Scottish Clan Gathering and Highland Games Genealogy Seminar
GENEALOGY WORKSHOP
November 10th, 2006
Registration 9:30 a.m.
Central Texas Area Museum
Scots Clan Hall
Salado, Texas
Presents:
Sleuthing For Your Elusive Ancestor
Moderated by Bill Buckner, Waco-McLennan County Library Genealogy Division Manager.
Registration Form 2006(PDF)
8:30-9:30 am - Genealogy Beginner’s Class (Bill Buckner) FREE CLASS!
9:30-10:00 am - Registration
10:00-12:15 pm - Did the Census Taker Really Skip Your Ancestor? Techniques and Sources for Finding Missing Ancestors (Mike Vaughn)
12:15-1:15 pm - Lunch
1:15-2:15 pm - District Clerk Returns and Other Genealogical Records of the Texas General Land Office (Jerry Drake)
2:15-3:15 pm - Sifting Through the Ashes: Debunking the 'Burned Courthouse' Fallacy (William S. Covington, Jr.)
3:15-3:30 pm - Break
3:30-4:30 pm - The Document Trail of Our Ancestors: Archival Collections and Their Holdings (Jerry Drake)
Genealogy Beginner’s Class (Bill Buckner)
Bill reviews the basics of genealogical research in this compact presentation. Learn Bill’s basic tools, ideas for information gathering, how to fill out forms and get organized, what are the records of genealogical value, search strategies for success, where to find help and more.
Did the Census Taker Really Skip Your Ancestor? Techniques and Sources for Finding Missing Ancestors (Mike Vaughn)
This program will have a dual focus -- (1) finding people who are hidden in the census records, but are still really there and (2) other sources to investigate when an ancestor is really missing. One of the best methods for finding someone who is missing is to use tax rolls. This in-depth program will explore the proven tricks and hints that give results.
District Clerk Returns and Other Genealogical Records of the Texas General Land Office (Jerry Drake)
In attempting to research your Texas ancestry, few collections are more valuable than the archives of the Texas General Land Office. With more than 35.5 million records, documents in the collection record immigration patterns into Texas and help us to understand where and when our forebears settled in the Lone Star State. It is incumbent upon all Texas genealogists to understand the land grant process and to learn the importance of obscure – but valuable – records series such as the GLO’s Clerk Returns. This presentation will provide you with a step-by-step explanation of the land grant process, helping you to become better acquainted with these important historical materials.
Sifting Through the Ashes: Debunking the 'Burned Courthouse' Fallacy (William S. Covington, Jr.)
Often times when one is searching for an ancestor, one runs up against the "official" notification that "...the courthouse burned and the records were lost." It can make you feel like giving up...but, don't! This presentation will hopefully give one new, often unexplored, avenues of research and, prayerfully, renewed hope at finding that "missing ancestor" whose information will make the family history a little more complete.
The Document Trail of Our Ancestors: Archival Collections and Their Holdings (Jerry Drake)
Research in large archival collections can be frustrating if you don’t know where to go, what to look for, and what questions to ask. This presentation will provide you with an understanding of how to maximize your research trips. Learn where to find the resources you need and learn what questions to ask once you get there.
Bill Buckner is a librarian with over sixteen years of professional experience. Starting out as a cataloger at the University of North Texas, he then moved to Washington, D.C. and worked in a law firm library. From there, he went to work for a large legal publisher. Bill then returned to Texas and a position in the Townsend Memorial Library at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. Currently, he is the Manager of the Periodicals/Genealogy Division at the Waco-McLennan County Library. He has been at Waco since 1998 and has had numerous speaking engagements for service, hereditary, and historical organizations. Bill has a passion for newspaper research based on growing up in a family that owned a weekly, turned daily, newspaper in Texas. Bill received his BS in Music from Southwestern University, and his MS in Library Science from the University of North Texas. He now lives in Temple with his wife and three children.
Mike Vaughn has been a lawyer in private practice, as well as a professor of law at Baylor, and also at South Texas College of Law. With degrees from both Baylor and Yale, Mike has an extensive legal background and has been the editor of the Baylor Law Review, has published two legal titles, and numerous articles in legal journals. Aside from his professional interests, Mike has a love of history and genealogy and has written several historical works, as well as articles for the New Handbook of Texas, and a number of genealogy titles in addition to a cookbook. Mike is married and has four children and two grandchildren.
Jerry C. Drake attended the University of North Texas, earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Anthropology in 1997. In 2003 he received a Master of Arts Degree in History from Texas State University – San Marcos and is currently a PhD student in the Education Department at Texas State University – San Marcos.
In 1997 Jerry became head of the Circulation Department of the McDermott Library at the University of Texas at Dallas. In 1998 he was hired as Assistant Director for the Texas Union at the University of Texas at Austin. In 2000 Jerry joined the research staff of the Archives and Records Division of the Texas General Land Office. In 2003 he was appointed Division Director. Jerry is also a part-time adjunct professor of history at Concordia University. He has written numerous articles and papers on Texas history, and is a co-author of the book Fredericksburg: Guidebook to the Historic German Hill Country (Texas State University Press, 2003). Recent publications include articles in the Handbook of Texas Music, the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, and Texas HeritageMagazine. Jerry has also consulted on and provided on-air commentary for three made for television documentaries as well as providing consultation services to the motion picture The Alamo (Disney, 2004). Jerry is married to Victoria L. Drake, the manager of the Walter Geology Library at the University of Texas at Austin. They live in Austin, Texas.
Bill Covington is a teacher by profession having spent 14 years in the Dallas ISD as an instructor of both Social Studies and ESL, primarily at the middle school level. Currently, he is an adjunct instructor of U.S. and European History at Navarro College in Waxahachie, Cedar Valley College in Lancaster, and Mountain View College in Dallas. A native of Fort Worth, TX, he is married and has three children.
