Events Calendar

Date: October 15, 2024 Time: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

An Artifact Breaks Down a Brick Wall

Guest speaker: Susan Feinberg

A treasured family memoir led me to search the internet for a piece of a religious sculpture my great-grandfather created in the early 20th century in Lithuania that supposedly ended up in an unnamed synagogue in Canada. While I never found any evidence of that particular sculpture, I did discover that his “masterwork” survived the destruction of the Jewish Lithuanian community during World War II and was on permanent display in a museum in his home country. This presentation describes the research tools and processes I used to verify that the artist whose work I found was indeed my great-grandfather and includes an interesting twist that happily resulted in an expansion of my family tree.

Date: November 16, 2024 Time: 10:30 AM to 02:00 PM

Annual Joint Program and Luncheon with the Falmouth Genealogical Society

Guest speaker: Michael LeClerc

The Annual Joint meeting with the Falmouth Genealogy Society features Certified Genealogist, Michael Leclerc who will give two presentations. At 10:30 A.M., Michael will present: Probate Records and Beyond. 

We will break for lunch at 11:30 A.M. – you may preorder a Lobster Roll ($25) or Chicken Salad Roll ($15), served with chips, brownie, and a beverage. (Please contact Judy Fenner at bfennerpgm@comcast.net or 508-776-9401 no later than Thursday, November 7 by 8:00 P.M.

 At 12:30 P.M., Michael will present How to Read Old Genealogical documents.

Date: December 17, 2024 Time: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

Annual Members Share Program

Our Annual Member Share meeting is an opportunity for Members to share what they have been working on. Have you broken through a brick wall? Have a research technique to share? We'd love to hear your story. 

Date: January 21, 2025 Time: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

Persevere! Finding the Impossible Ancestor With or Without DNA

Guest speaker: Katharine Peace

Kate's Dad's side of the family presented one of those solid brick walls. Her great-grandfather, John Reid, had been born in Scotland and emigrated to New Jersey in the 1880's. Family lore had it that he was from somewhere in the region of Glasgow, and that his mother's name might be Caroline. With just these few clues to go on, Kate embarks on a determined effort to unearth the roots of John Reid. The thorniest question of all would be the hardest to crack .... who was John Reid's father? From the textile factories of Southern Scotland to the silk mills of New Jersey, Kate describes the methods used to discover facts about this working class family in Victorian Era Scotland, a time and place not kind to the poor. The presentation offers enticing details included in her new historical novel, written about this genealogical adventure.

Date: February 18, 2025 Time: 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM

Federal Land Records: Bounty Land, Land Entry Files, and Homesteading

Guest Speaker: Melanie McComb

Throughout its history, the United States has offered several land incentives to encourage settlement and migration westward. In this presentation, we will first discuss federal bounty land warrants for military service between 1775 and 1855 and then delve more deeply into homesteading records including land entry case files, patents, and tract books.