Presented by the Special Colle ctions &\; Archives Division of the Miami-Dade Public Library System.
\nThis project is funded under the provisio ns of the Library Services and Technology Act from the \;Institute of Museum and Library Services. Florida&r squo\;s LSTA program is administered by the \;Department of State&rsquo\;s Division of Lib rary and Information Services.
\nJoin us to learn more about genealogy and fa mily history from five nationally recognized speakers and local experts pr esenting on topics such as tracing 19th and 20th-century immigrant ancesto rs and conducting research in Florida.
\nThe symposium will close wi th an &ldquo\;Ask a Genealogist&rdquo\; discussion panel with our professi onal genealogist speakers and moderator. Submit your questions in advance by emailing specialcollections@mdpls.org with the subject line &ldquo\;Ask a Genealogist - Tracing Roots in Florida and Beyond&rdquo\; and the exper ts might answer your question during the session. Submissions close at 6:0 0 p.m. on July 31\, 2026.
\nBring your photographs\, negatives and d ocuments with you! The Miami-Dade Public Library System&rsquo\;s Digital C ollections will be digitizing your genealogical materials on site! You wil l also have the option of donating digital copies to our online Genealogy Collection or our Community Memory Project\, which aims to \;create a digital archive of Miami-Dade County residents&rsquo\; collective memory. All items scanned as part of the event are returned to their owners\, who will also receive a flash drive with high-resolution digital copies to tak e home.
\nLocal genealogy and history organizations will also be on site to tell you more about what they do:
\n<
strong>Auditorium
Lobby
\nBring up to five items\, and the MDPLS Digital Collections team will scan them in high reso lution.
\nLimited slots available.
2nd Floor Rotunda
\nFind out more about your local genealogy and history organizat
ions.
Immigrant ancestors can give us quite the challenge when trying to find their exact place of origin. The endless &ld quo\;Poland&rdquo\; notations or &ldquo\;Norway&rdquo\; listed as place of birth can drive genealogists\, both beginner and expert alike\, mad. This presentation delves into a variety of records found stateside that can na rrow down the search\, as well as ideas for when the paper trail continual ly runs cold. The main suspects will be discussed\, as will numerous lesse r-known and lesser-used records. Some of the record sets that will be cove red include:
\nAbout t he Presenter
\nRich Venezia founded Rich Roots Genealogy\,
LLC in 2013. He was a member of the research team of Genealogy Roadshow (P
BS) for two seasons and is an expert in the research of 20th-century immig
rant ancestors\, especially with underutilized record sources and federal
records. He works with law firms and individuals on complex U.S. derivativ
e citizenship cases and specializes in Italian and Irish research. Additio
nally\, he assists clients with dual citizenship applications and is a pro
ud Italian dual citizen. He lectures nationwide and spoke at TEDx Pittsbur
gh 2017. He is also an award-winning records access advocate.
<
/p>\n
2nd Floor Stage
\nWhether you are researching local records in Florida or reach ing back to hometowns of your ancestors\, land records such as surveys\, d eeds\, and homestead applications can provide much more information than a point on a map. \; This presentation gives insight into what to look for\, what steps were taken for Pioneers to homestead land\, and how to fi nd the history of where you live today. Presented by Lorrie Martin.
\n< p>About the Presenter\nLorrie Chupina Martin serve
s as president for the Genealogical Society of Greater Miami\, and as chai
r of the National Genealogical Society Delegate Council for member organiz
ations. After working in finance and operations\, the search for biologica
l family in 2018 led her to the field of genealogy. She earned the Boston
University Certificate in Genealogical Research and became a professional
genealogist focusing on forensic research. Lorrie is also a member of NGS\
, APG\, the APG Forensic SIG\, Florida State Genealogical Society\, and ot
hers. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University
of Miami and Master of Public Administration from Florida International Un
iversity. Lorrie has served on other community boards including the Junior
League of Miami and its Foundation and is currently on the Pinewood Cemet
ery Advisory Board for the City of Coral Gables.
A one-hour small-group conversation\, recorded to help share local voices as part of a national civic listening initiative. Space is limited to 10 participants \;to keep the conversation intimat e and welcoming.
\nThis isn't a debate or a town hall. It's a chance to slow down\, listen\, and be heard &mdash\; to share your story and hea r from your neighbors in a setting built for genuine connection rather tha n conflict. Your voice will join thousands of others from communities acro ss the country\, helping paint a picture of what Americans are thinking an d feeling as we mark this milestone anniversary. \; Please note\, the conversation may be securely saved and added to the ACP public conversatio n\, where it can be searched and listened to by others for learning and st orytelling\, in ways that respect your voice and your privacy. Participant s can use a pseudonym and can request that any comments be redacted at any time.
