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The semi-annual Family History Event is just a few days away, and there’s still time to register if you haven’t done so already.
Consisting of a full day of talks and advice by experts on Saturday, it’s a project of the Northeast Pennsylvania Genealogical Society and the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania. It’s held in the Educational Conference Center of Luzerne County Community College, Nanticoke. Registration begins at 8 a.m., and the events run until 4 p.m.
There will be presentations on getting started in genealogy as well as on use of DNA to trace ancestors. Other talks will be on tracing your railroading ancestors; translating Polish, Russian and Lithuanian documents; and researching Irish ancestors. Some sessions will run concurrently, and you will have to decide which to attend.
The corridor of the center will feature a host of exhibits by regional historical and genealogical organizations and genealogy-related services.
Lunch will be available on site. Genealogy expert Tony Paddock and I will be available at mid-day in the lounge to talk with attendees.
The center is on the college campus, just off Prospect Street. There’s plenty of free parking.
Walk-in registration is $45. For additional details, go to the website of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania at www.genpa.org.
Private consultations with the Greater Philadelphia Area Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG-GPA) will be available for an additional fee.
Ellis Island Update: The Ellis Island immigration museum has been open and welcoming visitors for some time now, after a long closure to repair the extensive damage done by “Superstorm” Sandy in 2012.
However, thousands of immigrant artifacts remain in storage off-site until restoration is complete. The latest target date for returning them is “at least another year,” according to the National Park Service, which maintains the site.
Those artifacts, such as clothing and personal effects, were donated to the museum by the immigrants or their descendants over the years, and they must be kept under precisely controlled conditions to preserve them properly. Artifacts or not, though, Ellis Island is still a fantastic destination for the genealogist.
News Notes: Robert T. Hughes will offer a dramatic portrait of the trials of the coal miner at the next meeting of the Genealogical Research Society of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The meeting is set for 7 p.m. April 15 at the society’s headquarters, 1100 Main St., Peckville. Check out the society’s new website www.grsnp.org/wordpress for updated information on the group’s growing holdings of area genealogical material.
Friday and Saturday the group will hold its spring flea market 9 a.m.-2 p.m. in the headquarters building’s basement.
The Northeast Pennsylvania Genealogical Society will test out some new operating hours this month. On, three Tuesdays, the 14th, 21st and 28th, the research library will be open 1-6 p.m. The group’s annual Spring Open House is set for noon-4 p.m. on May 9. The library continues to be open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Thursdays and the second Saturday noon-4 p.m. The library is on the grounds of the Hanover Green Cemetery, Main Road, Hanover Township.
If you haven’t yet visited the Luzerne County Historical Society’s World War II exhibit, get on over. You’ll find uniforms, photos artifacts and commentary showing how our community rose to the challenge of fighting the biggest and deadliest war of all time. The museum, located behind the Osterhout Free Library, is open 2-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and noon-4 p.m. Saturday. Admission is $4. The exhibit will remain until Aug. 29.