October is National Family History Month. This is a great opportunity to talk about family history and make sure your family story is remembered for decades (and centuries) to come!

Starting to compile your family history can seem like an overwhelming task: Where do you start? What resources can you access? How do you put it all together?

When we reached out to the Erie Society for Genealogical Research to find answers to these questions and more, we realized it couldn’t just be limited to one talk – so we have a series of speakers to help you with your genealogy journey!

SPEAKER SERIES IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED. 

All speakers are at 10:00 am in the GE Multipurpose Room. You may want to bring a clipboard and writing materials. Some talks will include handouts and Power Point presentations.

Wednesday, Oct 4:

Sue Mueller presents Beginning Genealogy: How to begin your family history research and avoid making mistakes. Skills covered include exploring library resources across the country, free genealogy websites and resources, and using social media to help with your research.

Wednesday, October 11: 

Helen Shimek presents DNA Technology and Your Family Tree. DNA testing has enabled her to break down brick walls, and she enjoys helping others understand its value for family research.

Wednesday, October 18: 

Connie Edwards presents Writing Your Family History.  A discussion of what to do with your family information once gathered, including how to handle family legends, the black sheep in the family tree, and a brief look at how artificial intelligence may be able to help us write our family’s story.

PRESENTERS:

Sue Mueller  is a retired educator/administrator with over 25 years of serious genealogy work.  Seven years ago she combined her educator background with her interest in genealogy and began teaching regular genealogy classes at the Erie County Public Library, both in-person and more recently via Zoom.  She has also served as a beta tester for Family Tree Maker genealogy software.

Helen Shimek, born and raised in Erie, PA, has been researching her family history for over 10 years.  DNA testing has enabled her to break down brick walls, and she enjoys helping others understand its value for family research.  As a member of the Erie Society for Genealogical Research (ESGR) she has been leading a DNA Special Interest Group (SIG) since 2018.  Helen has attended lectures and conferences about using DNA for genealogy, including the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh’s Practical Genetic Genealogy course in 2015.

Millcreek resident Connie Edwards has been interested in her family history since she was a teenager. Writing has always been part of her life too. In her profession as a kitchen and bath designer, she wrote many articles for trade journals and in 2003, McGraw-Hill published her book Beautiful Built-ins. Currently, she is a regular contributing writer to Keystone Kuzzins, the newsletter for the Erie Society of Genealogy Research (ESGR). She has written several books on her family history and believes there is always a way to share your story in written form.

Questions? Please contact Karen McLellan at [email protected] or call 814-899-9622

Jim McQuiston – “The Curse of Oak Island”, an Insider’s View

Historian and author

“The Curse of Oak Island” contributor will give a presentation which includes an introduction to Oak Island, photos of presentations in the “war room” on the popular History Channel TV Show “The Curse of Oak Island”, anecdotes about the Oak Island team, and an explanation of his Oak Island theory.

Jim is an historian and author of seven books written on the Oak Island, Nova Scotia mystery. He has worked with the Oak Island team as a historical theorist since 2016, appearing seven times on the show. Books will be available for purchase.

Tuesday, Oct 9th – Eastside YMCA, 6PM, GE Room

This event is FREE and open to the public

Questions – Contact Karen McLellan at  [email protected]