Turn the PAGE!!

 

The Fall Seminar at the Library of Michigan/Archives of Michigan in Lansing was a resounding success!  It was a packed room for the opening and closing sessions that John Philip Colletta provided, with 174 in attendance, filling the Forum!  In the lower middle picture, there were still seats left but within minutes the lower right photo showed that the room began to fill quickly – if there was an empty seat, it was hard to find!

With four workshops, Dr. Colletta led us through case studies, stories of his ancestors or others he had researched, and he gave us much to think about and learn.  A classically fun moment was when John said “You paid $50 for today?  Here’s the Colletta tip for today …. TURN THE PAGE!”  We all roared, but he was right!  He gave example after example of ancestors found through persistence, using multiple record sources and being targeted on our goal – finding an illusive ancestor.

There were great responses to workshops by Kris Rzepczynski (Senior Archivist, Archives of Michigan), Randy Riley (State Librarian, Library of Michigan), Jessica Trotter (Capital Area District Libraries) and Dan Earl (Vice President of MGC) as attendees learned about Great Lakes migration, the ups/downs of the Library, traveling to do genealogical research, and using Internet Archive.  Lunch provided opportunities for networking across the state and learning from each others’ experiences and discoveries.

Dr. Colletta has a long history of book writing, research and speaking, with a display about his Discovering Your Roots: An Introduction to Genealogy” series promotion shared with attendees wanting more from John’s expertise and knowledge.  Watch for sales!

After a well-attended “lock in” on Friday night and a full day on Saturday, happy family historians were still sharing what research they wanted to do next – all the way to the parking lot!

Don’t forget – TURN THE PAGE!  Thanks to Dr. Colletta, Randy Riley, Kris Rzepczynski, Jessica Trotter and Dan Earl for a great day of learning.

Fall Seminar Provides Additional Speakers with John Philip Colletta

While John Philip Colletta, Ph.D. is the nationally-recognized speaker that is coming for the November 3, 2018 (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.) seminar at the Library of Michigan, there are other speakers ALSO offering great information for Michigan family historians.

Dr. Colletta is offering four sessions:

• Finding the Town of Origin: U.S. Sources for Discovering an Ancestor’s Native Town Overseas
• Lesser Used Federal Records: Sources of Rich Detail about Ancestors’ Lives
• The County Courthouse: Your “Trunk in the Attic”
• Breaking through Brick Walls: Use your HEAD

AND some other great Michigan-based researchers are presenting!  Here’s the schedule for the day:

SCHEDULE
9:15 am Introductions and Announcements

9:30 am – 10:45 am Finding the Town of Origin: U.S. Sources for Discovering an Ancestor’s Native Town Overseas (A1) by John Philip Colletta, Ph.D.

11:00 am – 12:15 pm (choose 1)

Lesser Used Federal Records: Sources of Rich Detail about Ancestors’ Lives (B1) by John Philip Colletta, Ph.D.

Genealogy Road Trip: No, Really, It’s Not All Online! (B2) by Jessica Trotter, Librarian at Capital Area District Libraries

Library of Michigan: Rise and Fall and Rise of a Family History/Local History Treasure (B3) by Randy Riley, State Librarian at the Library of Michigan

12:15 pm – 1:00 pm Enjoy your optional pre-ordered lunch from Grand Traverse Pie Company or bring a sack lunch.

1:00 pm – 2:15pm (choose 1)

The County Courthouse: Your “Trunk in the Attic (C1) by John Philip Colletta, Ph.D.

Researching Great Lakes Migration in the Archives of Michigan’s Abrams Genealogy Collection (C2) by Kris Rzepczynski, Senior Archivist at the Archives of Michigan

Going WAYBACK: Using the Internet Archive in Your Research (C3) by Daniel Earl, Vice- President of Michigan Genealogical Council

2:30 pm – 3:45 pm Breaking through Brick Walls: Use your HEAD! (D1) by John Philip Colletta, Ph.D.

Please register in advance (and you MUST register by October 31 for the boxed lunch) here!!

