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Course: 2026-12

Records Loss: Overcoming Destroyed, Missing, or Non-Extant Records

In Person – Pittsburgh

Faculty:

  • Co-Coordinator and Instructor: Kelvin L. Meyers, FTxSGS
  • Other Instructors: Sunny Jane Morton; Gena Philibert-Ortega, MA; Kimberly T. Powell, AG®; Judy G. Russell, JD, CG®, CGL®, FUGA; Renate Yarborough-Sanders; Richard G. Sayre, CG®, CGL®, FUGA; Michael L. Strauss, MA, AG®, AGL™; Ari Wilkins, BA, FTxSGS

Tuition:

  • Regular Price: $615.00
  • NGS Member Price: $575.00

Description:

This course is designed for the intermediate to advanced researcher. A solid understanding of genealogy basics will help students to make use of the materials and concepts presented. Students should have experience in using census, county records, land records and general secondary records. Concepts addressed include strategies, sources and techniques to look beyond the obvious and overcome the challenge of missing records.

Student Prerequisites:

None

Recommendations:

It is recommended that you read:

NOTE: All times are listed in Eastern Time.
Live Sessions may be subject to schedule adjustments by your course coordinator.

Day Session Time Session Title Description Instructor
Monday
13 July		 Intro 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM Class Introductions Meyers
1 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM Are the Records Really Lost? When dealing with record loss, we first must determine is there actual record loss and if so what records were lost and in what office. We will discuss various ways to determine our next steps. Meyers
2 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM Gathering the Records: Published Records and Census Once the extent of the record loss is known, we then turn to gathering everything we can find on the county that has been published and every available census of every kind. We will talk about how to best use this information. Meyers
3 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM Collateral Relatives: Your FFA Your ancestors did not live solitary lives. Even though we sometimes treat them as if they did. They lived, loved, hated, sued, were sued and died all within a particular group of people. Locating these people may be the only way to get to your ancestors and possibly find their ancestors. Methodology of neighbors and clusters of people can be very helpful when you understand how the research is conducted. Meyers
4 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM Your Research Plan Creating a research plan is a wise way to begin any research project. It provides an opportunity to fully assess the hurdles and the possibilities of successful research. Meyers
Tuesday
14 July		 5 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM Unlocking Diverse Family Stories Using the Extensive Records of the Freedmen’s Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, commonly known as the “Freedmen’s Bureau,” holds an invaluable and often-overlooked collection of records. While its primary mission was to serve formerly enslaved individuals, after the Civil War, these expansive records contain a wealth of diverse genealogical and historical information relevant to people of all backgrounds, both Black and White, who lived during the tumultuous Antebellum and Reconstruction eras. Discover the breadth of this comprehensive set of government records, which frequently provides crucial details that can fill gaps caused by missing or destroyed traditional records, making them an essential resource for any thorough American ancestral research. Yarborough-Sanders
6 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM Hitting Paydirt in Manuscript Collections (Virtual) Manuscript collections can be a goldmine of information for family history researchers. Learn about where to find collections, how they are organized, how to use a finding aid, and the variety of interesting items that can be found in the collections. Wilkins
7 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM The Power of Tax Records: Genealogy’s Secret Tool for Filling in Gaps in a Research Timeline and Knocking Down Brick Walls” Tax records serve as an essential and often underutilized resource in genealogical research. While federal censuses and vital records may serve as the cornerstone of our work, gaps and losses in these collections can create significant challenges. Yarborough-Sanders
8 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM Researching in Federal Land Records (Virtual) Federal land records can often compensate for information that might be in missing or lost local records. They are archived in several facilities to include the National Archives. Often these land records can provide information for ancestors beyond the details of the land transactions. The class will focus on understanding the kind of information contained in these records and how to locate the records. Sayre
Wednesday
15 July		 9 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM They Once Were Lost, But Now Are Found: Finding Elusive Ancestors in Church Records When ancestors’ record trails have been lost (or were never created in the first place), U.S. church records can help by providing clues to identity, vital events, family relationships, migrations, and more. Learn finding strategies and see examples for several denominations. Morton
10 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM Voices of the Past: Extracting Genealogical Information from Slave Narratives Genealogical research for formerly enslaved persons can present unique challenges, but one powerful source lies in the first-hand accounts known as Slave Narratives. This course teaches researchers how to find and strategically analyze and extract rich genealogical and historical data from these indispensable primary sources, to enrich research products and fill in gaps on family trees. Whether found in published autobiographies, personal accounts, or extensive oral history projects like the WPA Slave Narrative Collection, these narratives offer direct, unfiltered insights into the lives of enslaved families, their enslavers, and the social dynamics of the communities they lived in, providing details straight from the mouths of the Ancestors themselves. Yarborough-Sanders
11 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM Newspapers Genealogists are familiar with historical newspaper research. It’s a given that newspapers can uncover information not found in any other record set. This session focuses on how to use historical newspapers to fill gaps when other records are missing, incomplete, or never created. Students will learn to move beyond digitized location-based newspapers and explore lesser-known sources such as ethnic, religious, labor, and small-town newspapers. The session emphasizes research methodology—how to locate, evaluate, and interpret both digitized and undigitized newspapers, including microfilm and archival collections. We will focus on research versus just searching. Students will understand how newspapers can reconstruct life events, reveal community connections, and provide evidence unavailable in traditional records. Philibert-Ortega
12 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM After the Courthouse Burns: Rekindling Family History through DNA Catastrophic record loss due to catastrophic fires and disasters at courthouses is a fact of life for genealogists. When a disaster takes out birth, marriage, death, court, land, and probate records all in one fell swoop, it may still be possible to light our research fires—to rekindle our family history—using DNA evidence. Russell
Thursday
16 July		 13 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM Reconstructing the Past: Understanding Military Record Loss Fires and other catastrophic events have destroyed valuable military records in the custody of the government. Understanding what records were lost and knowing where to search other sources, including burnt files, reconstructed files, auxiliary files, and records of the Treasury, Interior, and State Departments, can provide answers to locating missing documents. This session will guide researchers through strategies for identifying substitute sources and highlight successful document reconstruction, and validate how persistence and creative problem-solving can overcome even the most challenging gaps found in historical records. Strauss
14 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM Using Fraternal and Lineage Society Records to Reconstruct Lost Families Records of fraternal and lineage organizations and their female auxiliaries cover a broad range of years in many different residential areas. These records can help genealogists learn valuable clues about their ancestors, including births, marriages, deaths, and names of descendants. This is especially true where local government sources have experienced significant record losses. This session will explore the types of societies that generated these records, how to access surviving collections, and illustrate through examples how they can provide context about community ties, social networks, and generational continuity otherwise lost to history. Strauss
15 1:30 PM – 2:45 PM Filling Record Gaps with Law Over time, catastrophic events have destroyed vast resources for family history. When faced with such losses, we can use federal and state laws to help fill the gaps in an ancestor’s story. Public laws help tell the story of all people at a time and place, while private laws were passed for the benefit of individuals or families. Russell
16 3:15 PM – 4:30 PM Class Assignment Meyers
Friday
17 July		 17 9:00 AM – 10:15 AM From Lots to Lineage: Land as Genealogy’s Lasting Legacy Land transactions weren’t mere business deals; they were milestones marking family events, alliances, and migrations. This session focuses on extracting meaningful genealogical insights from land records to identify relationships, reconstruct family stories, and fill voids when other records are unavailable. Powell
18 10:45 AM – 12:00 PM Class Assignment Solution Meyers

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