\n\nAuditorium
\nBehind every state hospital reco rd is a human story. Learn how to uncover and understand the lives of ance stors who lived in state hospitals and asylums\, and how to acknowledge th eir experiences with honesty\, empathy\, and respect.
\nAbou t the Presenter
\nKate is a former professional investigato r turned genealogist\, specializing in Pennsylvania genealogical research. She also has experience with records from Ohio\, West Virginia\, and New York City\, as well as expertise in immigration\, naturalization\, and cou rt records. She holds the Certified Genealogist®\; credential as of Feb ruary 2024. Kate owns Family History Investigations LLC.
\nKate has spoken at national and local genealogical societies\, libraries\, and conf erences\, including the National Genealogical Society Family History Confe rence\, New England Regional Genealogical Consortium\, Ohio Genealogical S ociety Conference\, and RootsTech. She has served on the faculty at the Ge nealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh.
\nAlthough Kate has bee
n working on her own family history since she was sixteen\, her interest i
n investigating and researching on a professional level was piqued when sh
e served as an Archives Technician at the National Archives and Records Ad
ministration (NARA) while completing her undergraduate studies. She worked
as a resource for both amateur and professional genealogical researchers\
, assisting them in conducting archival records research. Additionally\, s
he gained experience with primary source documents in her first position w
ith NARA\, where she worked in the holdings maintenance department\, prese
rving and cataloging records dating back to the 1800s.
2nd Floor Stage
\nUsing folk music\, historical photographs\, and the stories of real people\, this presentatio n highlights overlooked repositories and unexpected record collections tha t bring to life the people\, places\, and events that shaped generations o f Floridians. Presented by Tamara Hallo.
\nAbout the Present er
\nTamara Hallo\, MLS\, a Miami native and owner of Hallo
Genealogy Services\, LLC\, is an educator\, librarian\, and professional
genealogist. Genealogy is her passion and a perfect complement to her repe
rtoire. She has over 30 years of experience as an educator\, holds a Maste
r of Library Science degree\, and a certificate of genealogical research f
rom Boston University. In addition to client work\, she presents on geneal
ogical topics to both in-person and virtual audiences and teaches genealog
y classes throughout South Florida. Tamara is a past president and current
ly serves as the Marketing and Communications Chair of the Genealogical So
ciety of Greater Miami.
A one- hour small-group conversation\, recorded to help share local voices as par t of a national civic listening initiative. Space is limited to 10 partici pants \;to keep the conversation intimate and welcoming.
\nThis isn't a debate or a town hall. It's a chance to slow down\, listen\, and b e heard &mdash\; to share your story and hear from your neighbors in a set ting built for genuine connection rather than conflict. Your voice will jo in thousands of others from communities across the country\, helping paint a picture of what Americans are thinking and feeling as we mark this mile stone anniversary. \; Please note\, the conversation may be securely s aved and added to the ACP public conversation\, where it can be searched a nd listened to by others for learning and storytelling\, in ways that resp ect your voice and your privacy. Participants can use a pseudonym and can request that any comments be redacted at any time.
\n\ nAuditorium
\nImmigrant ancestors didn&rsquo\;t alw ays leave behind many records that hint at their exact place of origin. Th is lecture focuses on some lesser-known and lesser-used record sets that m ay help take the research subjects across the pond. Many of these record s ets are also rich with genealogical details and can help contextualize and fill in our ancestors&rsquo\; lives here in the United States. Some of th e record sets that will be covered include:
\nRich Venezia founded Rich Roots Ge
nealogy\, LLC in 2013. He was a member of the research team of Genealogy R
oadshow (PBS) for two seasons and is an expert in the research of 20th-cen
tury immigrant ancestors\, especially with underutilized record sources an
d federal records. He works with law firms and individuals on complex U.S.
derivative citizenship cases and specializes in Italian and Irish researc
h. Additionally\, he assists clients with dual citizenship applications an
d is a proud Italian dual citizen. He lectures nationwide and spoke at TED
x Pittsburgh 2017. He is also an award-winning records access advocate.
2nd Floor Stage
\nDid y our Florida ancestors seem to disappear from one county only to appear dec ades later in another? Chances are they were following opportunity rather than leaving the state. Explore the forces that shaped migration within Fl orida&mdash\;from frontier settlement and railroad expansion to citrus\, p hosphate mining\, military growth\, and tourism&mdash\;and learn how those movements created valuable genealogical records. You'll leave with a deep er understanding of Florida's migration patterns and practical techniques for predicting where your ancestors went next.
