The Vernon & District Family History Society in British Columbia will host an all-day virtual seminar on March 25 with one of Canada’s most popular genealogy speakers.
Dave Obee will run a DNA workshop in the morning and then deliver three presentations in the afternoon.
9:00 a.m. — noon. DNA Workshop
DNA Testing: A Primer
The basics of DNA testing and how to interpret your results. This session will go over the different types of test, as well as the companies that provide the service and the differences between them. It will deal with the value of ethnicity estimates as well as the value of your match lists. Methods should include putting a simple tree on line, testing as many people as you can, targeting your strongest matches, and more. There are ways to organize your matches and understand the strength of the relationship. Also, what do you do when your match does not have a tree, or does not respond to your queries?
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DNA Success Stories
DNA success stories from Dave’s own research, including confirming the names of great-grandparents. These successes came as a result of conventional genealogical work, finding relatives and using geographic clues to your advantage. These examples might give you idea for different ways to research your own ancestry, or inspire you to do a DNA test.
1:15 — 4:00 p.m. Afternoon sessions
The Geography of Genealogy
There are several good reasons to use geographic tools in your research. They help you to determine where you are from. They still also help you find records dealing with your family. Maps and atlases help genealogists sort out where their ancestors lived in relation to regional and national boundaries, churches, rail lines, and other factors that help determine which records hold most hope. Geographic tools will also give you a sense of what life was like for your ancestors. This is a basic review of what to look for, and how to use the information that you find.
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Beyond the Online Basics:
A Genealogical Guide to Digital Collections
There are billions of scanned pages on the Internet — a collection that few physical libraries could match. These documents are not found on the usual genealogy websites. This session provides ideas on how to find documents that will help you learn more about your families, or the local histories of the areas where they lived.
Getting Ready for the 1931 Census
The 1931 national census is due to be released in June — and since it will probably not be indexed right away, we need to get ready. Pick your priority people and get to work! This session offers ideas for identifying the census divisions and subdivisions where you will find your relatives. Using digitized census reports and mapping tools, you will be able to narrow your search options.
Registration is required by March 24. The fee is $30 for society members and $40 for non-members. Payment can be made by e-transfer to treasurer_vdfhs@vdfhs.com. Note “Seminar registration” and provide name, email address and VDFHS membership number. Or mail your cheque or bank draft by March 15 to VDFHS, Box 1447, Vernon, British Columbia VlT 6N7.
Dave Obee is editor and publisher of the Times Colonist newspaper in Victoria, BC and a well-known genealogical researcher and author who has given over 700 presentations at conferences and seminars. In 2012, Dave was awarded an honourary doctorate of laws by the University of Victoria for his work as an historian, genealogist and journalist.
