What’s On at Midland Ancestors –
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Birmingham: Society Conference and AGM
Family History Day incorporating Annual General Meeting
An All day event with Speakers Dr Penny Walters and Doreen Hopwood.
Programme Timings –
09.30 – Doors Open & Registration
10:00 – Welcome
10:15 – Presentation by Dr. Penny Walters, topic – Demystifying DNA
11:15 – Coffee Break
11:45 – AGM – Details Click here – AGM
12:30 – Lunch Break
14:00 – Presentation by Doreen Hopwood, topic – Records of Childhood
15:00 – Closing Words (Chairman/President)
15:15 – Disperse
Dr Penny Walters – Title: Demystifying DNA
Have you done a test and you’re not sure what the results mean? Or, are you not sure whether to even do a DNA test? Haven’t there been some scandals surrounding them? What would the benefits of doing a DNA test be when you’ve already done a thorough paper trail?
When our speaker got her DNA test results back a few years ago, she didn’t understand the jargon and the statistics, and the implications of the results were lost on her. Different DNA testing companies test slightly different things, each company has its own advantages and disadvantages, and different useful extra tools, so which test is best for your research? Mixing DNA results with a paper trail will be explained. Maybe you were adopted and would like some help potentially looking for biological relatives. This presentation will walk you through the initial stages of understanding your DNA test results. Ethical dilemmas will also be discussed. This session will take a bottom up approach to demystifying some of the jargon, and implications of doing a DNA test for genealogical purposes.
Dr. Penny Walters has been a University lecturer for 35 years, currently teaching Masters’ Business studies at Bath Spa University, England; and previously undergraduate Psychology and Ethics. Penny’s interest in genealogy started after having her first baby and then wondering about her biological parents, as she was adopted. Penny has six mixed race children, who have all enjoyed discovering their roots through DNA ethnicity results.
Doreen Hopwood – Title: Records of Childhood
The concept of childhood has changed dramatically over time. This presentation explores the changing perception and experiences of childhood from the 16th Century and discusses some of the many sources available to discover records relating to our ancestors’ formative years.
Doreen Hopwood was the genealogist for the City of Birmingham for over 20 years and has been carrying out family history research since the 1970s. Doreen enjoyed teaching family, social and community history at all levels from absolute beginners to postgraduate and is an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Birmingham. Doreen has been a genealogical “agony aunt” by answering reader’s questions for genealogical periodicals and has taken part in the celebrity “Who Do You Think You Are?” for the BBC.
The society Family History Centre will be open at times during the day.