Sunday, June 26, 2011

Summer Research Trips



Summer is a great time to travel and visit the areas where your ancestors lived. Preparation for these research trips is very important. I just returned from a little place called Raywick, Kentucky where my father's mother was born and raised. All that remains there now are a few houses, a small grocery store, a Catholic Church and 2 bars. In the local cemetery, I was able to take 64 pictures of relatives who I had never met.



I also visited the county public library located in nearby Lebanon, Kentucky. The genealogy room was very small, but contained usefull information compiled by local genealogists. This is information that will probably never be on Ancestry. In the short time that I was there, I met five people who had compiled books for the collection. What an incredible day.



Plan ahead on your next research trip by gathering some important information before you go: check on the days and hours the genealogy department is open, ask if food and drinks are allowed in the department, and find out if the resources can be copied, scanned or photographed. Be sure to bring information on the people you will be researching, either on paper or on a laptop and don't forget your flash drive, portable scanner and camera. These gadgets really make genealogy research easier.



I'm proud to say, that on my recent research trip, I followed by own advice on everything, but it would have been nice to have had GPS in my automobile. It might have saved me an hour's drive in the wrong direction when leaving Raywick. I'll add that to my list.



Monday, June 6, 2011

GenFest 2011 at Kokomo

Don't forget, GenFest 2011 will be held Friday, June 10 from 12:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, June 11 from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. at the Kokomo-Howard County Public Library - Main Branch. Take advantage of the opportunity to use the large genealogy collection for research, enjoy the vendors, door prizes and snacks. On Saturday, we will have speakers through out the day. 9:30-10:30 a.m. - Cathy Wright from Indiana Landmarks - "How to Research Your Historic Home". 11:00-12:00 p.m. - Janet Winrotte, Digitization Coordinator - "Digitization at KHCPL". 1:30-2:30 p.m. - John Morr, Howard County Historian - "Pioneer Relatives". 3:00-4:00 p.m. - Members of the Sons of Union Veterans will share "Stories of the Civil War".
Join us for this exciting and informative event.
For more information go to www.KHCPL.org/genfest2011 .