Tompkins County Library

Tompkins County Public Library

101 E Green St, Ithaca, NY 14850

(607) 272-4557

http://tcpl.org/

Tompkins County Public Library’s main building is a delightful one-story building in the heart of downtown Ithaca. It is just a short walk away from the famed Ithaca Commons filled with interesting little shops to explore when you’re tired of research or if you have people uninterested in genealogy tagging along. There’s also a parking garage located directly behind the building for easy access. I was delighted to discover that the garage is open and parking is free on the weekends!

This building is fairly new and has a light airy feel to it with plenty of open stacks for browsing. I remember visiting the same spot as a child, but the building on the site was much older and then was the local Woolworth’s Five and Dime. The local history section is small, but easily accessible and contains works on the local area, primarily Ithaca and Tompkins county, but expanding into other counties as well.

Check for holiday closings before you go, but their general hours are as follows:

• Mon – Thurs: 10 AM - 8:15 PM
• Fri: 10 AM - 6 PM
• Sat: 10 AM - 5 PM
• Closed Sundays

Photocopying is available for 10 cents per page as is printing from their computers or microfilm readers. You do need a card to print from the computers, which costs $1.00 with 60 cents worth of copies preloaded on it.

Their microfilm collection has many local newspapers that you can look through that are not otherwise readily available for search. Although you can make paper copies of pages, I was pleased to be able to use a newer scanner/reader that once I found the page I was interested in, I could make a pdf file and save it directly onto my thumb drive. This saves a lot of printing and carrying around of paper- especially helpful if you are traveling. I also like the ease of digital copies to be able to send them to others or just to easily store and manipulate on my own computer.

New England Searching

In my last post I told about our trip to Alabama. However, I skipped over another genealogy trip. In late April we traveled to New England, specifically Connecticut and Rhode Island.

After a quick stop at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts we arrived at our hotel. Is there something wrong with my car? It seems that it gets this problem every time we go through Sturbridge- it has to veer off and park in their parking lot for a time no matter what! My husband and I actually did well that Sunday afternoon, we did not tour the actual village this time and the purchases at the bookstore were kept to an economical amount. I think that many of us are aware of what the real problem with that car is—it is owned by a librarian/genealogist and another genealogist. A bookstore full of historical books is just too much of an attraction!

The first two days of our trip after travel were dedicated to researching in Connecticut. I had asked my husband if we could do some research in the town of Milford where some of my earliest ancestors had settled. He agreed under one condition, we include the town of Stratford west across the river where some of his ancestors had lived. Well let’s see, I have to joke about those elusive ancestors I was looking for, they jumped around so much that I swear they must have kept a boat at that river so they could leave almost as many records in Stratford… of course I was willing to research there as well! Another of the towns we looked at was Derby.

Did I mention that these ancestors were elusive? I can find many records on them. Edward Wooster was one of the original settlers of Derby moving there from Milford. What can I find of his great-great-grandson’s marriage supposedly in Milford in 1785? “A stranger in town married Miss Munson.” That is it, and it is a year off from when all the unsourced trees have it and the same year as their oldest son (who again I can find no record of) was assumed to be born. They are certainly elusive which is why all the estimated and unsourced information abounds. However, I think I’ve collected enough to write a good case for indirect evidence with Ebenezer Wooster marrying Sarah Munson and having Leverett Lyman Wooster as a son. This on-going puzzle may just become part of my certification portfolio, so no more details will appear about this search for a while.

The last place we researched was a quick trip late on Tuesday afternoon to the Connecticut State Library. It was late by the time we got there and we spent a little less than an hour in the library. However, the trip was worth it. We got an overview of the library and a good idea of their holdings. Next time we have a chance to research here, we will already have some familiarity and be able to make the most of our time. It was a good orientation to this new to us facility. Our one mishap with this trip, and I had been aware of the potential problem, was that we attempted to leave Hartford during rush hour. We got on the interstate all right, but then had to watch our exit go by—across 2 or 3 lanes of very busy traffic. That meant that we had to figure out a new route, and I don’t own a smart phone so we were doing it the old-fashioned way with maps and good guesses. We saw a bit more of the Connecticut landscape and got back to our hotel only a little later than planned.

All in all, we had a great two days of research with lots of information to pour over once we got home- some of which I am still trying to pull together. After a relaxing day of rambling around Rhode Island, we ended up the following afternoon in downtown Providence. Here we made our headquarters for the rest of the trip- about a block from the Rhode Island Convention Center. Why there? For three days the convention center was filled with fellow genealogists converging for the New England Regional Genealogy Conference (NERGC). Held once every two years, NERGC is located around New England and brings together a great bunch of people researching their New England roots. The 2017 conference will be held in Springfield, MA.

