DGS General Meeting
2024-03-02 11:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | 7th Floor – O’Hara Hall – J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person & Virtual Event

Speaker: Ari Wilkins

Topic: Let Your Fingers Do the Walking: Exploring City Directories, Telephone Books and Criss-Cross Directories

Research Opportunity! After the meeting DGS members will help you locate and use these new resources on the 7th floor!

Join the meeting via Zoom anytime after 10:30 am (US Central Time).

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A graduate of Louisiana State University, Ms. Wilkins has been actively researching family history since 1998, specializing in African American research.

Ms. Wilkins speaks nationally and locally. She has had the honor to speak at the National Genealogical Society, Federation of Genealogical Societies, Texas State Genealogical Society, Ohio Genealogical Society, Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research, Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, American Library Association, RootsTech, and a multitude of local societies.

https://www.blackgenesis.com/

DPL: Early Texans DNA Project
2024-03-06 14:00 - 15:00 | 8th Floor – Genealogy Section, J. Erik Jonnson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person & Virtual

As we celebrate Texas Independence Day, you may be curious about whether you have early Texas ancestors. Find out about how DNA and early Texas family history research can help you learn more about your family’s past. Dallas Public Library Genealogy Specialist Mic Barnette will talk about the Texas State Genealogical Society’s Early Texans DNA Project, how you can get involved, and how Dallas Public Library can help you with your early Texas research.

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German Genealogy Group
2024-03-09 10:30 - 12:00 | 8th Floor – McDermott Room, J. Erik Jonnson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person and Virtual Event

Topic: Resources for Finding Your German Roots At the Dallas Public Library

Genealogy & History Manager Stephanie Bennett and German Genealogy Specialist Ed Boehringer will present on how to find your German heritage at the Dallas Public Library. Learn how to maximize your research time using one of the largest genealogy collections in the United States.

The focus of this group is Germans who emigrated to various parts of the United States from the 1700’s through the 1900’s.

The leaders of this group are Ann Broihier and Bernard Meisner. You can send them email at ggg@dallasgenealogy.org. Learn more about the German Genealogy Group

Join the Call Dial In / Meeting ID: 947 1403 5493, Passcode: [REDACTED]

Cedar Hill Genealogy Society Monthly Program
2024-03-14 18:30 - 20:30 | Virtual Event
Speaker: Kim Richardson

Topic: Relatively Cheap Genealogy: Research and Education for the Frugal at Heart

Frugality and practicality are habits and lifestyle choices that can translate easily into genealogy research and education. This presentation explores methods of garnering all you can out of lesser expensive genealogy resources. Plus, we will discuss how you know it’s time to spend money and how to make sure you’re getting quality service.

Our Meeting begins at 7:00pm Thursday, November 9th but please join us on Zoom at 6:30 PM for socializing. Admission is free and guests are always welcome.

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Kim Richardson began her genealogy journey out of her love of family history. She is passionate about her work as a professional genealogist and enjoys serving the genealogy community by teaching and enabling others to do their own research successfully. She speaks often to genealogists across the country. In her role as a genealogist, she not only helps her clients achieve their own genealogy goals, but she has also researched for various authors and for Finding Your Roots and Who Do You Think You Are?

African American Genealogical Interest Group
2024-03-16 14:00 - 16:00, 2024-04-20 14:00 - 16:00 | 6th Floor – Classroom Brno (formerly Classroom B), J. Erik Jonnson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person & Virtual Event

The group discusses use of variety of sources, including census research, reconstruction and Freedman Bureau records, NARA combined military records of the U.S. Colored Troops, Plantation Slave records, Slave schedules and other

Join the Call Meeting ID: 971 1676 5715

DPL: Finding your Ancestor's Maiden Name
2024-03-20 14:00 - 15:00 | 8th Floor – Genealogy Section, J. Erik Jonnson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person & Virtual

Are you stumped trying to find your great great grandmother’s family? Learn about the different types of record collections that can help locate your ancestor’s maiden name. Join Genealogy Manager Stephanie Bennett as we delve into finding more information about our female ancestors!

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DNA Special Interest Group
2024-03-21 18:00 - 19:30, 2024-05-16 18:00 - 19:30 | Virtual Event
Virtual Event

The DNA Special Interest Group explores the use of DNA as a genealogical tool. The goal is to help individuals understand and incorporate current DNA testing strategies and standards into their personal genealogy. Meeting are open to all.

