Program Materials 2025
Thanks to the generosity of our speakers, we are able to make handouts and recorded webinars from many of our past meetings for DGS members to enjoy.
- Program Materials Index – all available recorded webinars and handouts
- January 2025 – ‘Figuring Out a Mystery Match – How am I Related to This Person?’
- February 2025 – ‘Translating, Transcribing, and Summarizing Documents Using AI,
- March 2025 – ‘Advanced Colonial Research, Part I: Identifying Early Settlers’
- April 2025 – ‘Advanced Colonial Research, Part II: Modern Techniques’
- May 2025: ‘Top Repositories for Delaware Research’ panel moderated by Irene Heffran Monley
- September 2025 – ‘Forgotten Family: Pauper Records and Genealogy at the Delaware Public Archives’ with Joseph Sullivan
- October 2025 – Beyond the Brick Wall: Strategies for Pre-1850 U.S. Research’ with Julia A. Anderson, MA, AG®, AGL™
- November 2025: ‘Colonial Origins and DNA’ with Kate Penney Howard.
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.
Please do not share links to the recorded webinars. They are available for DGS members only.
Thank you.
Meeting Materials 2025
January 2025: ‘Figuring Out a Mystery Match – How am I Related to This Person?’
Speaker, Peggy S. Jude: Peggy is a speaker, educator, and researcher who has been conducting genealogical research for over 40 years. She will discuss matches that you don’t recognize. With no idea how they are related to you? Using an actual case study, we present nine steps to determining who a match is and how you might relate.
February 2025: ‘Translating, Transcribing and Summarizing Documents Using AI,’
Speaker, Thomas MacEntee: author, educator, student, advocate, marketer, storyteller, entrepreneur, and that “genealogy guy” who helps you accomplish your family history goals. He’s a professional genealogist specializing in the use of technology and social media to improve genealogical research and as a means of interacting with others in the family history community.
March 2025: ‘Advanced Colonial Research, Part I: Identifying Early Settlers’
Speaker D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS, FUGA, will present the first part of a two-part program. This session delves into the methodologies for identifying early settlers in colonial America, specifically those who resided in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. Participants will learn how to analyze settlement patterns, trace migration routes, and explore advanced techniques to utilize foundational records such as land, probate, religious, and court records. Record gaps limit your family history—sign up now and gain the tools to bridge the divide effectively.
April 2025: ‘Advanced Colonial Research, Part 2: Modern Techniques’
Speaker D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS, FUGA, will present the first part of a two-part program. This session delves into the methodologies for identifying early settlers in colonial America, specifically those who resided in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland. Participants will learn how to analyze settlement patterns, trace migration routes, and explore advanced techniques to utilize foundational records such as land, probate, religious, and court records. Record gaps limit your family history—sign up now and gain the tools to bridge the divide effectively.
May 2025: ‘Top Repositories for Delaware Research’ panel moderated by Irene Heffran Monley
Delaware repositories are the heart of researching your ancestors. During this panel discussion, representatives from three of our leading archives and libraries will share highlights of their collections and how to access them: Leah Greer, Reference Archivist from Delaware Public Archives; Leigh Rifenburg, Chief Curator for Delaware Historical Society; and Erik Rau, Director of Library Services at Hagley Museum and Library. Join us to learn more about these essential repositories.
Panelists: Leah Greer, Delaware Public Archives. Leigh Rifenburg, Delaware Historical Society. Erik Rau Hagley Museum and Library.
September 2025: ‘Forgotten Family: Pauper Records and Genealogy at the Delaware Public Archives’ with Joseph Sullivan
The Delaware Public Archives contains a wealth of resources for genealogists, covering centuries of vital records, wills, deeds, and much more. However, many researchers encounter dead ends, in which a family member seems to drop off the face of the earth. No birth record, no property records, no will or probate. How then do we find these forgotten family members? Pauper records can be indispensable resources for filling these gaps, as they document the Delaware residents that history was most likely to forget: the poor, illegitimate children, unwed mothers, and others. This presentation will guide you through the evolution of public welfare and poor relief in Delaware, the types of records that are available to genealogists for research, and how to access these records at the Delaware Public Archives.
DPA Events Available: https://delgensoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Presentations-available-from-the-Delaware-Public-Archives-revised-August-2025.pdf
October 2025: ‘Beyond the Brick Wall: Strategies for Pre-1850 U.S. Research’ with Julia A. Anderson, MA, AG®, AGL™
Researching in the United States prior to 1850 presents unique challenges. Records contain less information, are seldom indexed, and can be difficult to find. In this class, we will introduce strategies for identifying relationships prior to 1850 and demonstrate advanced research skills, record analysis, and evidence correlation. Attendees should have some experience researching ancestors in the U.S. post-1850.
November 2025: ‘Colonial Origins and DNA’ with Kate Penney Howard.
Have you ever scrolled down your match list…past known family, to second, third, and fourth cousins, finding yourself in a harsh landscape of distant cousins? We’ll talk about when distant matches can be useful in confirming Colonial ancestors…and when they can be misleading.
Updated 15 November 2025