Classes

Over the years, Aberle Genealogy senior researcher has presented classes at various events.  Below are some of the titles in his current repertoire.

Research

Finding Your Ancestor's Immigration

Has finding immigration records for your ancestors become a “brick wall” in your research?  This presentation looks at the various resources available today that can help you unlock the mystery of when and where your ancestors first set foot in North America.  We examine immigration from the 10th through the 20th centuries, and also look at finding emigration records from where they began their journey.

Evaluating Online Family Trees —
  Cleaning up the Internet, one lineage at a time

We all know the phrase “I read it on the Internet so it must be true.”  But what if it isn’t?  This presentation focuses on how to examine what others have posted online in order to make an enlightened decision on whether those lineage claims are based on fact or fiction and whether they are worthy of inclusion in your own genealogy research.

[This presentation is best with a “live” Internet connection.]

Photograph Identification

How many of those old photos which you have collected reveal clues about your ancestors?  Can you figure out from the clothing and hairstyles when they were taken?  What are the differences between a Daguerreotype, and Ambrotype, and a Tintype photo?  Is it possible to have your photos refurbished?  What about the objects in the background?  Who was the photographer?  Can you spot a fake old photo?  After going through “the basics,” the Photo Identification presentation attendees will practice dating each other’s photographs, so bring your old photographs with you.

Foreign Research

Traveling to the British Isles

Are you contemplating your first trip “across the pond,” anxious to avoid the rigidity and expense of an organized tour, and wondering if you can do it yourself?  This presentation explores ideas on organizing your genealogy records, arrangements you need to make before your leave, and transportation and accommodation options in the British Isles.  We’ll even review a bit of the local “lingo” so you can appear to be a seasoned traveler.

Using CARN, the County Archive Research Network

Many researchers begin their English research in London, but (unfortunately) go no further.  While the National Archives does house backup microfilm for many records, the originals of the older documents are housed at the county records offices.  This presentation will review the holdings of the CARN (and non-CARN) offices and explain how to effectively use them for your research.

The British Isles on the Internet

An immense amount of British genealogy data is available via the Internet to the virtual traveler, and more is added each day.  This presentation will review the major websites, tease you with a few of the more obscure ones, and get you started on researching in the British Isles.  If you have a couple favorite sites, please bring the URLs to share them with the rest of the group as we surf.

[This presentation is best with a “live” Internet connection.]

Researching in England

Highlights of the “Traveling to the British Isles,” “Using CARN, the County Archive Research Network,” and “The British Isles on the Internet” presentations merged together into a shorter format.

Publishing

Publishing in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register

An insider’s look at the research that went into the lead article in the January 2008 edition of NEHGS Register (volume 162).  The Register has been published quarterly since 1847 and is highly respected in genealogical circles.  One of the key researchers behind the lead article in the January 2008 quarterly, and helped draft the write-up before it went to press, will tell about the research team, the years of original research that went into the article, what the big breakthrough was that made publication possible, and how the puzzle pieces were linked together to reach conclusions about how the family fit together.

Internet Technical

Introduction to Using Computers for Genealogy

A beginners guide to using computers and how they are handy for doing genealogy.

[Depending on hardware availability, this presentation can also include piecing together a working computer out of components placed together on a table top.]

Protecting Your Genealogy Data — Staying Out of Trouble on the Internet

An overview of computer security, including information on hackers, zombies, firewalls, intrusion detection, wireless networks, etc.$nbsp; Did you know that as you use your computer to perform genealogy research on the Internet, it is being attacked, whether you know it or not, several times every hour?  This presentation will explain, in an easy-to-understand manner, what each computer owner can do to keep their computer and underlying genealogical data out of harm’s way.

How Your Genealogy Data Finds Its Way Around the Internet

Coverage of the basics of how the Internet works (bits and bytes, types of Internet connections, email, web pages, what an ISP does, selecting an ISP, Internet backbone, domain names, DNS, URLs, IP addresses, what can go wrong).

Free Software — What’s Available and How to Find It

Do you find the number of computer applications increasing faster than the national debt?  Why doesn’t the software you purchased a few years back work on your new computer?  Is it all just a gimmick by the software industry to keep draining your pocket book?  Free software is available, but how good is it, where does one find it, and is it easy to use?  This presentation will review various software that you might want to download and try.

[This presentation is best with a “live” Internet connection.]

Data Organization

Other Ways of Organizing Genealogical Data — Where Software Stops

Ways to organize and store genealogy data (text documents, spreadsheets, and graphical software) as an alternative or supplement to genealogical application software.

What Was That Date?

Calender systems in Europe and the Americas have changed greatly over the past few centuries.  Genealogists need to be aware of when the first day of the new calendar year was not on January 1st, what year various countries changed from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar, when and how calendar changes were implemented, and what effect each of these items has on the way genealogical events are recorded.