Genealogical Society hosts conference focusing on African Americans

The Iowa Genealogical Society is hosting a conference today in Des Moines that focuses on helping African-Americans trace their family histories. Society president George Giesler says they’ve brought in African-American expert Tony Burroughs.Burroughs is a professor of genealogy at Chicago State University, has spoken before Congress, and been on all the national tv shows. The event begins this morning and runs into the early afternoon.The final session of the day is called “Creating Order Out of the Chaos,” and he says it helps people make sense out of all the information they’ve found.Interest in genealogy exploded in the late 1970s after the miniseries “Roots” aired. Giesler says interest in tracing family histories has grown among African-Americans recently as more records become available. He says the Internet has made it easier for African-Americans to find records.