A reminder that the deadline for Acorns to Oaks is July 1. There is time to prepare your articles, updates, and genealogical related information with Jay, our editor. He will help if you need it as you write! email to: qeditor@ocgsmi.org.
Thanks!
May 22
Why Should I Look at Revolutionary War Pension Records
The elevator is back in service.
Pension records are an invaluable source for learning more about your Revolutionary War ancestor, his family, military unit, and fellow servicemen. Discover how to access these rich files and what family history information could await.
The location is the Bloomfield Township Library, 1099 Lone Pine Rd., Bloomfield Township, MI 48302. If you are not able to drive to the Library, register in advance to participate on Zoom.
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/1gqzh_rATyu2HJZHji1ybA.
Speaker: Melissa Tennant Rzepczynski, MLS
With her vast experience in family history instruction and research methodologies, Melissa Tennant Rzepczynski brings her knowledge, strong customer service skills, and expertise in family history research to those interested in learning more about their family.
Melissa created Branch Discoveries, LLC in 2022, offering consultations, document retrievals, research services, presentations, and much more. Her knowledge and analytical skills are from two decades of research experience in the following topics, the Midwest and Southeast United States, immigration and migration, property and probate records, African American, female ancestors, and more.
Melissa began her career in the genealogical field at the Hillsborough County Public Library in Tampa, Florida in 2001. Then she joined the staff of the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Indiana in 2007, where she held several significant positions during her fifteen-year tenure. Melissa has presented at numerous events, including RootsTech, Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) Conference, Ohio Genealogical Society Conference, and Indiana Genealogical Society Conference. She has been an instructor for the Midwest African American Genealogy Institute (MAAGI) since 2016.
Mar 29
Women in the Revolution: Women At War 1775-1783 Could You? Should You? Would You?
April 7 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 p.m.
No charge, join us in person at the Bloomfield Township Public Library, 1099 Lone Pine Rd., Bloomfield Township, MI 49032
April 7, 2026 – Megan Heyl – Women in the Revolution: Women At War 1775-1783
Could You? Should You? Would You?
The roles that women played ranged from maintaining the home-front to supporting the military in ways that will surprise us all. Could you, should you, or would you do what these women accomplished? Let’s step back in time and learn about these Revolutionary War women heroes.
If you are not able to drive to the Library, register to view on Zoom using this link:
https://tinyurl.com/4s7tvnss.
Megan has been teaching the majority of her life. She taught in the public school systems in Ohio and Michigan where she now resides in Holland Michigan. She taught mostly in the middle and high school sectors teaching academic support – where her students were either on probation, parole, or in special education.
After retiring, she found herself interested in genealogy, and pursued her second career as a researcher, doing client work, offering educational services and speaking for various libraries, societies, and conferences for the past 20 years. She is the owner of Hunting Down History, runs the Genealogy Study Group and the Basics and Beyond Group, is the Education Director of the British Institute for the International Society for British Genealogy and Family History, and has her Masters Degree in Education Administration. She belongs to many local, national and international genealogical societies and historical societies, writes articles for many quarterly publications, and is currently writing her first book.
Feb 23
What Did We Learn: Applying AI & Writing Skills
Share your Stories!
Join with fellow genealogists as we share the results of our research with each other! January’s AI presentation from Steve Little and February’s writing ideas from Laura Hedgecock gave us ideas of what to do in sharing our ancestral stories and our researching findings. Come to this March meeting to share with others and learn how to refine what you have into some great storytelling and perhaps have it published in our Quarterly!
Register in advance to attend https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/t_yeMvt1T3egZsbipJBGyQ
We are utilizing new screening tools to help prevent AI (artificial intelligence) from stealing our speaker’s presentation slides and content. So we will be asking you to turn on your camera and wave to us, to confirm that you are a PERSON and not an AI “bot”. Thank you for understanding and helping us to prevent copyright infringement.
Jan 19
Weaving Stories from Memories, Memorabilia, and Research: Honoring (Military) Ancestors
Transform scattered family traditions, memorabilia, and research findings into meaningful stories that honor your ancestors. Recognizing America250 celebrations, using veteran stories as examples, we’ll look at techniques to weave old photos, vague memories of family stories, and genealogical records together to write connectional stories which bring our ancestors’ past to life. The meeting is at the Bloomfield Township Public Library, 1099 Lone Pine Rd., Bloomfield Township, MI 48302.
If you are unable to drive to the library, you may view the meeting via zoom. Please register in advance using this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Am_trML9R_uYbw_UCYTBOA
Speaker: Laura Hedgecock
My passion for helping others share their stories stems from a gift left by my grandmother. Shortly before her death, Hazel Crymes passed on an old spiral notebook filled with a lifetime of memories, which she dubbed her “Treasure Chest of Memories.” Grandma’s writings included childhood memories, stories of her children as they grew, good recipes, and wisdom she had gathered along the way.
Grandma’s “Treasure Chest,” as well as my own experience in genealogy, photography, scrapbooking, writing, and my own journey compiling such a “Treasure Chest,” inspired me to empower memory collectors with down-to-earth, practical advice and creative ideas.
