Pastfinders Cultural & Genealogical Community Showcase (Special Events)
9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Cooper Memorial Library -Registation advised but not required
Please plan on Joining us on March 25th 2023 at
Cooper Memorial Library
Pastfinders of South Lake County Genealogical Society presents “A Cultural & Genealogical Community Showcase.”
Come celebrate the cultures of the world on March 25 at Cooper Memorial Library, 2525 Oakley Seaver Drive in Clermont, FL. Lineage, genealogical, historical and cultural societies will be in attendance.
Come in traditional costume or dress in your ancestors’ flag colors. Take photos at our cultural photo booth area. Watch Scottish Highland dancing, discover the Genealogy Room, and see the documentary film, “Finding Samuel Lowe.” The film is about a Harlem African-Chinese-Jamaican woman looking for her family roots, whose journey takes her from Harlem to Canada, Massachusetts, Jamaica and China. It is a surprising story of one family's discoveries.
Entertainment
Center for Dance and the Performing Arts “CDPA”
Scottish Highland Dancers Demonstration and History
Movie Finding Samuel Lowe Documentary
2 showings with limited seating
Film start times are 9:15am and 11:05am
Groups that will be in attendance
Sons of the American Revolution “SAR” Lake-Sumter
Daughters of the American Revolution Tomoka Chapter “DAR”
Oak Tree Cemetery: Groveland Project
Clermont Historical Society
Congregation Sinai, Groveland
The Caribbean American Association
Jewish Friends of Kings Ridge
Orlando Hanfu Club
Cooper Memorial Library Writers Group
Pastfinders of South Lake County Genealgoical Society (Host)
Kings Ridge Irish American Club
Mount Dora Pipe an Drums
Register for this free event online at EVENTBRITE or register at the door. Each adult registrant will receive a welcome packet and complimentary raffle tickets. Registration is not required but recommended
Cooper Memorial Library Room 221 2525 Oakley Seaver Dr Clermont, FL 34711
Family History Research: Reasons for immigration, Basic Ancestry Research Plan, Exploration in Usage of Research Websites, and Description of Research Software
This session will be located in person at Cooper Memorial Library Room 221
Why did our ancestors venture to America? Their reasons can drive research to find more about them. Understand the research process and learn the steps! This class presents four research websites, real time how-to usage, as well as a look into one helpful research software. Class handouts will be highlighted during the presentation and emailed after class completion. The class runs from 1PM to 3PM.
Wednesday, April 12
DNA SIG via Zoom Virtual Meeting (DNA Special Interest Group)
1:30 pm to 3:30 pm
Virtual Meeting using Zoom
Hosted by Carolyn Gornowicz.
This will be a discussion and help session rather than a class. I will cover basics and of course the major testing sites and tools. We will endeavor to help one another unravel the mysteries of our DNA matches in order to build and verify our family trees. We will guide and encourage one another with feedback and suggestions and sharing of discoveries.
We are using the Zoom Virtual Meeting app to hold these meetings and you can only join the meeting by using a link provided by the host. You can request an invitation by contacting : info@pastfindersslc.org with DNA SIG as the Subject
Thursday, April 13
Pastfinders Presents Researching German Civil and Parish Records (Monthly Meeting)
4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Hybrid - Cooper Memorial Library AND Virtual on Zoom
Program Speaker: Alexander Tolksdorf
Program Topic: Researching German Civil and Parish Records
This is a Hybrid Program: you are welcome to attend in person at Cooper Memorial Library in Room 108 or join us on Zoom. (Registation Links below) Alexander Tolksdorf will be attending this lecture virtually and will not be at the library.
This presentation is designed to help those new to researching German record sets. The complexity of Germany's history, and its effect on genealogical sources can be difficult obstacles for a family historian to overcome. The class will focus specifically on German civil records and parish records, with emphasis on how/where to locate the records and how to interpret the records. This ranges from using FamilySearch's catalog to using German repositories like Archion.de to contacting local archives. Additional attention will be provided to historical geopolitics of what is today Germany, handwriting styles, as well as useful German reference materials. Lastly, the class also covers territorial regions formerly included in the German Empire (i.e. Alsace-Lorraine, Polish and eastern Prussian provinces).
