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Kay and William Freilich's Genealogy and the Law: A Look at the DAR Library Lecture Series

Kiera E. Nolan, DAR Library Reference Librarian

The DAR Library is pleased to welcome, this coming Saturday, September 26, Kay Haviland Freilich and William B. Freilich as they continue our new Lecture Series with their work Genealogy and the Law. Kay Freilich brings her vast knowledge and background in genealogy, as an awarding-winning certified genealogist, certified genealogist lecturer, and a Fellow of the National Genealogical Society to this wonderful guide written with her husband, lawyer William Freilich. The two authors combine their respective backgrounds to deliver an indispensable guide every genealogist, regardless of level of experience, should own and consult for their own research.

One of the more interesting points the Freilichs make in their book is how are you going to know the whys of your ancestors’ lives if you don’t know the laws that governed their lives? Whether they were making the laws, breaking the laws, or doing their civic duty knowing the laws, where to find the laws, the legal terminology (which helps decipher the laws), and how those laws were implemented way back when fills in vital knowledge gaps every genealogist encounters when looking toward the past.

Topics covered in this guide are the language of the law, how to find pertinent laws, the legal sources available and how to find them, how to cite legal works properly, as well as how to apply your legal research to genealogical problems. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this guide, and learned so much from it. Particularly enjoyable were the quizzes at the end of each chapter that tested your knowledge on what you had just read. It immediately helped me at work, and also helped break through some brick walls in my own personal genealogical research. 

This lecture will be held Saturday, September 26 at DAR Headquarters at 1 p.m. Registering for this lecture is not required but those who plan to attend can register here: http://daron26.eventbrite.com or by calling 202-879-3287.

Genealogy and the Law is available to be purchased through the publisher, the National Genealogical Society, as well as on Amazon.com and the DAR Museum Gift Shop.