plymouthlibrary.org

FamilySearch.org adds online collection of Michigan Death Certificates, 1921-1952.  According to their website, this new addition is a name index and images of death records from the Michigan Department of Community Health, Division for Vital Records and Health Statistics in Lansing.  

This valuable addition to Michigan research came online in late April, but for the present, no images are available - only the name index with basic information regarding parents, age and date of death, and location.  Eventually, the death certificate images are due to be added to the site.  Search this collection at : https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1968532

Roman Catholic Church Records in the Archdiocese of Detroit

Including the Counties of Wayne, Macomb, Monroe, Lapeer, Oakland and St. Clair as well as the Counties of Lenawee & Washtenaw, which were part of this diocese at the time of publication. This work was done as part of the W.P.A. in 1941.

Find the link here - http://nycnuts.net/genealogy/church/detroit_rc/index.html for a historical look at the beginnings of the Catholic Church in Detroit as well as a listing of where to find records for many of the parishes and institutions that were closed prior to 1941.

The Plymouth Historical Museum will host the fifth in a series of genealogical seminars to help historians of all levels research their ancestors Saturday, March 23, 2013.  This workshop, sponsored by Ancestry.com, features the mother and daughter duo Loretto Szucs and Juliana Szucs Smith.

Lou (Loretta) will be speaking on “Hidden Treasures at Ancestry.com” and “Beyond The Federal Census: Using Non-Population and State Censuses to Find Your People.” Juliana will be speaking on “Common Surnames” and “What to Do With Your Discoveries.”

The seminar begins at 9:30 a.m. and ends at 3:30 p.m. There will be limited seating and the event will fill up rapidly. The fee for the day, $45, includes the four lectures, lunch, and the option of touring the Museum's special exhibit, “Made in America,” during lunch and the afternoon break.  Price goes up to $50 after the first of the year.

I read this announcement on Dick Eastman's Genealogy Blog this morning -

"The Archives of Michigan today announced that more than 62,000 Michigan state census records from 1884 and 1894 are now available to search and print for free at www.seekingmichigan.org."

While not all counties are included in this collection, parts of Wayne (excluding Detroit) and Washtenaw are now online.  These state census records can help fill in the gaps left by the destruction of the 1890 Federal Census.  Check out this free resource today!

Mastering Family, Library & Church Records is another title in the series of Quillen's Essentials of Genealogy by W. Daniel Quillen.  This particular book is volume 7, I think it should be one of the first ones read in the series.  It covers the basics of finding family records and what each document can reveal about an ancestor and then introduces the reader to a variety of libraries and their holdings.  A listing of state libraries and archives as well as national ones is included in an appendix.  A large segment of this book is given to a discussion of the various church records including Jewish, Catholic, Baptist, Quaker, Lutheran and Presbyterian.  Quillen takes a few pages to list what he considers to be the best genealogy web sites as well as a bibliography of books suggested for a genealogist's library.  This thin volume may be found on the Upper Level of the Library in the Genealogy section under 929.1 Q.

How to Archive Family Keepsakes; Learn how to preserve family photos, memorabilia, & genealogy records by Denise May Levenick.

In this book, the author tells how to best organize, preserve and store all types of family archives.  While the emphasis is on paper items such as documents, papers and photographs, other types of memorabilia are also briefly explained.  These range from furniture to china, clothing to military flags and jewelry. 

I especially enjoyed the sections where she lists resources for obtaining the archival supplies as well as her pros and cons for the various archiving methods.  You will also find entire chapters devoted to organizing - files, computers, binders... you name it!

Find this book and other on the Upper Level of the Library in the Genealogy Collection with the call number Genealogy 929.1 L.

This new, full-color book, Genealogy QuickSteps,  by Marty Matthews and Bobbi Sandberg is meant for those just beginning their genealogy research as well as a nice review for the more experienced researcher.  There is a great chapter on how to organize your documents, photos and other papers - and then how to analyze each item to see what kind of information may be found in them.  Online resources are examined and tips for generally searching the Internet for family history is given.

While none of these topics are examined in great detail, this is a easy-to-understand overview of researching genealogy that won't overwhelm those new to the hobby!

Find this book in the Genealogy section on the Upper Level with with call number 929.1 M.

W. Daniel Quillen has written an entire series of handbooks called Quillen's Essentials of Genealogy.  Tracing Your European Roots is Volume 5 of this set. The author starts with the basics of research common to all countries but then moves on to the various individual countries in the British Isles and continental Europe.  Chapters are dedicated to research in Great Britain, Italy, Poland, Ireland, Germany, France, Portugal and Spain.  There is a chapter combined for Czech and Slovak research. Find this book in the Genealogy Collection on the Upper Level with the call number of 929.107 Q.

Family History Detective: a step-by-step guide to investigating your family tree by Desmond Walls Allen is a basic "how to" beginning genealogy book.  Although brief, it includes hints for planning a family reunion, how to cite your sources in papers, and some smaller examples of commonly used forms. Find this book in the Genealogy Collection on the Upper Level with the call number of 929.1 A.

There are quite a few books published on finding your ancestors on the Internet.  Nancy Hendrickson has written a new one called Discover Your Family History Online.  Although she covers all of the standard topics such as census records, military & land records, births & deaths, and the ever-popular subscription databases, I especially enjoyed her coverage of how to use Google, especially Google Earth in conjunction with other maps, to research your family history.  At the end of her book, she devotes a chapter on using social media sites to connect with distant relatives.  Included in the appendix are examples of various forms used to organize genealogy data.  This book is located in the Genealogy Collection on the Upper Level - 929.102 H.

Several new genealogy books have recently been added to our circulating collection on the Upper Level.

The Genealogist's Census Pocket Reference from Allison Dolan and the Editors of Family Tree Magazine is a small, fact-filled book that covers all Federal Censuses, including the newly-released 1940 Census.  It includes chapters on Census Maps; questions asked on each census; the instructions given to the enumerators; census abbreviations; state and territory censuses and special schedules.  It also gives information on various censuses from Canada and several European countries along with web links to those available online.  Find this handy guide in the Genealogy Collection with the call number of 929.2 D.

Mastering Online Genealogy by W. Daniel Quillen is one in a series called Quillen's Essentials of Genealogy.  As the title indicates, this book introduces the reader to the various tools researchers use when finding their ancestors online.  Recommendations for computers are given and there are chapters on fee-based subscription services as well as free ones.  There is an entire section of the book set aside for online government records, and the final chapter is a review of various genealogy software programs.  This book is on the Upper Level in the Genealogy Collection with the call number of 929.102 Q.