About Prairie Genealogy & Gary Ball-Kilbourne PhD, CG®
Prairie Genealogy is owned and operated by Gary L. Ball-Kilbourne, a professional genealogist residing in Fargo, North Dakota. 
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Meet Gary Ball-Kilbourne:
​     I began researching my own genealogy as a hobby over forty years ago. After a career as a pastor and a senior editor, I started Prairie Genealogy to help persons find their family roots, especially in the Northern Plains, spreading out from the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, Montana, and Wisconsin.
     My personal family stories have also caused me to develop research expertise in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Connecticut, and Germany.
     I hold a Certified Genealogist® credential from the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG). In 2021, I was elected a BCG Trustee and named as the editor of BCG's publication, OnBoard​. I also serve as secretary for the BCG Trustees.
     Besides straightforward genealogical research, I am available to coach you as you work on your own research, as well as to engage with family history projects involving organizing information and files, writing, and editing.
    My recent client work has included such projects as:
  • helping persons push their family trees back additional generations in locales such as Pennsylvania, Missouri, Québec, and Luxembourg;
  • finding towns of origin for immigrant Norwegians, Germans, and Germans from Russia;
  • discovering the month-by-month Civil War activity and location for a Confederate soldier from Virginia;
  • scanning and displaying family photographs;
  • conducting local research for the ​Who Do You Think You Are? television show.
     I also am a lead facilitator for modules of the online genealogy principles and the genealogy research certificate course of Boston University. Among my volunteer efforts are current service as a director and secretary of the Minnesota Genealogical Society and as wordsmith for the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy Committee.


​Upcoming Genealogical Presentations:
  • "The Many Wives of Howard William Lowe: Working with Social History to Glean Genealogical Insights," Reisinger Lecture, Board for Certification of Genealogists, Salt Lake City Utah, 20 October 2023.
  • Researching along the Northern Plains, Salt Lake Institute for Genealogy, 22–26 January 2024.


Recent Genealogical Presentations:
  • "Researching Religiously in the District of Columbia," Capitol Kin: Researching Ancestors Who Lived in Washington, D.C., Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, 25 January 2023.
  • "Cemetery Research in the District of Columbia," Capitol Kin: Researching Ancestors Who Lived in Washington, D.C., Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, 25 January 2023.
  • "Peeling the Onion: Digging Down to the Original Sources," Reisinger Lecture, Board for Certification of Genealogists, Salt Lake City, Utah, 7 October 2022.
Training:
  • Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy—Capitol Kin: Researching Ancestors Who Lived in Washington, D.C. (2023); Advanced Land Records: Maps (2022); Proving Your Pedigree with DNA (2021); Pre-1837 English Research (2021); Meeting Standards Using DNA Evidence (2021); All-DNA Advanced Evidence Analysis Practicum (2020); Maryland: Researching the Old Line State (2020); Burned Counties and More: Overcoming Destroyed, Missing, or Non-Extant Records—Sources and Techniques/ Methods (2019); Nordic Research (2018); Advanced Evidence Analysis Practicum (2016)
  • Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh—Tackling Tough Research Problems (2018); Advanced Research Methods (2016)
  • Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research—Genetics for Genealogists (2017)
  • National Institute for Genealogical Studies—Professional Learning Certificate in Genealogical Studies (PLCGS), American Records, with distinction (2017); German Records, with distinction (2019)
  • Boston University—Certificate in Genealogical Research (2016)
  • Excelsior College--Genetic Genealogy (2019)
  • GenProof 43—Mastering Genealogical Proof (2015)
  • Vanderbilt University—Doctor of Philosophy, religion


​Professional & Lineage Society Memberships:
  • Board for Certification of Genealogists (trustee & secretary)
  • Association of Professional Genealogists
  • National Genealogical Society
  • North Dakota State Genealogical Society
  • South Dakota Genealogy Society (research member)
  • Minnesota Genealogical Society (director & secretary)
  • Red River Valley Genealogical Society (eastern North Dakota & western Minnesota)
  • Wisconsin State Genealogical Society
  • ​Maryland Genealogical Society
  • New England Historic Genealogical Society
  • Connecticut Society of Genealogists
  • Utah Genealogical Association​
  • Sons of the American Revolution (Maryland Society, Col. Tench Tilghman Chapter; Dakota Society)
  • Swedish Colonial Society (Forefather Member)


Genealogical Publications:
  • "Creating and Maintaining a Successful Educational Plan," Crossroads 17 (Spring 2022): 27–29.
  • "Who Was the Mother of Samuel Kilbourn of Hartford County, Connecticut, and Baltimore City, Maryland?," National Genealogical Society Quarterly, 108 (December 2020): 263–276.
  • "Confirming the Parentage of Samuel Kilbourn of Baltimore (1814–1855)," Maryland Genealogical Society Journal 61 (August 2020): 273–299.
  • Review of ​How to Find Your Family History in U.S. Church Records: A Genealogist's Guide, by Sunny Jane Morton and Harold A. Henderson, Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly 35 (March 2020): 40–41.
  • "A Cautionary Tale: Finding a Birthplace for Delany DeVine of Deuel County, South Dakota," Minnesota Genealogist 48 (Winter 2017): 5–9.
  • Calvin Research Report, "Genealogical Work Samples," Board for Certification of Genealogists (bcgcertification.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/ResearchReportBall-Kilbourne.pdf). 

Let's get started!
If you are ready to work on your family's story, then let's get started!