Join us for our next meeting!

Saturday

.        Saturday, September 10, 2016

               from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. 

Researching Native Americans
Using 20th Century Records: The Basics
with Clarise Soper,

Certified Genealogist®

The program, sponsored by the St. Tammany Genealogical Society, will take place at the St. Tammany Parish Public Library at 310 W. 21st Street in Covington, Louisiana on 10 September 2016 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. 

The Society’s Meet-and-Greet will precede the presentation and will begin at 9:30 a.m.  The public is invited.  Light refreshments will be served.

Many families have stories of Native American ancestry.  That lore passes from generation to generation, often lacking information on tribal affiliation and any supporting documentation.  Are these stories true?  Is there a way to prove them?  What records are available?  Analyzing the family legend is a must!  Documenting these stories can be challenging, but rewarding.  

This presentation will provide a basic overview of how to analyze the family story for provable facts.  Ms. Soper will describe the main 20th century record groups that contain information about Native American ancestry, the reasons these records were created, and where to find them.  The focus of this presentation will be on the Five Civilized Tribes that dwelled primarily in the southeastern United States.  However, the research strategies and the records Ms. Soper describes may be used to research other tribes from different parts of the United States. 

Clarise Soper is a professional genealogical researcher and lecturer.  She is a Board member of the Association of Professional Genealogists®, serves as Corresponding Secretary for the Mississippi Genealogical Society, and volunteers as a coordinator for the ProGen program.  Ms. Soper began tracing her own ancestry in 1978 and researching professionally in 1995.  She was certified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists® in 2014.  Ms. Soper specializes in genealogical research in Alabama and Mississippi. 

This program is free and open to the public.  Seating is limited to adults and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.