The Illinois State Genealogical Society is thrilled to have Paul Woodbury, M. Ed, as one of our 2019 Fall Conference keynote speakers!At a young age, Paul fell in love with genealogy research. He studied genetics and family history at Brigham Young University and holds a Master’s degree in instructional design and educational technology from the University of Utah. Paul currently works as a DNA team lead at Legacy Tree Genealogists where he has helped to solve hundreds of genetic genealogy cases.
Paul will be teaching several DNA-focused courses at our Fall Conference, and will also be leading our exclusive Pre-Conference hands-on workshops: Evaluating shared Autosomal DNA and Getting your ACGT Together: Organizing Autosomal DNA Test Results for Success.
Paul was kind enough to take the time to talk to ISGS and tell us more about his genealogy background, interests and accomplishments!
How did you become interested in
genealogy? How long have you been researching?
I first became interested in genealogy when I was 8 years old – my grandparents
gave a family history binder to each of their 35 grandchildren for Christmas. I
was the only one who bit. I was fascinated by the stories, pictures, and
details of my ancestors’ lives. I was excited to learn about the origins of my
ancestors and where they came from. Later, I learned to uncover their stories
through my own research. A few years later, when African American Lives with
Henry Louis Gates Jr. aired on PBS, I was intrigued and fascinated by the power
of genetic testing to enable genealogical discovery. I decided at that point
that I wanted to be a genetic genealogist.
Who is your favorite person (ancestor or
otherwise) to research? Why?
My favorite ancestor to research is Joseph
Ichante, a rural French shepherd and farmer who lived during the time of the
French revolution, a self-taught poet, philosopher and engraver, and my
fifth-great-grandfather.
What has been a defining moment in your career
as a genealogist?
One defining moment was one of my earliest cases, when I
was able to help reunite a woman from Papua New Guinea with her biological father.
It helped me appreciate the power of genetic genealogy for reuniting families
and enabling the healing of relationships.
What are you most looking forward to at the
ISGS annual fall conference?
I love the Chicago area, and look forward to
meeting the attendees at the conference and getting to know you all better.
What should conference attendees look forward
to at your lectures?
Participants can look forward to working step-by-step
instruction to assist them in successfully accomplishing research feats in
their own investigations.
Can you tell us about some of your recent or
upcoming projects?
I am currently
working on accreditation with ICAPGen in the France region. I have recently
completed several presentations at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, a
three-part webinar series on French genealogy for Legacy Family Tree Webinars,
several presentations at RootsTech, SCGS Jamboree, and the Colorado
Genealogical Society. Coming up, I have another webinar to be released in July,
and presentations at the APG Professional Management Conference.
Learn more about the ISGS Fall Conference and Register HERE!
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