Feb 13

Beginning Irish Genealogy

Join us for our virtual program on March 5 at 7:00 p.m.

Following the clues from your U.S. paper trail, this program will help show you different resources and examples of that paper trail and then we will talk about different Irish websites that will help you once you are researching over the pond. The handout for this meeting is available to members in the member area.

This and our following programs are scheduled to be Zoom only. We would like to have hybrid meetings, but we need a volunteer to manage the second computer to do so. Volunteer if you can! email: president@ocgsmi.org.

Check back a week in advance for a Zoom registration link.

Speaker: Cathy Cattone

Jan 31

February Program – Finding Black Ancestors

Finding Black Ancestors: February6, 2024 at 7:00 via Zoom.

The presentation discusses the unique challenges of African American genealogical research, sharing some of the relevant history and resources available to research. It includes a case study of researching freedom seekers (Underground Railroad), free blacks and enslaved persons. Our speaker is Rozlyn Kelly.

This program is scheduled to be Zoom only. We would like to have hybrid meetings, but we need a volunteer to manage the second computer to do so. Volunteer if you can! email: president@ocgsmi.org.

Register in advance for the meeting here.

Jan 05

The Polish Society of Michigan Webinar

Dec 23

Finding Family with DNA Testing

January 2 meeting
7:00 p.m.
Zoom only

Learn how adoptees and others find biological parents and siblings through DNA testing. Review the case that started it all and see today’s recommended strategies. View examples of surprise discoveries and see the tools used to identify relationships.

Speaker Richard Hill was the first adoptee to identify my birth family through genetic genealogy DNA testing. This was so remarkable at the time that my story was later told on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. To share what I learned with other adoptees and genealogists, I created the DNA Testing Adviser website in 2008.

This program is scheduled to be Zoom only. We would like to have hybrid meetings, but we need a volunteer to manage the second computer to do so. Volunteer if you can! email: president@ocgsmi.org.

Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAsf-2rqTsoHtXi412QMMcWggmEDfl9QDsY

The handout is available in the member’s area. Log in to download it.

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.