This April turned into an A+ month for our Genealogy Club!

When the governor’s shelter-in-place order was issued in March, Fountaindale Public Library’s annual Genealogy Day was cancelled. But instead of chucking this up as a loss, our library team acquired shiny new Zoom credentials and we rescheduled all of our Genealogy Day conference sessions and our regularly scheduled Genealogy Club meeting for the month of April.

We were very proud to offer these free, online learning opportunities to the public, and if you did not have the opportunity to view these webinars, here are the links and handouts of what you missed!

FamilySearch WIKI & Memories with Maureen Brady
| Download the handout

FamilySearch Browse and Break Down Brick Walls with Jennifer Warner
| Download the handout

FamilySearch Strategies: Basic Searching and Beyond with Tina Beaird
| Download the handout

Joining the Mayflower Society with Jennifer Warner
| Download the handout

Using Fold3 Library Edition with Debra Dudek
| Download the handout


Upcoming Webinars

Looking forward into May, our genealogy club will host free weekly Zoom webinars to keep your research on track and keep you connected with our community of genealogy enthusiasts. Here’s what you have to look forward to in the month ahead:

PANDEMIC 1918! Combating the Influenza Epidemic During the Great War with Tina Beiard

Friday, May 8, 11 a.m.–noon
Presenter Tina Beaird will show you the timeline of the 1918 Influenza outbreak and hear tales of how the U.S. Army, Navy and civilian population centers tried desperately to combat the disease. More than thirty percent of Americans were estimated to have contracted the Spanish Influenza from 1918-1919 and millions of people lost their lives.

Register Now

Quhat’s in a Nayme? with Maureen Brady

Wednesday, May 13, 11 a.m.–noon
Maureen Brady will show how the spelling names was not standardized until well into the 20th century. Learn strategies for locating the right spelling of a name in various types of records.

Register Now

Adding Social Media to Your Genealogy Research with Tina Beiard

Friday, May 22, 11 a.m.–noon
Many of us have used Facebook to find distant cousins and former high school friends. When it comes to Genealogy, lots of social media sites are popping up to help make searching for ancestors fun. Join Tina Beaird for a fun session on how to use sites like Pinterest, Flickr, History Pin and more to find, identify and share ancestors.
Register Now

The War of 1812: Researching your Second Revolution Ancestors with Debra Dudek

Wednesday, May 27, 11 a.m.–noon
There’s more to the history of The War of 1812 than the burning of Washington, D.C. and the Star Spangled Banner. Reaching beyond federal pension records, this lecture examines a range of resources spanning military registers, navy accounts and prisoner of war records.

Register Now


Please feel free to share information about our genealogy events with your friends and family through social media. We love your feedback, and it means the world to us to receive your comments and feedback during and after each session. I miss seeing all everyone at our club meetings, but I know you are all taking the time to learn loads of new information from the amazing array of free webinars and learning opportunities offered online right now by some of the best genealogical societies and organizations.

I also look forward to virtually meeting with all of you at our upcoming webinars, and if you need some research help or advice, send me an email or book a free two-hour appointment with me by phone. I always look forward to hearing about what you are researching and what goals you wish to accomplish.

Wishing you all good health and good spirits,

Debra