Settling the Great Plains Presentation
Speaker Glenn York
The Great Plains region includes part of ten different states. As settlers moved into this region, they were forced to adapt to a significantly different environment than in the eastern states. This presentation will discuss the challenges and solutions these settlers encountered. Great Plains settlers often obtained land from the Federal Government through a variety of homestead laws and methods. We will explore processes that were common as well as some unique processes used in specific areas and/or periods of time. We will also look at the genealogical value of the records created, and how to find and access those records.
Presenter Bio
Glenn York is an avid genealogist with decades of research experience at numerous facilities across the United States.
Glenn began researching by pouring over microfilm at the National Archives and reading books at the Library of Congress in the 1980s while living in the Washington DC area.
Over the years, Glenn has gained extensive experience in genetic genealogy and works with tests at all major DNA testing companies. He was first tested in 2005, and he currently manages DNA tests for over 35 family members.
Most of Glenn’s immigrant ancestors came to Colonial America, and many of their descendants were among the westward migrations who homesteaded and settled in the Great Plains. Both of his paternal grandparents were born on homesteads in Kansas. With strong Quaker ancestry, Glenn has researched Quaker history and records in both North America and the British Isles.
Glenn’s formal education includes a bachelor’s degree in Social Science and a master’s degree in
Telecommunications. He has completed over 12 courses of the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburg (GRIP) and has participated in many genealogy conferences and seminars.
Glenn is past President of the Larimer County Genealogical Society and is the delegate to the National Genealogical Society for the Colorado Council of Genealogical Societies. He is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, National Genealogical Society, Genealogical Speakers Guild, and many other genealogical and historical societies.
Glenn facilitates monthly DNA study groups for two area genealogical societies, teaches genealogy classes, and volunteers at a local library to help people with genealogy research. He is a Co-Administrator for the BATES Y-DNA surname project and the Colonial Swedish DNA Project at Family Tree DNA. Glenn has assisted many in discovering their biological families using genetic genealogy techniques.