Lydia O’Connor
The SaddleBrooke Genealogy Club’s December meeting was opened by our President Carol Tibor. We had four guests who gave a brief introduction of themselves. We hope they will join us in their quest to learn more about their family roots.
Our guest speaker was Michelle Goodrum from Mesa, Arizona. She’s a teaching assistant for Boston University Genealogist Research Program. She became interested in genealogy in the early 1990s. She learned her ancestors saved everything and she is now the caretaker of 140 years of her family’s history. Michelle’s topic was Digging for Ancestors at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Website. She piqued our interest by showing us how much we can learn about our ancestors through the land they acquired. We learned about land transfers from the U.S. government to private individuals. This may be the way many of your ancestors acquired their first piece of land in America.
By entering the BLM website and giving just a few details like name, state and county, you may determine when, the exact location of land, how many acres they owned and who their neighbors were. There are even maps that can pinpoint the exact location of a piece of land. We also learned how to request the actual written records through the website. This could be very valuable information when researching your family members. Michelle’s excellent presentation introduced us to another resource to use as we continue the journey to document our ancestor’s family history.
Bonnie Lucas is conducting her Irish Special Interest Group in her home. Also, a writing group has formed to help with writing your family story. Contact Carol Tibor at [email protected] for more details.
Donna Webber and Christine Nelson were the lucky winners of our door prizes.
We will help you get started on your journey down your family’s research road. We have many members who can help you get started and will guide you along your path.