Elizabeth Kelley Kerstens, CG, CGL

Internet/Computers
Collecting Data from the Internet: What Do You Trust?	Guidelines for determining the credibility of information found on the Internet, a sample Internet Research Calendar, and examples of good and bad information available on the Web.
Organizing and Time Management--Your Keys to Success	All family researchers acquire mounds of paper as a result of their research. What is done with that paper determines how successful the genealogist is at analyzing research and finding the sources from time to time. This lecture discusses various methods of organizing the records so they are easily retrievable, including using various computer programs to house the pertinent genealogical data contained within the records. A discussion of time management is also included.
Irish Research
The Irish That Helped Build the Motor City and Its Environs	A discussion of Irish immigration into the Territory of Michigan and the Detroit area during the nineteenth century and the records available for research.
Demystifying Irish Ancestor Origins	Learn the basics of determining the place of origin of your Irish ancestor, using records available at major repositories in the United States. A case study will be used to show how some Irish immigrants’ origins were determined.
U.S. Sources for Beginning Irish Research	(3-hour workshop--can be tailored) This lecture will cover some of the basics of finding the origin of Irish ancestors using resources available in the United States. Research strategies will be presented for working in passenger lists, immigration records, military records, census records, city directories, and other original sources of value in tracking down the origin of Irish immigrants. A case study covers sources available at the National Archives, Library of Congress, and the Family History Library.
Researching Your Irish Here Before Going There	Research in Ireland is not for the faint-hearted. But those with Irish ancestry can accomplish an incredible amount of research on those ancestors without even leaving the United States. This lecture focuses on the ways you can fill in your research blanks using facilities in the U.S., saving the tough tasks for your trip to Ireland.
Separating Fact from Blarney in Irish Oral Tradition	Oral tradition is alive and well in many families. In Irish-American families, oral tradition can be the link to information about the origins of the Irish ancestor. But how do you know if the information passed down is accurate? This lecture uses a case study to show how facts within a story passed down in an Irish family were proven and disproven.
National Archives Research
Territorial Papers	Many records are available at the National Archives that cover the territorial period for those states that became part of the U.S. after the Revolutionary War. This lecture will show examples of records from various record groups and will explain how to find the records.
They Went Down With the Ship, but Do Their Records Survive?	There have been about 25,000 ship wrecks on the Great Lakes in the last 300 years. How does someone go about finding any records of a shipwreck that contained an ancestor? This talk will discuss record sources and repositories that hold shipwreck records and will give examples of records found.
Michigan Research
In Search of Michigan Ancestors	Discussion centers around finding records for your Michigan ancestors, whether they settled there or just passed through. Examples of various record types will be given, as well as references to useful Web sites and repositories.
The Irish That Helped Build the Motor City and Its Environs	A discussion of Irish immigration into the Territory of Michigan and the Detroit area during the nineteenth century and the records available for research.

Education
"American Genealogy: A Basic Course," NGS (1985)
Family History Certificate, BYU (1993)
National Institute on Genealogical Research (1995, 2000)
Bachelor of Journalism, University of Texas (1983)
Master of Arts in Public Relations, University of Maryland (1992)
Certificate in Archival Administration, Wayne State University (2006)
Master of Arts in State and Local History, Eastern Michigan University (2009)

CG and CGL are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG),
used under license after periodic evaluations by the Board.
BCG grants certification to qualified applicants in three categories.
A CG is a Certified Genealogist; a CGL is a Certified Genealogical Lecturer.