Archivists are available to give talks about the Archives of Michigan holdings, research strategies, and genealogy resources. Below, you will find a list of topics that are frequently requested by libraries, genealogy societies, and other groups. If your organization is interested in hosting a presentation, please reach out to archives staff.
Although one of the most important tools in family history research, naturalization records can often be very difficult to locate. This program will explore naturalization records, the many tools available to assist you in your research, and successful strategies to locate citizenship records, using both online and print resources.
Jill Arnold, Rachel Clark, Kris Rzepczynski, Annakathryn Welch
This program explores records of birth, marriage, divorce, and death; their genealogical content; research strategies to identify exact event dates; and specific examples of online indexes and records from across the United States.
Kris Rzepczynski
This session explores the available U.S. passenger lists and indexes, the genealogical information typically found in them, and strategies for finding arrival records of your immigrant ancestors.
Kris Rzepczynski
Despite the ever-increasing amount of information available online, researchers still need to visit libraries, archives, courthouses, cemeteries, and other locations. This program explores resources not typically found online as well as onsite research strategies for identifying and locating them.
Kris Rzepczynski
With so much genealogical content now available online for free, researchers don’t have to break the bank to find information on their ancestors. This program explores several of the most popular free sites, including FamilySearch and Cyndi’s List, as well as several of the lesser known, yet equally valuable, tools.
Kris Rzepczynski
Interested in researching your home? This program describes several archival and library resources that provide clues into the history of buildings.
Jill Arnold, Rachel Clark
Getting started on your family history has never been easier. This program explores key resources, including census records and newspapers, online tools, and databases to assist you in your research, and successful strategies for finding your elusive ancestors.
Kris Rzepczynski
This session will explore key Michigan online genealogy resources, including both popular and lesser-known sites, as well as effective search strategies for Michigan research.
Kris Rzepczynski
Drawn by high-paying manufacturing jobs and inexpensive land, thousands of people from all over Europe and the United States, including the Deep South, New England, New York, and Pennsylvania, migrated to Michigan during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This session, aimed at researchers whose ancestral trails extend to and from Michigan, explores these migration patterns and provides an overview of the rich and abundant genealogical resources available in print and online.
Kris Rzepczynski
This session outlines the military records available at the Archives of Michigan, techniques for searching them, and information researchers might uncover in them.
Kris Rzepczynski
Given the near-total loss of the 1890 U.S. Census, state census records frequently serve as an effective substitute. This program explores these underutilized resources, focusing primarily on the available schedules from across the United States from that time.
Kris Rzepczynski
This program explores the fabulously rich record collections and resources, many of them state-specific, available for Michigan World War I servicemen.
Kris Rzepczynski
Despite the best of intentions, many family history researchers – particularly as beginners – make incorrect assumptions about records that don’t “fit.” This program will explore false assumptions, revisiting those mistakes, and the family history discoveries that may await.
Kris Rzepczynski
This program includes an overview of records and resources available at the Archives of Michigan, including the Abrams Foundation Historical Collection. The archivist will describe several types of records that are relevant to genealogy research, give some tips on searching for and using them, and outline ways to prepare at home before visiting the Archives. The presentation can be tailored to include records specific to your group’s geographical location.
Jill Arnold, Rachel Clark, Kris Rzepczynski, Annakathryn Welch
Researchers interested in their Polish roots face a unique set of challenges, from the language to the infinite spelling variations and the shifting boundaries on the map. This program explores these challenges, important American sources, both print and online, and research strategies that can shed light on your ancestral town in Poland.
Kris Rzepczynski
We all have them–those ancestors that resist discovery. Using successful examples, this program will discuss research strategies, using print and online resources, to employ in locating those elusive ancestors.
Kris Rzepczynski
This session will provide an overview of probate records, the different types of records created, including wills, inventories, and calendars, the family history content to be discovered, and where to find them online and onsite.
Rachel Clark, Kris Rzepczynski
