Sunday October 11, 2015 Family History Forum

If you’ve ever wanted to learn more about your family tree, then the Family History Forum is your chance to get some help from the experts. The Thunder Bay Public Library is holding its second annual Family History Forum at the Mary J.L. Black Branch Library on Saturday, October 24th from 1-4pm.  This event was launched in 2014 and nobody was entirely sure what to expect in terms of public attendance; which turned out to be an unnecessary worry as the family history enthusiasts came out in droves. Based on that success and the feedback received from participants, this year’s forum is going to be even better.

Local genealogist Dave Nicholson will be the host for the afternoon’s activities. “There isn’t a specific theme for the Forum; we want to have a variety of discussions based on three concepts – technology sources for genealogy, a family historian sharing their personal research experience, and traditional records not found on the Internet.”

While commercials for ancestry websites can make it seem as simple as a couple of clicks to find your entire family tree, not all the answers can be found online. Basic family history research techniques include talking to relatives about the stories of their ancestors and working back from the present to the past, one generation a time.

The afternoon sessions include Sharing Your Family Archives Online with Sara Janes (City of Thunder Bay Archives), Using DNA Tests To Find Your Family with Clare Cook (Thunder Bay Branch – OGS), and Genealogy and the Funeral Home: What Can I Find and Where with Sheleigh Dika (Everest Funeral Home). There will be a Q&A session to wrap up the afternoon as well as a variety of door prizes for those in attendance. Light refreshments will be available.
The Library is also offering an Ancestry Library Edition database class on the same day from 11am-12pm, pre-registration for this class is required and space is limited. Call 684-6815 to register.

The Family History Forum is free of charge and takes place from 1-4pm on Saturday, October 24 at the Mary J.L. Black Branch Library. No registration is required. Connect with this event on Facebook to get updates leading up to the day. Contact Jesse Roberts at jroberts@tbpl.ca for more information or with questions.

Jesse Roberts