Schedule
South Carolina Genealogical Society
53rd Annual Summer Workshop
July 17-18, 2026
Friday, July 17, 2026
8:30am – until
Patrons Lounge
Registration
Refreshments, Donuts and Coffee
9:00am – 9:30am
Auditorium
Welcome and Announcements
Mike Becknell – SCGS President
Shelby Hart Lollis – SCGS 1st Vice President; Workshop Chair
Dr. Eric Emerson, Director SCDAH
9:30am – 10:30am
Auditorium
Mark Lowe
Title: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times: Using South Carolina Records to Reconstruct Lives in Revolutionary America
10:30am – 10:45am
Break
10:45am – 11:00am
Auditorium
Announcements and Door Prizes
11:00am – 12:00pm
Auditorium
Mark Lowe
Title: Finding Your Landless Ancestor
11:00am – 12:00pm
Archives
Wade Dorsey
Title: Introductory Tour of the Research Room for New Patrons
12:00pm – 1:15pm
Lunch – Wachovia Rooms 1, 2 and 3 open for lunch
1:15pm – 1:30pm
Auditorium
Announcements and Door Prizes
1:30pm – 2:30pm
Auditorium
Dr. David Dangerfield
Title: Liberty and Its Limits: Free People of Color, the American Revolution and South Carolina
2:30pm – 2:45pm
Break
2:45pm – 3:45pm
Auditorium
Cheri Hudson Passey
Title: Ask AI: 5 Questions to Unlock Your Records
2:45pm – 3:45pm
Wachovia 1
Barbara Jurs
Title: Preparing a DAR Analysis: Understanding and Interpreting Evidence to Write a Sound Conclusion
2:45pm – 3:45pm
Wachovia 2
Brent Holcomb
Title: Records That You May Never Have Seen Before
2:45pm – 3:45pm
Wachovia 3
John L. Andrews, Jr.
Title: Guidelines for Beginning Genealogy
3:45pm – 4:00pm
Break
4:00pm – 5:00pm
Auditorium
Mike Becknell
Title: Real Estate Papers: An Overlooked Resource for Genealogists
4:00pm – 5:00pm
Wachovia 1
John Smith
Title: Researching the American Revolution: What’s In the Digital Collections at the South Caroliniana Library
4:00pm – 5:00pm
Wachovia 2
Larry W. Thomas
Title: Tips and Tricks of Using FamilySearch Plus Their New AI Tool
4:00pm – 5:00pm
Wachovia 3
Charity Rouse
Title: DNA for Genealogy: Concepts, Definitions, and Companies
5:00pm – 8:00pm
SC Archives – Open for Research!
5:00pm – until
Wachovia 3
SCGS Board Meeting
*All sessions are Eastern Daylight Time* Link to convert your time to EDT:
https://www.thetimezoneconverter.com/
Saturday, July 18, 2026
8:30am – until
Patrons Lounge
Registration
Refreshments, Donuts and Coffee in Patron Lounge
9:00am – 9:30am
Auditorium
Welcome and Announcements
Mike Becknell – SCGS President
Shelby Hart Lollis – SCGS 1st Vice President; Workshop Chair
Patrick McCawley, Deputy Director, SCDAH
9:30am – 10:30am
Auditorium
Mark Lowe
Title: Baptist, Methodist and Other Related Publications
10:30am – 10:45am
Break
10:45am – 11:00am
Auditorium
Announcements and Door Prizes
11:00am – 12:00pm
Auditorium
Mark Lowe
Title: Farmer, Rancher or Sharecropper: Shaping a Profile for Your Rural Ancestor
12:00pm – 1:30pm
Wachovia 1, 2, and 3
Lunch: BBQ and all the trimmings
1:30pm
Silent Auction Ends
1:30pm – 2:15pm
Auditorium
Silent Auction Winners Announcement- Door Prizes
2:15pm – 3:15pm
Auditorium
Larry W. Thomas
Title: Building a Lineage Society Proof Argument
2:15pm – 3:15pm
Wachovia 1
Lahnice Hollister
Title: Free on Paper: Finding Freedom in South Carolina’s Records
2:15pm – 3:15pm
Wachovia 2
Charity Rouse
Title: Working with DNA Results: A Research Case Study
2:15pm – 3:15pm
Wachovia 3
Cheri Hudson Passey
Research Plan: Someone to Watch Over Me: Guardianship Records
2:15pm – 3:15pm
Archives
Patrick McCawley
Behind the Scenes Tour of the Records Collection
3:15pm – 3:30pm
Break
3:30pm – 4:30pm
Auditorium
Larry W. Thomas
Title: South Carolina @ 250: Researching Revolutionary War Ancestors
3:30pm – 4:30pm
Wachovia 1
Cheri Hudson Passey
Title: Transcribing, Abstracting, and Extracting – Three Necessary Skills for Every Genealogist
3:30pm – 4:30pm
Wachovia 2
Robin Coon/Andrew Staton
Title: Documenting and Logging South Carolina Cemeteries
3:30pm – 4:30pm
Wachovia 3
John Smith
Title: Using the Digital Collections at the South Caroliniana Library for African American Research
Thank you for coming!
See you in 2027!
*All sessions are Eastern Daylight Time* Link to convert your time to EDT:
https://www.thetimezoneconverter.com/