Genealogical Society of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Inc.
Meetings
Programs feature speakers on subjects useful to genealogists. Meetings are publicized in local newspapers, in the Ann Arbor Observer, on the Arborweb website (the Ann Arbor Observer's home page) under Events, and in the GSWC Newsletter. Classes are held after the regular meeting.
Non-members are welcome!
Schedule 2008-2009
Census records 1790-1840 present a variety of challenges and researchers may be tempted to give them short shrift. We will look what valuable information these records contain, how to read and analyze that information and apply it to your research strategy.
Class: Panel on Virginia and West Virginia Genealogy
About our speaker:
Bobbie Snow has been researching her family for over 30 years, with an emphasis on finding all descendants of a James Mackerwithey, who settled in Dedham Massachusetts in the 1660s. She has worked as a volunteer at the Family History Library for over twenty years, serves as librarian for the Genealogical Society of Washtenaw County and occasionally teaches classes and gives talks on the subject of genealogy research. Bobbie is also the webmaster of a site intended to help researchers called Bobbie's Genealogy Classroom.
Speaker: Mary Griffes
Mary Griffes will help you become familiar with old styles of handwriting so that you will be able to decipher old census forms, wills, deeds, and other documents.
Class: Carolyn Griffin on Tracing Collateral Lines
Researching your great-grandparent's brother or sister may provide the clues to allow you to push your research back another generation.
About our speaker:
Mary Griffes has been researching her genealogy for more than 40 years. She started working in the Lansing Family History Center in the early 1980s. She has been the director of the Lansing Center for the last 12 years and before that was the assistant director. She speaks frequently on a wide range of genealogy topics.
Speaker: Kris Rzepczynski
Class Topic: Naturalization Records
Speaker: Kris Rzepczynski
About our speaker:
Kris Rzepczynski is a Michigan/Genealogy Coordinator for the Library of Michigan in Lansing. Here's a recent message we received from Kris about Michigan death records:
The Michigan death records, 1897 to 1920, microfilm set is back at the Library of Michigan and available for researchers to use onsite. Some behind-the-scenes work remains for the newly digitized death records and on Seeking Michigan, the website where the death records will be available for free searching and downloading. Please check back for more information about the launch date. Seeking Michigan is a joint project of the Library of Michigan and the Archives of Michigan. Funding from the Talbert and Leota Abrams Foundation is making the death records digitization project possible.
Speaker: Professor Richard Rubenfeld
Professor Rubenfeld will remind us of our Civil War relatives who fought on both sides, the Confederate and the Union, as he presents Winslow Homer's significant body of graphic and painted works about the war. This is an inside perspective on Homer's portraits of key players and graphic descriptions of some of the historic battles.
Class: Tracing Two Michigan Brothers in the Civil War
Speaker: Carolyn Griffin
Carolyn will used a range of historical records including military and pension records to discuss two brothers who served in the Union army.
About our speaker:
Professor Richard Rubenfeld is a professor of Art History in the Art Department of Eastern Michigan University. He currently teaches classes there and frequently gives lectures in his area of expertise. He has been the recipient of many awards and has published numerous works in teh area of Art and Art History.
Speaker: Wystan Stevens
A slide show of highlights found in selected area graveyards, narrated by Wystan Stevens. Stevens shows examples of tomb sculpture, bas relief, stained glass, and related curiosa, all with a local accent.
Beginning Class: Genealogy Begins at Home
Speaker: Barbara Giezentaner
Many people who are new to genealogy are confused as to where to start. This class will cover ideas about the first steps new genealogists should take to get their work started on a firm foundation. Sources in the home, books and other resources will be discussed.
About our speaker:
Wystan Stevens, an Ann Arbor native and U of M grad, has long been obsessed with local history. He has lectured and led tours of historic districts and buildings, and is best known for his annual tours of Ann Arbor's Forest Hill Cemetery. A collector of old postcards and photographs, he has a gallery of over two hundred on the internet at flickr.com, for all to enjoy. Stevens is also a lecturer and writer, and the author/editor of Northfield Harvest, an extensively-illustrated history of Northfield Township and the Whitmore Lake area.
Speaker: Karen Jania
Beginning Class: Using Forms & Software
Speaker: Nancy Krohn & Bobbi Snow
Beginning Class: 2 of the 4 C's: City Directories & 1920-1930 Census Records
Speaker: Marcia McCrary
Speaker: Stephen Charter
Class: There are no dumb questions in genealogy!
Panel
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http://www.hvcn.org/info/gswc/meetings.htm
Designed by S. Brevoort. Revised 16 January 2008. Send comments or changes to wwwgswc@aol.com.
GSWC logo © GSWC; Images © GSWC, Corel Corporation; photographs © S. Brevoort.