"Alexander Tolksdorf is a genealogist and speaker, specializing in German, Dutch, and Eastern European research. He began his personal journey in high school, inspired by a trip to Ellis Island and through a correspondence with his great uncle in Germany, who also was an active family historian. All four of his grandparents immigrated to the United States in the 1950s following the Second World War; as such, the majority of his research experience and focus is in European sources. Paternally, his family is German, primarily from the Prussian provinces of Westphalia, Posen, and East Prussia. Maternally, his family roots are Ukrainian. Thus far, Alex has uncovered and actively researches family lines in Ukraine, Germany, Lithuania, Belarus, Poland, and Russia. Through this work, he has become very comfortable with research in these countries; including overcoming the language barriers, lack of online record access, and lost or missing records. He relies on civil, church, and a plethora of other records for his research, and finds that all provide illumination and the tools to break down brick walls. Alex believes that standard records only tell part of the story, with the many additional forms of documentation providing color and texture to a family history.
Alex enjoys his work as a financial analyst at the Ford Motor Company, and is the current President of the Ford Genealogy Club. He is also active in the Ukrainian-American community of Metro Detroit, serving as the treasurer of the Ukrainian Graduates of Detroit and Windsor, as well as the treasurer and circulation manager of the Detroitski Novyny, the local community newspaper. He is also on the Supervisory Committee of the Ukrainian Selfreliance Michigan Federal Credit Union. During his spare time when he is not researching, Alex enjoys walking and exercising with his new wife, Katelyn, and their dog, as well as working on his car, a 2014 Ford Mustang GT."
4:30 PM - Meet and Greet, Short presentation of future programs and activities
Hosted by Peter Stauder who has extensive experience in tracing his family history back to Ireland.
Discussion item is ??
Pastfinders is using the Zoom Virtual Meeting app to hold these meetings and you can only join the meeting by using a link provided by the host. You can request an invitation by contacting: info@pastfindersslc.org with Irish SIG as the Subject.
Tuesday, April 18
Family Tree Maker Special Interest Group (Family Tree Maker SIG)
2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Zoom Video Conferencing from Home
Hosted by Stan Wells
This FTM SIG uses the FTM 2019 Companion Guide as the outline for arranging the class. There will be 9 sessions from September 2022 to May 2023 and we will cover all 14 chapters of the Companion Guide using a actual FTM database to demonstrate how to use each FTM feature. We will not cover the troubleshooting chapter separately, if you are having trouble or issues with your FTM, bring them up at any time for immediate discussion and resolution ( which may happen after the meeting)
The Download (shown below) shows which chapters are covered during each of the 9 sessions.
We are using the Zoom Virtual Meeting app to hold these meetings and you can only join the meeting by using a link provided by the host. You can request an invitation by contacting: info@pastfindersslc.org
This session will be located in person at Cooper Memorial Library Room 221
In this family history research class, become acquainted with types of vital records, learn how to recognize first and second sources, interpret census, naturalization and military draft registration data. You will see how to avoid common research mistakes and see varieties of simple family tree publications. Class handouts will be highlighted during the presentation and emailed after class completion. The class runs from 1PM to 3PM.
Wednesday, May 3
Family History Research (Genealogy Class)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Cooper Memorial Library Room 221 2525 Oakley Seaver Dr Clermont, FL 34711
Family History Research: Obituary Notes, The Naturalization Process, Government Website Sources
This session will be located in person at Cooper Memorial Library Room 221
This class will cover the various types of obituary notices and their genealogy value. The phases of the US Naturalization Process will be explored and their connection to the US Census. We will look at Alien Files in the Natural Archives Database, the history of US Visas needed/used by ancestors, and understand how the US Archives Publication List can uncover sourcing for research. The class runs from 1PM to 3PM.
Wednesday, May 10
DNA SIG via Zoom Virtual Meeting (DNA Special Interest Group)
1:30 pm to 3:30 pm
Virtual Meeting using Zoom
Hosted by Carolyn Gornowicz.
This will be a discussion and help session rather than a class. I will cover basics and of course the major testing sites and tools. We will endeavor to help one another unravel the mysteries of our DNA matches in order to build and verify our family trees. We will guide and encourage one another with feedback and suggestions and sharing of discoveries.
We are using the Zoom Virtual Meeting app to hold these meetings and you can only join the meeting by using a link provided by the host. You can request an invitation by contacting : info@pastfindersslc.org with DNA SIG as the Subject
Thursday, May 11
Pastfinders Presents My Heritage DNA basics (Monthly Meeting)
4:30 pm to 6:30 pm
Hybrid - Cooper Memorial Library AND Virtual on Zoom
Program Speaker: Marty Flanagan
Program Topic: How to use My Heritage DNA results in your research
This will be a Hybrid Meeting and you are welcome to attend in person at Cooper Memorial Library in the Genealogy Room or you can continue to attend virtually using a Zoom Link. If you are not sure if you can attend in person, register for the Zoom Link, you can still come in person.