Subject: TBD

Speaker: TBD

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Zoom Details

Meeting ID: 886 0208 0729 / Passcode: [REDACTED]

Arlington Family History Seminar
2024-03-23 09:00 - 15:00 | TX
Lite snacks will be provided, however, we encourage you to please bring your lunch.Here are a few of the topics that will be discussed about at this year’s seminar:

How Can the Family Search Wiki Help Me?

Basic Family Search- logon, navigation, etc.

An Introduction to DNA for Genealogists

Closing Death Records is Dead Wrong

15 Things You Can Do to Save Your Family’s Stories

Class-Schedule-2024Download

We now have an online registration form so please click on the link below to register, and further information can be found on our website

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Best Practices SIG
2024-03-30 10:30 - 13:00 | 8th Floor – McDermott Room, J. Erik Jonnson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person & Virtual Event

New Date!This meeting has been moved to March 30, 2024.

The Best Practices SIG is for genealogists who want to learn advanced methodology skills and techniques.

You can contact Liz Kutz, the SIG leader at bestpractices@dallasgenealogy.org.

Learn more about the Best Practices SIG.

Join the Call Meeting ID: 882 7359 7058

DPL: Preserving Family Memories: Digitizing Video & Film
2024-03-30 14:00 - 15:00 | 8th Floor – Genealogy Section, J. Erik Jonnson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person Only!

Camcorder tapes, VHS, VHS-C, 8 mm film – the opportunities to make home movies in the 20th century seem endless. Now, it ends up being hard to find the equipment to view your forgotten treasures and harder still to digitize it for free. Join Genealogy & History Manager Stephanie Bennett to learn about the ins and outs of family movie digitization and how the Heritage Lab located on the 8th floor of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library can help you make your precious family memories easier to share with loved ones.

No Registration Required!

Jewish Special Interest Group
2024-04-04 10:30 - 12:00 | 8th Floor – McDermott Room, J. Erik Jonnson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person & Virtual Event

Speaker: Kitty Cooper

Working with DNA testing presents unique challenges to the Jewish genealogical community due to the close relatedness of their DNA and the lack of deep family trees. Genetic Genealogist Kitty Munson Cooper will help those with suspected Jewish DNA lines find the right DNA test, and talk about what your results might mean.

The Jewish Genealogical Interest Group’s mission is to assist anyone to research their actual (or suspected) Jewish ancestral lines. Learn about alternative genealogy research methods and records specifically geared to finding your Jewish ancestors.

JOIN THE CALL

Meeting ID: 947 0024 8507

Kitty Munson Cooper is well-known blogger on genetics and genealogy who has many presentations about genetic genealogy topics. Her slides can always be found at https://slides.com/kittycooper. She has helped many people solve their unknown parentage questions with DNA testing. Thanks to having a Jewish grandfather, she has also become quite expert at dealing with endogamy in DNA results. She started blog.kittycooper.com in 2012 to keep track of her own family’s genetic tests as well as her genealogical research. Then she added some tools she wrote for graphing DNA relationships and converting ahnentafel lists to GEDCOMs. Her compact chromosome browser tool is now part of GEDmatch. Her blog is very popular, getting several thousand unique visitors a day.

Kitty started programming computers in 1966 while still in high school and is retired from her own small web development business. She has a cum laude degree from Harvard University and is also a World Champion Bridge player. Born and raised in New York City, she lives in San Diego in the winter time with her partner Bart and dog Rockie.

DGS General Meeting
2024-04-06 11:00 - 13:00 | 7th Floor – O’Hara Hall – J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person & Virtual Event

Speaker: Barbara Coakley

Topic: Search vs. Research

Searching is just one step in the research process. A case study based on a family story from Chicago in the 1920s demonstrates the research process from beginning to end – how to develop a research goal, plan the research, document results, and preserve your findings.

Download the handout.

Join the meeting via Zoom anytime after 10:30 am (US Central Time).

JOIN THE CALL

DPL: Finding your Disabled Ancestor
2024-04-10 14:00 - 15:00 | 8th Floor – Genealogy Section, J. Erik Jonnson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person & Virtual

Disability is an essential part of being human. Our ancestors and relatives faced temporary and permanent disabilities just like we do now, though how they lived and in what conditions differed. Learn about types of institutions, practices, and potential records to learn more about your disabled ancestors.

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Cedar Hill Genealogy Society Monthly Program
2024-04-11 18:30 - 20:30 | TX
Speaker: Emily Coffman Richardson

Topic: Using Documentation – Identifying Documentation as found in Genealogical Records with an Eye on Proof and Citations

This program is for the beginner and the seasoned genealogist alike. It will help us better understand the sources we have found, with a grasp of information and evidence.

