"Searching Beyond Vital Records " & "Researching the Westminster Massacre," on Saturday, Nov. 23 , 2024, from 11am to 1pm, Zoom only. Free and open to all this is a Zoom only event. Please register at link and a Zoom link will be sent before the event.
"Searching Beyond Vital Records."
Researching an ancestor when the paper trail of vital records disappears becomes more difficult, but there are strategies to find alternate information. Using his research into one of his Great Great Grandparents as an example, Wayne Blanchard will present some of the things he learned in a recent course about breaking down genealogical brick walls. Although the course included such issues as finding an ancestor's origins, uncovering a maiden name, discovering where a family moved, his interest is in determining parentage. The challenge is not only finding alternative sources, but also analyzing the information and resolving conflicting data.
"Researching the Westminster Massacre of 1775"
Jessie Haas will talk about her process in researching the Westminster Massacre for her book REVOLUTIONARY WESTMINSTER (The History Press, 2011). The Massacre is an extremely well-documented event, yet is commonly misunderstood and inaccurately described even by historians.
Haas states, A close reading of primary documents; knowing that Benjamin Hall, author of A HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT was a grandson of Westminster and steeped in local oral history; and now looking at the events imaginatively in writing a novel about them, have given me an understanding that the Massacre was a thoroughly revolutionary event in a line running from the Massachusetts Farmers Rebellion and the Powder Alarm to the battles of Lexington and Concord. I will talk about that, and my sheer luck in having the Brooks Memorial Library and my dad's personal collection to work from, as well as state archives in New York and Vermont.
Jessie Haas is the author of 41 books of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for children and adults. Her forthcoming book, DEAREST BLOOD, tells the story of the Westminster Massacre through the eyes of 15-year-old Fanny Allen, then Montusan, who lived near the courthouse at the time. It picks up again 8 years later, when Fanny, a young widow, meets and marries Ethan Allen in Westminster. Find out more at www.jessiehaas.com
Nov 21, 2024, 3:30 to 5 PM
Kids Night Out: Movie NightNov 23, 2024, 5 to 8 PM
November Break Circus CampNov 25, 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM, Nov 27, 2024