Genealogy Seminar 2025

Amber is a genealogist, lecturer, and social media manager with a degree in Family History Research from Brigham Young University-Idaho, where she currently serves as an online instructor in their Family History Research program. She specializes in Midwest and Great Lakes states research.

She will present the following four classes:

During this presentation, we will explore why it can be difficult to locate the women in our trees. The challenge and frustration of tracing female ancestors is one that every researcher will experience at one time or another. However, there are some tried and true techniques that will help you overcome these challenges. This presentation will focus on why it is sometimes difficult to locate the women in our trees and the records and techniques that can help locate these elusive women.

After America entered World War I in 1917, the Council of National Defense ordered the establishment of women’s councils as a domestic defense, where they registered over 4,000,000 women to provide services during the war. The data compiled represent the largest forgotten census of American women ever conducted.

This presentation will introduce attendees to the history of the Woman’s Committee of the Council of National Defense and the registration cards they created. It will cover where to find these records and how to use them in telling the stories of the women in their family history.

Following the completion of the transcontinental railroad, an army of itinerant laborers descended upon America, supplying the manpower and muscle that helped fuel our country’s industrial growth. Your ancestor may have been one of these men. This presentation will cover the history of hobos and records that you can use to tell their stories.

Hobos, tramps, and vagabonds, collectively known as itinerant workers, constituted a population of close to 100,000 people. They comprised a grouping of individuals who traveled and worked across the Midwest, Great Plains, and Mountain West between the years 1870 and 1940. This presentation will introduce the audience to the history of this subculture using documents like tramp ledgers, letters, and diaries and assist them in locating the hobos in their families and telling their stories.

The Homestead Act of 1862 opened millions of acres of land for settlement across 30 states. Interested individuals needed to meet certain criteria before the land could gain title to this land. The records created from this process are often overlooked by family historians. This session will help you understand the wealth of knowledge that can be found in these valuable records.

Also check out other Workshops in Kettering, Trips & Adventurous Activities in Kettering.