From finding the right law to explain a genealogical record to finding the right genealogical record in the courts of North Carolina, understanding the law of the time and place will help us truly understand the records our ancestors left behind. And when their identities are hidden in the records left by their men, understanding the clues left to the women of our families in the DNA of their descendants may help us find the records to which we can then apply the law.

Join Judy G. Russell, JD, CG, CGL, “The Legal Genealogist,” for these sessions in Raleigh:

BCG Skillbuilding, W121, The Law and the Reasonably Exhaustive (Re)Search, 11 am, Wednesday, 10 May 2017

Here, in a session that’s part of the Skillbuilding track sponsored by the Board for Certification of Genealogists, we’ll learn more about how the law of the time and the place impacts records –and how finding the right law for the right place and time is critical to the reasonably exhaustive research we must do to meet the Genealogical Proof Standard.

DNA, T242, DNA and the Hidden Half of the Family, 2:30 pm, Thursday, 11 May 2017

Here, we’ll find out more about how the 21st century genealogist’s tool of DNA testing can shed light on the hidden members of our families: the women whose legal identities were often submerged in the identities of their men. Using all types of DNA evidence may help us bring those women and their lives to light. (Editors Note: This session will also be LiveStreamed.)

Research in the States, S403, Courting North Carolina: The Courts of the Tarheel State, 8 am, Saturday, 13 May 2017

Our early North Carolina ancestors often left a treasure trove of records in the courts of their time. Because finding the right court and the right records can be a challenge, here we’ll learn more about understanding the records of the courts closest to the average citizen that are so crucial to finding clues to family history in North Carolina and beyond.

For more about Judy and her must-read blog, visit The Legal Genealogist at http://www.legalgenealogist.com/