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/Am_trML9R_uYbw_UCYTBOA
Dec 31
Using Artificial Intelligence for Genealogy
This session will demystify Artificial Intelligence and its role in modern genealogy. You will learn the basic concepts and see practical demonstrations of how AI can help you analyze documents, summarize findings, and enhance your research process. No technical experience is required.
This presentation will be in- person and via Zoom. We hope you will attend in person, but if you are unable to drive to the Library you can register in advance using this link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/_vSLaW0uTzuw8mlxOpv7Jg
A Registration link will be provided to members via email a week in advance and posted on our website and Facebook page for friends of the Society a few days in advance. We have 100 virtual seats, so be sure your membership is up-to -date to ensure you can attend via zoom.
Steve Little, AI Program Director for the National Genealogical Society, founder of AI Genealogy Insights, and co-host of The Family History AI Show, is a leader in integrating AI and genealogy. With graduate training in computational linguistics and natural language processing and a previous career building information systems for libraries and archives, his work now focuses on endogamy, pedigree collapse, and AI’s applications and limits in genealogy.
Nov 23
Ancestors Calling: Synchronicity, Science and Sources
Please note: the Elevator at the library is out of service. If you cannot manage the stairs, please register to attend online. Sorry for the inconvenience.
December 2, 2025, 7 p.m. – Judy Nimer Muhn – Ancestors Calling: Synchronicity, Science and Sources
Our ancestors want us to find them! Using our intuition, developing our luck, creating vision boards and using classic detective techniques, YOU can have their help and do thorough genealogical research. Learn how to tap in to some key scientific principles and hands-on techniques to drive your discoveries.
The location is the Bloomfield Township Library, 1099 Lone Pine Rd., Bloomfield Township, MI 48302
If you are unable to drive to the library, you may
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/uaT20uTSSGelGXsBK_nhcA
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Speaker: Judy Nimer Muhn
Writer, speaker, blogger, presenter and researcher. Judy has been researching her family tree from the age of 12, specializing in French-Canadian, Acadian, Native American, Scottish and Michigan, Ontario and Quebec research. Beginning as a professional genealogist in Europe in 1993, she has lectured at the National Genealogical Society’s conferences, RootsTech and RootsTech Connect, Federation of Genealogical Societies, as well as conferences in Europe and around the United States. She is currently writing a book of the matrilineal descent of her oldest female ancestor from Normandy, France. Traveling extensively around the world, Judy has visited and researched in the villages and archives of Germany, France, Scotland, Quebec, and Ontario where her or her husband’s family lived as well as the lineages of her Native family. Owner of Lineage Journeys, she conducts research for clients and offers presentations in churches, libraries and organizations.
Judy is a board member and chair of the Awards Committee of the National Genealogical Society, President for the Oakland County Genealogical Society, Vice President and Social Media co-chair for the Michigan Genealogical Council, Secretary for the GeneaBloggers, Delegate to MGC and NGS for the French Canadian Heritage Society, a founder of the English-Speaking Genealogists of Europe, NATO Chapter and a former AOL Genealogy Forum leader. A member of the National Genealogical Society, GeneaBloggers, Association of Professional Genealogists, Detroit Society for Genealogical Research, French Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan, Ontario Genealogical Society, Quebec Family History Society, Gratiot County Genealogy & Historical Society, Clan Elliot USA and Clan Campbell USA, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and many more.
Nov 05
Colonial Research in New England
Our next meeting is Saturday, November 8, 2025, 11 a.m.– John Beatty – Genealogical Research in Colonial New England
This is our joint meeting with the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research John Beatty, Senior Librarian at The Genealogy Center of the Allen County Public Library will present a talk examining a few of the many published sources as well as local records for the states that comprise New England (MA, CT, RI, ME, NH, VT). He will outline the record-keeping systems of those colonies and offer guidance on finding both published and unpublished records.
The location: Bloomfield Township Library, 1099 Lone Pine Rd., Bloomfield Township, MI 48302
If you are unable to drive to the library, you may view the presentation via Zoom. Registration if required, here is the registration link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/3417618230911/WN_mbzC71U8QNuLnFws5KKBOA
Speaker: John Beatty
John D. Beatty, CG, has been a reference librarian in The Genealogy Center since 1984 and also serves as its principal bibliographer. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree with high honors in History from the University of Michigan in 1982, and a Master of Arts degree in History and Library Science with honors from that university in 1984. He became a Board-certified genealogist in 2014. He is the author of sixteen books on local and family history, including works on German and early American families, abstracts of town vital records from Biddeford, Maine, and annotated narratives from the Irish Rebellion of 1798, as well as numerous articles on a variety of genealogical and local historical topics. In 2006, he served as principal editor for volume one of a two-volume History of Fort Wayne and Allen County, Indiana, 1700-2005, the first history of Allen County produced since 1917. Because of a diversified family background, he has genealogical expertise in a variety of areas. He has conducted original research on families from colonial New England, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, the Carolinas, and Kentucky, as well as on seventeenth and eighteenth century families from Ireland, Germany and Switzerland. He serves as archivist for the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana, and his interests also include local Fort Wayne and Allen County history.
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