Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc. - Collin County, Texas
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All Day Virtual Seminar 
Strategies for Genealogical Discoveries
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Saturday, August 15, 2026
​Are you ready to tackle persistent challenges and uncover new family connections? Deepen your research skills and find new pathways to family stories in four sessions. 
Register:
​
Click on the link to register online and pay with PayPal or credit card:
Early Bird Discount!
     Members $40
​     Non-Members $60
Beginning August 2, 2026
     Members $50
​     Non-Members $65

Registration Form
To register and send a check, your name and email address to
Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc., 
PO Box 860477
Plano TX 75086-0477
Not a Member Yet - Join and Save! - Membership Page
Genealogy Friends members get $20 off on the registration fee before August 2, 2026. Members also have access to the Saturday Seminar handouts and recordings (when speaker permits recording). Right now membership is on sale for $45 - this provides membership through September 30, 2027 so you'll get the discount for both the 2026 and 2027 All Day Virtual Seminars. 
 
Recordings
Recordings will be available for participants. 

​Sponsors:
The following companies have provided door prizes. Click on the links to check out their websites:

Old News by My Heritage - Historical Newspapers Online
Legacy Family Tree Webinars
FindMyPast
Family ​Tree Maker - Genealogy Software by Mackiev
​RootsMagic - Genealogy Software
GenealogyBargains.com
Family Tree DNA 
Your DNA Guide
Germanology Unlocked​
History Geo
Brick Wall Buster Cards
Storied


Schedule (CDT): 
8:30               Zoom Room Opens
8:55               Welcome
9:00-10:00      Making Those Early Census Records Talk to You
10:00-10:30    Break
10:30-11:30    Early Migration and Settlement Patterns
11:30-12:30    Lunch and Door Prize Drawings
12:30-1:30      Follow a Civil Case Through Documents Filed in Court
1:30-2:00        Break
2:00-3:00        Using That Brick Wall as a Foundation
3:00                Wrap Up
Topics:

Making Those Early Census Records Talk to You

Stop avoiding those pre-1850 census records​​. Turn those 1's and 0's into clues and lively pictures of your family. 

Early Migration and Settlement Patterns
Discover where a family moved into a state by using the statistical data recorded for all families. Learn to see where families were moving through the decades and use that knowledge to focus your research. Use the earliest records to find roads, communities, and potential neighbors, and develop a process for sweeping through the dust. 

Follow a Civil Case Through Documents Filed in Court 
Learn the basics of the legal system. Understand the process of following a case through court including dockets, orders, depositions, etc. Find the key to solving a problem using these records.  

Using That Brick Wall as a Foundation
Feel like you are at a dead end? By reviewing our research, and taking a fresh approach, we can often see new opportunities for finding our family. Use the very evidence that stops you in your tracks to spring over that wall. 
​


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Speaker: J. Mark Lowe, FUGA 

J. Mark Lowe describes himself as “born to be curious.” He is a professional genealogist, author, and lecturer who specializes in original records and manuscripts throughout the South. Mark enjoys opportunities to share what he has learned over the years through YouTube, Webinars, and Institutes.
He served as the Course Coordinator for ‘Research in the South’ at IGHR (Georgia), SLIG (Utah), and TIGR (Texas), does Webinars for Legacy Family Tree Webinars and has worked on several genealogical television series including Follow Your Past, African American Lives 2, Who Do You Think You Are? and UnXplained Events, and podcasts, including Twice Removed and Blast From My Past.

Mark has published in the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly (APGQ), National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ), FGS’ FORUM. The Longhunter (So. Ky. Genealogical Society), Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society Quarterly, North Carolina Genealogical Quarterly, and other society publications. He is a Past President of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), and Past President of the Southern Kentucky Genealogical Society Mark is a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Society and was awarded the Graham T. Smallwood award and Lifetime Membership award by the Association of Professional Genealogists.

Website: www.kytnresearch.com
Blog: Keeping the Story Alive: http://keepingthestoryalive.blogspot.com/
Kentucky/Tennessee Stories: http://kytnstories.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @JLowe615
Instagram: @kytnresearch
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JLoweGenealogy/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kytnresearch 

Questions: Email [email protected]

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