Researching Your Female Ancestors

Emily Sienkiewicz

Researching your female ancestors can be a difficult task. The largely standard practice of changing their surnames after marriage can make women hard to track, and many historical records focus on men with women being listed only under their husbands’ names. This class will offer some guidance for researching female ancestors including information about sources that you may not have thought to check. Please note that registration is required for this event as it is taking place over Zoom. For details see bpl.bibliocommons.com/events/65b2f17d1b80e24800af3402

Finding Her: Our Female Ancestor

Emily Sienkiewicz

Though our female ancestor may be elusive, by understanding her role in other people’s lives and the community, we can find a variety of records documenting her life. Melissa Tennant Rzepczynski, with extensive experience in family history instruction and research methodologies, offers her knowledge and strong customer service skills to those interested in exploring their family roots. Founder of Branch Discoveries, LLC in 2022, she provides consultations, document retrievals, research services, and presentations. With over two decades in the genealogical field, Melissa’s expertise spans various areas, including Midwest and Southeast U.S. families, immigration, migration, property records, probate records, African American, and female ancestors. Melissa initiated her genealogical career at the Hillsborough County Public Library in …

RootsTech 2024

Emily Sienkiewicz

RootsTech is the premier event to celebrate your heritage and other meaningful connections through a deeper understanding of family history and genealogy.
Come join us and discover your story at RootsTech 2024! Visit permanent.org/rootstech for a special offer.

Caribbean Genealogy: How to Trace Your Free People of Color Ancestry

Emily Sienkiewicz

If you descend from Free People of Color in the British West Indies but are encountering challenges with researching your ancestors, tune in as Genealogist Phillip Nicholas identifies resources and strategies to use when tracing your free people of color ancestry in the British West Indies. Registration is required. Zoom link will be emailed to registrants within 24 hours of the event start time. For more information, please contact 305-375-5572 or specialcollections@mdpls.org. Ages 13 yrs.+ For details see mdpls.org/event/9084090

Using Funeral Programs to Inform Genealogy Research

Emily Sienkiewicz

Funeral programs are a unique artifact prevalent in African American communities. Produced at death, these programs record biographical details along with family names, dates, and locations. All the data that we family researchers love to have in our own collections. Join Genealogist Renata Y. Sander to learn more about identifying funeral program collections and how they might inform your own family history. About the presenter: Renate Yarborough Sanders is the descendant of formerly enslaved ancestors, enslavers, and free people of color. She authors two blogs: “Into the LIGHT” and “Genea-Related;” and produces a “(Mostly) African-American Funeral Programs” online database. Renate cohosts “Let’s Talk North Carolina Genealogy,” and she has served as panelist and guest on …

Tracing the Path of African Americans from Enslavement to Freedom

Emily Sienkiewicz

Join Hillary Delaney who will share tips and tricks for finding evidence and breaking research barriers in African American genealogy and pre-Emancipation historical research. Specific examples will be used to illustrate how traditional genealogical methods, combined with a creative approach can help to solve the most difficult research puzzles. Hillary Delaney serves as the lead researcher for the African Americans in Boone County History initiative at the Borderlands Archive and History Center in Boone County, KY . She has documented hundreds of Underground Railroad incidents and genealogical data of thousands of individuals once enslaved in Boone County and across Kentucky. Projects developed from this work include: The Underground Railroad in Boone County bus tour (a …

Family History Today: The Future of Genealogy

Emily Sienkiewicz

While all family history researchers seek to uncover stories from the past, trendsetters in the field are employing up-to-the-minute technological tools and techniques in ways that will have a huge impact on the future of genealogy. Jarrett Ross, creator and host of the YouTube series GeneaVlogger and Professional Genealogist Reacts, will provide a preview of what lies ahead, covering emerging trends in artificial intelligence, facial recognition software, OCR software, and genetic genealogy. Ticket Info: Pay what you wish Register in advance. For details see programs.cjh.org/tickets/family-history-today-2024-02-05

50+ Sources for Finding Ancestral Photos Online & Offline, with Katherine Willson

Emily Sienkiewicz

In this one-hour presentation, we will discuss more than 50 potential sources for locating ancestral photos. We will especially focus on the large number of print media sources and how to obtain them; local, regional, and national organizations that may have photos; a wide variety of online sources; and distant relatives we may not know about. Katherine is the founder and president of the Virtual Genealogical Association and President of the Michigan Genealogical Council. Please register in advance. For details see mchenry.librarycalendar.com/event/50-sources-finding-ancestral-photos-online-offline-16094

Creating Timelines to Aid Genealogy Research

Emily Sienkiewicz

Creating timelines is beneficial to enhance family history research, fill in an Ancestor’s life story and often help break through a “brick wall”. The speaker will show how to create and use timelines for genealogy research. Registration is required: buffalolib.libcal.com/event/11640555 About the presenter: Sandra Williams Bush is a storyteller, genealogist and retired librarian. She is a member of several genealogy and historical societies including her local Buffalo NY groups, the Buffalo Genealogical Society of the African Diaspora (BGSAD) and the Afro-American Historical Association of the Niagara Frontier. Some of her researched family stories are included in the book Kindred Stories: Genealogy and Family Histories by BGSAD members; she also has an essay in the book …

Digitizing that collection of inherited family photos

Emily Sienkiewicz

This popular monthly session focuses on a challenge for every family historian: Sorting and digitizing collections of inherited family photos and artifacts. Our speaker, Projectkin member Kathy Stone has decades of experience as a professional photo organizer and is now working on her family history projects. As a pro, she appreciates the challenge of actually getting projects done. In these “Corner” events, she answers questions and coaches members as your personal “sherpa over Mt. Inertia.” Our programs build on the 8-step approach she shared in a post and the 2023 Kathy’s Corner series. (Projectkin members have access to event recordings through the Members’ Chat Room in the Projectkin Forum.) Now the focus will be on …