Links to minutes from recent General Meetings are provided below. In addition, many of our speakers generously allow us to make digital versions of their handouts available on this page. Please remember to respect the intellectual property rights of our presenters and refrain from using or re-distributing these materials without obtaining approval from the presenter (see the DGS Social Media Policy).
Note: Members need to log in to view some of the video’s listed below. Go to the Account Manager page to check or reset your password.
See the Next General Meeting page for more information about our next meeting.
2026
March
- General Meeting (YouTube)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
February
- General Meeting (YouTube - 10:51)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Photo Research with Artificial Intelligence by Mark Thompson (YouTube - 1:31:12)
- Handout
January
- General Meeting (YouTube - 11:43)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Organizing Your Digital Genealogy Files by EvaAnne Johnson (YouTube - 1:02:43)
- Handout
2025
December
- General Meeting & History of the DGS (YouTube - 27:26)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Then and Now: How Family History Research has Changed Over the Years by Sue Kaufman (YouTube - 1:01:37)
November
- General Meeting (YouTube - 9:07)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Sketching Your Ancestor's Surroundings: 5 Easy Steps To Share Their Story by Grace Horstmann (YouTube - 1:05:28)
- Handouts: Sketching Your Ancestors, Family Story “From Plow to Paper”
Chat
02:14:57 Pat Mitchell: I am not getting sound[/_su_spoiler]
02:15:28 Q&A Mgr. Paul: Sound is all good on ZOOM
02:15:37 Tony Hanson: Pat - i think the issue is on your end
02:15:42 Laura Hendrickson: Reacted to "Sound is all good on..." with 👍
02:15:44 COHOST: Reacted to "Sound is all good on..." with 👍
02:16:30 Tony Hanson: click on up arrow next to the Zoom microphone and test your speakers
02:53:57 Tony Hanson: I grew up near Chicago and went to Southern Illinois University (so I know what a Saluki is :-) )
02:56:58 Tony Hanson: A Way with Words is a radio show and podcast that features light-hearted conversation about language change, debates, and differences. Website at waywordradio.org.
02:58:11 HOST - No Mute: Reacted to "A Way with Words is ..." with ❤️
02:58:26 Donald Hinson: Reacted to "A Way with Words is ..." with 👍🏽
03:01:33 Tony Hanson: Dictionary of American Regional English - https://dare.wisc.edu/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
03:10:29 Paula Perkins: Thank you Grace for the wonderful presentation full of ideas to bring our stories to life.
03:10:57 Patricia Wolford: Thank you, so much. Any help to make my writing more interesting and captivating to the readers is appreciated.
03:11:29 Dee Douglas-Jones: Excellent, inspiring presentation! Thanks for sharing.
03:11:35 Tony Hanson: Please consider donating to a food bank near you... See our website for information. https://dallasgenealogy.org/food-bank-information/
03:11:58 kathy: Thank you for the excellent tips!
03:13:26 Carol Meyer Brooks ~ Unfolding the Story Genealogy: I appreciate all the details!! Excellent presentation - I'm inspired to go back to some of my writings and enhance those stories too!!
03:16:46 Sherry and Shorty: Learned so much! Many thanis
03:16:54 Laura Hendrickson: Thanks, Grace!
03:17:02 Brenda Everett: Thanks for a great presentation!
October
- General Meeting (YouTube - 13:27)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
Unlicking Family History: Researching Courthouse Records for Genealogical Discoveries by Larry W. Thomas
DGS Member login required to view this recording.
September
- General Meeting (YouTube - 32:45)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
Putting It All Together: Making Sense of All the Research You’ve done by Robin N Smith
DGS Member login required to view this recording.
May
- General Meeting (YouTube - 9:15)
- Annual Awards Presentations (YouTube - 19:38)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
Translating, Transcribing and Summarizing Documents Using Al by Thomas MacEntee
DGS Member login required to view this recording.
