Please join us on Sunday, February 15 at 2pm to hear our speaker Christine Cohen, who will be giving a presentation titled Homesteading – Land for All.

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About Christine Cohen

Christine Cohen’s interest in genealogy began in 1977 with the airing of the TV mini-series “Roots.” Her enthusiasm was piqued when she was given a typed pedigree chart, commissioned by her maternal grandfather, of their Dutch heritage from the New Netherlands in the 1650’s. Christine is a native Californian, and a graduate of UCLA in Political Science. She has moved to Oregon for retirement and is pursuing her genealogy journey full time.

Christine is a long-time member of the Whittier Area Genealogical Society (WAGS) and currently is the Program Director. She is a member of the Tualatin Chapter of the DAR, the Society of Daughters of Holland Dames, APG and the Society Delegate for NGS.

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About the Presentation

Homestead application packets from 1862 to 1934 are great sources of genealogical information. These applications list family members and statements from neighbors, plus notations of previous residences. Plus, pages from the family Bible, birth, marriage or death certificates, newspaper clippings, and witness affidavits. Union Civil War Veterans had to provide proof of military service and immigrants had to provide naturalization documents.

Be sure to join us on Sunday, January 18 at 2pm to hear our speaker Peggy Jude, who will be giving a presentation on What to Do with Your Stuff – Planning for the Future of Your Genealogy and Artifacts.

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About Peggy Jude

Peggy Jude is an experienced genealogist specializing in DNA research, genealogical technology, and family history preservation with over forty years of experience, holding leadership roles in professional societies.

Join us on Sunday, December 21, 2025 for our annual Holiday Gathering! The festivities begin at 2pm and will be in-person only.

Sandwich fixin’s will be provided along with drinks. Bring a dish of your choice to share with the group.
Share a short (2-3 minute) story of your choice.
Bring a friend who is interested in genealogy.

Elections for upcoming board terms will be held as well.

Please join us on Sunday, October 19 at 2pm to hear Questing Heirs’ president Bob Prager, who will be giving a presentation titled Locating Mary Dalton’s Home.

About the Presentation

Bob will talk about how he found the location of the cottage his great-grandmother Mary Dalton grew up in in Ireland. He’ll cover some general sources of Irish genealogical information, explain how he used them to determine the exact location, and present some photographs of the (still- standing) cottage he took when he visited Ireland a few months later.

Please join us on Sunday, September 21 at 2pm to hear our speaker Barbara Coakley, who will be giving a presentation titled From Binders to Bytes: Organizing Genealogy with OneNote.

About Barbara Coakley

Barbara is a family history researcher, speaker, and author. Her interest in family history began over 35 years ago when she was given an envelope of family papers. Over the years, she traveled extensively throughout the U.S. and Europe, visiting the homelands of her ancestors and conducting research. Her current focus is sharing the stories of her ancestors.

Barbara retired from teaching Continuing Education classes in Genealogy for Collin College in 2022 and now lectures on a wide variety of genealogy topics. Her genealogy education includes all of the major institutes, ProGen 49, and numerous conferences. Barbara is President of Genealogy Friends of Plano (TX) Libraries, and volunteers for the Texas State Genealogical Society and the Dallas Genealogical Society. She belongs to the DAR and national, state, and local genealogical and historical societies across the U.S.

Please join us on Sunday, August 17 at 2pm to hear our speaker Sara Cochran, who will be giving a presentation titled There’s a Lineage Society for That!

About Sara Cochran

Sara Cochran has been conducting genealogical research for over 25 years with her research taking her into nearly every state in the USA as well as Ireland, Italy, Austria, and Britain.

She holds a Boston University Genealogical Research Certificate, a Bachelor Degree in Library Science, and is an alumnus of the ProGen Study Group.

Sara began her career as a professional genealogist in 2016 after spending over 11 years working for a pre-employment background check company.

She especially enjoys breaking down brick walls for her clients, discovering the stories of black sheep ancestors, and helping individuals preserve their photographic legacy.

Sara has her own website appropriately titled: theskeletonwhisperer.com

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About the Presentation

Was your ancestor a tavern keeper, postal worker, or teacher? There are lineage societies for that! What’s a lineage society, and why should you consider them? This class reviews the benefits of joining these societies, provides tips for leveraging their resources, resources for finding societies you’re eligible for, and tips for preparing your application.

Please join us on Sunday, May 18 at 2pm to hear our speaker Sara Cochran, who will be giving a presentation titled From a Box in the Closet to a Treasured Family Heirloom.

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About Sara Cochran

Sara’s passion is telling the stories of the people in the family tree. Genealogists do this best by recording the stories of our elders, locating and preserving the photos and stories our ancestors left behind, and researching the records created by and about our people.

Sara has Bachelor of Science (Liberal Arts/ Library Science) and Associate of Science (Library Science) degrees, along with many certificates from various continuing education programs. She has been researching for 25+ years and is affiliated with many groups including the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

About the Presentation

If you’re overwhelmed by the collection of photos your family has accumulated, you’re not alone! After a brief history of photography, we look at organizing techniques, digitization basics, and options/ideas on what to do with your photos so they can be enjoyed by generations to come, instead of collecting dust in the box.

Due to our regular meeting day falling on Easter Sunday, there will be no meeting in April.

Join us on Sunday, May 18, 2025 at 2:00pm to hear Sara Cochran speaking on Photo Preservation.

Please join us on Sunday, February 16 at 2pm to hear our speaker Megan Clark Young, whose topic will be Pruning Your Family Tree.

About Megan Clark Young

Megan Clark Young is a professional genealogist based in western Pennsylvania. She is employed as a forensic genealogist, specializing in heirship research for mineral rights.

She is also the owner of MACY’s Genealogical Research and is the current president of the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society. She has over 25-years of experience researching her own Scots-Irish, English, German, and Swedish roots. Having made a lot of mistakes along the way, she enjoys presenting and blogging about her experience in the hopes that others will be able to avoid making similar mistakes.

Please join us on Sunday, November 17 at 2pm to hear our speaker Barbara Coakley, whose topic will be Getting Around the Fire at the Military Records Center: WWI – Corporal John L. Coakley.

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About Barbara Coakley

Barbara Coakley’s interest in family history began over thirty years ago when she was given an envelope of family papers. Her journey to discover the stories of her ancestors has taken her to homelands across the US and Europe. Barbara is President of Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries and volunteers for TxSGS and the Dallas Genealogical Society. She is an alumnus of ProGen, IGHR, TIGR, GRIP, SLIG and GenFed. Barbara taught genealogy continuing education classes at Collin College from 2008 to 2021. She does presentations for libraries and genealogical societies throughout the U.S. and U.K.

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About the presentation

It is possible to reconstruct service for a WWI soldier whose file was destroyed in the fire at the Military Records Center. Learn about alternative sources available through a case study.