2018 Spring Seminar – Michael L Strauss, AG

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Michael L Strauss, AG – Revolution to Reconstruction: Seeking Those Who Shaped America

Michael L. Strauss, AG, is a professional Accredited Genealogist and a nationally recognized genealogical speaker. A native of Pennsylvania and a resident of Utah, he has been employed as a Forensic Genealogist for 25 years.

Strauss holds a BA in History and is a United States Coast Guard veteran and a licensed Private Investigator in Virginia. He is also a qualified expert witness in court in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Strauss is an approved genealogist with the United States Army to locate DNA qualified persons MIA from Korea, Vietnam, and World War II.

Michael was the film historian for the 2014 film “Finding Vivian Maier” which was nominated for an Oscar for Documentaries in 2015.

Strauss is a faculty member of IGHR (Athens, GA), SLIG (Salt Lake City, UT), and GRIP (Pittsburgh, PA), and the Course Coordinator for the Military Course to be taught at IGHR for 2018 in Athens, GA. He has been involved in Civil War reenacting for more than 25 years, serving in two units, namely; the 99th New York Infantry and Battery A., 5th U.S. Artillery and most recently the Utah Living History Association.

• Session 1: Revolutionary War Genealogical Research
  This lecture will focus on a variety of materials covering the War for Independence. Some records to be covered include Compiled Service Records, pensions, and bounty land. Materials covering local militia lists and rolls, Navy and Marine Corps records, and the Continental Congress papers will also be examined. After the Revolutionary War ended officially in 1783, smaller armed conflicts including Shay’s Rebellion and the Whiskey Rebellion will be reviewed.
   
  
• Session 2: Manifest Destiny: Researching Your Mexican War Ancestors
  The Mexican-American War of 1846 marked the first U.S. conflict mostly fought on foreign soil. It would serve as a training and breeding ground for both officers and men who would fight each other in the Civil War fifteen years later. Records from the National Archives are examined in addition to regional and local records as well as sources for ancestors who served in the United States Regular Army, Navy, and Marine Corps.
   
  
• Session 3: Refugees, Claims, and Conscription: Researching Your Ancestors during the Reconstruction Era
  When the Civil War ended in 1865 the United States turned to mend the sectional differences that had separated our country and caused four years of bloody war. The Reconstruction Era covered 1865 to 1876, ending as the last of the Federal Troops withdrew from the South. Discover little known military and civilian records and resources from this unique period of history. Records from the Freedmen’s Bureau to the Amnesty Papers are only a small portion of the genealogy records existing today.
   
  
• Session 4: More than Just Politics: Genealogical Research in Washington, DC
  Planning a research trip to our nation’s capital? Discover your ancestors in several key facilities located inside the District of Columbia. Researchers will get an inside look at the resources of the National Archives and the Library of Congress as well as the local research stops for those whose family stem from this old city.