Saturday Seminars
September is our All Day Virtual Seminar
October 19, 2024 - "Avoiding Bias: Consider All the Possibilities"
Our goal in family history research is to prove an identity, relationship, or life event by thorough research. Bias can impact our research. It can keep us from finding the evidence we need, cause us to misunderstand research results, and lead us to incorrect conclusions. We'll discuss different behaviors that can introduce bias into our research process and how to avoid them.
Speaker: Barbara Coakley
Barbara's interest in family history began over 40 years ago with an envelope of family papers. She has traveled throughout the United States and Europe researching and visiting places where her ancestors lived. Her genealogical education includes ProGen, the Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research, Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh, Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, Genealogical Institute on Federal Records, Texas Institute of Genealogical Research, and many conferences and seminars.
Before retiring, Barbara taught Genealogy in the Continuing Education Department of Collin College from 2008 to 2022. She is a member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild and lectures on a wide variety of topics. Visit her website https://coakleysennottfamilyhistory.weebly.com/.
Our goal in family history research is to prove an identity, relationship, or life event by thorough research. Bias can impact our research. It can keep us from finding the evidence we need, cause us to misunderstand research results, and lead us to incorrect conclusions. We'll discuss different behaviors that can introduce bias into our research process and how to avoid them.
Speaker: Barbara Coakley
Barbara's interest in family history began over 40 years ago with an envelope of family papers. She has traveled throughout the United States and Europe researching and visiting places where her ancestors lived. Her genealogical education includes ProGen, the Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research, Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh, Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, Genealogical Institute on Federal Records, Texas Institute of Genealogical Research, and many conferences and seminars.
Before retiring, Barbara taught Genealogy in the Continuing Education Department of Collin College from 2008 to 2022. She is a member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild and lectures on a wide variety of topics. Visit her website https://coakleysennottfamilyhistory.weebly.com/.
Join Us On the Third Saturday of Each Month
Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc., is proud to sponsor Saturday Seminars to benefit you, the genealogy library patron. The seminars are FREE and are held at the W.O. Haggard, Jr. Library, 2501 Coit Rd., Plano, Texas, in the first floor Program Room or you can attend via Zoom. Doors open at 10:15 a.m. Registration is not necessary. The content is suitable for all levels of genealogy research so bring your friends to learn and have fun at the same time! As always, donations are gladly accepted! Email [email protected] to be added to the distribution list for the Zoom link.
All of our programs for will be hybrid except December. Join us in person or via Zoom
2025 Programs:
2024 Programs:
2023 Programs:
All of our programs for will be hybrid except December. Join us in person or via Zoom
2025 Programs:
- January 18, 2025 - "Avoiding An Ancestor Identity Crisis" by Shelley Bishop - How can you tell if a name in a database or record is really your ancestor? Genealogists often deal with the challenges of identifying ancestors despite same names, irregular spellings, inconsistent ages, similar places, unknown maiden names, missing vital records, ancestral migration, and boundary changes. Knowing how to sort these issues out is crucial to building an accurate family tree. Join genealogist Shelley Bishop who will demonstrate the use of seven strategies to help you solve identity problems and keep your research on track.
- February 15, 2025 - "Using Fold3 to Your Advantage" by Craig Scott
- March 15, 2025
- April 19, 2025
- May 17, 2025 - "Linking Generations with Court and Land Records" by Judy Russell - It’s the single biggest issue genealogists face: how do we connect one generation to the next with evidence we can rely on? Vital records are excellent documentation, but they often don’t exist for the time and place we’re researching. That’s when we have to find workarounds to make sure we’re not simply putting people into family lines because they share the same names. Using court and land records, we can often find the evidence we need to link the generations accurately.
2024 Programs:
- January 20, 2024—”A Nose for News: Sniffing Out Stories in Newspapers” by Mary Roddy
- February 17, 2024—”The Fair Court: Records of the Chancery Court” by Judy Russell
- March 16, 2024—”A New Strategy for Brick Walls" by Kim Richardson
- April 20, 2024— “The Value of Transcribing Historical Records” by LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson
- May 18, 2024—”A Foundational Step in Research Strategy—What is the Research Question” by Emily Richardson
- June 15, 2024—”AI and Genealogy” by Thomas MacEntee
- July 20, 2024—”Working With An Online Family Tree” by Bernard Meisner
- August 17, 2024—”Diseases, Disasters, Distress: Bad for Your Ancestors, Good for Genealogy” by Lisa Alzo
- September 21, 2024 - "Research: From Planning to Writing" All Day Virtual Seminar
- October 19, 2024 - "Avoiding Bias: Consider All The Possibilities" by Barbara Coakley
- November 16, 2024 - "After You're Gone: Future Proofing Your Genealogy Research" by Thomas MacEntee
- December 21, 2024 - Show and Tell - this event is in the library only.
2023 Programs:
- January 21 - Discussion Group
- February 18 - "Applying to a Lineage Society" by Emily Richardson
- March 18 - "Census Records - Have You Really Looked at Them?" by Barbara Coakley
- April 15 - "Shaky Leaf Syndrome: Using Website Generated Hints More Effectively" by Sarah Cochran
- May 20 - "10 Genealogical Brick Walls You Will Face" by Robert Cameron Weir
- June 17 - "Appreciating Conflicting Evidence: Analysis and Resolution Develops Broader Research" and "Indirect Evidence: Finding What Was Not Written" by Rebecca Whitman Koford - This meeting will last until 1 pm.
- July 15 - " "FamilySearch Hidden Treasures or Discoveries of a Fearless Button Pusher" by Lynell Moss.
- August 19 - "30 Types of Maps Useful in Genealogy," by Margaret Kapustiak
- September 16 - All Day Seminar
- October 21 - "After They Are Gone: What Probate Records Tell Us," by Barbara Coakley
- November 18 - "Researching Graphically: Expanding Your Research with Timelines, Charts, Spreadsheets and Diagrams" by Ari Wilkins
- December 16 - Annual Show and Tell - In Person at Haggard Library Only
