VIDEOS & HANDOUTS FROM RCGS MEMBER PROGRAMS

Links to viewable files from RCGS speakers' programs appear below.

WHAT'S A WEBINAR?
Web-based seminars - or webinars -  are pre-recorded or sometimes "live" broadcasts via the Internet and typically include an audio feed of the speaker's voice overlaid on a video slideshow. Video Links and audience handouts for over 40 of these presentations may be found below. You can view these presentations on your phone, tablet or smartphone with an internet connection.

2025 RCGS 7th ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP WORKSHOP 

• Genealogy 101 - The Fundamentals of Family Research by David Bradford, RCGS Board Member & Webmaster, RCGS Scholarship Conference, October 2025, includes audience handout free to the public
• Finding & Using Sources to Document Lives by Keighton Klos, Executive Director of The Milton House Museum, October 2024, includes sources handout members and attendees only
• Exploring the UW-Whitewater Archives by Jennifer Motzko, head of UWW Archives at the Anderson Library, October 2024, includes audience handout members and attendees only
• 50 Fun Genealogy Activities & Websites by David Bradford, RCGS Board Member & Webmaster, RCGS Scholarship Conference, October 2025, includes audience handout free to the public

BEGINNER GENEALOGY

• Beginning Genealogy - Getting started by Mary Buelow, Local History and Genealogy Librarian, Hedberg Library, includes audience handout, October 2023, free to public
• Intermediate Genealogy - Evaluating Evidence - by Ruth Anderson, RCGS Librarian, October 2023, includes audience handout free to public
• 50 Google Tips & Tricks for Online Family Researchers - by David Bradford to the WBCGS on March 2021, includes audience handout free to public
• Finding Genealogy Records Anywhere  - parts 1 & 2 - by Lori Bessler, WHS to Scholarship Conference June 2021, includes audience handout members only
• What did my Ancestors Die of? - Finding & Using Death Certificates by David Bradford to Scholarship Conference June 2021, includes audience handout free to public
• Armchair Genealogy - Jump-Start Your Research from Home by David Bradford to the RCGS membership, January 2023, includes audience handout free to public

LOCAL HISTORY

• Using Janesville's 7th Day Baptist Church Library & Archive by Rev. Nick Kersten, Dir. of Education & History for the SBD National Conference, August 2023, includes audience handout free to public
• The Story of the Great Peshtigo Fire by Kern Humiston, author and researcher, May 10, 2022, includes audience handout members only
• Milton House and the Underground Rail Road - by Keighton Klos, Executive Director of the Milton House Museum, June 2022, includes audience handout members only
• Finding my Family - A Story by Brian Richards, historian, researcher, and storyteller December 2020, includes audience handout members only
• The Genealogy of Agriculture in Rock Co., WI, Part 1  by Michael Roach, Local Historian, October 2024, includes audience handout members and attendees only
• The Genealogy of Agriculture in Rock Co., WI, Part 2 by Michael Roach, Local Historian, October 2024, includes audience handout members and attendees only

DNA & TECHNOLOGY

• Translating, Transcribing and Summarizing Documents Using AI by Thomas MacEntee, genealogical speaker, publisher, and entrepreneur, March 2025, includes audience handout free to public
• How to Use the NEHGS Website; AmericanAncestors.org by Melanie McComb, NEHGS Librarian, RCGS Presentation, 14 May 2024, includes audience handout free to public
• How to Use MyHeritage.com as your Personal Genealogy Archive by Melissa Barker, Archivist/Historian, Houston Co., TN Archives, Jan 2025, includes audience handout members only
• Genealogy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) by Thomas MacEntee, genealogical speaker, publisher, and entrepreneur, January 2024, includes audience handout free to public
• DNA Hunter - Finding Adoptees' Families by Mary Eberle, Madison-area attorney, and adoption-related DNA researcher, January 2023, members only
• Using Photos & Text Captions in Microsoft Word by Rene Love-Cue, Iowa native, genealogist and member of the Pima County, AZ Genealogical Society, February 2024, members only
• Introduction to Family Tree Maker Software by Mark Olsen, Family Tree Maker Ambassador, RCGS Presentation, 10 October 2023, including link to special FTM pricing free to public

ETHNIC GENEALOGY

• Do I Have Indigenous Ancestors in My Family Tree? by Jenny Warner, Local History & Genealogist, RCGS Presentation, 10 February 2026, with audience handout  free to public
  
• African American Genealogy; Janesville's Dr. Daniel Hale Williams & Robert Boyd by Mary Buelow, Local History & Genealogy Specialist, The Hedberg Librarian free to public
  
• Locating Polish Vital Records Online by Julie Roberts Szczepankiewicz, Secretary of the Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts, April 9, 2024, members only
• Navigating Norwegian Genealogy by Dana Kelly, Executive Director of the Norwegian American Genealogical Center & Naeseth Library, March 8, 2022, members only
• Digging into Your Norwegian Genealogy by Dana Kelly, Executive Director of the Norwegian American Genealogical Center & Naeseth Library, November 14, 2023, members only
• German Immigration to Wisconsin by Antje Petty, Assoc. Dir. & Outreach Manager of the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies, April 2025, includes audience handout, members only
• Germans to America  - Finding your German Ancestors' Immigration Trail, by John Wasserstrass, the German Interest Group (GIG), June 2023, includes audience handout members only
• Unique Aspects of Jewish Genealogy (video webinar) by Debbie Kroopkin, President of the Illinois State Jewish Genealogy Society, December 12, 2021, includes audience handout members only

GENEALOGY SKILLS

• America at 250! - Researching Your Revolutionary War Ancestors by Scott Norrick, includes program summary (no video) and audience handout free to public
• How to Research Like a Pro by Dianna Elder, AGⓇ, AGLTM, November, 2024, includes audience handout free to public
• Using Newspapers to Enrich your Family History A presentation by Renee Love-Cue, AGⓇ, Genealogist and Family Historian, February 2025, free to public
• Improve your Research Skills with Lineage or Heritage Societies by Ruth Anderson, RCGS Librarian, May 2025, includes audience handout free to public
• The Wisconsin Historical Society Collections & Services by Lori Bessler, March 2024, includes audience handout members only
• Photo Re-touching & Photo Preservation (2 presentations) by Desiree Shaw, RCGS Newsletter Editor, October 2023, members only
• 15 Habits of Highly Frugal Genealogists A presentation by Thomas MacEntee, genealogical speaker, publisher & entrepreneur, May 2021, includes audience handout members only
• Using Census Data to Advance your Family Research, 1790-1850 (video webinar) A presentation by Lori Bessler, Genealogy and Local History Specialist in the Wisconsin Historical Society's Library, Archives and Museum Collections division, April 2022, includes audience handout members only
• Can I use that in My Genealogy? What you should know about Copyright by Thomas MacEntee, genealogical speaker, publisher & entrepreneur, January 2017, includes audience handout members only
• Finding the Genealogy of a House and Those Who Lived There by Vicki Ruthe Hahn, President of the State Line Genealogical Society, includes audience handout, July 2022, free to public
• Building and Using Timelines for Genealogy by Ruth Anderson, RCGS Librarian and Archives Director, RCGS Scholarship Conference, October 2024, includes audience handout free to the public

MISCELLANEOUS GENEALOGY & FAMILY STORIES

• Rags to Riches; The 17th Century New England Witch Panic & My Ancestor's Role (video webinar) A presentation by David Bradford on June 2024, includes audience handout free to public
• Time to Ship Another Steer - Preserving Your Family Legacy by Bill Mueller, Author, Genealogist, Storyteller, October 2024, includes audience handout members only