We watched three more virtual classes over the past few days. We knew we would have plenty of time for viewing during "isolation," and it is working out well. There is always at least one bit of helpful information from every session.
I selected "The Dutch Reformed Churches in America" because Dick has a brick wall back in Westchester County, New York. He has found a few records for his Ward and Berrian surnames in the Dutch Reformed Church there. The speaker was very knowledgeable about her subject, and we learned how that church split into two factions--one settling in the Holland, Michigan area and the other in Pella, Iowa. The bit of information that might help our research: records from the New York area churches are held in the state archives in Albany.
"Where Did They Go When They Left Ohio?" was organized in an interesting way. The speaker first listed reasons for movement westward: river transportation, cessions of Native American land, federal land sales, military bounty acts, the 1862 Homestead Act, and construction of railroads. Another reason for migration was the fact that original settlers in Ohio had sons who needed land to support their families. She used compiled census data from 1850-1890 to determine the number of Ohio-born residents in the states to the west of Ohio.
"Mobile Technology for Genealogy" discussed the apps available for family research, including two versions of family tree software (Family Tree Maker and Roots Magic) and several websites where you can build a tree. She also briefly mentioned using Evernote for genealogy. The session was only about 30 minutes, so she could have spent much more time demonstrating her suggestions.
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