The AI Guy: Anatomy of an Effective AI Prompt
AI in Genealogy is an extremely useful tool if taught how to properly use it. This presentation will provide learners with a basic understanding of effective AI prompt engineering. Each component of an effective AI prompt will be reviewed and explained, so that the learners will be able to craft more responsive AI output that meets their research needs, and feel more confident using AI models to assist in their research.
Historic Maps: A Window into the past
The National Library of Scotland’s Map Images Website allows you to view and compare historic maps for Scotland, England, Ireland and Wales. In this talk you will discover how to search by placename, postcode, or national grid reference to find detailed historic mapping. Tips on some of the most detailed layers of historic mapping and how to view these. Then a demonstration of how our different viewers allow you to compare historic maps to modern mapping or different layers of historic maps. There will also be guidance on how to save or print the maps you find.
DNA Testing for Beginners: What to Test and Where
Ever wondered which DNA test could find a biological parent, a half-sibling you never knew about, or the ancestors your paper trail can’t reach? This talk cuts through the confusion around the main DNA testing companies, including AncestryDNA and MyHeritage DNA, showing you exactly which test suits your goal. Plus: when and how to use FamilyTreeDNA's tests that trace only your direct paternal or maternal line, and what they can uncover that standard tests can’t. For members of the public and for professionals considering offering DNA research to clients.
New AI assistant for genealogy
If you’ve tried chatting with AI about your ancestor, you may have seen this before. A lovely ancestor with a beautiful story will be… hallucinated for you. However, when AI is given the right context and the right tools, AI can be amazing. Goldie May brings it all together to make this easy and productive.
On Platforms: Where We Tell Stories Affects The Stories We Tell
Just 50 years ago, newsletters were mailed, and meetings happened in conference rooms. Back then, our access to records depended on what was in our local libraries. Collaboration meant exchanging letters or conversations over tea. This talk will explore how virtual places, modern social media, and generative AI transformed how we use stories to connect with each other and our ancestors.
Social Media Tools for Genealogists: Building Connections, Finding Clues, and Sharing Your Research
Social media has become an essential toolkit for today’s genealogists. This presentation explores how platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and specialized genealogy groups can help you connect with distant relatives, uncover hidden family clues, and share your research with a wider audience. Learn practical strategies for joining and engaging with genealogy communities online, using social media to solicit information and photos from family members, and presenting your findings in ways that spark interest and collaboration. Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned researcher, discover how social media can expand and enrich your family history journey.
How to Turn Names, Dates, and Places Into a Story Your Family Will Actually Read
Family histories often contain fascinating lives but can still read like lists of names, dates and places. In this practical talk, author and memoir specialist Oliver Delorie shows how to uncover the human story inside the facts. You’ll learn how to shape memories into scenes, add vivid detail without inventing, identify emotional turning points, and create a narrative your family will genuinely want to read. Whether you are writing about one ancestor or an entire family line, these techniques will help bring the past to life.
Beyond the Family Tree: The Thinking Behind Name & Place
Reconstructing a whole community means bringing together people, places, events and sources drawn from many different records. The challenge is not simply to collect information, but to organise it so that relationships, patterns and context remain visible.
Paul Carter explores the structured-data principles behind Name & Place. Drawing on his experience creating the software and writing Beyond The Tree, he offers practical ways to connect information, preserve context and reveal new lines of enquiry, whether you use specialist software, spreadsheets, databases or pen and paper.
Victorian Mapmakers of Edinburgh
Edinburgh was once a hub of mapmaking. Using the National Library of Scotland’s maps website, this talk will explore the sites and works of such famous cartographers as John Bartholomew & Son Ltd. In particular, this talk will focus on getting the most out of the tools the website has to offer, to help you in your own research of historic buildings or businesses.
Beyond Pins on a Map: Inspiring Genealogical Visualizations with Excel 3D Maps
What can genealogists do with Excel 3D Maps using just a spreadsheet? This brief presentation showcases creative and practical examples of how maps can be used to visualize migrations, family movements, demographic changes, and historical communities. Rather than focusing on technical instruction, the session aims to inspire researchers with ideas for presenting genealogical data in dynamic and visually engaging ways. Discover how geographic visualizations can reveal patterns, connections, and stories hidden within family history research with a tool that most of us own anyway.