Lecture Topics
“John is an engaging speaker whose entertaining approach combined with his depth of knowledge commands the attention of his audience.”
— Ann Carter Fleming, CG, CGL, FNGS
“Few presenters captivate the attention of their audience like John Colletta! You could be an expert in his topic, and you’ll still want to attend his lecture to see how he blends substance and humor to create a dynamic, entertaining presentation.”
— Karen Clifford, Accredited Genealogist®, FUGA
Download full descriptions of Lecture Topics
- 1. Federal Records
- Passenger Arrival Records, Colonial Times to Mid-20th Century
- Passenger Arrival Records, 1820-1930s: Sources and Strategies for Challenging Cases
- Naturalization Records, Colonial Times to Mid-20th Century
- Naturalization Records, 1790-1930s: Sources and Strategies for Challenging Cases
- Records of the Federal Courts, 1789-1911: Drama in Your Ancestors’ Lives
- U.S. Censuses, 1790-1940: Population and Non-Population Schedules
- U.S. Military Service Records, 1775-ca. 1916
- U.S. Military Pension and Bounty Land Records, 1776-ca. 1916
- Lesser-Used Federal Records: Sources of Rich Detail about Ancestors’ Lives
2. Sources, Methodology and Writing
- Libraries, Archives and Public Record Offices: Understanding Resource Repositories
- Breaking through Brick Walls: Use your HEAD!
- Using Original and Derivative Sources: How to Evaluate Evidence
- Only a Few Bones: Case Studies in Assembling Sources to Reconstruct Real-Life Events
- Principles of Good Writing and Good Storytelling
- Evidence from Material Culture: Using Artifacts in Research and Writing about Ancestors
- Erie Canal Genealogy: The Peopling of Upstate New York and the Midwest
- Turning Biographical Facts into Real Life Events: How to Build Historical Context
- Writing a Narrative Family History: The Snares and Pitfalls
- The Library of Congress: An Introduction and Overview
- Using 19th-Century Newspapers for Family History
- Assembling and Writing a Narrative Family History
- Publishing Your Genealogy or Family History: Choices and Essential Considerations
- From Proposal to Final Product: Publishing a Genealogy Manual with a Commercial Publisher
- How Do You Know That? Documenting Your Family History
- Private Archives: What They Are and How to Use Them
- State Archives: What They Are and How to Use Them
- Our National Archives: The Astounding Institution and How to Use It
- Understanding Archives: What They Are and How to Use Them
- The County Courthouse: Your ‘Trunk in the Attic’
- Discovering Your Ancestors’ World through Maps and Gazetteers
- Principles and Rewards of Effective Interviewing
- Stories that Instruct: Using Case Studies to Teach Genealogy
- Sixteen Repositories, One Life: Uncommon Original Sources Portray a 19th-Century Immigrant
- Finding Local History… When There Is No Published Local History
- Mississippi: An Overview of Genealogical Sources
- Hacks and Hookers and Putting Up Pickles: Snares of Yesteryear’s English
- Discovering the REAL Stories of Your Immigrant Ancestors
- How to Prepare for Successful Research in European Records
- French Ancestry: Researching in the United States and France
- The Germanic French: Researching Alsatian and Lorrainian Families
- From France to the New World: Four Hundred Years of Very Diverse Immigration
- Italian Ancestry: Researching in the United States and Italy
- Records of Italy for Family History: One by One, Line by Line
- The 17,000,000 Stories of Ellis Island: What’s Fact? What’s Myth?
- Immigration to America, Colonial Times to Post-World War II: Where Do Your Ancestors Fit in?