\nAbout the P resenter
\nJulia A. Anderson is an Accredited Genealogist&r
eg\; and Accredited Genealogist Lecturer&trade\; with expertise in the Uni
ted States Gulf South Region. She received a bachelor&rsquo\;s degree in h
istory and university honors from Brigham Young University in 1993 and a m
aster&rsquo\;s degree in history and post-secondary education from Grand C
anyon University in 2021. Julia is the manager of the U.S. and Canada Rese
arch Team at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City\, Utah\, \;tea
ches online genealogy research and accreditation classes for Salt Lake Com
munity College\, and is the owner and managing member of Anderson Genealog
ical Research\, LLC. She currently serves as a commissioner on the board o
f ICAPGen and as the Conference Chair for the Utah Genealogical Associatio
n. Julia and her husband\, Scott\, live in Orem\, Utah. Together\, they ha
ve nine children and eleven grandchildren.
A discussion panel with professional genealogists Rich Venezia\, Kate Townsend\, CG ®\;\, Juli a A. Anderson\, AG ®\; AGL &trade\;\, Tamara Hallo\, and Lorrie Martin answering audience questions. Moderated by Dr. Ramona La Roche.
\nSu bmit your Florida- and immigration-related genealogy questions for our spe akers in advance by emailing specialcollections@mdpls.org with the subject line &ldquo\;Ask a Genealogist - Tracing Roots in Florida and Beyond&rdqu o\; and the experts might answer your question during the session. Submiss ions close at 6:00 p.m. on July 31\, 2026.
\nAbout the Moder ator
\nRamona La Roche\, Ph.D. examines Cultural Herita ge Informatics through librarianship\, critical community archives\, genealogy\, and arts related to coastal Florida\, lowcountry SC\, Barbados \, Panama\, Caribbean Latin-American territories\, and West Africa. Rooted in Georgetown and Charleston\, South Carolina\, her work as a Gullah Geec hee Creative\, Cultural Heritage Informaticist\, genealogist\, and author underscores her dedication to storytelling and information dissemination t hat honors global African and Caribbean American narratives.
\nHer d igital humanities work includes virtual reality projects like the Harl em Renaissance virtual reality traveling exhibit and Threads: An Interactive Map Exploring Broward&rsquo\;s Black History. During her tenure at the AARLCC\, she acquired the Love-Thornell vintage photographs (1\,300 images) and Alan Bell BLK LGBTQ magazine collections\, as well as implemented an eight-member organizational partnership with Florida Intern ational University&rsquo\;s Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab. The Comm unity Data Curation Project three-year grant was funded by the Mellon Foundation.
\nA former Institute of Library and Museum Services (ILMS) Cultural Heritage Informatics Leadership (CHIL) Fellow recipi ent\, Dr. La Roche attended the University of South Carolina&rsquo\;s Scho ol of Library and Information Science in Columbia\, SC. An accomplished ph otographer and multimedia artist\, her published works include:
\nFree parking will be available in the \;Miam i-Dade Cultural Center Garage \;&ndash\; \;50 NW 2nd \;Ave. &n dash\; with ticket validation.
\nThe presentations will be recorded and posted for a limited time in our Digital Collections after the event!< /p>\n
The Miami-Dade Public Library System&rsquo\;s Special C ollections &\; Archives \;Division \;preserves and provides acc ess to rare and historically significant materials for the public and scho larly community. Its diverse holdings include the Helen Muir Florida Colle ction\, the 16mm Film Collection\, the Cuban Collection of Rare Books & \; Ephemera\, the Genealogy Collection\, and rare and antiquarian books da ting back to the 17th century. The Division also manages the \;Library &rsquo\;s Permanent Art Collection\, which features \;over 7\,000 work s displayed across \;library locations\, and The Vasari Project\, dedi cated to documenting \;Miami-Dade County&rsquo\;s art history since 19 45. Committed to accessibility\, it offers materials \;for viewing and research both in person and online through the \;Digital Collection\, which includes more than 40 freely accessible collections\, \;featuri ng materials from the \;Library as well as contributions from outside collaborators and partner institutions. Spanning rare books\, manuscripts\ , photographs\, prints\, paintings\, sculptures\, artifacts\, audiovisual resources\, and electronic media\, these collections ensure that Miami-Dad e \;County&rsquo\;s rich history\, artistic legacy\, \;and cultura l heritage remain available to all.
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