Genealogists, novice and advanced, will have the run of the Brighton District Library and the exclusive use of library computers during what’s being billed as a “fun and informative annual after-hours event.”
The Genealogy After-Hours Night will be held at the Brighton District Library on Friday, September 29 from 6 – 10 p.m., featuring two presentations from genealogy speaker Dan Fantore plus plenty of time to dig into your own family histories on the computers with help from Genealogy and Local History Librarian Mark Mullinax.
The first presentation, Breaking Down Brick Walls, starts at 6:15 p.m. Learn about the causes of genealogical “Brick Walls” and some potential solutions to scaling them.
“The causes of Brick Walls are many and the solutions may be many also. Bring your Brick Walls. You’ve overcome Brick Walls in the past—you can do it again!,” said a press release.
The second presentation, Evaluating Genealogical Evidence, begins at 8:30 p.m. Many genealogy researchers eventually come across information that contradicts other data in their family tree, but library officials say this presentation will help you determine the value of the evidence that you uncover. In addition to discussing genealogical standards of evidence, the presentation will also examine the importance of effectively evaluating genealogical sources when they agree and especially when they present conflicting information. Strengths and weaknesses of common sources (census schedules, birth and death certificates) will be discussed along with challenges encountered with indices. Finally, an explanation of original versus derivative sources will be provided.
In between presentations, attendees will have the opportunity to search their family histories and work on other genealogical projects with the assistance of our librarian.
Presenter Dan Fantore began researching his family history in 1995, starting with his German-Lutheran families of Port Hope, Huron County, Michigan. Since then he has also researched his Italian roots, using Italian civil records. Dan was a family history center volunteer librarian in Annandale, Virginia for eight years. He has done research for clients and others including research in German, Scottish, French, Italian and African-American research records. After researching for years, Dan has recently been spending his time writing family histories for all of his families. He has written family histories of his Schewe, Schultz, Pepe, Fornataro, and Brade families and is currently writing his Schewe/Schave Family History.
You can register for the event at https://bit.ly/BDLGenealogyAH or call 810-229-6571 for more information.
The Brighton District Library is located at 100 Library Drive, Brighton, MI 48116.
