Too often we find that the genealogical trail goes cold no matter how hard we look on websites like FamilySearch.org or Ancestry.com. Some ancestors just didn’t fill out vital records and the church registers are nowhere to be found. That’s when we have to look at other records collections including government repositories.

We can often build a detailed picture of our ancestors’ lives using land grants, immigration records, muster rolls, pensions, bounty warrants, manifests and naturalization records,. In this class Connie Reik from Tufts University will focus on government records from the War of 1812 - but the sources and the principles apply to other eras. Connie will discuss how to find unusual federal publications, specialized library collections as well as primary documents at the National Archives, the Library of Congress and regional repositories. She'll go over both online and printed sources.

Here is Connie professional biography:
Connie Reik, M.S.L., M.A., has been a research and instruction librarian of history for more than 20 years, and Government Publications Coordinator at Tisch Library at Tufts University, for 10 years. She has a B.A. in History, British Studies and Medieval Studies, an M.A. in Medieval Studies, as well as a Masters of Science in Librarianship. She has been working on her family history since college when she took a mini-course in genealogy. She has written a series of articles for NEHGS’s New England Ancestors and is currently the Archivist and Historian of the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists. Connie is a member of a number of genealogy associations and historical societies and has presented at many local, regional and national genealogical societies or conferences.

If you’ve ever wondered how to locate and use various government records to improve your research you won’t want to miss Saturday’s talk. Classes are held at the Vermont Genealogy Library located on Hegeman Ave, Fort Ethan Allen, Colchester, across from the State Police Building. Classes go from 10:30 to noon and are $5.00. We are open for research Tuesdays 3 to 9:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 to 4. Please visit our website www.vt-fcgs.org/vtgen.html or call 802-310-9285 for more info.

Feb 6, 2025, 3 to 4:15 PM

Feb 7, 2025, 6:30 to 9 PM

Feb 8, 2025, 11:30 AM to 4 PM