# Event Details - **Event Name**: A Deep-Dive into New Jersey Research with Melissa A. Johnson - **Event Start and End Date**: Sat, 02 May, 2026 at 09:15 am (-04:00) - **Event Description**: GSBC 2026 SEMINAR A Deep-Dive into New Jersey Research Melissa A. Johnson Saturday, 2 May 2026, 9:15am–3:30pm In-Person @ The Ridgewood Public Library Tickets $40–$50; Add-on Lunch Option Available for $8 Register at njgsbc.square.site > Please join us for our 2026 Seminar, featuring renowned genealogical speaker Melissa A. Johnson. It will be a full day of learning about New Jersey research including four lectures, door prizes, conviviality, one-on-one sharing of genealogical hints and tips, morning refreshments, and extended Q&A time with our speaker. Catered lunch available as an add-on option for $8—or bring your own! Make selection when registering. —— SEMINAR PRESENTER Melissa A. Johnson is a genealogist, writer, and editor. Her work currently focuses on personal projects involving families from New Jersey, England, American Samoa, and Lackawanna County, PA. Melissa's research and writing has been published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, New York Genealogical & Biographical Record, NGS Magazine, Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly, Genealogical Magazine of New Jersey, and numerous other publications. Melissa is currently the Program Director for Boston University’s genealogy studies programs, and has taught at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, Institute for Genealogy and Historical Research, and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. She has previously held several leadership positions locally in New Jersey and nationally on genealogy boards and organizations, and has served as an editor and columnist for Association of Professional Genealogist, National Genealogical Society, and local publications. —— SEMINAR SCHEDULE 9:15 am—Welcome and Refreshments (Included with your ticket!). Coffee/tea and assortment of breakfast snacks. SEMINAR PRESENTATIONS SESSION 1 Proprietary and Colonial New Jersey Research Researching families who lived in New Jersey during the Proprietary period (1664–1703) and the Colonial period presents unique challenges. Beginning in 1664, the East and West Jersey proprietors governed New Jersey’s inhabitants. Their records, deposited at the New Jersey State Archives, are complex and require an understanding of the time period and its practices. The Colonial period offers additional record groups to consider, such as church records, land records, court records, probate records, and local records. Attendees will learn strategies useful for specific areas of New Jersey, and discover record groups specific to these time periods. This lecture uses several case studies to illustrate how these records work together to make connections between generations. SESSION 2 Land, Tax & Estate Records in the Garden State This lecture is an overview of land ownership and its associated records in New Jersey from the Proprietary period to the present. Various types of land records will be introduced and explained in detail. Research strategies for both urban and rural areas of New Jersey will be covered. Attendees will also learn about the probate and administration processes in New Jersey and the abundance of records they can create. The lecture will cover estate records from the proprietary period to the present, uses for establishing kinship, research strategies, key locations of records, and more. —— LUNCH (Additional $8, add-on lunch option when registering) An add-on lunch option includes a catered sandwich buffet of deli and vegetable options, salad, dessert, and choice of beverage. —— SESSION PRESENTATIONS (Continued) SESSION 3 New Jersey Vital Records, Adoption & Divorce This lecture covers the various types of New Jersey vital records and the information they provide during different time periods; vital record additions and corrections; delayed vital registration; New Jersey adoption records and recent adoption legislation; and New Jersey divorce records. In addition to the types of records that exist, the discussion will focus on availability and restrictions, present day organization of the records, online and on-site indexes and records, alternatives for restricted or non-existent records, out-of-state resources, and methods for using vital records, adoption records, and divorce records to solve problems. SESSION 4 Case Studies in New Jersey Genealogy Several case studies covering different time periods and various types of problems will be presented. Each problem will be resolved using different approaches and a variety of sources. Case studies will demonstrate how land records connect five generations of a family; how cemetery and probate records for collateral relatives connect an eighteenth-century NJ man to his family when published sources identify his contemporary as their son; how state census records connect a nineteenth-century NJ man to his parents when no other record names them; and how a twentieth-century widow can be connected to her three husbands through land records. —— REGISTRATION All registrations include morning refreshments (coffee/tea, snacks), lunch, and assorted beverages. The auditorium at the Ridgewood Public Library is handicapped-accessible. Seminar seats are limited, so register early! GSBC Members = $40 per person Non-Members = $50 per person Optional Add-On for Catered Lunch = $8 per person Register at njgsbc.square.site > – Complete a separate form for each registrant. – GSBC Family Members (two individuals residing at the same address) will receive the Membership rate for each Family Member, up to two registrations, at the GSBC Member rate. Questions? contact@njgsbc.org | 201-446-9642 - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/ridgewood/a-deep-dive-into-new-jersey-research-with-melissa-a-johnson/200029907050428 - **Event Categories**: workshops, art, literary-art, nonprofit - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 14 ## Ticket Details ## Event venue details - **city**: Ridgewood - **state**: NJ - **country**: United States - **location**: Ridgewood Public Library - **lat**: 40.981503557026 - **long**: -74.112141624153 - **full address**: Ridgewood Public Library, 125 N Maple Ave, Ridgewood, NJ 07450-3242, United States ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: A Deep-Dive into New Jersey Research with Melissa A. Johnson - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/98b677c9f380ee64ad69bc6985d7ef7e8af0cf85b80aaf894ec75816ae4f2402-rimg-w1200-h675-dc625849-gmir?v=1775628266 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is A Deep-Dive into New Jersey Research with Melissa A. Johnson being held? - **A:** A Deep-Dive into New Jersey Research with Melissa A. Johnson takes place on Sat, 02 May, 2026 at 09:15 am to Sat, 02 May, 2026 at 09:15 am at Ridgewood Public Library, 125 N Maple Ave, Ridgewood, NJ 07450-3242, United States. - **Q**: Who is organizing A Deep-Dive into New Jersey Research with Melissa A. Johnson? - **A:** A Deep-Dive into New Jersey Research with Melissa A. Johnson is organized by Genealogical Society of Bergen County, NJ. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": "A Deep-Dive into New Jersey Research with Melissa A. 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