Past Meetings

VIRTUAL MEETING

Speaker: Tabby Schloemer
Topic: DNA

VIRTUAL MEETING

Speaker: Carol Clay
Topic: SGES Library, Holdings, and Family History Library Affiliate

VIRTUAL MEETING

Speaker: To be announced
Topic: To be announced

VIRTUAL MEETING
 
Speaker: John Strasburg
Topic: Stop Battling with Military Records 
Plan on staying after the meeting for the online social; it doesn’t last that long and the last few months has been quite informative!

Brief description: Military records can be a rich source of genealogical information, but many researchers steer clear because they don’t feel confident working with them. Become more comfortable around military records by joining guest presenter John Strasburg as he describes the various records available and how to obtain them. Whether experienced with military records or just getting started, everybody will come away from this program with something new.  

Speaker Bio: John Strasburg is a genealogist who specializes in military records research and enjoys helping others discover their ancestral past. A retired U.S. Coast Guard commissioned officer, John holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from SUNY Stony Brook, a master’s degree in library & information science from the University of South Florida, and a certificate in genealogical research from Boston University’s Metropolitan School, Center for Professional Education. Originally from Western New York State, John currently resides in South Carolina’s Lowcountry with his wife, Luisa.

VIRTUAL MEETING

Speaker: Karen Rhodes
Topic: Interpreting Old Handwriting
Plan on staying after the meeting for the online social; it doesn’t last that long and the last few months has been quite informative!

Brief Description: This presentation covers many aspects of paleography as it applies to the early Spanish settlements of Florida as well as British and Colonial America.  First is an overview of old handwriting (letter formation, abbreviations, punctuation – or the lack thereof, etc.) followed by a discussion of specifics of early Spanish Paleography and British and American Colonial Paleography.  Karen also includes hints for reading and interpreting old documents and translating them.

Speaker Bio: Karen Packard Rhodes went back to college at 60, earning two post-baccalaureate degrees in Spanish and History at the University of North Florida.  She then earned a Master of Liberal Arts in Florida Studies at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg.  She has been the principal investigator for “St. Augustine, 1784 – 1821,” for the website La Florida: The Interactive Digital Archive of the Americas, and is the author of Non-Federal Censuses of Florida: A Guide to Sources (McFarland, 2010).  Karen is now retired but still loves family history!