Upcoming
Speaking Engagements:
Are you looking to have a LIVE VIRTUAL speaker? Please contact us to see if this option might help your society or club. Every talk comes with a handout for your membership, along with saving the costs of travel.
STAY TUNED for more events being added in 2023 and 2024!
Date: 14 October 2023
Time: 10:00am – 5:30pm ET
Location: Howard County Library, Miller Branch.
Description: Join Genealogist Margaret M. McMahon, Ph.D., at her table about researching military history at the “Shake That Family Tree Event.” to learn how to use online resources and strategies to research your ancestors’ US Military service.
Host: Howard County Genealogical and Historical Societies. Registration is at: https://howardcounty.librarycalendar.com/event/shake-family-tree.
Date: 2 November 2023 (via Zoom)
Time: 7:00pm – 8:00pm ET
Description: “Crash Course on Researching Ancestors in the US Military.” Join Genealogist Margaret M. McMahon, Ph.D., to learn how to use online resources and strategies to research your ancestors’ US Military service. The class will also include information about how to use military archives in your research. Hosted by the Odenton Library. Register to receive a link to the Zoom meeting.
Host: Anne Arundel County Public Library. Registration will be at: https://www.aacpl.net/event/genealogy-crash-course-researching-ancestors-us-military.
Date: 7 December 2023 (via Zoom)
Time: 7:00 to 8:30 pm
Description: “Creating an Individualized Genealogical Educational Plan.” Whether your goal is to become a professional genealogist, to better
understand an ancestor’s life or break down your own brick walls, your
own educational plan can help you focus on what you want to learn.
Having an individualized education plan clarifies your goals as well
as providing accountability. Explore the types of resources that are
available to use, and how to put together your own plan.
Host: The Anne Arundel Genealogical Society. More information can be found here.
Date: 15 January 2024 (via Zoom)
Time: 6:30pm – 8:00pm ET
Description: “Crash Course on Researching Ancestors in the US Military.” Join Genealogist Margaret M. McMahon, Ph.D., to learn how to use online resources and strategies to research your ancestors’ US Military service. The class will also include information about how to use military archives in your research.
Host: The Carroll County Genealogical Society (https://ccgsmd.org).
Date: 17 February 2024 (via Zoom)
Time: 10:30am ET
Description: “Using AI for Genealogy.” Artificial Intelligence (AI) has already been used in the realm of genealogy, with major success in indexing records as well as colorizing and animating photographs. AI can also be your personal guide to learn about genealogical research, be your partner during your research, and help you to answer questions. Learn from a computer science, engineering and cybersecurity professor how AI products can assist you in your genealogical endeavors. Find out how to use AI in your research and writing, as well as its limitations. Products that are covered are: OpenAI ChatGPT, Google Bard, and text-to-speech AI.
Host: The Western New York Genealogical Society (https://ccgsmd.org).
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To find recorded classes click on Dr. McMahon’s RootsTech sessions
Date: 3 – 5 February 2022 (available for 3 years)
Time: Prerecorded Class.
Description: “Researching Ancestors in the US Military: Online and in Military Archives – Part 1.”
Military service may have greatly defined or influenced an ancestor’s life, and during their service an ancestor may also have been part of shaping history. This can make researching their time in the military a potentially exciting project. This is the first part of a three-part class. It begins with an introduction to the events that occur during an ancestor’s military service to show which kinds of records would be generated. Example documents are discussed, showing what information can be found in them.
Place: RootsTech Connect 2022! Link to presentation and handout.
Date: 3 – 5 February 2022 (available for 3 years)
Time: Prerecorded Class.
Description: “Researching Ancestors in the US Military: Online and in Military Archives – Part 2.”
Military service may have greatly defined or influenced an ancestor’s life, and during their service an ancestor may also have been part of shaping history. This can make researching their time in the military a potentially exciting project. In this second part of a three-part class, we use online database services, such FamilySearch, then seek out information on national and state archives and other resources. This class contains short “Take a minute” exercises.
Place: RootsTech Connect 2022! Link to presentation and handout.
Date: 3 – 5 February 2022 (available for 3 years)
Time: Prerecorded Class.
Description: “Researching Ancestors in the US Military: Online and in Military Archives – Part 3.”
Military service may have greatly defined or influenced an ancestor’s life, and during their service an ancestor may also have been part of shaping history. This can make researching their time in the military a potentially exciting project. In this third and final part of a three-part class, the military archives available are described and discusses how to locate online materials and how to contact them.
Place: RootsTech Connect 2022! Link to presentation and handout.
Date: 25 – 27 February 2021 (available for 3 years)
Time: Prerecorded Class.
Description: “Write Their Story: From Timeline to Young Readers Book (Part 1 of 2).”
Part 1 of this 2-video series introduces what a Young Readers Book is, and the decisions to make before beginning your book. The first step is to choose the focus of the book. It can be the story of an immigrant family, one ancestor’s military service, or any other significant person or time period in your family’s history. Then, construct a timeline by collecting the events, dates and places captured from your research effort. The importance of adding depth to a story using contextual information from books, diaries and newspapers to the story is covered. Finally, get ready to write the book!
Place: RootsTech Connect 2021! Link to presentation and handout.
Date: 25 – 27 February 2021 (available for 3 years)
Time: Prerecorded Class.
Description: “Write Their Story: From Timeline to Young Readers Book (Part 1 of 2).” Be inspired by a simple process to write a Young Readers Book that shares your ancestor’s stories! Bringing research reports to family gatherings prompts yawns; writing a full-length book feels overwhelming. A Young Readers Book is in the “Goldilocks Zone” between those two extremes. This kind of book is a non-intimidating way to write and read a story.
Part 1 of this 2-video series introduces what a Young Readers Book is, and the decisions to make before beginning your book. The first step is to choose the focus of the book. It can be the story of an immigrant family, one ancestor’s military service, or any other significant person or time period in your family’s history. Then, construct a timeline by collecting the events, dates and places captured from your research effort. The importance of adding depth to a story using contextual information from books, diaries and newspapers to the story is covered. Finally, get ready to write the book!
Place: RootsTech Connect 2021! Link to presentation and handout.
Date: 25 – 27 February 2021 (available for 3 years)
Time: Prerecorded Class.
Description: “Write Their Story: From Timeline to Young Readers Book (Part 2 of 2).” In Part 2 of this 2-video series, the method to use the timeline for building pages one-by-one is demonstrated. As each page is built, the story weaves together timeline events with the context of historical events and contemporary images into the fabric of an illustrated narrative. This process can help uncover holes in your research, and can also expanded to the full-length book you have been wanting to write.
Place: RootsTech Connect 2021! Link to presentation and handout.
Date: 25 – 27 February 2021 (available for 3 years)
Time: Prerecorded Tip.
Description: “Learning from US Military Records That Did Not Burn.” Although 80% of the individual personnel files for US Army soldiers in World War I (and World War II) did burn, the original records that were used to build these personnel files still exist! Get tips about what records to use to research your ancestor’s military service. This video tip features Michael T. Mentley
Place: RootsTech Connect 2021! Link to tip.
STAY TUNED for more events in 2023!
