Speaker Profile-Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FAGS, FNGS, FUGA

Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG,* CGL,* FAGS, FNGS, FUGA

Ask Elizabeth Shown Mills for a one-word secret to solving genealogical problems and her answer is strategies. Then she adds two more: thorough research. Strategies, she explains, enable us to tease answers out of records when elusive ancestors don’t seem to have created any. But the foundation for every strategy, she emphasizes, is thorough research.

If you pause amid your questions, she’ll add another word: understanding—and then point out that we cannot solve any problem if we don’t understand our person, the records we’re using, and the time and place we are working.

For three decades as a genealogist and historian, Elizabeth has specialized in developing innovative research strategies and principles that have helped thousands of her students break through their brick walls.  In the process, she’s also helped genealogy achieve recognition as an academic discipline as well as a professional career and a meaningful hobby. 

At NGS-St. Charles, Elizabeth’s four presentations will all focus on strategies and understanding:

• Wednesday, 4:00 p.m., W152–“Analyzing Deeds & Wills: I See What It ‘Says’ but What Does It Mean?"
• Thursday, 2:30 p.m., T242–“Genealogical Research & Writing: Are You a Saint, Sinner, or Bumfuzzled Soul?”

• Friday, 9:30 a.m., F311–“The Problem-Solver’s Great Trifecta: GPS+FAN+DNA”

• Saturday, 9:30 a.m., S412–“Smiths and Joneses: How to Cope with Families of Common Names”

At 9:30 a.m. Friday, Elizabeth will be part of the “virtual conference” with a live-streaming of her “Problem-Solver’s Great Trifecta.” Her presentation is built on a provocative question: Can you really ‘prove’ a maternal line when, for four straight generations, absolutely no document identifies a parent or sibling? To demonstrate how it can be done, she’ll use three powerful tools—the FAN Principle to create a pool of potential kin, the Genealogical Proof Standard to ensure that research is thorough and conclusions are sound; and DNA to test the accuracy of those conclusions.

 *CG or Certified Genealogist and CGL or Certified Genealogical Lecturer are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by Board-certified genealogists after periodic competency evaluation, and the board name is registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office.

Speaker Profile-Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FAGS, FNGS, FUGA