April
- General Meeting (YouTube - 13:10)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
March
- General Meeting (YouTube - 11:20)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Irish Research: Discovering a Family Left Behind - Kathleen R. Murray, PhD (YouTube - 1:00:06)
- Handout (PDF)
February
- General Meeting (YouTube)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
January
- General Meeting (YouTube - 17:32)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
2024
December
- General Meeting (YouTube - 12:30)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Genealogy Resources at the Dallas Municipal Archives by John Slate
- Video (YouTube - 49:22)
- Handout (PDF)
- "The Dallas Municipal Archives" - Article by Suzan Younger
November
- General Meeting (YouTube - 16:29)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
October
- General Meeting (YouTube - 15:09)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Kim Richardson: Turn Your Brick Wall into a Yellow Brick Road (YouTube - 1:04:44)
- Handout: Turn Your Brick Wall into a Yellow Brick Road
September
- General Meeting (YouTube - 26:05)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
May
- General Meeting (YouTube 21:43)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
April
- General Meeting (YouTube - 13:08)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
March
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
February
- Business Meeting (YouTube - 20:58)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
January
- Business Meeting (YouTube - 16:38)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
2023
December
- Business Meeting (YouTube - 16:41)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
November
- Business Meeting (YouTube - 16:27)
- Skies over Vietnam – Oral History Project - Captain Catherine “Kay” Bauer US Navy (Ret) (YouTube - 33:22)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
October
- Business Meeting (YouTube - 11:37)
- My Journey back to Spain via My Sephardic Roots - Gustavo “Gus” Hinojosa (YouTube - 49:23)
- View the list of Documents Required for Sephardic Citizenship
- View Gus’s Family Tree
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
September
- Business Meeting (YouTube - 18:54)
- Using Social History for Family History Research - Sue Kaufman (YouTube - 1:03:29)
- Handout for Sue's Presentation
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
May
- Business Meeting & Awards Ceremony (YouTube - 1:01:37)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
April
- Business Meeting (YouTube - 12:30)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Christopher D. Bryant, IAPMC, How Traditional Genealogy Meets DNA to Solve Stubborn Brick Walls
March
- Business Meeting (YouTube - 12:43)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Jacob Mangum, Exploring the Portal Texas History Collection (YouTube - 52:35)
February
- Business Meeting (YouTube - 13:56)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Ari Wilkins, Black and White Southern Families in Southern Plantation Records
January
- Business Meeting (YouTube - 17:26)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Patti Gillespie, Forgotten Treasures in the Texas Courthouse: Discovering the Miscellaneous Records
2022
December
- Business Meeting (YouTube) - 21:31
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Tony Hanson - Why Finding Atlantic Shipping Records is so Challenging
November
- Business Meeting (YouTube)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Stephanie Bennett: Celebrate Our Veterans - Research Military Records with Fold3 (YouTube)
October
- Business Meeting (YouTube)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Cari Taplin: Using Timelines
- Handout: Using Timelines
September
- Business Meeting (YouTube) - 13:15
- Handouts:
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
May
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 35:52
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
April
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 14:27
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
March
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 25:15
- "Miles Away from Butler: How a DNA Test Rewrote my Family's History" by Dr. Stephen Butler (YouTube) - 1:31:02
- Handout
- Dr. Butlers Webpage: http://www.watermelon-kid.com/adventures.htm
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
February
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 20:33
- Where are our African American Ancestors? - Dr. Terry Turner (YouTube) - 1:30:29
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
January
- General Meeting (You Tube) - 20:36
- "Using History to Solve Mysteries" by Michelle Dwyer Cohen (You Tube) - 59:26
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
2021
December
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 21:12
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
November
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 13:07
- Amateur Sleuths Who Found Dallas History - Geyden and Barry Sage (YouTube) - 48:44
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
October
- General Meeting (PPT)
- Candice Buchanan: Local History & Genealogy Research at the Library of Congress (YouTube) - 1:04:20
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Hand Outs
- Related Material
September
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 5:51
- John Versluis: Researching Civil War Ancestors and a Virtual Tour of the Texas Heritage Museum (YouTube) - 1:14:37
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
May
- Meeting & Award Presentation (YouTube) - 1:45:24
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
April
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 12:02
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
March
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 38:32
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Gena Philibert-Ortega: Researching HER life.
February
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 14:24
- Paul Beaty: Finding a Great-Grandfather with DNA (YouTube) - 1:04:15
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
January
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 16:36
- Stephanie Bennett - Basic Genealogy Research Using Fold3 (YouTube) - 1:19:58
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
2020
December
- General Meeting (You Tube) - 40:45
- "Researching Masons" by Richard Schlaudroff (YouTube) - 1:52:52
- Presentation Handout (PDF)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
November
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 37:55
- An overview of the Archives Collection at the Dallas Public Library by Brandon Murray (YouTube) - 48:57
- Presentation Handout (PDF)
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
October
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- Meeting and Hinojosa Presentation (YouTube) - 1:08:49
- Presentation Outline
- Hinojosa Pedigree Chart
September
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
May
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 19:57
- Gena Philibert Ortega Handout
April
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 12:36
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
March
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 25:01
- Presentation - An overview of the resources that are available for genealogists at the J Erik Jonsson Central Library by Stephanie Bennett, Manager of the Genealogy & History Section (YouTube) - 1:10:23
February
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 14:41
- Discover New Ancestral Information by Connecting Through Social Media by Patti Huff Smith - (YouTube) - 1:00:55
- Patti's Handout (PDF)
January
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- This meeting was streamed live and was not recorded
- Information from Tony Hanson's presentation, Technology Enabled Collaboration for Genealogists, can be found on his website.
2019
December
- Awards Luncheon (YouTube) - 30:48
November
- Meeting Minutes (PDF) - 30:48
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 11:51
Presentation: Through These Doors: The Story of Virginia K. Johnson by Kelvin Meyers
DGS Member login required to view this recording.
October
- Meeting Minutes (PDF)
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 16:59
- Tui Snider: Understanding Cemetery Symbols (YouTube) - 54:30
- https://tuisnider.com/
September
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 23:07
- Minutes
May
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 11:29
- Minutes
- Victor Chapa - StoryCorps: Preserving Oral Histories (YouTube) - 1:03:59
- Link to Victor’s Oral History Resources (bit.ly/StoryCorpsDGS).
