Drott Lodge of Vasa ~ Genealogy Conference

Join VASA Drott Lodge #168 on Saturday, November 11, 2023 for a day of research at its Virtual Swedish Genealogy Conference. Our presenters are all experts in the field of Swedish genealogy.

Kathy Meade is the North American representative for ArkivDigital, a Swedish company that offers online access to newly photographed color images of Swedish church books and other historical records. She has been working with Swedish genealogy for about twenty years. Ms. Meade serves on the advisory board for the Swedish American Genealogy Research Center at the Swedish American Museum in Chicago. She volunteers at the Swedish American Museum in Chicago and the Arlington Heights Memorial Library in Arlington Heights, Il helping patrons with their Swedish genealogical research. Her topic: “Searching for your Swedish Ancestor By Name in Arkiv Digital.” Discover the searchable name indexes in ArkivDigital. Learn how to use the name-searchable indexes for the Swedish church books, census records, estate inventories, passenger ship manifests, military records, and other collections. Learn the power of advanced searching and smart searching techniques. Discover how to break down those brick walls by effectively using index searches.

Geoff Fröberg Morris is the author of A Practical Guide to Swedish Church Records for Genealogy and Family History.  He has been doing Swedish genealogical research for over 35 years, and has been employed for 21 years at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah as a Nordic research specialist.  Geoff has helped thousands of people search for their Swedish ancestors and authored hundreds of pages into the FamilySearch Wiki. His presentation is entitled “Finding the Father Unknown.”

Jill Morelli  CG, CGL is a writer, lecturer and co-founder of the online Applied Genealogy Institute, providing practicum-based educational opportunities for intermediate and advanced genealogists. In 2017, she founded the Certification Discussion Group, an online series discussing her certification journey in order to demystify the process for others.  She specializes in Scandinavian research and is constantly honing her methodological skills. She lectures nationally and has written articles for National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Swedish American Genealogist, NCGS Journal and many others. Jill will present:  "Using Mantal Tax Records to Solve Difficult Problem.”

Jill Seaholm is the head of Genealogical Services at the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center. She holds a B.A. degree in Scandinavian studies from Augustana College, Rock Island, IL; the Swenson Center is located on the Augustana campus maintains a close relationship with the college and with the Scandinavian Studies program there. Jill has been assisting genealogists at the Swenson Center since the early 1990s. She also runs the center's genealogy workshop in Salt Lake City and heads the publishing of Swedish American Genealogist. Jill’s presentation is entitled “Resources at the Swenson Center and finding Swedish-American Church Records available online at Ancestry”