Speakers to cover adoption, Native American ancestry
Club News
TYLER — The East Texas Genealogical Society announced this week their annual fall seminar to be held in the Carnegie Library in Tyler next week. Topics this year include Native American and adoption research, as well as hands-on sessions to guide participants’ research.
In the Native American Research seminar, participants will learn what resources are available for Indian Territory ancestors and gain a deeper understanding for the history of this region. Explore records pertaining to Native Americans, freedmen and intruders living in Indian Territory in the second half of the 19th century. The case studies presented will focus on Five Civilized Tribes research (Cherokee, Choctaw, Seminole and Muscogee Creek), but the strategies can be applied to other tribes as well.
The Adoption Research seminar will provide a historical overview of adoption practices and amended birth certificates in Texas. Attendees will learn the reasons adoptees’ birth certificates were altered, hear about search techniques, discover the many problems adult adoptees have with “government-sanctioned falsified documents,” and learn why national organizations support equal access to original birth certificates.
Each hands-on research session workshop will include a time for individualized help. Participants are encouraged to bring their research notes and explore the resources learned about in each workshop. Work through challenges with help from other researchers and the speakers. With practice and experience, find new clues about ancestors’ lives or the adoption being researched.
Guest speaker Hannah Kubacak is a Chicasaw citizen who is passionate about genealogy and local history. She is currently the genealogy reference librarian for the Waco-McLennan County Library’s Genealogy Center. Previously. Kubacak has worked for the Chickasaw Nation at the Holliso Research Center, the UTSA Libraries’ Special Collection Department and McLennan Community College, teaching genealogy as continuing education. Her own family research takes her through Texas and Oklahoma as well as the Southeastern United States.
Connie Gray is an adoptee and founder of Texas Adoptee Rights. She entered foster care at the age of 3, when a state social worker illegally terminated her mother’s parental rights. Gray and her sisters were adopted into different families. Upon turning 18 in 1976, she petitioned the Travis County court, obtained her original birth certificate, and within two years located her entire biological family. Recognized as a Spokeo Search Angel in 2013, she was inducted into G’s Adoption Registry Search Angel Hall of Fame in 2018. DNA testing has become a common genealogical tool, and the Facebook group “Texas DNA and Adoptee Search Support” was created to assist adoptees in identifying their biological families. Gray’s primary focus is educating the general public and politicians on the history of adoption in Texas and working to ensure equal access to original birth certificates.
To be better prepared to help you during the hands-on sessions, the two guest speakers ask that participants answer the following questions on their pre-registration form. If registering online, send the information to Shelia Hallmark, 2ndvp@etgs.org or 206-819-0772.
1. What Tribes (Native American workshop) or states
(Adoption workshop) are you researching?
2. What repositories have you used?
3. What websites have you used?
Information and preregistration forms can be found at www.etgs.org or ETGS Facebook page. Either preregister online or mail registration form to: ETGS, Attn: Fall Seminar, P. O. Box 6967, Tyler, Texas 75711-6967.
For more information, contact Shelia Hallmark at 2ndvp@etgs.org or 206-819-0772.