2018 Michigan Genealogical Council Fall Seminar

Featuring John Philip Colletta, Ph.D., the MGC Fall Seminar promises to be a rich and full learning opportunity!  Please join us on Saturday, November 3, 2018 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Michigan Library & Historical Center, 702 W. Kalamazoo, Lansing, Michigan.

Dr. Colletta, a popular genealogy lecturer for 30 years, has worked at the Library of Congress and taught National Archives programs for 20+ years.  He is on the faculty of the Institute of Genealogy & Historical Research (IGHR) and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG).  He has published key resources and guides for genealogists:  They Came in Ships: A Guide to Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor’s Arrival Record; Finding Italian Roots: The Complete Guide for Americans; Only a Few Bones: A True Account of the Rolling Fork Tragedy and its Aftermath; and the Great Course “Discovering Your Roots”.  He has received many professional honors, including fellowship in the Utah Genealogical Association and distinguished service awards from the Dallas Genealogical Society and the National Society, Daughters of Colonial Founders and Patriots.  Fluent in French, German and Russian, Dr. Colletta’s website provides much more information, so check here for more – http://www.genealogyjohn.com.

You WILL want to register for the day of classes, Dr. Colletta’s lectures – and, if you want a boxed lunch, you MUST register before October 31st!  Register here .

Dr. Colletta’s lectures are:  Finding the Town of Origin: U.S. Sources for Discovering an Ancestor’s Native Town Overseas; Lesser Used Federal Records: Sources of RIch Detail About Ancestors’ Lives; The County Courthouse: Your “Trunk in the Attic”; and Breaking Through Brick Walls: Use your HEAD!  

Additional lectures are scheduled:  Jessica Trotter, Librarian at Capital Area District Libraries, is presenting Genealogy Road Trip: No, Really, It’s Not All Online!  Randy Riley, State Librarian at the Library of Michigan, shares about Library of Michigan: Rise and Fall and Rise of a Family History/Local History Treasure.  Kris Rzepczynski, Senior Archivist at the Archives of Michigan, is offering Researching Great Lakes Migration in the Archives of Michigan’s Abrams Genealogy Collection.  From Dan Earl, VP of the MGC, we’ll hear about Going WAYBACK: Using the Internet Archive in Your Research.

REGISTER NOW!!!

Register here .

 

Strengthening Our Societies Workshop – Recap, Video and Handouts are ONLINE!

While it was back in June that MGC hosted a well-attended workshop at the Pinckney Community Public Library, the recent MGC Newsletter has been shared and perhaps you haven’t seen it – but the content of the workshop and a video are available.  Your society will benefit from the knowledgeable ideas and content of this meeting!  While a panel spoke to specific questions, the video shares the detail of the discussion with an engaged audience of society members from across the state.  Societies are identified so that you can reach out to them for more information.

The newsletter can be found posted on the Michigan Genealogical Council’s website at https://mimgc.org/ where you can download the entire 22-page document with information about this June session and the questions that framed the discussion.  While there isn’t a video of the morning session (due to technical challenges), the afternoon’s session IS available at the “Member Societies log in” area – the video is posted as are the handouts from Jen Baldwin (from July21, 2017) on “Engaging Your Long-Distance Members” and Amy Johnson Crow (from July 9, 2016) on “How to Keep Your Volunteers Happy, Helpful and Engaged”.  Great resources for your society!

John Philip Colletta is coming November 3rd!

The Michigan Genealogical Council is pleased to announce that nationally known speaker and author John Philip Colletta, Ph.D. is the keynote presenter for the next Michigan Genealogical Council Fall Family History Event!!  Co-Hosted by the Archives of Michigan, at the Michigan History Center (702 W. Kalamazoo, Lansing), the event runs all day from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Dr. Colletta lectures nationally, teaches at local schools, and conducts programs for the Smithsonian Institution’s Resident Associate Program. He is a faculty member of the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (University of Georgia, Athens) and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy.

Check our Facebook information page (https://www.facebook.com/events/422461818248460/?active_tab=discussion) and our on-going organization page (https://www.facebook.com/michiganmgc/ ) for more information and registration.

Abrams Foundation Seminar Success!

