Below you will find: 1) a link to an outline for hosting a public genealogy workshop, and 2) a brief description of Debbie Duay's advanced presentations. NOTE: The four presentations with titles that are underlined are available to view online. To see Debbie's bio, click here.

Outline for Public Genealogy Workshops

If your chapter is planning a genealogy workshop, click here for a helpful outline.

Advanced Presentations

How to Find a Provable Patriot

in 90 Minutes or Less

Click here to view this presentation.  Debbie presents a systematic, step-by-step process for finding the easiest-to-prove patriot "hidden" in a prospective member's lineage.  Likewise, ladies working on supplemental applications learn how to find additional patriots in their family trees.  This is a critical skill for all chapter registrars, lineage research chairmen, and members working on supplemental applications.

Documenting Lineages Before the 1850 Census

The most difficult parent-to-child relationships to document are usually those that occurred before the 1850 census. On a DAR application, most often this involves proving the links between 1) the patriot and the patriot's child and 2) the patriot's child and the patriot's grandchild. In this presentation, Debbie discusses a number of important resources (e.g., probate records, deeds, guardianships, county & town histories, Bible records, etc.) for documenting these early relationships.

Non-Military Sources of Service

This presentation was recorded as part of the Registrar General's Forum for Continental Congress in 2020.  Click here to view.  Tens of thousands of colonial ancestors qualify as DAR patriots because they paid supply taxes, signed the oath of allegiance, furnished supplies, or served as town officials.  This presentation is a state-by-state review of non-military sources of Revolutionary War service.

I Know It's There, But I Just Can't Find It! -

Debbie's "Secret" Search Strategies

Click here to view this presentation.  This presentation covers key strategies for effectively searching FamilySearch and Ancestry.com.

Finding Your Female Patriot

Have you ever wondered if you have a female in your lineage that is eligible to be a Revolutionary War patriot?  In this presentation, Debbie discusses the steps necessary for finding potential female patriots, and she reviews the best sources of service for female patriots in each state.

Kings, Queens, Pilgrims & Tavern Keepers

Who is in Your Family Tree?

Click here for information about joining other lineage societies.  Have you ever wondered if you descend from royalty?  Perhaps you are a direct descendant of King John and the Magna Charta Barons.  Could you be one of the few that can trace their lineage back to Charlemagne?  Maybe there is a Mayflower Passenger hidden somewhere in your tree. 

 If are you curious about some of the other lineage societies such as The Baronial Order of Magna Charta, Order of the Crown of Charlemagne, The General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Order of the Founders and Patriots of America, and Flagon and Trencher (Descendants of Colonial Tavern Keepers), then you will not want to miss this presentation.  Debbie will discuss how to find an eligible ancestor and what each society requires in terms of documentation and lineage.

Leaving a Legacy:

Documenting the Descendants of Your

 Revolutionary War Patriot

Click here to view this presentation.  Most women have absolutely no idea that they are eligible to join the DAR. The purpose of this workshop is to create a big neon sign that tells our distant cousins that they are eligible.  This presentation teaches participants how to create an Ancestry.com public tree that documents the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, gg-grandchildren etc. of their patriots as far down as possible to descendants who died as recently as 1960 - present. A critical aspect of this project is marking each direct descendant with the appropriate designation by typing it in parentheses after the surname: (Son of DAR Patriot), (Granddaughter of DAR Patriot), (Great-Granddaughter of DAR Patriot), (GG-Grandson of DAR Patriot), (GGG-Grandson of DAR Patriot) etc. 

You Have Taken a DNA Test.

Now What Do You Do?

Read this article for the content of this presentation as well as links to helpful videos and instructions.  Many people have no idea what do to with all their DNA matches after taking a test.  In this presentation, Debbie provides a step-by-step process on how to get the most out of your DNA results.