Our August Meeting was a Research Night with the theme, “Breaking Through Our Members’ Brick Walls.” For this meeting, we solicited research questions from our members in advance, which we submitted to a panel of members who are experienced researchers. Our panelists for this meeting were Sandra Porter, Valerie Baginski, Nicole Pohancsek, and Julie Szczepankiewicz. Sandra and Valerie led a PowerPoint presentation in which they introduced each question individually, and then walked us through the research process they used to answer that question, demonstrating their methods, web resources, and strategies along the way. Nicole, Julie, and others from the in-person and Zoom audiences offered additional comments and insights.

Comments from attendees included,

“Learned a lot of tips to try, especially [regarding] FamilySearch… and MyHeritage Photo Enhancement.”

“I will use the search recommendations that I wasn’t aware even existed. I’m grateful and impressed with today’s presentation.”

“The entire interactive presentation was very enjoyable. This format was great.”

“I hope to use the Family Search Lab to find more records that I haven’t been able to find. I plan on rewatching this meeting and using the other tools that Sandra and Valerie used in their research.”

“First I will rewatch [the] program and flesh out my notes. A lot of new ideas and places to search.”

“I’ve been looking for the passenger list/naturalization records for my Grandfather since 2018 and was so happy to see how Valerie was able to find the naturalization record. Thanks so very much!”

The recording is now available on our Meeting Recordings page for members to access.