July 20 – the FIRST of two days of learning, networking and fun!  The crowd was big, engaged, enthusiastic and the two days of learning kept everyone moving!  Opening sessions on Friday included the “Breakout” game (yes, everyone got out before time was called) and a tour of the Archives of Michigan, including the opportunity to go into the vault.

Sessions on the first day included Kris Rzepczynski sharing about Michigan World War I research, Dan Earl on city directories, and James Jackson on “Putting It All Together”.  Here’s Kris presenting:

Switching it up, the late afternoon sessions were Annakathryn Welch’s presentation on Coroner records, Tom Koselka on the records of Detroit & Wayne County, and Dr. James Sims discussing DNA research.

Then time to research (we ARE genealogists, after all, right??!):  After pizza and a lot of networking, the Library and Archives were locked down for the night and everyone was busy until 10 p.m. doing research.  Even Keynote Speaker and special guest David Allen Lambert, researching his Mason County ancestors, was finding what they needed!  A scene from the busy Reading Room of the Archives of Michigan – thank you to Kris Rzepczynski for this picture!

July 21:  The next morning included some great information, special people and recognition of a key woman – Barbara Brown was honored as we began the day.

And we had the great pleasure to welcome Barbara’s family members as we opened the day – shown here:  Kyle Abbott, Sophia Patzer, and Tiffany Patzer honoring their mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

And then what we all came for – David Allen Lambert and his presentations, filling the day with information about researching in New England records.  When David asked for a show of hands of audience members with New England ancestors, virtually the entire room had their hands up!  Here’s the crowd attending (thank you to Katherine Willson for this picture):

David’s first presentation was on New England vital records.

Then the group split up to learn from Archives staff – Kris Rzepczynski sharing about the Abrams Collection and Jill Arnold about the Michigan Naturalization indexing process (are you helping?!).  David Allen Lambert shared again on New England probate records, leading to the final sessions of the day.  President Katherine Willson discussed our ancestors’ “Voyage to America”, while Jill Arnold shared about resources at the Archives about occupational registrations and Jessica Trotter talked about records for our ancestors’ records when they were fighting tuberculosis and the facilities that worked to heal them.

At the end of the day, a group of happy genealogists, researchers and Archives of Michigan staff agreed that it was another success!  Congratulations to all – AND don’t forget that David Allen Lambert is looking for his Mason County ancestors, so keep your eyes out for records he may not know about!  We’re claiming him as a Michigander!!

Naturalization Records & Professional Registries

Saturday, July 21, 2018
11:00-11:45
K. Naturalization Records Online! The Archives of Michigan & FamilySearch

Are you waiting with baited breath for the release of the digitized naturalization records on SeekingMichigan.org? Join Jill Arnold for a current status and the future plans for this project.  The Archives of Michigan and FamilySearch, with assistance from the Michigan Genealogical Council, are partnering to digitize hundreds of thousands of Michigan naturalization records.

Saturday, July 21, 2018
2:30-3:30
N. Licensed to Work: Professional Registries at the Archives of Michigan

Professions over the years have required a person in that profession to register or perhaps take a test to be able to enter the business. Government agencies have at different times required members of certain occupational fields to register, ranging from barbers and doctors to boxers and drugless healers. Jill Arnold will review how to determine an occupation for an individual, identify collections of interest within the Archives of Michigan, and review what kinds of family history information are held within these registries.

Jill Arnold is one of the Archivists frequently helping researchers in the Reading Room. She is a Digital Engagement Archivist with the Archives of Michigan. She works to engage a variety of audiences with Seeking Michigan (seekingmichigan.org), the online platform of the Archives of Michigan. Jill earned a Master of Science in Information with a specialization of Library & Information Science as well as Archives & Records Management from the University of Michigan.

The Abrams Foundation Family History Seminar will be held in Lansing on July 20-21 and will feature David Allen Lambert of the New England Historic Genealogical Society. Brought to you by the Archives of Michigan and the Michigan Genealogical Council, the event’s information, program schedule, and registration page can all be found here: http://seekingmichigan.org/…/2018-abrams-foundation-family-…

Jill Arnold’s presentations: Saturday, July 21, 2018, Session K 11:00-11:45 and Session N 2:30-3:30.
We look forward to seeing you in Lansing!