North Carolina, S424, “Using estate and deed records to Construct Families in early 19th century North Carolina,” 11 am, Saturday, 13 May 2017

Land Grants and Deeds are a very valuable resource to have in your research toolbox. They allow you to trace transfers of land from one person or persons to others. They can tell you where your ancestors lived and who their neighbors were, which may be helpful when tracing persons of the same name. Familial relationships are often identified or implied in deeds. This lecture will show you how a family unit was reconstructed using deed and land grant records.

S456, “A Long Line of Langs in North Carolina and Georgia,” 4 pm, Saturday, 13 May 2017

Deeds often identify where the grantor (seller) and grantee (buyer) currently lives or lived. This can be especially helpful when tracing ancestors that crossed state lines. The Long/Lang family migrated from North Carolina to Georgia and later on to Arkansas. This family presented a problem in that the name was represented as either Lang or Long, depending on where they lived. This lecture will show you how to tie together genealogical paper trails, records, and DNA test results to see how these families are connected.

About Your Speaker: Ginger R. Smith has been researching in North Carolina for the past 15 years. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a Master’s degree in Library and Information Science. She is a professional genealogist specializing in North Carolina research and DNA consultation services. She loves to help adoptees utilize their DNA results to find their birth families and she enjoys speaking at genealogical libraries and societies on DNA and research topics. She looks forward to seeing you at NGS 2017 in Raleigh!