April
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 25:15
- Minutes
Presentation: Military Pensions: Vital Records in Disguise! by Patti Gillespie
DGS Member login required to view this recording.
March
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 10:16
- Minutes
Presentation: How to Avoid Becoming a Victim of Cybercrime by Tony Hanson
DGS Member login required to view this recording.
February
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 19:58
- Minutes
January
- General Meeting (YouTube) - 23:10
- Podcast: A Conversation with Kenyatta D. Berry (Genealogy Roadshow), December 20th event at Dallas Public Library
- Minutes
Presentation: State and Territorial Censuses by Bernard Meisner
DGS Member login required to view this recording.
2018
December
- Annual Awards Luncheon (YouTube) – 35:18
November
- General Meeting (YouTube) – 10:49
- Minutes
October
- General Meeting (YouTube) – 30:29
- Greg Boyd – mapping tools available at HistoryGeo.com
- Minutes
September
- General Meeting (YouTube) – 24:04
- Minutes
Presentation: Identifying Old Photographs: Preserving and Sharing by Betsy House Mills
Presentation (YouTube) – 54:07 – Identifying Old Photographs: Preserving and Sharing by Betsy House Mills
[/su_members]May
- General Meeting (YouTube) – 20:27
- Minutes
April
- General Meeting (YouTube) – 9:47
- Lynell Bennett Moss presentation: FamilySearch Family Tree: Your Tree, My Tree, OUR Tree
- Presentation (YouTube) - 1:14:06
- Minutes
March
- General Meeting (YouTube) – 13:47
- Jim Thornhill presentation: Migration through the South
- Video (YouTube) - 49:21
- Minutes
February
- General Meeting (YouTube) – 12:42
- Bill Covington Presentation: Black Courage (You Tube) – 1:01:03
- Minutes
January
- General Meeting (YouTube) – 18:18
- Minutes
2017
December
- Awards Banquet (YouTube) – 37:31
November
- General Meeting (YouTube) – 8:32
- Thatcher Freund Presentation (YouTube) – 1:02:16 – Stories
- Minutes (PDF)
October
- General Meeting (YouTube) – 17:34
- Steve Butler Presentation (YouTube) – 1:06:47 – John Neely Bryan
- Minutes (PDF)
September
- General Meeting (YouTube) – 28:52
- David Passman Presentation (YouTube) – 1:05:40 – Using Collateral Genealogy to Find Immigrant Origins in U.S. Records
- Minutes (PDF)
May
- General Meeting (YouTube) – 21:49
- Minutes (PDF)
April
- General Meeting (YouTube) – 21:42
- Minutes (PDF)
March
- General Meeting & Presentation (YouTube) – 1:19:53
- Handout from Brandon Murray’s Presentation (PDF)
- Minutes (PDF)
February
- General Meeting (YouTube) – 20:25
- Minutes (PDF)
January – Meeting was cancelled due to cold weather & icy roads
2016
- December 2016
- Awards Lunch (YouTube) – 34:34
- Pictures & Award Text
- November 2016
- Business Meeting (YouTube) – 13:37
- Minutes (PDF)
- October 2016
- Business Meeting (YouTube) – 22:54
- Minutes (PDF)
- September 2016
- Minutes (PDF)
- Business Meeting (YouTube) – 29:02
- Presentation: It Takes a Village to Produce a Book by Shirley Sloat & Estelle Adams (YouTube) – 59:48
- May 2016
- Minutes
- Business Meeting (YouTube) 60th Anniversary Celebration (YouTube)
- April 2016
- Minutes (PDF)
- Business Meeting (Audio Recording)
- Ari Wilkings presentation handout:
- March 2016
- Minutes (PDF)
- General Meeting – Audio Recording
- February 2016
- January 2016
2015
November
October
September
May
April
March
- March 2015 meeting minutes
- Colonial New England Research Using Town Records Wisely by Glenn Kinkade.
February
- February 2015 meeting minutes
- Dallas Public Library’s Genealogy Division by Ari Wilkins
January
- January 2015 meeting minutes
- Painting the Family History Picture: Creating Context Using Online Digital Tools by Tim Gieringer
2014
November
October
- October 2014 meeting minutes
- Tips and Tricks for Searching on FamilySearch by Lynell Moss
September
- September 2014 meeting minutes
- Don Raney discussed Researching in the Texas Land Record
May
- May 2014 meeting minutes
- Judy Allen Knight discussed Migration Trails,
April
- April 2014 meeting minutes
- Meg Hatcher, Director of National Archives at the Fort Worth NARA office. Her topic was NARA’s Online Public Access: Live Demonstration
March
February
- February 2014 meeting minutes
- Michael Bassett: DNA Testing for Genealogical Purposes
January
2013
- November 2013
- October 2013 – The meeting was cancelled due to electrical problems at the library
- September 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
