I am passionate about teaching people how to research their family history, tell their family stories, and discover tools that help with both.
Book me for your genealogy or heritage event! Don’t see what you are looking for? I am happy to discuss customizing a lecture, workshop, or seminar to fit your specific needs. Email me at colleen.e.greene@gmail.com.
Genealogy Lectures
These are 60 minute presentations, which include Q&A time.
General Sources & Methodology
These topics are arranged in alphabetical order.
Improving You Research with the Genealogical Proof Standard
The Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) is the recognized standard for ensuring accurate research. This standard is not just for professionals. It is for any family historian who wants to make sure that the facts you have collected and conclusions you have reached are correct. A case study will introduce you to the GPS and how to start applying it to your research.
After the Fire: Reconstructing a World War I or II Military Service Record Record
Many individuals who research World War I and World War II U.S. military ancestors encounter a significant road block, due to record loss from the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri. So how does one hurdle this research obstacle? This methodology lecture will use several case studies to demonstrate strategies and alternative types of record collections that can help reconstruct a World War I or World War II service member’s history despite a destroyed personnel file.
The Suspect Centenarian: Using a Common U.S. Source to Build an Immigrant Life Story
The 1963 obituary for Mexican-immigrant Aurelia Compeán reads, “Matriarch Dies at 105; 21 Children.” Extended family members knew little else about their family. At first glance, this treasured obituary lacks concrete genealogical information. But its rich clues, combined with research in mostly online sources, revealed a couple of centuries of family history. This case study demonstrates how to dissect an obituary to investigate each clue, the types of records and strategies used, and an analysis of the evidence discovered.
The Suspect Centenarian: Using a Common U.S. Source to Build an Immigrant Life Story
The 1963 obituary for Mexican-immigrant Aurelia Compeán reads, “Matriarch Dies at 105; 21 Children.” Extended family members knew little else about their family. At first glance, this treasured obituary lacks concrete genealogical information. But its rich clues, combined with research in mostly online sources, revealed a couple of centuries of family history. This case study demonstrates how to dissect an obituary to investigate each clue, the types of records and strategies used, and an analysis of the evidence discovered.
Mexican & Mexican-American Research
These are arranged in alphabetical order.
Essential Immigration Records for Researching Your Mexican Ancestors
Did your Mexican ancestors immigrate to the United States in the late 19th or 20th
centuries? This period of history witnessed significant waves of Mexican immigratio to
the U.S., both permanent and temporary. The types of immigration records introduced or
refined during this era provide a wealth of biographical and kinship information for tracing
individuals and families on both sides of the border.
Two Versions:
- (1 Hour) Focuses on U.S. border arrival records, naturalization records, Alien Registrations, and Alien Files.
- (2 Hours) Includes U.S. Registry Files, C Files (Naturalization Certificate Files), and additional strategies for obtaining records from NARA and USCIS.
Foundational Concepts & Reference Tools for Mexican Genealogy
We pour a lot of time, money, and soul into our family history research. So, we want to make sure we are tracing the right people and families in the right place at any given time, and that we glean all possible information and clues from the records. This presentation reviews social and cultural customs, and tools for learning about jurisdictions and key terminology. It is suitable for those still new to Mexican genealogy as well as more experienced researchers.
Getting to Know Mexican Church & Civil Registration Records
These records are often described as the best family history records in the world due to the wealth of genealogical information typically included in these records. Learn how to find and analyze Mexico civil and church registration collections to build out your Mexican family history. Even a non-Spanish speaker can be successful at this research.
An Introduction to Researching Your Mexican Ancestors
This overview lecture covers key U.S. records and strategies for identifying when and where your Mexican ancestors immigrated, and for identifying their hometown in Mexico. It also reviews the main record collections for tracing those family lines further back in Mexico. This class is ideal for anyone new to researching their Mexican lines, as well as those still relatively new to genealogy in general. Learn how even a non-Spanish speaker can be successful at this research.
Key Online Record Collections for Researching Your Mexican Ancestors
This lecture provides an overview of the key record collections available online to research your Mexican and Mexican-American ancestors. We will dig into a case study to demonstrate how to weave these records together to build out a robust life story. Learn how even non-Spanish speakers can be successful at this research.
Primo Arnulfo, a Case Study: The 1906 Basic Naturalization Act & 1929 Registry Act
The Basic Naturalization Act of 1906 brought U.S. naturalization under federal government control with new standardized processes and forms. Yet one of those new standardized processes created significant complications for immigrants who arrived in the U.S. via the Mexican Border. The Registry Act of 1929 sought to rectify that complication. Find out why and how you should obtain those records.
Putting Them in Their Place: Understanding Localities for Your Mexican & Colonial Spanish Ancestors
Familiarity with church and civil jurisdictions helps us make better sense of records we find for our Mexican ancestors, helps us know where to look for records that pertain to a particular place and time, and helps us trace evolving jurisdictional borders through time. Knowing where and how to find historical and background information about different Mexican localities helps you dig deeper into the lives of your ancestors. Learn about essential reference tools and strategies that will help you identify and learn more about the localities in which your ancestors lived and worked.
