Nov 30

December 5 Meeting and Handout

Magnificent Land Records and Where to Find Them

Tuesday December 5, 2003, 7 p.m.

St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 5500 N Adams Road, Troy, Michigan

You can download the handout in the member’s area now. Use this link and search for December 2023. The handout is available to logged in members only. You will be asked to log in if you have not done so.

Land records are an important piece of any genealogical puzzle, especially in years that pre-date census records and vital records. We will review the various types of land records that are typically held in a courthouse.

Our speaker is Jeff Mason who worked as a CPA in the Lansing area for 31 years and is presently retired. He has been an active genealogist for the last 47 years, doing extensive research in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. He has also performed extensive research of records in England & Wales, as his English research has taken him to the former Family History Centre in London, the Society of Genealogists in London, the Worcestershire County Records office, and visits to ancestral hometowns in rural England. Jeff is a contributor to the Find-A-Grave project, is responsible for requiring his daughter to hold membership in the DAR, is the administrator and co-founder of the Nason Family DNA project through FamilyTreeDNA.com, and for the last 12 years a frequent speaker at genealogical and historical societies throughout Michigan.

The meeting will be held at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 5500 N. Adams Rd. (between Long Lake and Square Lake Roads), Troy, MI 48098. The church has a flat entrance and ample, lighted parking. Meetings are open to the public and free of charge; all are welcome.  This meeting is in-person only.

 

Nov 17

Join our Board

Hi folks. We are looking for a few good people to join our board. We could use help in a variety of ways, including publicity and programming. We are a easy going bunch who work together. Message us to explore opportunities! Info@ocgsmi.org or president@ocgsmi.org.

Nov 07

The Fox Wars: Conflict in the Middle Ground– November 11, 2023

The handout has been posted in the Member’s Area of our website at:
https://ocgsmi.org/meeting-handouts/


You will need to log in to download / view the handout. When logged in, search for November 2023, or November, or 2023 and scroll to the meeting description to download.

During the heyday of the French at Fort Detroit, a devastating war was sparked there against the nearby Fox (Meskwaki) Tribe. This horrifying conflict would spread throughout the Midwest with catastrophic consequences for everyone in the Old Northwest.

The speaker will be Logan Knight of the Allen county Public Library.

Logan Knight hails from Henderson, Kentucky. He graduated from Hanover College in 2010 before going on to pursue his Master’s Degree in History at Indiana State University. This was followed by an internship at the Kentucky Historical Society as well as working at the National Museum of Transportation and the Pulitzer Arts Foundation as a tour guide. Logan went on to serve as a Special Collections Librarian for more than six years at the Vigo County Public Library and received his MLS from IUPUI in the summer of 2021. While earning these degrees and working with people from all over the state, Logan discovered a real excitement for the fascinating complexities of Indiana history, particularly the early history of the state. Due to his background in history and genealogy, his interests and specialties lie in American, Indiana and Midwestern History. Logan has a passion for entwining history and genealogy to provide context to both individual and family stories. Genealogy is far more than just lines on a sheet. By using his knowledge of history, Logan hopes to make family stories come alive with historical context.

The in-person meeting will take place at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church (5500 N Adams Rd, Troy) at 11:00 a.m. There will be 30 minutes of check-in and social time at 10:30 a.m before the program begins.

The program will be presented via Zoom from ACPL and broadcast to all online and in-person.

This is our joint program with the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research (DSGR).

A registration link will be send to members who cannot attend in person in advance. In-person attendance is encouraged.  Public registration will be allowed prior to the event if space is available.

Please register and select “in-person” if you will join us at the church. Your response will help us set up the room appropriately.

Register here at this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/9616989305316/WN_NWbH7gHAR-WU-i34xGAjMw#/registration

 

Sep 25

Our Meeting on October 3 is Canceled

Due to circumstances beyond our control, our October 3 meeting is canceled. Plan to join us in person or by Zoom  on Saturday,  November 11 for our joint meeting with the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research.

Aug 11

2023-24 Program Schedule

Our 2023-24 program schedule is complete and posted under events. You may download and print a a program schedule here. Please read a message from our President, Judy Nimer Muhn which is posted here.

