Elizabeth Shown Mills

Turning Witnesses into Evidence — replay of today's webinar by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL now available for webinar members

August 25, 2023

The recording of today's webinar by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, "Turning Witnesses into Evidence” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com/ESM with a webinar membership.

Webinar Description

Witnesses are not afterthoughts tacked onto the end of documents. Although they filled a routine role for our ancestors, they are significant informants for us—once we learn how to use those names to develop evidence. This session approaches the topic in two ways: theory and application. It explores record types that offer witnesses, ways in which witnesses were used, situations that affected the choice of witnesses, signals that indicate whether a witness would be important to our research, and methods to apply in our development of the clues they offer. A challenging case study presents an unmarried freedwoman, never named in any census, who died about 1817—and applies key strategies to determine her death and burial sites.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 24 minute recording of "Turning Witnesses into Evidence" is now available to view in our webinar library (webinar membership required).

Webinar Memberships/Subscriptions

Webinar Members get:

On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 2,040 classes of genealogy education)
On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 7,742 pages)
On-demand access to the live webinars' chat logs
5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout)
Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar
Access to register for bonus members-only webinars
Ability to view which webinars you are registered for
Use of the playlist, resume watching, and jump-to features

Introductory pricing:

Annual membership: $49.95/year

Register for our upcoming webinars (free)

Print the 2023 webinar brochure here.

Posted by Geoff Rasmussen in Elizabeth Shown Mills, Webinars | Permalink | Comments (0)

Problem Solving in the Problem-Riddled Carolina Backcountry — replay of today's webinar by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL now available for webinar members

July 28, 2023

The recording of today's webinar by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, "Problem Solving in the Problem-Riddled Carolina Backcountry” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com/ESM with a webinar membership.

Webinar Description

The Carolina backcountry is known for its genealogical roadblocks: from social and geographic challenges to record destruction, to the failure to create records in the first place. This session begins by examining the cultural influences that have created the problems—influences we need to understand if we are to develop alternative resources and approaches. Building on this foundation, Mills then explores thirty-two strategies for overcoming research obstacles, using a variety of short case studies and little-known materials to illustrate key points.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 19 minute recording of "Problem Solving in the Problem-Riddled Carolina Backcountry" is now available to view in our webinar library (webinar membership required).

Webinar Memberships/Subscriptions

Webinar Members get:

On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 2,028 classes of genealogy education)
On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 7,673 pages)
On-demand access to the live webinars' chat logs
5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout)
Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar
Access to register for bonus members-only webinars
Ability to view which webinars you are registered for
Use of the playlist, resume watching, and jump-to features

Introductory pricing:

Annual membership: $49.95/year

Register for our upcoming webinars (free)

Print the 2023 webinar brochure here.

Posted by Geoff Rasmussen in Elizabeth Shown Mills, Webinars | Permalink | Comments (0)

Samuel Witter vs. Samuel Witter: Separating Same Name Men, War of 1812 by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL - replay of today's webinar now online for webinar members

May 25, 2023

The recording of today's members-only webinar by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS, "Samuel Witter vs. Samuel Witter: Separating Same Name Men, War of 1812” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for those with a webinar membership.

Webinar Description

Online research today is immensely rewarding. Major genealogical data sites and software perform automatic searches for us and suggest documents bearing the names of people we are pursuing. However, every document we collect presents an identity issue we have to resolve before we can validly use it to build our family tree. This presentation demonstrates why, using three men named Samuel Witter whose descendants have all claimed for him the same War of 1812 service. As Mills separates the three Samuels, she explores the standards that govern our development of evidence, the Congressional laws that must guide our decisions, and the strategies needed to differentiate between men and correctly assign military service.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 25 minute recording of "Samuel Witter vs. Samuel Witter: Separating Same Name Men, War of 1812” is now available to view in our webinar library when signed in as a webinar member.

Webinar Memberships/Subscriptions

Webinar Members get:

On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 1,990 classes of genealogy education)
On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 7,587 pages)
On-demand access to the live webinars' chat logs
5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout)
Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar
Access to register for bonus members-only webinars
Ability to view which webinars you are registered for
Use of the playlist, resume watching, and jump-to features

Introductory pricing:

Annual membership: $49.95/year

Become a webinar member here.

Register for our upcoming webinars (free)

Print the 2023 webinar brochure here.

Posted by Geoff Rasmussen in Elizabeth Shown Mills, Webinars | Permalink | Comments (0)

Margaret’s Baby’s Father & The Lessons He Taught Me - replay of today's webinar by Elizabeth Shown Mills now online for webinar members

March 24, 2023

The recording of today's members-only webinar by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS, "Margaret’s Baby’s Father & The Lessons He Taught Me” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for those with a webinar membership.

