10:30 AM - Noon CST (UTC-6)

 

$15 for IGSI members (with Discount Code); $20 for non-members
Click here to see the current time in Minnesota

 

Chris will discuss the many historical moments when our ancestors experienced difficultly, through actions of their own or those carried out against them, and someone stood nearby with a quill and ink to document the time. Ancestors were sent to mother and baby homes, Magdalene laundries, stood trial for crimes or fell victim to criminals. Some were adulterers or bigamists, or revolutionaries, and much more. Real hardships were enduredand many overcame the difficulties. Others did not, but their stories brought us to becoming the people we are today.

 

Chris will outline research strategies and resources to help us understand the experiences of those times that shaped our families.

 

10:30 AM - Noon CST (UTC-6)

$15 for IGSI members (with Discount Code); $20 for non-members
Click here to see the current time in Minnesota

 

Curious about AI but not sure where to start—or whether it's even relevant to tracing your ancestors? Our speakers will show you how today's AI tools can help you with brick walls, faded documents, and mysterious townlands that every family historian knows too well. We'll walk through real examples (many drawn from Irish records) demonstrating how AI can help you decipher difficult handwriting, suggest research strategies when you're stuck, make sense of unfamiliar placenames, and even draft those tricky notes to distant cousins.

 

No tech background required—just bring your curiosity. You'll leave with practical techniques you can try immediately, a better sense of what AI does well (and where it still needs a human eye), and maybe a few new leads on that elusive great-great-grandmother from County Cork.

 

Please join our live audience at the Minnesota Genealogy Center, linger for a box lunch and mingle with the speakers, then explore the Irish Collection at the Hoffman Research Library until 4pm.

 

Registration will open soon