Data without documentation are just stories, not facts. Documentation shows the quality of sources used for our research and making our conclusions. Proper documentation avoids repetitive research and plagiarism. This will help us understand what needs to be documented and why documentation is a critical skill for all genealogists.

Download Handout

Our Meeting begins at 7:00pm but please join us on Zoom at 6:30 PM for socializing. Admission is free and guests are always welcome.

Join Meeting

Spring Seminar
2024-04-13 09:25 - 15:25 | 1st Floor – Auditorium, J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
Going Beyond the Bare Bones: Reconstructing Your Ancestors’ Lives – Attendees will learn four ways to assemble information from frequently used genealogical sources to create biographies that will bring ancestors to life. Case studies will illustrate the options.

Building a Case with Scant Evidence – A case study demonstrates detecting, assembling, and interpreting scarce direct, indirect, and negative evidence and using it to prove negatives and correct entrenched errors.

Building a Credible Lineage, Despite Missing Information, Conflicting and Incorrect Records, and Undocumented Publications – A case study teaches how to establish credibility of undocumented genealogies, merge seemingly separate identities, remedy record errors, resolve conflicting evidence, and separate same-named men.

Solutions for Missing and Scarce Sources – Attendees will learn strategies for overcoming research barriers caused by lost or destroyed records, poor record-keeping, or a simple lack of records.

MORE INFO

DPL: Genealogy Research: Using Library Databases
2024-04-24 14:00 - 15:00 | 8th Floor – Genealogy Section, J. Erik Jonnson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person & Virtual

Your Dallas Public Library card can take your family history search to new places! Learn how to get started online with your family history search and receive a brief overview of how each genealogy database will help you in your search. For those with more research experience, learn about non-traditional databases that might benefit your family history search.

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Van Zandt Genealogical Society Spring Workshop
2024-04-27 01:30 - 16:00 | TX
Instead of our usual beginner-focused event, this year’s workshop will be about learning to get the most out of DNA data by using GEDmatch. DNA is becoming the most exciting tool ever for genealogy discoveries, and using GEDmatch helps you compare your DNA data to more sources. Also, it’s easy! More information will be provided on this website in the coming days. The speaker will be Patti Huff Smith, a celebrated genealogist and family history lecturer.

And we are not ignoring the need for a yearly beginner genealogy event: The July 27 monthly meeting will feature our own Lee Dickson, genealogist and librarian VZ Genealogy Library. He will give a much-anticipated program on getting started in family research.

GET PREPARED

Patti Huff Smith is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, National Genealogical Society, Texas State Genealogical Society, and counties in Texas where her roots run deep: Bosque, Hill, Johnson, Navarro, and Central Texas Genealogical Society in Waco, Texas. Patti uses traditional genealogy research skills and the latest tools in genetic genealogy technology. She manages 62 DNA kits for her immediate and extended family. Using DNA, she has solved some of her own family’s mysteries. She has also located biological families for clients using their DNA combined with research and DNA matching tools from Ancestry.com and GEDmatch.com.

Best Practices SIG
2024-04-27 10:30 - 13:00, 2024-05-25 10:30 - 13:00 | 8th Floor – McDermott Room, J. Erik Jonnson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person & Virtual Event

The Best Practices SIG is for genealogists who want to learn advanced methodology skills and techniques.

You can contact Liz Kutz, the SIG leader at bestpractices@dallasgenealogy.org.

Learn more about the Best Practices SIG.

Join the Call Meeting ID: 882 7359 7058

DGS General Meeting
2024-05-04 11:00 - 13:00 | 7th Floor – O’Hara Hall – J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person & Virtual Event

Speaker: Beri Kaplan Schwitzer

Topic: The History of the Jewish Community in Dallas

Beri, a native Las Vegan who didn’t have the aspirations to be a showgirl, Beri Kaplan Schwitzer put her time, energy, and enthusiasm into education. A graduate of the University of Nevada with a degree in Journalism, her true passion remains in Jewish education where she has served in a variety of capacities over the last twenty-five years. Beri is a nationally recognized Jewish educator honored by Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA) and by the former National Association of Temple Educators (NATE). She received her Certificate of Jewish Education from the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership and studied at the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies in Jerusalem as a Senior Educator Leadership Fellow.

She is currently the Executive Director of the Dallas Jewish Historical Society. For over 40 years, Beri’s hobby has been trying to solve her own family history’s mysteries and is currently pursuing her certification in Genealogical Research with Boston University.

Join the meeting via Zoom anytime after 10:30 am (US Central Time).

