"I’m a nice person. ‘I’m just compiling our family tree, what possible problems could there be? Researching a family tree traditionally involved asking relatives about their lives, drawing a tree and undertaking a paper trail, but it now involves finding new mostly online records and dealing with strangers on the internet. What information should and shouldn’t you include on your tree? Attendees will benefit from reflecting on their own ethical dilemmas and considering ethical issues with empathy, sensitivity and diplomacy. What is the way forward? Are you an ethical genealogist? What ethical dilemmas have you found in your genealogy research?"

Dr. Walters will be joining us through a remote video call from the UK, but this is an in-person event in the Local History Alcove.

Dr. Penny Walters has been a University lecturer for 35 years, at UK University Business Schools. Penny's interest in genealogy started after having her first baby and then wondering about her biological parents, as she was adopted. Penny has six mixed race children, who have all enjoyed discovering their roots through DNA ethnicity results. Penny lectures internationally in-person, including throughout America, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and the UK; and via webinars. Penny has authored the books: 'Ethical Dilemmas in Genealogy' (2019) and ‘The Psychology of Searching’ (2020).