Description: It's easy to throw up your hands and declare any missing or confusing record as a "brick wall."   Some are truly brick walls, such as the destroyed 1890 US Census.   But learning to distinguish between brick walls and picket fences will help you become more skilled in genealogy research.


BIO: Carol Cooke Darrow has been a professional genealogist for the past 24 years.  She currently teaches "Beginning Genealogy" classes on Zoom and facilitates the WriteNow! genealogical writing group also on Zoom. For either of these go to the Colorado Genealogical Society Website (cogensoc.us) for more information and to register.

Description: The National Genealogical Society (NGS) defines professional genealogy as &nquot;a person who is paid for research that is based on his or her training and qualifications". The Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) additionally requires that its members uphold a Code of Ethics and Professional Practices. Mark and Sylvia are both members of the APG and will answer your questions about the courses they have taken to prepare to become professionals and how they have applied what they have learned to be efficient and effective researchers.

BIO: Mark Fearer has been doing family history since the 1980s, and has been a professional genealogist since 2007. He has taught a number of genealogy courses, written genealogy columns, and lectured at numerous venues, including at national genealogy conferences.

BIO: Sylvia Tracy–Doolos has been interested in genealogy for forty years and working as a professional genealogist for over ten as the owner of New Leaf Genealogy.  She is Past President of the International Society of British Genealogy and Family History, President of the Colorado Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and the President of Wales, Ireland, Scotland, England Family History Society (WISE–FHS). Sylvia is actively involved as a genealogical volunteer with both the Denver Public Library and the Carbon Valley Library and is an active member of several other genealogy societies. She is a proud graduate of ProGen 48 and has a B.A. in History with a minor in English focusing on linguistics, so she could study how language changes affected record keeping.

Description: Although immigration was almost as controversial for our ancestors as it is today, a good family historian or genealogist needs to understand the myths, history, resources and websites to find our ancestors. We will focus on peak U.S. immigration, from the late 1800s to early 1900s for those who made the brave choice to come here — whether they became a citizen or not.


BIO: Mark Fearer has been doing family history since the 1980s and has been a professional genealogist since 2007. He has taught a number of genealogy courses, written genealogy columns, and has lectured at numerous venues including national genealogy conferences.