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Her great uncle, Henry Burley, wrote the Negro spiritual ‘‘Go Down Moses” and also wrote music for Marian Anderson, the opera singer who was stopped from performing at Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution because she was black.

Daniels said she might have found a family member that fought in the American Revolution.

She was one of about 20 people gathered in the Laurel Pool Club Room March 7 to learn new tricks to finding family roots, though she said she’s already familiar with the majority of the tips.

The event, sponsored by the Laurel Historical Society, featured genealogy experts William Shelton of Seabrook and Edwin Washington of Oxon Hill.

Daniels said she hasn’t been able to stop digging in the past 10 years. ‘‘I’ve definitely got the bug,” she said.

‘‘Could you imagine, if I could straighten it out, my great uncle’s music was supposed to be played at Constitution Hall and then I...could get to join the Daughters of the American Revolution?” she said.

She’s still searching for confirmation that her ancestor, Joseph Todd Burley, is the same one that fought in the American Revolution and is buried in the Muirkirk Cemetery.

‘‘I’m thinking that that is the Joseph that came from New Hampshire [and fought in the American Revolution], so I need to go to the Daughters of the American Revolution [library] and see if I can look that up and put the family together,” she said.

Most of the relatives she’s found are all from Maryland with the exception of the Burleys who traveled to Maryland from New Hampshire.

Washington detailed a five-step research process to get started with genealogical research: write down what you know, decide what you want to learn, choose your information source, learn from that source and then use what you learn.

Charles Hessler of Scaggsville, who is a member of the Laurel Historical Society, said he enjoyed hearing about the successes that Shelton and Washington experienced.

‘‘I always think it’s interesting to hear how other people have overcome roadblocks and were able to solve problems in trying to pursue their family histories,” he said. ‘‘I think it’s interesting to put a face to [genealogy].”

The workshop was designed to give novice genealogists an idea of where to begin searching for family history and included information for blacks about how to search for ancestors through slavery.

‘‘The 1870 census is a key for blacks looking for their family history because it’s the first time blacks were shown as a family unit,” Shelton said.

Shelton and Washington said they originally became interested in learning about their family soon after Alex Haley’s mini-series ‘‘Roots” aired on television in 1977. Both began digging into their family’s history and haven’t stopped since.

‘‘You can’t finish genealogical research if you’re looking for your ancestors. Every time you find someone there are two more people [their parents] to look for,” Washington said.

E-mail Maya T. Prabhu at mprabhu@gazette.net.