Pastfinders Genealogical Society Public Facebook PagePastfinders also have a private Facebook Page, you will find that link after
your members Log in
Welcome to the Pastfinders of South Lake County Website.
We are located in the Gem of the Hills, Clermont, Florida. The Cooper Memorial Library and the 
Genealogy Room is our base of operation with Monthly meetings, special help sessions, computer users meeting and other activities. Our goal is to help you find your roots, with Beginners Classes, individual one-on-one help sessions, computer classes, and scanning help.
Our Monthly Meeting is the 2nd Thursday of the month from 4:30 to 7 PM. We meet in Room 108 at the Cooper Memorial Library
Our Computer Users Group Meeting is the 3rd Wednesday of the month from 1 to 3 PM. We meet in Room 221 at the Cooper Memorial Library.
Pastfinders provides free help sessions to aid you in your search. Sessions are held in the Genealogy Room at the Library. No appointment necessary, See the Calendar for exact dates/times and more detailed information.
Our meetings are held from September to May. During the summer months we do schedule informal get togethers dubbed Summer Meet Ups and you can still get help by appointment (June, July, August).
Pastfinders Welcomes 40 new members in 2018
In the first quarter of 2018, 21 new members joined Pastfinders
- Arlene, Ardera, Elena, Catherine, Susan, Karen, Donna, George & Joyce, Debora, Judith , Dorenda, Sheryl & Shirley, Jeannette & Mark, Clarice, Gail, Sonya, and Herman & Jacqueline
In the second quarter of 2018, we had 7 new member join us.
- Susan, Kristin, John & Mary, Timothy & Jenny, and Beverly
In the third quarter of 2018, we had 12 new members join
- Truitt, Linda, Donna, Nancy, Carolyn, Padget, Florence, Lillias, Rose Marie, Ted & Christine, and Carol
Pastfinders Quick Look Calendar
This calendar shows the next four months of activity on the schedule.
You will find the near term activities described below on this Home Page.
For Detailed information about any activity that we have scheduled, go to the Pastfinders Calendar.
If you are looking for a specific activity, use the Filter by Category drop down which contains the following categories:
- Beginners Class
- Computer Users Group
- Help Sessions
- Member Meetings
- Special Events
- Summer Meet Up
If you are looking for an event beyond 6 months, you will need to change the Timeframe Filter
Pastfinders September CUG Meeting
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
1:00 to 3:00 PM
Cooper Memorial Library
Room 221
During the past several CUG meetings we planned to show examples of how to use the Ancestry.com Card Catalog, but we seemed to get side tracked.
So, for September we WILL demonstrate examples of how to use the Card Catalog. One of the main reasons for needing to use the Card Catalog is that nearly 80% of the databases in Ancestry are not found using the global search. So 80% of the data that Ancestry contains requires us to find the right database to find specific information that will hopefully provide the documentation that we are searching for.
Here are some of the resources that I will be using:
Pastfinders Beginners Classes
for September 2018
Lisa Beni, one of our Genealogy Docents, leads this class.
If you have questions, you may contact her at: benivenice@gmail.com
September 5, 2018 starts at 10 AM
Class 1 is a lecture that will introduce you to Genealogy forms, library and online resources, and provide a starting point for your family history research. Please attend this class first.
September 19, 2018 starts at 10 AM
In class 2 you will be using the library computers to find your ancestors on Ancestry.com or other online resources such as familysearch.org or findagrave.com
Please do not attend this class before attending class 1.
Class 1 is held at the Cooper Memorial Library in the second floor Genealogy Room.
Class 2 is also at the Cooper Memorial Library and may move to the Computer Classroom which is next door to the Genealogy Room.
Pastfinders Help Sessions
September of 2018
3 Tuesday Sessions:
September 4, 18, 25
3 Thursday Sessions:
September 6, 20, 27
Pastfinder Volunteers have been there many times and have broken through the Brick Wall many times. They (hopefully) can help you do the same.
Bring enough of your Ancestry Data to provide the Pastfinders Volunteer the background that will provide a starting place.
Email from John and Addison who live in Oregon
As the Webmaster for our Genealogical Society, I often wonder if people can find our website during a genealogy search and if they find anything that will help them in their research. Well, just a few days ago, we received an Email addressed to info@pastfinderslc.org that answered both questions. This Email came from John in Oregon and ...., I'll just let them tell the story.
From: John -------
Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2018 4:45 PM
To: info@pastfindersslc.org
Subject: Pastfinders of South Lake
Hello,
My name is John. I just wanted to reach out and say thank you. My daughter Addison was adopted as an infant and last year (right before her 13th birthday) she started to become very interested in genealogy. She was determined to trace back her ancestors. We have done a ton of research during this past year which is how we found your page https://pastfindersslc.org/links.php?sid=1&cid=3. It really gave us the information we needed to be successful on this journey.
We actually ended up tracing back to ancestors that came through Ellis Island so Addison asked me to share with you this article she found: "New York City and the History of Ellis Island" http://www.bbcleaningservice.com/history-of-ellis-island.html. She thought it would be a good addition to the other resources on your page. We found the article and the links within it very helpful so hopefully you find some use for it too.
We would love to know what you think of it and she would be very excited to see it on your page.
Have a great day,
John and Addison
Now, please check out our Links Page where you will find a link to "New York City and the History of Ellis Island". Thank You Addison !!
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