Program Materials 2017-19
Thanks to the generosity of our speakers, we are able to make handouts and recorded webinars from many of our past meetings to DGS members. Materials from meetings in 2017-19 are available on this page.
- Program Materials Index – all available recorded webinars and handouts
Note: The presentations during this time period were not recorded. Therefore, no videos are available for any of these events; most events do have the presentation available in PDF format.
- January 2017: Newspapers and Genealogy
- April 2017: Clean up Your Room! Organizing your genealogy
- September 2017: Grave Matters
- November 2017: Hidden Assets
- January 2018: Researching your WWI Ancestors
- February 2018: Irish Research
- September 2018: Genealogy Loves a Good Map!
- November 2018: Writing Your Family Story
- February 2019 Research in Pennsylvania Coal Country
- August 2019: One-Touch Genealogy Research
- October 2019: Genealogical Resources at Hagley
- November 2019: Finding your German Ancestral Village
Presentations in PDF can be printed and/or downloaded. Please do not distribute or republish this member-only material without the express permission of DGS and the event presenter. This material is for your reference only.
Thank you.
Meeting Materials 2017-19
January 2017: Extra, Extra! Newspapers are Genealogical Goldmines
An overview of the role of newspapers in genealogy research; discuss available print and online Delaware newspaper sources; demonstrate online sources (free and pay sites) for general newspaper research; and, through case studies, show how newspaper research can break down genealogical brick walls.
Reese Robinson, who serves on the Board of Governors of the Delaware Genealogical Society, is a technology management consultant whose family tree is well-rooted in Delaware. Reese is the administrator of the Delaware Genealogical Society Blog, and authors his own blog about Delaware Genealogy (Nanticoke River Roots).
Edward Richi is the Curator of Printed Media for the Delaware Historical Society.
April 2017: Clean up Your Room! Organizing your genealogy
Panel discussion on the good, the bad, and the ugly: Experiences with developing an organization system for the tons of materials that find their way into a family historian’s house. The best organization system is the one that works for you and those to whom you intend to pass along your family history treasures. We’ll discuss various books, blogs, supplies, and personal experiences to develop an effective storage, preservation, and organization system.
September 2017: Grave Matters: Cemetery Research
Digging Through Cemetery Research: Learn about techniques, websites and other resources, including wills, death certificates, obituaries, headstone transcription projects, interment lists and cemetery databases, to find new information about our ancestors. Speaker: Susan Kirk Ryan
Finding a Cemetery – The Reconstruction of Records for Destroyed Cemeteries: Many Afro-American cemeteries were ‘relocated’ as the city of Wilmington expanded. When segregated cemeteries were no longer required by law (1970s), some cemeteries fell into disuse. The records from those cemeteries have been lost to time. How do you reconstruct the records for a cemetery when the actual records no longer exist, and the church has no records of burials? Speaker: Regina Barry
Finding Rachel Rion – Searching for Ancestors in Unmarked Graves: Finding and working with old plot plans to locate ancestors can be challenging but rewarding. Speaker: Reese Robinson
November 2017: Hidden Assets: Panel Discussion on Lesser-Known Websites and Resources
Speakers and presentations as PDFS:
January 2018: Researching your WWI Ancestors
Service records are the first thing we think of when researching our ancestors who served in the military, but these are not the only records created in wartime. In this presentation, we will review the records created by the Great War for our World War I-era ancestors – male & female, those who served & many who did not.
J. Joseph Harland, Ph.D., CG®, DGS VP
February 2018: My Wild Irish Research: New Irish Genealogy Resources are Blooming!
Finding our Irish ancestors is getting easier every day, thanks to new resources. We’ll discuss strategies for Irish research, online and print Irish resources (especially those released in the last three years), and some tips for planning a research trip to Ireland.
Susan Kirk Ryan, DGS President
September 2018: Genealogy Loves a Good Map!
The presentation will address the importance and usage of maps in genealogical research, how changing boundaries affect where you find ancestry records, and where you can find relevant maps online and in local repositories. Examples will be drawn largely from Delaware but the concepts and techniques will be of interest to all genealogists.
Reese Robinson, who serves on the Board of Governors of the Delaware Genealogical Society and as the DGS Webmaster, is a technology management consultant whose family tree is well-rooted in Delaware. (Reese Robinson)
November 2018: Writing Your Family Story
Stumped about how to get started on writing your family story? Wondering about how to preserve your family’s story in a written format for future generations? Panelists will discuss different techniques for writing family history, ways to break down the daunting task, and different publishing options available today.
Various speakers
February 2019 Research in Pennsylvania Coal Country
There are many challenges in doing genealogy research in the Pennsylvania coal region. One big challenge is surnames: phonetic spelling, poor handwriting, transcription errors, and Americanization, especially of Polish and Lithuanian surnames. Let’s explore an example of actual research into two Polish families, while illustrating a variety of genealogy research tools.
Mike Miscoski retired in 2011 after 32 years with Hewlett-Packard and spin-off Agilent Technologies, where he worked as an engineer, a product marketing manager, and an IT Specialist. He began genealogical research in 2012 after training at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, focusing on his Polish and Irish heritage in the coal region of Pennsylvania. He serves on the Board of Governors of the Delaware Genealogical Society.
August 2019: One-Touch Genealogy Research
Participants will learn the best way to extract as much information as possible from a genealogy record on the first pass! We’ll cover how to save and name record images, how to transcribe and extract information, how to create a quick source citation, and how to make sure you can find the record in the future.
Thomas MacEntee, a genealogy professional based in the United States who is also a blogger, educator, author, social media connector, online community builder, and more.
October 2019: Genealogical Resources at Hagley
Learn what you can find about your ancestors in the Hagley Research Library and Archives!
Erik Rau, Hagley Director of Library Services, will give an overview of the many genealogical resources available at Hagley Research Library and Archives.
Speaker Reese Robinson, DGS Webmaster, will talk about his personal experiences in researching the Toy family in the Hagley Archives.
November 2019: Finding your German Ancestral Village
Germans immigrated from Europe and Russia to America. Sometimes the name of the village they left is known, sometimes not. Lloyd Maier will bring some ideas on how to find the name of the village and locate where your ancestors once lived.
Lloyd Maier is an active family researcher. She maintains a website of her family’s ancestors and their stories. She has led the Germanic Genealogy Group of the Delaware Saengerbund for 7 years, and in the process learned many nuances of researching German families.
Updated 21 August 2024