Montana State Genealogical Society
27th ANNUAL STATE GENEALOGY CONFERENCE

HILTON GARDEN INN, MISSOULA, MONTANA
September 22, 23, 24, 2016

Click here for the REGISTRATION FORM

Full Registration is only $80.00 without meals,

$124.00 with 3 meals

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? UNDERSTANDING THE LANGUAGE OF THE LAW:  The language of the law might as well be a foreign language. It's part Latin, part Greek, and all confusing. But we have to understand it to understand that will or that deed.  Learn what help is available to figure out just what they meant by that confusing legal lingo.
HOW OLD DID HE HAVE TO BE…? Is this man John the father or John the son?  Could that man be my ancestor who married in 1802?  Knowing a person’s age is often the key to distinguishing between two people of the same name.  But if no record gives a birthdate, how do you know how old someone was? The law can often give the answer.
DOWERED OR BOUND OUT: RECORDS OF WIDOWS AND ORPHANS:  Widows and orphans have always had a special place in the law. But it’s not always the place that 21st century researchers might expect. An orphan in the early days wasn’t a child whose parents had died, but rather a child whose father had died. The law didn’t care much about the mother. She was just the widow, entitled to her dower rights and generally not much more. Learn more of the way the law treated widows and orphans, and what the records may tell us about them.
DNA AND THE GOLDEN RULE: THE ETHICS OF GENETIC GENEALOGY:  Whose permission is needed to test a child or an adult unable to consent? Who owns our DNA? What can we disclose about a cousin who has tested? The rules of the road for the ethical challenges facing genealogists interested in using DNA evidence as part of their family history research. Learn how applying the Golden rule can guide us through many if not most of the situations in which we as genetic genealogists find ourselves.

AFTER MUSTERING OUT: RESEARCHING CIVIL WAR VETERANS: From veteran groups to soldier’s home records, the post-war period has countless resources for us to expire. Learn about the many types of sources created by and about Civil War veterans (both Union and Confederate).
BUTCHER, BAKER, CANDLESTICK MAKER:  USING OCCUPATIONAL RECORDS:  No matter what line of work they followed, our ancestors’ occupational records can be goldmines of information.  Learn how to find and use employment records, business histories, and government records that relate to occupations.
HOW DO I KNOW THAT’S MY ANCESTOR?  People with the same name. Nicknames. Changing names.  How do you know if that record actually refers to your ancestor?  This session will take a close look at records – and the ancestor – to see if it’s really the person on your family tree.
TIMELINES: THE SWISS ARMY KNIFE OF GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH:  Timelines are powerful and versatile. Learn how to create them and how to use them to evaluate evidence, spot holes in your research, and generate leads for further investigation.