JOIN THE CALL

DPL: Evaluating Online Sources for Genealogy Research
2024-05-08 14:00 - 15:00 | 8th Floor – Genealogy Section, J. Erik Jonnson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person & Virtual

When researching your family history online, how do you figure out if what you are finding is accurate? Genealogy & History Manager Stephanie Bennett will walk through step-by-step how to evaluate the accuracy of your online source and provide tips for locating the original record.

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German Genealogy Group
2024-05-11 10:30 - 12:00 | 6th Floor – TaiPei (Classroom D), J. Erik Jonnson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person and Virtual Event

Speaker: Bernard N. Meisner

Topic: Understanding and Converting Calendar Dates In Genealogical Records

Which calendar(s) did your ancestors use? You may be familiar with the Julian and Gregorian calendars, with their Old Style and New Style dates, but do you know when your ancestors’ country moved from one to the other? Have you found records for your ancestors that include dates from the Catholic or Lutheran Liturgical Calendars or the French Republican Calendar? Learn about these calendars and how to convert dates from one to another.

Handout: Understanding and Converting Calendar Dates In Genealogical Records

The focus of this group is Germans who emigrated to various parts of the United States from the 1700’s through the 1900’s.

The leaders of this group are Ann Broihier and Bernard Meisner. You can send them email at ggg@dallasgenealogy.org. Learn more about the German Genealogy Group

Join the Call Dial In / Meeting ID: 947 1403 5493, Passcode: [REDACTED]

2024 Virtual Family History Conference
2024-05-16 08:00 - 2024-05-18 17:00 | TX

Jewish Special Interest Group
2024-05-16 10:30 - 12:00 | 8th Floor – McDermott Room, J. Erik Jonnson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person & Virtual Event

The Jewish Genealogical Interest Group’s mission is to assist anyone to research their actual (or suspected) Jewish ancestral lines. Learn about alternative genealogy research methods and records specifically geared to finding your Jewish ancestors.

JOIN THE CALL

Meeting ID: 947 0024 8507

African American Genealogical Interest Group
2024-05-18 14:00 - 16:00 | TX
Virtual Only Event

The group discusses use of variety of sources, including census research, reconstruction and Freedman Bureau records, NARA combined military records of the U.S. Colored Troops, Plantation Slave records, Slave schedules and other

Join the Call Meeting ID: 971 1676 5715

DPL: Meals & Memories: a Community Tasting for Asian American & Pacific Islander Month
2024-05-18 16:00 - 18:00 | 7th Floor – O’Hara Hall – J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person Only

Years of history and tradition are contained in the food we eat every day. Celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with food, community, and conversation. Enjoy a selection of small plates created by Daisy Chuskul, chef and owner of Bangkok Inn, a family-owned restaurant serving Dallas since 1982.

Bring your family photos and recipes and get a chance to use Dallas Public Library’s mobile Vivid-Pix Memory Station – a place to scan, restore and record your family memories. Participants will get a free USB of their digitized memories.

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Meals and Memories is a series of FREE programs designed to the honor family history & genealogy preserved in our ancestral foodways through food, conversation, and preservation. This after-hours series is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Dallas Public Library and the General Levi Casey Chapter, NSDAR.

DPL: Basic Genealogy Research using Fold3
2024-05-22 14:00 - 15:00 | 8th Floor – Genealogy Section, J. Erik Jonnson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person & Virtual

With Memorial Day fast approaching, it’s time to research your ancestors who served in the military. Fold3 is a database specializing in historical military records and is available to use from home with your Dallas Public Library card. During this program, our genealogy specialist will show you how to effectively navigate the database (including how to find all the amazing non-military sources), how to use the search tools, and how to memorialize your military veteran ancestor.

Additionally, learn about how to record your or a family member’s military service through Dallas Public Library’s Veterans Oral History Project.

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DPL: Preserving Family Memories: Video & Film
2024-06-05 14:00 - 15:00 | 8th Floor – Genealogy Section, J. Erik Jonnson Central Library, 1515 Young Street, Dallas, TX, 75201, United States
In-person & Virtual

Camcorder tapes, VHS, VHS-C, 8 mm film – the opportunities to make home movies in the 20th century seem endless. Now, it ends up being hard to find the equipment to view your forgotten treasures and harder still to digitize it for free. Join Genealogy & History Manager Stephanie Bennett to learn about the ins and outs of family movie digitization and how the Heritage Lab located on the 8th floor of the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library can help you make your precious family memories easier to share with loved ones.

REGISTER
