Genealogy Searching @ Your Library

Interested in finding out who is in your family tree, where they lived and where they came from but you don’t know where to start? Then the library is a great place to start. Our website offers links to many helpful genealogy websites. To help you get started with your search using these websites, the library is sponsoring Ancestry Library Edition Classes. Four Wednesday evenings in January, patrons can learn how to use these websites and start searching their family tree. Ancestry Library Edition Classes will be from 6:30 to 7:30 pm, January 4, 11, 18 & 25.

To begin the online search, click on the Genealogy tab located in the row of tabs on the home page of the library (www.dyersville.lib.ia.us). The genealogy page contains a list of links to helpful resources for you as you chronicle your family tree. The first website listed is Ancestry Library Edition. It is the library version of the popular Ancestry.com website and can be accessed for free while in the library using either your personal laptop or the library computers. A half dozen other websites are also listed on the library’s genealogy page. Through these websites you can look up birth, death, emigration, marriage, census, military and other records. Genealogy searching can be slow and, at times, frustrating, but it is also surprising, exciting and definitely addictive. It is quite amazing to see a photo or sketch of the ship that brought your ancestors to this country. You might even find your ancestors name on the photo copy of the original ship’s manifest. Recently, while looking up my grandparents on a 1930 census record, I found my grandparents, who had come from Denmark, had a boarder living with them, who had also come from Denmark. I had never heard my grandparent had a boarder but the census records even listed his occupation as “baker.” As I said, genealogy searching is addictive.

The Ancestry Library Edition Classes will go through the websites on January 4 and 11. Then, on January 18 and 25, a library staff will be available to assist participants researching their family trees.  To help others better their searches, participants will be encouraged to share their genealogy information searching experiences. Participants will be given handouts with tips on genealogy searching and laptop computers will be available for use. Feel free to bring information about your own family to research. Registration is requested for this class. If there is interest, a genealogy group or club could be started.

For more information please contact the library.