Michael A. Willis

02/04/2025

For those who have inquired...

YES, I will be the Keynote Speaker for the Elk Grove Stake Family Discovery Day THIS SATURDAY, February 8th at 9:00 AM at

Elk Grove FamilySearch Center
8925 Vintage Park Drive
Sacramento, CA 95829

IT'S FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Immediately after that, I will be giving a presentation called "From Slave to Soldier: What Civil War Records Can Tell You About Your Ancestors."

Check it out if you have time!

02/01/2025

Happy Friday Y'all!

THE BOOK IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!! 😁😁😁😁😁😁

You can scan the QR code or go straight to this link to purchase the book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DVLKTXSS?ref_=pe_93986420_774957520

Thank you for your support!

01/28/2025

Good Afternoon Everyone,
My book launch is nearly here!!!!
If you are interested in purchasing my book, please go to https://michaelawillis.com, click the "Request Information" button and complete the contact form. I will send you a notification as soon as it is available on AMAZON!
Take Care Y'all!!!!!!!!!🥰✊🏽🙏🏽📖🖋

Michael Willis is a Professional Genealogist with experience in helping people answer their genealogical questions through historical document discovery and DNA analysis.

01/25/2025

01/21/2025

Let me tell y'all something...My cousin, Michele Gray () , Owner of the Design Delegate, is THE BOMB! This book cover is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥!!!!!!!! That's all!!

Oh yeah, details on the book coming soon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

01/21/2025

Keeping MLK's Dream Alive Today with My Family and My Community!

01/18/2025

Thanks to the awesome talents of my cousin, Michele Gray , this amazing cover of my first book is nearly finished!💙🙏🏽

Please follow me at Michael A. Willis or on Instagram to receive upcoming information on where and how to purchase. You can also reach me at https://michaelawillis.com

We're in the final stages y'all! It's coming and I can't contain my excitement!!😁😁😁😁😁😁

08/29/2024

Just wanted to share: I FINALLY finished my book "When Your Ancestors Choose YOU: Vol. 1 - Finding Binkey"

Just created a DRAFT on Amazon for self-publishing and I'm now working on creating a customized cover page and looking for an editor.

It's coming soon...🙏🏽✊🏾

08/22/2024

🎥✨ Join the conversation on "Genealogy and Justice" and get an exclusive sneak peek of the Sac Film + Media and Creative Corps grantee documentary Hangtown! 🎬

The Sacramento Public Library with the Office of Arts & Culture - City of Sacramento present GENEALOGY & JUSTICE—a series of workshops diving into the importance of ancestral research. 📚 Learn from Michael Willis, Chairman of the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California, and discuss historical justice with Chris Lodgson from CJEC.

Catch a special preview of Hangtown that will kick off our discussion on justice, history, and reparations. 🕵️‍♂️✊

📅 Event Dates:
• August 24, 1 PM - 2:30 PM | Arcade Library - ✨THIS WEEKEND!✨
• September 7, 1 PM - 2:30 PM | Kyle's Temple
• September 14, 1 PM - 2:30 PM | Belle Cooledge Library

MORE INFO:
engage.saclibrary.org/events

05/19/2022

For Patreons Only: If you are new to genealogical research and want to know how to get started, this video is definitely FOR YOU!

For Patreons Only: If you are new to genealogical research and want to know how to get started, this video is definitely FOR YOU!

02/24/2022

The 16th Annual African American Genealogy Seminar will be virtual on Saturday, March 12, 2022 from 8:30am-2:30pm.

In addition to classes on Beginning Genealogy, Census Records, Researching at the Sutro Library and the California Archives, we are pleased to present new classes on

- "Identifying Ancestors Through DNA and Genealogy" by Nicka Sewell Smith
- "Hidden Treasures in the FamilySearch Catalog" by Michael Willis
- "Coming to The Table" Experience by Kanika Marshall
- "Black History and Juneteenth" by George Palmer
- "African American WWI Records" by Linda Jack
- "Captured Roots" by Marinda Johnson Sessoms
..and many, many more.

The attached flyer provides information on curriculum and registration which provides you full access to all the classes, e-syllabus and entry into a drawing for a DNA test kit.

For more information on contact Sharon Styles on the website, www.aafhs.com, or by calling (916) 275-8084.

02/24/2022

Between March and May, NARA will be offering live instruction, Q&A, videos, handouts, and more to prepare researchers for the release and review of the 1950 U.S. Federal Census! For more information and schedule copy the following URL in your browser:

Between March and May, NARA will be offering live instruction, Q&A, videos, handouts, and more to prepare researchers for the release and review of the 1950 U.S. Federal Census!For more informa…

02/24/2022

(Continued from previous post...) Next, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) website will be releasing the digitized 1950 US Federal census images and providing FREE access to search by name and location, and by Indian Reservation for form P8 Indian Reservation Schedules. Similarly to Ancestry®, NARA will use the artificial intelligence / optical character recognition (AI/OCR) Textract tool develop by Amazon Web Services to extract handwritten names from the images and develop a name index. Additionally, NARA is seeking volunteers to help with quality control because the transcription tool will not be 100% accurate.

(Continued from previous post…)Next, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) website will be releasing the digitized 1950 US Federal census images and providing FREE access to…

02/24/2022

For those who remember the release of the 1940 US Federal Census on April 2, 2012, it took weeks, if not months to completely transcribe and index records so that users could search their ancestors by name. In the meantime, NARA made the images searchable online, but the servers repeatedly crashed due to high internet traffic upon release. For the upcoming release of the 1950 US Federal Census on April 1, 2022, two pivotal events are in the works to avoid these issues:...

For those who remember the release of the 1940 US Federal Census on April 2, 2012, it took weeks, if not months to completely transcribe and index records so that users could search their ancestors…