Our Poor Ancestors: Strategies for Finding Records and the Stories Those Records Can Tell

Our Poor Ancestors: Strategies for Finding Records and the Stories Those Records Can Tell

presented by Pam Vestal

Researching financially-struggling ancestors often requires a strategic approach using unfamiliar records. Whether they were born poor or fell upon hard times, we’ll explore their stories through town minutes, almshouse, sheriff’s, and apprenticeship records, legal and financial documents, and much more. We’ll also consider indirect evidence, such as changes in crop prices and payment ledgers that may suggest reasons for our ancestors’ struggles.

Pam Vestal is a professional genealogist and speaker who turned her focus to her longtime love of genealogy after a 20-year writing career. Her articles have appeared in the National Genealogical Society Magazine and The Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly, and her lectures take her from coast to coast. Pam specializes in conducting genealogical research and then transforming that information into illustrated stories that even non-genealogists can enjoy.