For those of us whose ancestors lived in larger towns or urban areas, unique resources in the form of city directories and Sanborn fire insurance maps provide a look at those ancestors and where they lived that is not available to those with rural ancestors. This class will be a lecture with the opportunity to follow along on library computers. Included will be:

Surprisingly few years in the Colonial and United States periods were without military conflict – some at a limited level, some worldwide. As a result, a large number of our ancestors are likely to have served during one or more conflicts; leaving behind military service records. In addition, many of our civilian ancestors participated in the cause by providing time, labor, and/or materials and others were effected by conflict directly (plantation burned down) or indirectly (rationing). This class will be a lecture about military records including:

There are times when it seems that an ancestor must have been dropped to Earth (or swept away therefrom) by aliens. No matter how hard you try, no matter how many records you search, nothing provides you with explicit information (direct evidence) on that ancestor’s parents, or what became of his children, etc. But even in the absence of such direct evidence, it is possible to arrive at valid conclusions using indirect evidence and negative evidence. This class will be a combined lecture and workshop about the thought processes and methods used to arrive at a genealogical conclusion in the absence of direct evidence. Included will be: