2021 Spring Seminar

A Virtual Event

Friday Sessions & Homework (Yes, Homework!)

• Becoming a Genealogical Thinker instead of a Genealogical Collector: This session will be key to approaching your genealogical problem.  We will examine how to use critical thinking, to assess the problem, develop a research hypothesis and form a workable research question.
• What Am I Looking For? Genealogical Research from Hypothesis to Research Plan: This session will dig deeper into focusing on one problem at a time, developing a research question and making a plan to give you answers.
• The Genealogical Proof Standard in Motion: A Case Study: The Genealogical Proof Standard is the foundation for modern genealogy.  Follow Michael as he uses the GPS and the other tools we have learned to solve his most difficult cases
• Homework: Participants will individually take a problem they are given and work on it during the afternoon.  The problems will be emailed to Michael by 5pm central time and he will review them, select a few, and use them as review in the first session on Saturday

Saturday Sessions

• Homework Review
• Deconstructing Your Family Tree: Re-Evaluating the “Evidence” Sometimes you have to tear down what you think you know and start over.  This session will show how to look objectively at your own work and make sure you are on the mark!
• Incorporating Social History Into Your Genealogical Research: This session will illustrate how important Social History is to your research and how to use it.  Knowing where your ancestors lived, what the conditions were like, what were the laws, and other important parts of the “big picture” can save you time and point you in the right direction. 
• “She Came From Nowhere…” A Case Study Approach to a Difficult Genealogical Problem: Join  Michael in this case study as he shares potential mistakes to avoid, his best research tips, and how to tie all of your research together into a logical conclusion.

Sessions Will Be Recorded

Registrants will have access to recordings of each session for 2 weeks (through Sunday April 25, 2021).

Dr. Michael D. Lacopo was born and raised in northern Indiana surrounded by extended family always willing to tell tall tales. Intrigued by his maternal family’s claim to be kinfolk of Abraham Lincoln, and his paternal family’s stories of murder and mayhem, he took to genealogical research in 1980 to substantiate these family stories.

Genealogical research as a hobby was in its infancy in the 1980s. Combing libraries, archives, cemeteries and courthouses as a teenager, Michael gained the skills needed to become a keen researcher. His first major challenge in the world of research was tackled by finding his adopted mother’s birthparents in 1982. You can read about this adventure at his blog at Roots4U.blogspot.com with some engaging story-telling, plot twists and new findings!