The Suspect Centenarian: Using a Common U.S. Source to Build an Immigrant Life Story
The 1963 obituary for Mexican-immigrant Aurelia Compeán reads, “Matriarch Dies at 105; 21 Children.” Extended family members knew little else about their family. At first glance, this treasured obituary lacks concrete genealogical information. But its rich clues, combined with research in mostly online sources, revealed a couple of centuries of family history. This case study demonstrates how to dissect an obituary to investigate each clue, the types of records and strategies used, and an analysis of the evidence discovered.
Strategies for Sorting Out and Documenting Mexican Names and Families
This presentation demonstrates methods and tools for tackling two common predicaments when researching families of Mexican origin. First, distinguishing between people with the same names, living in the same place, at the same. And second, determining which compound given names and compound surnames to record in your source citations, online trees, and family narratives.
Taking a Deep Dive into Mexico – U.S. Border Crossing Records
The documents found in the U.S. border crossing record collections are packed with valuable information often missed when researching Mexican immigrants. This webinar covers historical legal context pertaining to record keeping at the Mexican border, examines the most common types of documents in these collections, and highlights situations specific to researching Mexican families. Learn how to decipher clues found in these records that lead to other important immigration records and how to obtain those.
Tío Juvenal: Sources & Strategies for Researching Families on Both Sides of the Border
This 20th century Mexican and Mexican-American case study showcases and weaves together different types of records available online, as well as those that need to be accessed from physical archives, and family interviews. It also demonstrates the essential role that understanding historical and cultural context play in analyzing sources and building out a more comprehensive family history. Find out why Tío Juvenal and his family disappear from and later reappear in U.S. records.
Working with Mexican Civil Registration Records
Mexico implemented federal registration of births, marriages, and deaths in the 1860s. These records are packed with genealogical information, are well preserved, and have a considerable extent available online. This presentation will help you make the most of analyzing and finding these records.
Working with Mexican Parish Registers
Spanish colonial and Mexican Catholic parish registers are the oldest vital records system in what is now Mexico and the U.S. Southwest. They are rich in genealogical information, well preserved, and have a considerable extent available online . This session will discuss the laws, customs, and significance of church baptism, marriage, and burial records. It will also help you analyze and find the records.
Your 19th & 20th Century Mexican Ancestors in the U.S.
Historical records and social history paint a rich picture of the lives of our Mexican ancestors who were in the U.S. after the mid-19th century. A new border, new laws, a violent revolution, two world wars, and changing economic and political conditions significantly impacted your Mexican ancestors who came to or were born in the United States. Sharing a border, and sharing a long common history in certain regions of the U.S. has presented situations unique to those of Mexican descent compared to other immigrant and ethnic groups.
Technology for Genealogy
These are arranged in alphabetical order.
Designing with Canva for Your Genealogy, Society, or Business
Canva is a freemium model cloud-based graphic design app that allows even the most design-challenged genealogist to create attractive digital and print products. I use it frequently to create visuals for my blogs, social media posts, videos and reports, and for family celebrations. We will walk through navigating around the browser interface and features, review the various design libraries, and demonstrate some of my regular design use cases. We will discuss free personal Canva, premium Canva Pro, and Canva’s Nonprofits program for your society. I will also discuss how I manage my brand kits and branded templates, which I share with my work teams.
Using Snagit for Genealogy Visual Storytelling & Instruction
Snagit is my go-to tool for capturing screenshots and converting those into compelling visual aids to enhance my family history narratives and genealogy instruction materials. It is particularly useful for creating annotated images and privatizing sensitive visual information before sharing or publishing. We will walk through navigating around the desktop application interface and using its various features, demonstrate some of my regular use cases, learn how to back up your Snagit Library, and discuss my workflow for accessing projects on multiple computers.
Using Zotero for Your Family History Research Sources
Keeping track of and organizing our research materials can be overwhelming. Genealogists use a wide variety of sources and reference tools to discover and dig deeper into our family history: historical records, books and periodicals, photos, maps, videos, articles and web pages, reports, databases, digital archives, etc. Zotero is a free research and citation management system heavily used in academia, but it can also be extremely valuable for genealogists whether for their family history research, or for professional publishing and presentations. It is available for both Mac and PC users. Zotero can integrate well with your existing research workflow and organization tools.
Libraries, Archives & Online Repositories
These are arranged in alphabetical order.
The Academic Library: An Untapped Resource for Family History Research
Academic libraries provide access to digital and physical collections that often go unnoticed by genealogists, yet are invaluable for researching U.S. and international family history. This academic librarian and college instructor will walk you through those key collections, explain the discovery tools that make finding those collections and specific materials easier, and will cover what you need to know before you go to prepare for a successful academic library research visit.
Utilizing the HathiTrust Digital Library for Family History Research
This robust digital repository, underutilized by many genealogists, is packed with digitized publications from academic and research institutions that are relevant to your family history. This lecture walks you through HathiTrust’s discovery and access tools, showcases U.S. and international collections that are particularly relevant to genealogists, and demonstrates search strategies to help you find those valuable sources.
These are arranged in alphabetical order.
Genealogy Workshops
These workshops vary between 2 to 4 hours and allow for more in-depth or hands-on exploration at a slower pace than a 1-hour lecture. I customize the length and scope to fit your event needs.
These are arranged in alphabetical order.