Linda MacIver returns with a two-part course on federal records. Part 2 builds on materials from Part 1.

Part 1: February 9

Take a virtual tour of the National Archives in DC and Maryland as Linda demonstrates how to searching the new National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) catalog.

Part 2: February 23

Will include several case studies that allow you to put your new skills to work to find that "genealogical gold." You'll also have a chance to share some new finds from your searches you tried during the two weeks between classes.

Our Ancestors and the Federal Government

Is it possible that you are a researcher who thinks that your “regular Joe” ancestor would not have done anything notable enough to have produced a federal record found at the National Archives? Yes, you have searched the most common federal records that are well known and easy to find. But it may be that you haven't completed that "reasonably exhaustive search" unless you include more than those usual federal records. It really is a myth that our families weren't important enough to be in records preserved at the National Archives!