Gen-Fed 2019 Program

David S. Ferriero, Archivist of the United States, gives welcoming remarks to begin the week-long Gen-Fed institute at the National Archives in Washington, DC, on July 10, 2017.

The Genealogical Institute on Federal Records has announced its 2019 list of lecturers and topics for the week-long course to be held at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and College Park, Maryland, from July 29–August 2, 2019. Among those presenting are NARA staff members (current and retired), and expert genealogists, researchers, and historians from a variety of backgrounds. The Innovation Hub at NARA-DC, on Pennsylvania Avenue, located within the Robert M. Warner Research Center on the first floor, offers proximity to archivists and records and serves as the institute’s home base.

Records from all three branches of governments will be studied during the institute—legislative, executive, and judicial. The program’s opening day immerses attendees in multiple strategies for on-site and remote research with lectures focused on solving genealogical problems scheduled later in the week. Easy and informal access to reference archivists is a hallmark of the institute. 

Changes for 2019 include additional research time, a new panel presentation that will briefly introduce unique records of interest, and the debut of Judy G. Russell’s Busted, Bankrupt, Banged Up: The Stories in Federal  Court Records. An orientation to genealogical research at the Library of Congress on Monday evening prepares attendees to take advantage of LC evening hours throughout the week. Wednesday evening features a unique walking tour of the Mall that expands your knowledge of record groups. On Saturday, August 3, participants may attend an orientation at the Daughters of the America Revolution (DAR) Library and spend a full day exploring one of the top genealogical libraries in the country.

Online registration for the 2019 Genealogical Institute on Federal Records will open on Saturday, February 23, at 3:00 PM EST. Details on registration are posted here. For more information on the institute and its history, visit www.gen-fed.org.

A Federal Family Tree and Finding Your Way in Federal Records
        —Malissa Ruffner, JD, CG, Director, Gen-Fed
Retrieval Workshop: Getting the Pull Slips Right
       Trevor K. Plante, NARA
Using the National Archives Catalog for Genealogical Research
       Suzanne Isaacs, NARA
NARA’s Records, Coast to Coast
       Trevor K. Plante, NARA
Introduction to Local History and Genealogy, Main Reading Room, Library of Congress (LC) (at LC)
       — James Sweany, MSLS
Basic Military Records and Pension Records
       Jonathan Webb Deiss, Military Research Specialist, soldiersource.com
Mining Land Entry Records for Family History and Reward for Service: Bounty Land Records
       Angela McGhie, CG, genealogist, lecturer, and blogger
Immigration & Nationality: Beyond the Basic Documents, Part I and Part II
       Marian Smith (USCIS, retired)
Blasting Brick Walls with Legislative Records and Unique Map Holdings of NARA
       — Rick Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA
A Few Lesser-Known Records/Q&A with Reference Archivists
       —Panel led by Debra A. Hoffman, Assistant Director
State Department Correspondence Case Study
       Kenneth W. Heger, PhD (NARA retired)
Overcoming African American Research Challenges with Federal Records
     —LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG, CGL 
Court Records: Making a Federal Case Out of It
 and Busted, Bankrupt, Banged Up: The Stories in Federal  Court Records
       Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL ,“The Legal Genealogist”
Introduction to the Daughters of the America Revolution (DAR) Library (at DAR)
       —DAR Staff

CG and CGL are proprietary marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluation.


3 thoughts on “Gen-Fed 2019 Program

  1. Patricia Reed

    Oh, reading this makes me want to take it all over again!

  2. Lynn McMillion

    Program looks terrific!

  3. mruffner@gmail.com

    That means a lot. coming from you! And you see it hasn’t changed much from your design.

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