This week we looked at several examples of the types of books available at local public libraries. Many small towns have enthusiastic historians who are interested in local history and write on a particular topic for that area.
Annie also provided a brief review of the most efficient steps to use in locating records on FamilySearch. Follow the sequence below!
Search: Records: Name Field: More Options: Type: Census: Search
Dennis reported that he had a very successful consultation with an Irish research expert at the Family History Library this month. He accessed the Help Center on the FamilySearch website and booked a session for "In Person Help." The session was scheduled for 20 minutes, but Dennis said he was able to ask questions for about an hour. His original problem was resolved, and he learned much more about researching in Ireland.
If you take advantage of this free service on www.familysearch.org, be sure that you have a specific question for their expert.
During Tuesday's meeting Maureen Edwards was elected as our new vice president. Diane Jalbert has stepped up to complete Susan Mavor's term of office, as she left the park last year. Current officers are Diane Jalbert, president; Maureen Edwards, vice president; Dick Rietz, secretary; Bob O'Donnell, treasurer and Annie Rietz, program director.
Our final workshop for 2023 will be December 5, as the park has asked to use the SanTan room on December 12 to set up for Palm Creek's 25th anniversary celebration the following day.
Topics for the next three weeks include local public library genealogy resources, scrapbooking and genealogy and an overview of the 1931 Canada census.
Maureen gave us a great overview of four different digital libraries and included examples of the kind of information you might be able to find.
JSTOR: www..jstor.org stands for journal storage and contains journals, books and primary sources.
HathiTrust: www.hathitrust.org is a collaborative of academic and research libraries.
Internet Archive: www.archive.org offers free access to books, movies and music. At present this site has been sued because of copyright infringement. Books recently published may not be available in the future.
Google Books: http://books.google.com searches the full text of books that Google has scanned.
Maureen suggests trying different search methods, particularly remembering to use quotation marks, at each of these websites to add context to your family history research.
We were happy to welcome several new members as we began the 2023-24 season. The workshop topic included a few suggestions for goals or activities for the coming year.
Beginners are encouraged to complete (as far as possible) a pedigree chart, contacting possible relatives who might also be working on the family's history. Then they can begin the interesting task of finding ancestors in various census years.
Intermediate level researchers can organize any leftover stacks of paper work, reread notes from previous years, or choose one surname to concentrate work on as we begin the year.
Experienced members can practice focusing their research to use time more efficiently by keeping research logs or timelines. Create a list of brick walls.
Ask a friend for help!
The genealogy club begins fall workshops on Tuesday, November 7. We are looking forward to the coming season and have some interesting topics planned. But let's take a look at the presentations scheduled for November.
November 7: Welcome Back! We'll have a few suggestions for some genealogy goals for the coming season.
November 14: Digital Libraries--What's available, how to access them and what's going on in that world.
November 21: Local Libraries--Why and how to use this valuable resource.
November 28: Scrapbooking and Genealogy
We hope to see everyone who has returned on November 7!
"Who or What is Hiding in Your Home?"
Vista Grande Library has changed the date for their monthly genealogy presentations from the second Friday of the month to the second Tuesday of the month. The first for this season will be held Tuesday, October 10, at 10AM.
We can all make a good guess as to some of the ideas that may be presented next week, but there are always new suggestions for genealogists to use.
