The 2013 conference will open with Marian Smith, the renowned chief of the historical research branch of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
We know the vital records we're looking for are the products of state laws. We are so busy chasing down these traditional records that we forget about other records that did or should exist in addition to the birth/marriage/death records.
We need to think about what other records there might be that are the products of laws. These records could be the result of federal, state, or local laws. Marian will use immigration records to illustrate how national laws required creation of records that we use today. Changes in laws and the records required by those changes impacted individual citizens and non-citizen residents. Genealogists can use the laws to see the ways that national concerns shaped the lives of our ancestors.
Marian grew up in Nebraska where she graduated from Hastings College. She then migrated to Northern Arizona University for an MA in American History and to Ohio for her doctoral work at the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University. Marian directs the USCIS Historical Research Branch, including the agency’s History Office, Historical Library, and fee-for-service Genealogy Program. She is the author of numerous articles about immigration and naturalization that have been published in Prologue, the quarterly of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and other publications.
There will be two giveaways at Opening Session:
- A seven-night stay at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel at Temple Square (http://www.plaza-hotel.com), courtesy of the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel, which is located next door to the Family History Library. The winner also will receive a free spot on one of the Ancestor Seekers Salt Lake City research trips.
- One free full-conference registration for the 2014 conference in Richmond, Virginia, courtesy of NGS.
See you at Opening Session!
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