Webinar Description

Illegitimacy. Poverty. Footloose fathers. Record destruction. Name changes. Conflicting data. Forged Bibles. Careless research by predecessors. All these problems can be overcome even when all are combined into one perplexing person. This session presents eight basic principles on which sound research is grounded. For each, it demonstrates how to apply that principle, drawing upon the presenter’s famed case that proved James Ball of Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, to be the father of a child born to an unmarried mother in 1824 Louisiana.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 28 minute recording of "Margaret’s Baby’s Father & The Lessons He Taught Me” is now available to view in our webinar library when signed in as a webinar member.

Webinar Memberships/Subscriptions

Webinar Members get:

On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 1,934 classes of genealogy education)
On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 7,278 pages)
On-demand access to the live webinars' chat logs
5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout)
Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar
Access to register for bonus members-only webinars
Ability to view which webinars you are registered for
Use of the playlist, resume watching, and jump-to features

Introductory pricing:

Annual membership: $49.95/year

Become a webinar member here.

Register for our upcoming webinars (free)

Print the 2023 webinar brochure here.

Posted by Geoff Rasmussen in Elizabeth Shown Mills | Permalink | Comments (0)

Register for Friday's "The Best of ESM" series members-only webinar: Margaret’s Baby’s Father & The Lessons He Taught Me by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL

March 23, 2023

Illegitimacy. Poverty. Footloose fathers. Record destruction. Name changes. Conflicting data. Forged Bibles. Careless research by predecessors. All these problems can be overcome even when all are combined into one perplexing person. This session presents eight basic principles on which sound research is grounded. For each, it demonstrates how to apply that principle, drawing upon the presenter’s famed case that proved James Ball of Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, to be the father of a child born to an unmarried mother in 1824 Louisiana.

*** This class requires an active webinar membership to attend. ***

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About the presenter

Across a long career, Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS, has been an innovator of research methods and strategies. Published widely by academic and popular presses, she edited a national-level scholarly journal for 16 years, taught for 13 years at a National Archives-based institute on archival records and, for 25 years, headed a university-based program for advanced researchers. A past president of both the American Society of Genealogists and the Board for Certification of Genealogists, Elizabeth is the author, editor, and translator of 14 books and over 600 articles in the fields of genealogy, history, literature, and sociology. She has delivered over 1,000 lectures internationally, has appeared on radio and TV talk shows on three continents, and was featured in BBC’s 20th and 30th anniversary specials on the novel Roots.

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Webinar time

The webinar will be live on Friday, March 24, 2023 at:

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We look forward to seeing you all there!

Posted by Geoff Rasmussen in Elizabeth Shown Mills, Webinars | Permalink | Comments (0)

Trousers, Black Domestic, Tacks & Housekeeping Bills: Problem-Solving with “Trivial Details” - replay of today's webinar by Elizabeth Shown Mills now online for webinar members

January 27, 2023

The recording of today's members-only webinar by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS, "Trousers, Black Domestic, Tacks & Housekeeping Bills: Problem-Solving with “Trivial Details” is now available to view at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com for those with a webinar membership.

Webinar Description

The records we use are filled with “trivia,” bits and pieces of information that seem to have no “genealogical” value—at least not until we become more innovative in our research and analysis. Each piece of trivia in every document is an opportunity waiting to be connected to something else. Our ability to resolve problems depends upon our ability to make those connections. This class explores eighteen types of records and the kind of hidden clues each offers to help us resolve problems of identity, kinship, and origin.

View the Recording at FamilyTreeWebinars.com

If you could not make it to the live event or just want to watch it again, the 1 hour 22 minute recording of "Trousers, Black Domestic, Tacks & Housekeeping Bills: Problem-Solving with “Trivial Details” is now available to view in our webinar library when signed in as a webinar member.

Webinar Memberships/Subscriptions

Webinar Members get:

On-demand access to the entire webinar archives (now 1,913 classes of genealogy education)
On-demand access to the instructor handouts (now 7,192 pages)
On-demand access to the live webinars' chat logs
5% off all products at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com (must be logged in at checkout)
Access to all future recordings for the duration of their membership
Chance for a members-only door prize during each live webinar
Access to register for bonus members-only webinars
Ability to view which webinars you are registered for
Use of the playlist, resume watching, and jump-to features

Introductory pricing:

Annual membership: $49.95/year

Register for our upcoming webinars (free)

Print the 2023 webinar brochure here.

Posted by Geoff Rasmussen in Elizabeth Shown Mills, Methodology, Webinars | Permalink | Comments (0)