Genealogist Sheila Benedict will present "Work Your Way to Ireland Using American Records" on Saturday, October 7, from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the Southern California Genealogical Society's (SCGS) annual conference, Jamboree 2023.
Benedict's presentation will focus on what an American researcher must do stateside to make an Irish genealogy research trip successful. What lies beyond ancestry charts and family group sheets is more important than you think. Doing that requires finding American records the family created first.
The inspiration for Benedict's presentation was spurred by a family research trip she took to Ireland in 2019. "Just before Covid, I visited all the repositories many times while spending a month in Dublin," explains Benedict. "It was an excellent experience to visit and learn about their records and how to access them. The time there convinced me again that researching the American paper trail first and taking reliable evidence on the trip was the only way to assist in finding family there. Their records system is different, and far more evidence is needed than just the county thought to be the home place.
"One thing always stressed in all my presentations is the importance of knowing the laws, both current and from the past, and reading and rereading history. As with all research projects, the types of records reviewed include naturalizations and passenger lists, civil and church records, oral histories, databases, and others pertinent to the project.
A popular speaker at SCGS's annual Jamboree conferences, Benedict is the current president of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) Writer’s Special Interest Group, a current board member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild, and corresponding secretary of The Irish-Ancestral Research Association (TIARA). She is a life member of the National Genealogical Society and the Santa Barbara County Genealogical Society. Other memberships include the San Luis Obispo County Genealogical Society, Southern California Genealogical Society, California Genealogical Society, and the APG Forensic Genealogy SIG.
Jamboree 2023 is a three-day event presented by SCGS, held online and in-person at the organization's Family Research Library and the Burbank Masonic Lodge in Burbank. This year's theme is "Cherishing Your Family Inheritance." The conference will feature a weekend of presentations, discussions, and roundtables focused on genealogy, family history research, storytelling, and the memories and treasures we inherit from our ancestors and pass down to our loved ones.
For registration and more information, view the conference website.
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