Monthly Programs

July 6th Program

Pre 1850 Research, Breaking Barriers

Presented by Julie Anderson

At the next monthly meeting of Pioneer Genealogical Society on Monday, July 7 at 7 pm at

the Ponca City Library, attendees will have a special opportunity. One of the great

difficulties in tracing family ancestors is breaking the record barriers before 1850. The

censuses listed only the head of household and not the names of spouses and children,

making connections between generations almost impossible. Only the age groups were

enumerated. Record-keeping in the newly developing nation was not consistent and

different jurisdictions (counties, state and federal) kept different records. Consequently the

records one would use to link one generation to another (like court or probate records) are

more difficult to find and access. They are not usually online and require travel, help and

money to obtain.

PGS will navigate these complications with Julie Anderson, research librarian at the Family

Search Library. Her presentation in 2024 at the RootsTech conference has already become

a classic. Via YouTube she gives an overview of the difficulties, gives a timeline on the

development of US records and provides a basic strategy to follow to break through and

identify the previous ancestors, focusing on the two most common problems --- finding

parents and finding the maiden names of women.

The majority of her talk will then be a case study of a typical research problem. She goes

methodically step by step through the thought process of finding the right records to

identify a woman named Hannah Johnson. In the process she will also show how you can

use various forms and techniques to sort and compare information you find. Following her

methodology, she not only accomplishes her goal but discovers a lot of details about

Hannah that might have been overlooked or become more stumbling blocks. Her lecture

and slides are packed with information. A handout is being prepared but note-taking is

highly recommended. Afterwards there will be time for questions and discussion.