October 18, 2016

It’s Still Family History Month

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You’ve got some time yet… It’s still Family History Month, which means there are tons of genealogy educational opportunities stretching right into November. And (yes, you’ve heard this from me before) I strongly encourage everyone to get out and attend as many of them as you can. I always, always, learn something new—whether I’m attending or presenting.

For example, I had a wonderful experience presenting in Fort Wayne as part of ACPL’s Genealogy Center’s 31 days of genealogy programming last week, but my evening session looking at my experiences and approach to researching my African American ancestry led to a total change in my research plans for the next day when one of the attendees pointed out a resource I hadn’t realized the Center held—Thank you Roberta, Melissa, and Cynthia each for pointing me in the right direction! I will be transcribing Bradley County slave related court documents for weeks.

raceslaverysnip

Then, on Saturday, I attended Western Michigan Genealogical Society’s annual Got Ancestors! program. This year’s featured speaker was Cyndi Ingle of Cyndi’s List and I got a great deal out of her programs “Striking Out on Their Own: Online Migration Tools and Resources” and “Building a Digital Research Plan.” The first offered a neat list of mapping resources I haven’t tried while the other offered a nice focused approach for laying out a research plan. But the day was also just a fun one for connecting with people and trading ideas.

I have no doubt that you can look around your community and find genealogy events, but if you’re in my neck of the woods here’s a sampling of some of the great family history related programming you can still catch:

On Saturday, October 23rd, CADL South Lansing Library will be hosting “Family History Hunt” a Genealogy Roadshow-inspired presentation with patrons tapping your friendly local librarian’s for suggestions on where to turn next in their research.

Consider the possibilities offered by a two hour drive down to the ACPL’s Genealogy Center… There are still 14 more days of programs including, “A  Day with Juliana Szucs” (from Ancestry.com) this Saturday, October 22nd, or their Midnight Madness extended research hours on October 28th including three 30 minute classes. For more information on programs, check out their calendar.

Western Wayne County Genealogical Society has a day seminar on November 5th with topics including organizing your records and planning a research trip.

The Michigan Genealogical Council’s annual fall seminar will feature DNA expert, Blaine Bettinger speaking on assorted genetic genealogy related topics, along with bunch of other great presenters.

Take advantage of these great programs! Step away from the computer and go learn something new!

Happy hunting!

Jess

 

October 26, 2014

Family History Month Storytime

Posted by JessLibrarian under Book Reviews | Tags: , , , |
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The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleishman and illustrator Bagram IbatoullineSo, one of my genealogy related projects this month was a preschool storytime for work which meant I had to track down great books to interest kids in talking about their families and their stories. My fabulous find for the year was The Matchbox Diary by Paul Fleishman and illustrator Bagram Ibatoulline. It’s wonderful!

This picture book begins with a great-grandfather asking his great-granddaughter to pick anything in a memory filled room and he would tell her a story. She picks an old cigar box and so begins the diary he started as a child in Italy before he could read or write and continued as his family immigrated to the United States. The story is hard and beautiful, the art work amazing and detailed. It’s a perfect book to share to talk about the immigrant experience and family stories. It is a bit long for a storytime but my fabulous children’s librarian reminded me that you can skip around with this age group, so a few properly placed paperclips made it just right.

For my craft portion of the day I gave them all  plain boxes to decorate and keep their memories in. They decorated with markers, puffy letters, and assorted bits o’stuff we keep in the closet—in other words glue stick fun!

Other great picture book picks:

  • The Arrival by Shaun Tan—a wordless fantastic masterpiece about the immigrant experience.
  • Grandpa Green by Lane Smith—a great-grandfather’s life story in topiary.
  • All Kinds of Family by Mary Ann Hoberman and illustrated by Marc Boutavant—on the broad concept of family.

Do you know of other good family history related reads for kids? Please pass them on!

Happy hunting,

Jess

 

November 2, 2013

A Belated MGC Event Recap

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I really intended it to be out… oh, at least last month (preferably Monday), but the week got away from me. 

Notes Snapshot MGC 2013This past Saturday I attended the Michigan Genealogical Council’s annual Fall Seminar featuring Lou Szucs from Ancestry.com. I enjoyed the day and (as I have said many times) I always get something out of the presentations no matter how often I’ve heard a subject discussed or a particular speaker—it’s  always worthwhile. Szucs offered informative programs on “Hidden Treasures in Ancstery.com” and Midwestern Collections researchers should be aware of. In each I came away with collections ether I hadn’t been aware of or hadn’t, at the time, known a relative they might shed light on. For example to my Holden family… Did you know there was a Directory of Deceased American Physicians in Ancestry.com? It’s not something I’d happened upon yet. (Mind you, I did’t find Horatio or Charles in it, but still…).

For my breakout sessions I attended a presentation on The Clarke Historical Library on Central Michigan’s campus—I’m particularly interested in looking into their collections on the Timber industry given our Shea family’s involvement in in. I went to Richard Hill’s presentation on DNA research which was fascinating and now I really want to read his book—Finding Family. And I finished up the day in Don Hinkle’s presentation on FamilySearch.org. Other talks included researching in archives, New York research, Border Crossings, and Civil War Resources among others.

The short of it… Take time out to go and continually educate yourself—it will eventually help you over your brick walls.

And mark your calendars! The Abram’s Foundation Annual Seminar will be July 18th and 19th and feature Michael LeClerc, Chief Genealogist at Mocavo.com.

Happy hunting!

Jess