Library hosts genealogy workshops for faculty and staff

Librarians Randall Bowman and Jamane Yeager conducted three genealogy workshops this summer for Elon University faculty and staff.  The workshops were presented over a course of three weeks; about thirty participants attended and had a chance to ask questions about researching  their family history.

Two of the workshops were introductions to genealogical research.  Participants learned about what kind of documents to look for, and what sources to use.  Participants also had an introduction to Ancestry Library, the institutional version of Ancestry.com.  Using Ancestry, some attendees found documents related to their families right away.

The other session focused on more advanced genealogy.  Topics included DNA testing services that allow a person to learn about their genetic heritage, as well as to locate people who are related.  Other topics included constructing family trees and sources for researching military and immigration records.