March Conducting A Family Analysis Before Beginning Research Kelly Summers
February Using FamilySearch Facebook Groups to Solve your Family History Brick Walls Carol Hill
January Introduction To Military Genealogy Research Michael L. Strauss, AG

2018

Month Presentation Presenter
November Evernote - The Genealogist's Workhorse Donald R. Snow, PhD
October 10 Easy Tasks At familysearch.org Devin Ashby
September Rootstech - The Inside Scoop Thomas Gill and Jen Allen
August FamilySearch And The Family History Library: Major Resources David E. Rencher, AG, CG
July What Is The Genealogical Proof Standard And Why Do I Need It? Janice C. Lovelace, PhD
June Researching Your WWII Ancestors Michael L. Strauss, AG
May Welcome To The World Of Genetic Genealogy Stephanie Saylor
April Where Are The Digitized Records On FamilySearch? James Tanner
March Migration Trails Across America Peggy Lauritzen, AG
February Which Charles Is Which? Separating Same Name Individuals Melissa Corn Finlay
January What's In Your Attic And What To Do Janet Hovorka and Don Carpenter, PhD

2017

Month Presentation Presenter
November More Evidence & Less Inference Karen Clifford, AG
October Make Your Own Family Map Using Google's 'My Maps' Francie Kennedy
September The Great War: Researching Your World War I Ancestors Michael L. Strauss, AG
August Famous DNA: A Close Look At Joseph Smith's Genes Dr. Ugo Perego
July Becoming An Excellent Genealogist Kori L. Meyerink, AG, FUGA
June Evernote: The Ultimate Research Notebook Elizabeth Cays Miller
May Mexico Research Online Kelly Summers, AG®
April Discovering The Family History Guide James Tanner
March RootsTech 2017 and FamilySearch Robert Raymond
February Tips and Tricks for Searching FamilySearch Alan E. Mann, A.G.
January It's About Time! Ginny Ackerson

2016

Month Presentation Presenter
November 10 Things I Learned About My Family From My Couch Tammy A. Hepps
October Studying Genealogy: A Personalized Approach Angela Packer McGhie, CG
September To 10 Genealogical Websites for 2016 Sandra J. Crowley
August Taking Your Research to the Next Level Paula Stewart-Warren
July Researching European Archives from your Easy Chair Lisa Alzo
June Why Attach Jill Woodbury
May Finding 19th Century Land Records with 21st Century Tools Jamie Meyhew
April

The Family History Library: Its Past, Present, and Future

Jason Harrison
Mar Utilizing Historic Maps _ Documents in a Modern Geographic Information System Terry Dahlin Mark Jackson
Feb Facebook: A Tool for Genealogy Research Thomas MacEntee
Jan Passing it Down: Digging Deeper and leaving yourfamily’s story – where it will be found Thomas Jay Kemp

2015

Month Presentation Presenter
Nov Genealogy Tips and Tricks Roland Astorga
Oct Brideprice, Handfasting and Merry Wives: How Understanding Marriage Patterns and Traditions can Help Family History Craig Foster
Sep Organizing Your Research: Paper and Computer Files Melissa Barker
Aug Personal History: How to Tell the Best Ten Stories of Your Life Tom and Alison Taylor
July Researching Mormon Women Gena Philibert-Ortega
June Germans from Russia Dee Hart
May Finding Cousins Ron Ray
Apr Introduction to Italian Civil Records Keith Pyeatt
Mar Back Door and Rear Window Research Techniques Ginny Ackerson
Feb The ABC's and 123"s of DNA Angie Bush
Jan Evaluating Databases and Overcoming Their Errors Kory Meyerink

