Behind the Headlines

By Paula Wethington

I began my genealogy project in 1990.

I started with the wonderful blessing of  written family histories and genealogical lists from three branches of the family line that detailed several generations of ancestry and left off with my great-grandparents.

Since that time, several of my relatives have been researching one family line or another as time is available or they become interested in a particular story from the past (my mother did a report on one of her ancestors for a women’s history class.) And we do share information and research back and forth.

So while I haven’t done serious genealogy research in about 10 years, I do have a huge database of names in my computer and a box of photocopies and records. I still add to my collection  if I run across something of interest, with the intention that I’ll jump back into the hobby at some point.

Today, my assignments for The Monroe Evening News included visiting the Genealogical Society of Monroe County’s annual Spring Seminar at Monroe County Community College. I will have a report in Sunday’s paper about the event.

I’ve been trying to talk  my mother into coming to this event for the past couple of years, but either she or I have had schedule conflicts. Now that I’ve seen the event first-hand, I am very much interested in attending future GMC seminars.

You don’t have to have family in Monroe County to find this event useful, although, of course, many of the local history books were available for purchase. The vendor tables had history books and census charts available from several states. The other vendor wares included T-shirts, tote bags, clip art featuring images from several ethnic traditions, cross-stitch patterns, magnifying glasses, family heritage posters, and cookbooks featuring various historical eras.

And the topics of the day featured German ancestry, which a lot of Americans have somewhere in their family tree branches.

If you are interested in genealogy, the registration area had information about two events later this year.

• The Dearborn Genealogical Society will host its annual bus trip to the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne on May 12. The bus departs Dearborn at 7 a.m., returns at 10:30 p.m. The cost is $42 for the public, $11 for dinner, bring your own lunch. Reservations for the public will be accepted starting March 27 and all reservations are first-come, first-served. For details, call Linus Drogs at (313) 565-7291 or Tom Koselka at (734) 729-7590.
• The Western Wayne County Genealogical Society will present its “Shortcuts to Somewhere” seminar on Nov. 7 in Livonia. Topics include genealogical serarch tools, navigating the New York state census and “Playing Hide and Seek in the U.S. Census. The cost is $25 per person, $7 for lunch or bring your own lunch. For information, call Sue Cromwell at (248) 477-5846.