Course Description

This course is designed for genealogists looking to find distant cousins and other people who may have a connection to your research subjects. Known more formally as reverse genealogy, the techniques taught in this course have multiple uses.

• Living cousins may have photos, documents, artifacts, and stories about the common ancestors.
• Forensic genealogists need to build family trees forward and find living people for heirship cases or to resolve property issues.
• DNA researchers may be interested in locating descendants from specific ancestral lines for targeted DNA testing.
• Genealogists may have unrecognized DNA matches. Building ancestral trees forward makes it possible to determine how those unknown matches might fit into the family tree.

Skills-based requirements

• Students should be comfortable using a desktop computer.
• Students should be comfortable using FamilySearch and other genealogy websites to locate records.
• Students should be somewhat familiar with basic genealogy techniques including using census, probate, land and newspaper records.
• Students should be willing to use Facebook and other social media.

Helpful Resources

• One or more online newspaper subscriptions – databases accessed through a library card or society membership will work.
• Subscription to Ancestry or other genealogy websites.
• Course presentations will include information about living people. Students will be required to sign and abide by a nondisclosure agreement.

Course Outline

Session 1

• Introductions 
• What is Bagging a Live One
• Building a forward-facing family tree
• Introduction to homework

Session 2

• Homework review
• Obituaries and other newspaper records
• Property and probate records
• City directories and yearbooks
• Introduction to homework

Session 3

• Homework review
• Google searches
• Social media strategies
• Mining family trees
• Introduction to homework

Session 4

• Homework review
• Internet phone books – people finder sites
• Ethics
• Strategies for making contact