Our meetings are held at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 5500 N. Adams Rd. (between Long Lake and Square Lake Roads), Troy, MI 48098. The church has a flat entrance and ample, lighted parking. Meetings are open to the public and free of charge; all are welcome. The hybrid joint meeting with the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research (DSGR) will be on Saturday, November 2nd at 11 a.m. We are planning for hybrid meetings, however, in-person attendance is encouraged. The Zoom link for all meetings will be posted a week in advance on our website and in our Facebook Event.

Jun 06

2023 Barbara J. Brown Family History Seminar

The Michigan Genealogical Council and the Archives of Michigan will present the Seminar June 23 from 1 p.m. to June 24 at 4 p.m.

Each summer, the Archives of Michigan and the Michigan Genealogical Council host a seminar to promote family history awareness and teach genealogy research skills. The Abrams Foundation generously supports the event in loving memory of Barbara J. Brown.

For this year’s event, we are pleased to offer this flagship annual gathering as a hybrid event. Participants can attend sessions either online or onsite. We are delighted to host Drew Smith, who will join us on-site here in Lansing and through Zoom to our virtual attendees.

For the complete schedule of events and speaker bios.

May 30

Early New England Research

Early New England Research

Laressa Northrup will present an overview of immigration to New England prior to the Revolutionary war. Coverage will include general statistics, information on various jurisdictions in New England, and types of records to

search for. Find out where immigrants to New England came from and unique records that were kept during this time period. will present an overview of immigration to New England prior to the Revolutionary war. Coverage will include general statistics, information on various jurisdictions in New England, and types of records to search for. Find out where immigrants to New England came from and unique records that were kept during this time period.

Laressa Northrup has been interested in family history since 1978. She holds advanced certificates from the National Institute of Genealogical Studies in US genealogy, Canadian genealogy, and English genealogy. Her specific interests are New York, Pennsylvania, Religious Research, and Photographs.

This is a virtual meeting via Zoom. Register now at this link:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcudu2sqDspG9ciYw72Jzl03Gc91ty1A7_X

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

See you there!

Apr 11

If you are Interested in Researching Veterans

My name is Jennifer Holik. I’m a Chicago area WWI/WWII researcher and genealogist.

In 2024 we honor and remember our WWII veterans and war dead during the 80th Anniversary of D-Day. If you are seeking WWII programming, I have what you need. I’m now booking through 2024, individual programs, half-or full-day seminars, and study groups to teach my 2-step process to research any veteran from WWII, even if the records burned. The strategies I developed also apply to WWI, Korea & Vietnam and will save researchers time, money, and frustration.

If any of your members may be considering late 2023 or 2024 travel to walk the footsteps of their WWII ancestors, starting research earlier is better. Archives are mostly functioning at pre-2020 levels but that is not always a guarantee.

To learn more and schedule events, please visit my seminar page at the Ancestral Souls Wisdom School. https://www.ancestralsoulswisdomschool.com/stories-from-the-battlefield-GS

For military research books, genealogy curriculum books, and nine years of WWII educational articles, videos, records and more, please visit the WWII Research & Writing Center. https://wwiirwc.com

 

Mar 14

No Joke!

No joke: the deadline for articles for Acorns to Oaks is April 1.
Let’s have some fun!
Challenge: pick an Oakland County or Michigan ancestor and tell their story. Where did they come from? When did they arrive in Michigan? Why did they come? Where did they settle? What was their occupation? What unusual records have you found about them? Is anything interesting or unique about them?
Write their story in a paragraph or a page and send to: qeditor@ocgsmi.org on or before April 1.

Feb 28

Tracing Your Dutch Roots

March 7 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Many communities across the United States boast a rich Dutch heritage, owing their founding and regional culture to the influence of Dutch immigration. This presentation will explore resources and techniques to trace your Dutch ancestors in the United States and back into the Netherlands, with additional emphasis on cultural and historical context that surrounded the lives of your Dutch ancestors. Presenter: Alexander Tolksdorf.

Alexander Tolksdorf is a genealogist and speaker, specializing in German, Dutch, and Eastern European research. He began his personal journey in high school, inspired by a trip to Ellis Island and through a correspondence with his great uncle in Germany, who also was an active family historian. All four of his grandparents immigrated to the United States in the 1950s following the Second World War; as such, the majority of his research experience and focus is in European sources.

Register in advance for this virtual meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEpceqgpjssE9Di6Hif5wel4RIkSIZfi_yr