Nebraska State Genealogical Society

Paula has lectured for genealogical societies and other organizations across the U.S. and in Canada. She has coordinated and taught courses at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, The Genealogical Institute of Mid-America, and the Genealogical Institute of Texas. Her historical and genealogical presentations are lively, yet professional and educational.

Lectures and handouts are updated for each presentation. She is accessible for questions and enjoys discussing genealogy with the event participants. She co-authored Your Guide to the Family History Library. Paula spends many weeks each year researching on-site throughout the Midwest, at the FHL, in Washington, DC, and in Boston, Massachusetts and lectures and writes about the repositories at which she works.

Paula is a former officer of the Association of Professional Genealogists and serves on its Professional Management Conference committee. She served for six years on the board of the Minnesota Genealogical Society. Paula has served on program committees for the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the National Genealogical Society. She is a member of the FGS Long Range Conference Planning Committee.

Paula's topics for the conference will be:

Organizing Your Genealogical Materials

How tall are the stacks of your genealogical materials and in how many rooms are your papers and books stored? Is it time you made sense of your materials, organized them so they can be found, and determined what is important to keep handy? How should you store your important materials? Just starting your research? Why not organize sensibly from the beginning? This session will help you deal with these questions, and also provide easy tips to help keep you on top of your organization. We’ll even discuss some “lazy day” methods to keep you on top of your filing.

Where Are Those Records They Told Me To Check?

Genealogists are continually learning about different records that may hold the family history details they seek. In books and classes, at institutes, conferences, and online, records are described and illustrated. The excitement builds but then many are stymied. Sure that record looks good, but where should they go to find that record for their ancestral locality? Should they check online, go to the courthouse, the historical society, state archives, the Family History Library, or just keep on wishing they knew where to find the records now? Should they check close to the locality or might the record be four counties or three states away? This sessions details the many finding aids, publications, resource people, and online clues to where the records may be located today. It also details the differences in city, county, state, and federal level record responsibility in the U.S. to assist the researcher in the direction of the correct place.

The WPA Era: What It Created for Genealogists

During tough economic times in the 1930s and 1940s, government programs put many people to work. The Works Progress/Projects Administration created a goldmine of records that are useful for today's genealogists. WPA record transcriptions, courthouse and manuscript inventories, indexes, city/county histories, and histories of businesses and families may exist for your ancestral locale. We will discuss many of those WPA creations, some of which you already use regularly, and where others may be found today. We will also discuss some modern surveys and the online explosion of WPA materials.

Finding Ancestral Places of Origin

Still looking for great-grandma or grandpa's place of origin, and it wasn't under the apple tree? Where in Sweden was Aunt Lily born? Was Grandma Griffin born in Chenango or Otsego County, New York? This lecture shares records and research strategies which may help you identify that place. The visuals demonstrate these records, what they contain, and how to use them. Repositories where you may find them are also covered. Finding places of origin for your ancestors can often be a challenging job. Many genealogists fail to search all available records for each ancestor. Don't isolate your ancestor. Your ancestor's place of origin may be in the records of another family member or in those of a neighbor. It doesn’t matter whether your mystery place of origin is in the U. S. or another country. The best advice is to never give up; you may learn about different sources, others may become accessible, or a distant relative with family data may suddenly surface. Don't ignore the relatives that you think have no family history material. You might be surprised at the bits of knowledge they have. It may be time to review what you have already found to be sure you haven't missed any clues. Analyze what you have, and think about what you haven't yet checked. Start with the basics and then proceed to the more specialized sources for your ancestors, relatives, and their associates.

The Three Rs: Reading, ‘Riting, and Research in School Records

Census records, military files, courthouses, cemeteries. . . these are the common resources that genealogists regularly use in tracing their ancestors. But consider this: the census taker only came around every five or ten years, and each ancestor may leave behind only one birth, christening, marriage, and death record. Did your ancestor or a sibling attend or teach school at some point? School records are kept every day, every month, every year. In these you might find some additional details on your elusive relatives. This lecture will describe many of the school records you may be able to locate. These include all levels of education, and both public and private institutions. The bulk of the lecture covers the records of primary schools, but touches on those for high school, college, and specialty or institutional type schools. The material covered in this lecture will also be helpful if you are involved in organizing a school reunion, or in writing a school or community history.

Railroad Records and Railroad History: Methods for Tracking

How many genealogists have heard that great-grandpa traversed this nation as he worked for the railroad? For which railroad did he work? Where did it run? Are there railroad records still extant which may tell us something about his ancestry or where he later went? This lecture addresses these questions. Visuals and references demonstrate the wealth of historical materials available all across the U.S. When this lecture is over you will know where to turn to find out more about the railroad, its records, and how to determine current day access to the records.