2014

Month Presentation Title Presenter
Nov Using Technology to See Things More Clearly Peg Ivanyo
Oct Family History is not just for Your Grandparents! Amanda Terry
Sep Volunteer Opportunities at FamilySearch Art Johnson
Aug Finding Stories on Google Books Jimmy Zimmerman
Jul Presenting and Preserving Your Family History:  You Can't Take It With You, So How Do You Leave It? Don Snow
Jun Read All About It – A Guide to Online Newspapers” Luana Darby
May "Where There’s A Will…. There’s a Probate” Beth Taylor
Apr A Brief Introduction to the LDS Church History Library Jay Burrup
Mar Canceled due to scheduling conflicts  
Feb Using Tools and Organization for Creating a Valuable Family History Blog James L. Tanner
Jan Will Your Family Tree Stand the Test of Time? Most Won’t - Strengthen Your Tree! CindyLee Banks

2013

Month Presentation Presenter
Nov Hidden Gems:  Materials in Digital Libraries for Family History D. Josh Taylor
Oct Zap the Grandma Gap! Janet Hovorka, UGA Past President
Sep FamilyTree Favorite Features, Lost and Found Features, and Future Features Ron Tanner, FamilyTree Product Manager
Aug FamilySearch Photos and Stories Tim Cross
Jul Can I Use That in my Genealogy?  What You Should Know About Copyright   Thomas MacEntee
Jun Finding Your Family Stories Valerie Elkins, UGA 2nd Vice-President
May Using an Apple (MAC) to Make Your Tree Bret Petersen UGA President
Apr Hot Off The Press!!!  Sources for Online Historical Newspapers Ginny Ackerson UGA Board Member
Mar Finding Your Irish Ancestors Raymon Naisbitt, AG UGA Board Member
Feb Backing Through the Brick Wall!   Alice Colby Volkert
Jan What's New With FamilySearch Family Tree? Don Anderson, Sr. Vice President FamilySearch

2012

Month Presentation Presenter
Nov The Basics of DNA Testing for Genealogy Diahan Southard Molecular Genealogist
Oct The Secret Lives of Women:  Research Female Ancestors Using the Sources They Left Behind Gena Philbert-Ortega UGA Board Member
Sep City Directories:  More Than Names and Addresses Jason Harrison, UGA Board Member
Aug Finding US Naturalization Records Pat Jensen, Riverton Family Search Library
Jul Strategies for Searching Using Ancestry Sue Maxwell, Former UGA 1st Vice President
Jun Supercharge Your Research:  Cut Ten Years Off Your  Research Barry Ewell, UGA 2nd Vice President
May Your Head in the Cloud and Your Feet on the Ground Bret Peterson, UGA Board Member
Apr Indexing the 1940 U.S. Census Thomas McGill, FamSearch
Mar Getting Started with Fold3 Peter Drinkwater, Fold3
Feb The Tired, the Poor, the Huddled Masses, and the Wretched Refuse:  U.S. Immigration from 1820 - 1954   Beth Taylor, CG.
Jan The FamilySearch Wiki:  Exploring Its Treasures Wilma Adkins, UGA Treasurer  

2011

Month Presentation Title Presenter
Nov FamilySearch and Billion Graves Tim Cross
Oct Genealogy in Prime Time: Family History's Next Generation Josh Taylor
Sep Mobile Apps for Genealogy
AC Ivory
Aug The Vision of Indexing: A Revolution in the Research Mode Randy Bryson Utah South Area Family History Advisor
Jul Descendancy Research: Finding the Past in the Present Tim Bingamon, AG
Jun Finding Your Scottish Ancestry Raymon Naisbitt, British Isles Research Team FamilySearch.org
May How Mature Are You (Genealogically)? Robert Raymond, Deputy CGO FamilySearch.org
Apr The Google Genealogist Devin Ashby Project Coordinator FamilySearch.org
Mar Clue to Clue: Tracking A Family Across Time and Miles Jean Wilcox Hibben, PhD, CG
Feb Archiving Your Genealogy Work Using the Library of Alexandria Rule Janet Hovorka UGA President
Jan How to Effectively Conduct Genealogy Research on the Internet Barry J Ewell UGA Board Member