This is the first edition of our new monthly newsletter- The Dispatch! Many of you are familiar with the Main Line Genealogy Club but we would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves to those just discovering us.
The Main Line Genealogy Club welcomes all who are interested in learning more about their ancestors, both newcomers and those who are more experienced. Our purpose is to present programs that will help both new and experienced students to research their own family genealogies and to learn new techniques for improving their knowledge of their ancestors and their family histories.
MLGC is a Pennsylvania Not-for-Profit Association run by a set of volunteers called the Planning Committee. We share the responsibilities for the administration of club meetings. Each month in The Dispatch, a few members of the planning committee will provide a tip or highlight a genealogical resource in their area of expertise. This month you will find suggestions by Laverna Saunders, Sydney Cruice Dixon and Paul Campbell-Trimbur.
The Club meets the 2nd Thursday of the month, September through June, from 1 to 3 pm.The Club began holding its monthly meetings online using Zoom in April, 2020. We will continue to meet online for the foreseeable future. We ask you to make a $5.00 contribution at each meeting to help defray our expenses. Use the link to "Cheddar Up" in the meeting details to donate. Zoom link information for each meeting is sent to all those on our email list. See Zoom instructions here.
We now offer a Virtual Help Desk before each meeting! If you have a genealogy question or issue, please come prepared with the type of information, or document you are seeking, the approximate geographic location, and the approximate time period. Then connect to our Zoom meeting at 12:30 pm. There you will be moved to a separate Zoom meeting room where one or two of our planning committee members will attempt to provide you with guidance before the meeting begins at 1:00 pm EDT.
We hope to see you at our next meeting on Thursday, November 11th. The MLGC Planning Committee
Join us next month for:
In this talk Chris Paton, author of Tracing Your Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records, takes us to pre-19th century Scotland, when things begin to get a little more complicated with our ancestral research. From Kirk to state, a variety of records are available, but it's one thing to find them, and quite another to understand them, with different handwriting styles, language problems and the feudal nature of Scottish society forming some of the many challenges that make earlier Scottish research fun but challenging. Chris will explore the various record types available, and how to access them both online and offline.
Originally from Northern Ireland, Chris Paton is a genealogist and writer today based in Ayrshire, Scotland, where he runs the Scotland’s Greatest Story research service at www.scotlandsgreateststory.co.uk. As well as contributing to many of the UK’s best known family history magazines, he also writes for his own Scottish GENES news blog at www.scottishgenes.blogspot.com, and regularly gives talks to family history societies across the UK and worldwide. His recent Pen and Sword publications include Tracing Your Scottish Family History on the Internet, Tracing Scottish Ancestry Through Church and State Records, Tracing Your Irish Family History on the Internet (2nd edition), Sharing Your Family History Online, and Tracing Your Irish Ancestors Through Land Records.
This is a Zoom Meeting. $5. contribution suggested. Please use this link to donate through Cheddar Up.
Upcoming MLGC Meetings All meetings are on the 2nd Thursday of the month
September through June, 1:00-3:00
Help Desk open 12:30- 12:55
In September, Steve Morse gave us a tour of his website One-Step Webpages, which provides tools for finding immigration records, census records, vital records and much more. Click on "About this website and how to use it", for an overview and start searching more effectively.
October's meeting was a lecture by Rich Venezia of Rich Roots Genealogy. Rich discussed ways to pin down your elusive immigrant ancestor’s place of origin using some well known and lesser known record sets, ideas, and techniques.
An essential resource for genealogy research is a library card. Local libraries cooperate and permit residents of nearby counties to cross register for book circulation. Database access may be restricted to residents only. However, any resident of Pennsylvania may apply for a card that provides access to a variety of resources provided by the Free Library of Philadelphia and its branches. You may even apply for a card online at Free Library Philadelphia. Your barcode and pin may be required for access to certain databases and electronic resources. Remember to ask a librarian if you have any questions!
One book title recommended recently by Rich Venezia, and available at area libraries, is: Colletta, John Philip. They Came in Ships: A Guide to Finding your Immigrant Ancestor’s Arrival Record. 3d ed., updated and revised. Orem, UT: Ancestry, 2002, 165 pages.
Colletta describes “what one needs to know and where to find it.” He describes periods of immigration, ports, passenger lists, years not covered by National Archives indexes, and other resources to search. He includes a bibliography, illustrations, and a research flow chart.
This month's Top Tip is: Don’t be Afraid to Ask for Help
It is how you ask that makes all the difference. When asking for help from librarians, archivists and other personnel, be brief,
DO NOT tell your whole family story-
1) ask for the type of document or information you are seeking.
2) indicate the approximate time period.
3) give the approximate geographic location.
My pick for this month's podcast is "Your Pennsylvania Ancestors" with Denys Allen. Her website is PA Ancestors. Here you will find her blog, podcast and lots of helpful information with genealogy research suggestions. While other podcasts do a great job of giving updates on what is new and exciting at Ancestry or other big websites, Denys focuses on local and Pennsylvania information. She has interviewed archivists from local PA Historical Societies as far away as Erie and Western PA and as close as the Philadelphia Archives on her podcast. Read through the podcast synopsis on her website or wherever you get your podcasts and I am I sure you will find several of interest. You can also watch them on her Youtube channel, like this one- The History of Adoption in Pennsylvania.
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