Presentation Topic – Have Fun with My Heritage!
Enjoy a fun time with Pastfinders. New and old tools take a twist in learning. The fun tools are photo editing, talking heads, how AI creates the out of the world experience, the new CM Explainer, Relativity Theory, smart matches, segments match, clustering and many more. The experience is useable for beginner or expert.
The Photo of Marty is the result of AI "enhancment" available at the My Heritage website.
BIO: Marty Flanagan completed an associate degree at Washburn University in education and completed her bachelor’s in business management at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Close to Retirement, Flanagan picked up the hobby of genealogy to research her family, but she wanted to prove the paper trail was correct. She decided to test her DNA in 2010 and the rest is history. She has helped twenty-five adoptees find their birth families. This is what it is all about - helping others to become proficient using DNA.
She started teaching DNA at the Topeka Genealogical Society (TGS) seven years ago. Extra training in DNA was completed with CeCe Moore and another week with Blaine Bettinger at GRIP in Pittsburg, PA. She attended Root Tech at Salt Lake, Utah and concentrated on taking DNA from the experts. She has taken her genealogy to the next level, as she has proven her lines, to National Society of the Daughters of The American Revolutionary, Colonial Dames of the 17th Century, Daughters of the American Colonies, War of 1812, Daughters of Union Vets of the Civil War and General Society Mayflower Descendants. She has found four pilgrims in celebration of 400 years of their landing in America in 1620. And Ms Flanagan is a member of Pastfinders.
4:30 PM - Meet and Greet, Short presentation of future programs and activities
Hosted by Peter Stauder who has extensive experience in tracing his family history back to Ireland.
Discussion item is ??
Pastfinders is using the Zoom Virtual Meeting app to hold these meetings and you can only join the meeting by using a link provided by the host. You can request an invitation by contacting: info@pastfindersslc.org with Irish SIG as the Subject.
Tuesday, May 16
Family Tree Maker Special Interest Group (Family Tree Maker SIG)
2:00 pm to 3:30 pm
Zoom Video Conferencing from Home
Hosted by Stan Wells
This FTM SIG uses the FTM 2019 Companion Guide as the outline for arranging the class. There will be 9 sessions from September 2022 to May 2023 and we will cover all 14 chapters of the Companion Guide using a actual FTM database to demonstrate how to use each FTM feature. We will not cover the troubleshooting chapter separately, if you are having trouble or issues with your FTM, bring them up at any time for immediate discussion and resolution ( which may happen after the meeting)
The Download (shown below) shows which chapters are covered during each of the 9 sessions.
We are using the Zoom Virtual Meeting app to hold these meetings and you can only join the meeting by using a link provided by the host. You can request an invitation by contacting: info@pastfindersslc.org
Family History Research: Reasons for immigration, Basic Ancestry Research Plan, Exploration in Usage of Research Websites, and Description of Research Software
Session 1
Zoom Link coming soon!
Why did our ancestors venture to America? Their reasons can drive research to find more about them. Understand the research process and learn the steps! This class presents four research websites, real time how-to usage, as well as a look into one helpful research software. Class handouts will be highlighted during the presentation and emailed after class completion. The class runs from 1PM to 3PM.
Monday, September 18
Irish Special Interest Group SIG (Irish SIG)
10:00 am to 11:00 am
Virtual Meeting
Hosted by Peter Stauder who has extensive experience in tracing his family history back to Ireland.
Discussion item is ??
Pastfinders is using the Zoom Virtual Meeting app to hold these meetings and you can only join the meeting by using a link provided by the host. You can request an invitation by contacting: info@pastfindersslc.org with Irish SIG as the Subject.
Wednesday, September 20
Family History Research (Genealogy Class)
1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Virtual Class
Family History Research: Digging into Vital Records, Uncovering Census Basics, Avoiding Research Errors, etc.
Session 2
Zoom Link coming!
In this family history research class, become acquainted with types of vital records, learn how to recognize first and second sources, interpret census, naturalization and military draft registration data. You will see how to avoid common research mistakes and see varieties of simple family tree publications. Class handouts will be highlighted during the presentation and emailed after class completion. The class runs from 1PM to 3PM.
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