America’s Westward Expansion (1787-1890): 25 Events in 50 Minutes

May 5, 2026 – – America’s Westward Expansion (1787-1890):
25 Events in 50 Minutes
This presentation follows America’s journeys to the West that reshaped federal law, transformed settlement patterns, and created opportunity for many; while inflicting displacement and injustice on Native Americans, Mexicans, Mormons, and the enslaved. We’ll explore 25 pivotal moments between 1787 to 1890 that built the nation we inherited and buried the truths many tried to forget.

Speaker: Katherine R. Willson

Katherine R. Willson of Dexter, Michigan is an engaging & dynamic genealogy lecturer at local, regional, and national conferences; an educator teaching beginning, intermediate, and advanced genealogy classes in Michigan since 2001; the author of The Genealogist’s Guide to Grand Rapids, Michigan (published in 2018 by The In-Depth Genealogist), and a professional researcher for private clients. Her research specialties include solving difficult genealogical problems in the Great Lakes region, as well as tracing westward migration from the Midwest.

Her genealogy interests began as an 8-year-old Junior Girl Scout working towards the now-retired “My Heritage” badge, and her passion was fueled when, after college, both her mother’s and father’s relatives gave her binders containing generations’ worth of family information. (Katherine is a 7th generation Michigander with pre-statehood ancestors arriving from New York in the early 1830s, with the Sample/Moore line settling in Oakland County and the Havens/Arnold line settling in Lenawee County.)

Her success in using Facebook to break down genealogical brick walls both personally and in her classroom inspired her to catalog 16,700+ Facebook genealogy links (updated January 2021).  Additionally, she has compiled 190+ instructional genealogical channels on YouTube (updated April 2025), and 76 genealogy-related podcasts (updated February 2022).

Her passion for genealogy combined with practical and creative strategies keeps Katherine’s audience fully engaged and actively participating in her energetic and entertaining presentations.  Participants leave with the tools necessary to do their own research, as well as the inspiration to do it!