In Conversation with Joseph Roby: Discussing The Enslaved at Oakley and Beyond Project

Webinar – In Conversation with Joseph Roby: Discussing The Enslaved at Oakley and Beyond Project [11 Feb 2026]

February 11 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Researching enslaved individuals is often challenging, particularly when records name the enslaved only indirectly or not at all. In many cases, locating and thoroughly analyzing records created by enslavers is the key to identifying and tracing African American lives across time. The Enslaved at Oakley & Beyond Project demonstrates how careful, contextual research into enslavers and their families can illuminate the lives of those they enslaved—and how responsibly locating, analyzing, and sharing these records is essential to that work.

This program will depart from a traditional webinar format and take the form of a moderated conversation with Joseph Roby (The Enslaved at Oakley & Beyond Project), Kelley Conner Lear, CG®, and Dr. Shelley Viola Murphy. Together, they’ll discuss methodology, interpretation, and ethical considerations in this type of research. Time will be reserved at the end of the session for audience questions.

Register at https://tinyurl.com/VGSFeb2026

I’m Back and Tweeting!

This is just a quick status update to say I’m still here. I wanted to post at least once a week, but that has gone out the window. I hope to use this space as a platform for my writing.

I just joined Twitter! My Twitter handle is @2ManyAncestors. The word “Too” would not fit, unfortunately. I’m going to use the account to promote the blog and everything else genealogy.

See you on Twitter or back here on the blog soon!

Too Many Ancestors, Too Little Time

Welcome to my blog, “Too Many Ancestors, Too Little Time”! I think we can all relate to this dilemma. Just look at the image of one half of my family tree. My blog idea was somewhat inspired by this post on Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter on how many ancestors you really have if you were to calculate it. It’s more than you think. The idea of going through and applying the Genealogical Proof Standard to all my ancestors and collateral relatives still seems like a daunting task. I hope this blog will make the process a bit easier for me. I hope it will help my readers, too.

My goal is to have this blog be a mix of posts about my ancestors, the many family digitization projects I am currently undertaking, my experiences as someone trying to start a new career as a professional genealogist, and helpful articles about genealogical and DNA research. I want to help others while also keeping a written record for myself (and friends and family) of my research and career progress.

I hope you enjoy the blog and learn with me throughout the journey.