NOTE:  During this time of uncertainty with Covid, our meetings are being held virtually. We hope to eventually return to meeting at the library, but at this point no date has been set for that. We are still meeting on the 2^nd Monday of each month at 7 p.m.

Meetings are held the second Monday of each month in the meeting room at the North Ridgeville Branch of the Lorain Public Library, 35700 Bainbridge Road, North Ridgeville, Ohio 44039, 440-327-8326. Social Time: 6:30 pm; the general meeting and program begins at 7:00 pm. Exceptions such as field trips, picnics and other activities will be announced in advance here and in the Lorain County Researcher. Check back to this link often so that you can plan your calendar for attendance at our meetings!

For more information on joining our virtual meetings, please email:

meetings@loraincoogs.org

2022

December 12 – Roslyn Torella – “Did Your Ancestor Marry at a Gretna Green” - a place where many eloping couples are married

November 14 – Michael John Neill presents “What is Unwritten” - Many documents provide the proverbial tip of the proverbial iceberg. It is up to the genealogist to uncover what lies underneath. Usually, the real story is not told within the document itself. And a good sleuth draws a series of logical connections between genealogical evidence and historical facts with a good dose of common sense thrown in the mix.

October 10 – Breaking Brick Walls – A group discussion on breaking down your brick walls.

September 12 – Peggy Lauritzen presents “Navigating Our Way Through FamilySearch” – FamilySearch has many hidden resources and their website frequently changes. Learn how to find even more resources for finding your ancestors.

August 8 – Margaret Cheney presents “Make Your Negatives Positive” – a program about scanning old slides and negatives to your smart phone or computer to see these lost images. This program will be recorded.

July – NO MEETING

June 13 – Lisa Alzo presents “Finding Your Slovak Roots Online”.  With more information coming online and greater access to records, there’s never been a better time to research your Slovak ancestors. This session will review some of the best online resources available for Slovak genealogists, including the digitized images available on FamilySearch.org, and other key websites you might be missing for locating records, maps, networking with fellow researchers, and tracking down historical information.

Lisa A. Alzo, M.F.A., is a freelance writer, instructor, and internationally recognized lecturer, specializing in Eastern European research and writing your family history She is the author of eleven books and hundreds of magazine articles. Lisa works as an online educator and writing coach through her website Research, Write, Connect, <https://www.researchwriteconnect.com>.and developed the Eastern European Research Certificate Program for the National Institute for Genealogical Studies.  Visit <https://www.lisaalzo.com> for more information.

May 9 – Judy Nimer Muhn presents “So You Think You Are

An Indian Princess” Judy will help debunk the theory of Native American Ancestry or tell you how to prove it.

Judy has been researching her family tree from the age of 12, specializing in French-Canadian, Acadian, Native American and Michigan research.  Beginning as a professional genealogist in Europe in 1993, she has lectured at National Genealogical Society conferences, RootsTech, Federation of Genealogical Societies as well as conferences in Europe and around the United States. 

April 11 – Diana Crisman Smith presents "Extra! Extra! Ancestors Exposed in the News: Using Newspapers in Genealogy".

Newspapers were the original Facebook for news among communities. There is much more to find than obituaries or marriages. Join us as Diana gives us pointers to find much more about our ancestors.

Diana Crisman Smith has been researching since childhood and served with her husband Gary as a lay librarian at the Westlake, Ohio Family History Center for more than 20 years. She has been active as a researcher, speaker, writer, and teacher since the 1980's

March 14 – George G. Morgan presents Genealogy Orienteering: Using Maps to Find the Right Place

This seminar presents and discusses a simple yet efficient methodology and some resources to help you use maps to quickly and effectively locate the right place to conduct your research.

February 14 – Stephen Wendt presents Hitting the Prussian Genealogical Jackpot: Beyond Church Records - Sometimes church records are not enough to make further progress with Prussian family research. Gain a better understanding for other types of records with this Prussian case study.   

January 10 - Professional researcher Carla S. Cegielski, will give a presentation on the Daughters of the American Revolution's Genealogical Research System (GRS). She will show attendees how the multi-faceted GRS is a genealogical resource available to everyone. It offers a variety of indexes, many of which cannot be found elsewhere. Discover some new tools to assist you in your family history research. – This program will not be recorded per the speaker’s request.

2021

January 11 - "The Coded Census" presented by Thomas MacEntee

Thomas will discuss the history of Census Codes, what categories they covered, where to find the census coded tools online for each census from 1910 to 1950, what instructions the enumerator was given, and how these codes can help in genealogy research.

February 8 – Using Excel for Your Genealogy – presented by John Kolb. Learn how Excel can be a valuable tool to use for genealogical purposes.

March 8 – Irish Genealogy – presented by Michael Brophy -

The lecture will start with the central event in the history of Irish genealogy, the destruction of the Public records Office in Dublin on June 30, 1922. As a result unique challenges and realistic expectations for Irish ancestral research will be discussed. Vital rec-ords, immigration documentation, and unique resources will be presented. Examples are used to emphasize key principals and record holdings such as the lineage of notable Irish American Grace Kelly. The overall goal of the lecture is to give attendees a practical guide to finding the origins of their Irish ancestors in a broad overview lecture.

April 12 – NO MEETING DUE TO OGS CONFERENCE

May 10 - "A Case Study: A Mystery First Cousin" with Kelly Bergheimer - Learn the methodology and steps needed to uncover who a person is in your autosomal DNA match list. Learn how to manage those tough ethical dilemmas and hear ideas on how to responsibly hold the knowledge of a family secret.

Kelli Bergheimer, is a writer, teacher, editor, and national genealogical speaker.

June 14 "Gerr's Journey To Find Her Birth Father: A Case Study" with Kelly Bergheimer

JULY – NO MEETING

AUGUST 9 – “NaturalizationKnow-How: The Laws & Records of  U.S. Citizenship” – presented by Rich Venezia. Rich is a nationally known speaker.

SEPTEMBER – Ohio Deed Research with Dana Palmer.

OCTOBER – “The Magic of German Church Records” with Katherine Schober

NOVEMBER – Brian Rhinehart, will present "Finding Your 19th Century Ancestors on Fold3-- Is There a Better Way?"

DECEMBER 13 – “Death by Undue Means’ Coroner’s Records” – presented by Judy G. Russell, The Legal Genealogist. This program will not be recorded. Judy is another nationally known speaker and presents with a sense of humor as well.

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