We attended many different presentations on regional topic such as one on the Godfrey Library, some on NYS research and western migration, general topics on how to research and writing/publishing. It was a great mixture of regional and national speakers. After three days, one is left with a mixture of exhaustion, disbelief that it is over already, despair over mistakes one has made and above all inspiration and momentum to get in there and do more and better research!

Of Magnolias and Education

It is June and in Birmingham, Alabama temperatures in the 90s and high humidity are the norm. So why would this northern girl who suffers in such a climate head south? A little over a thousand miles drive, Birmingham is home to Samford University and at least for another year, is the host of the Institute of Genealogical  & Historical Research (IGHR). This year for the first time, my husband and I were registered and made the trip to this institution. He was taking the Intermediate course in Genealogy and I took the Genealogy as Profession

Elissa Scalise Powell CG, CGL, coordinates the course I took with additional presentations by the following:

Tom Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS

Michael Hait, CG

J. Mark Lowe, CG, FUGA

Kelvin Meyers

Benjamin Spratling, J.D.,

Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL

Through five days of both fun and learning with my 14 classmates, we covered many aspects of research, elements needed for a business and various opportunities available within the genealogy community.  

Our Class with 2 of our instructors

Although a few different aspects were mentioned and talked about in class, the reality is that there are endless possibilities for a profession in genealogy. They range from working for one of the big companies such as Ancestry.com, working in a library, to self-employment or even leading a group of researchers. Our instructors were only able to mention a few of the possibilities during the week and I and my fellow classmates, have many additional ideas as we get ready to either launch our own businesses or further our efforts along these lines.

Other topics covered included writing research plans, lecturing, time management, DNA, forensic genealogy and certification. As IGHR is a southern institute, many of the students were from such southern states as Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. The north was also well represented with not only two students from, New York, but students from Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois as well.

Optional lectures were in the evening as well on various topics. It was not all about learning though. There was plenty of social time, meeting old friends and discovering new ones. I attended a gathering of “ProGen” on the first evening at a nearby restaurant. This group consisted of facilitators, people taking the course and many of us that have already completed. For those not familiar with the ProGen study course, it is an 18 month on-line course where people meet once a month to discuss a topic or two from the book Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lecturers, and Librarians, edited by Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FNGS, FASG, FUGA. In addition to the discussion each month, you have an assignment that you complete and submit to be reviewed by a group of your peers, while at the same time you are reviewing their assignments and helping each other on them.

Did I just mention Elizabeth Shown Mills? She was the speaker at the banquet held on Thursday night. After a delicious meal in a beautiful cafeteria in the main campus building, she gave an entertaining talk entitled: “Lost Eyes, Whipping Posts, and Wife Swapping: Lessons from Yesteryear.” I’m not sure how long it lasted, but the night deepened almost unnoticed outside as we listened riveted to her talk as she not only entertained, but also educated us at the same time.

The campus of Samford itself is old and beautiful. When you imagine a university campus in the traditional sense, this is what comes to mind. Stately buildings from the 1800s grouped around a quad that is grass filled lawns with magnolia trees in bloom. Pathways leading to and around fountains with benches and tables to sit down at to relax, enjoy the views, or perhaps actually study. The architecture is such that I could imagine men in old-fashioned attire accompanying women in hoop-skirted dresses along the pathways. This is not to say that the campus is way behind. Modern amminities abound including wi/fi throughout, a food court in the main building and such. New buildings were going up as we studied this past week.  

Receiving My Completion Certificate from Elissa Powell

Altogether, it was a grand week. I left feeling energized and inspired, ready to further my plans for creating a business. Of course, it was not without sadness that I left as well, I made many new friends this week and got to know a number of people better than I had before. Was that drive south in June worth it? Well, let’s just say I’m hoping that come next June, my car will once again be pointing towards Alabama!

CG, Certified Genealogist, CGL, and Certified Genealogical Lecturer are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluation, and the board name is registered in the US Patent & Trademark Office.

Photos are courtesy of Carolyn Rybnikar one of my fellow classmates. 

Update on Blog Site

Just wanted to post a short note to point out that I've created a new tab called Repositories. This will give some descriptions of various places I have visited with details about each one. To start out, I have included details about the Montgomery County Department of History and Archives which we visited on Friday.

IGHR

I was very thrilled when the announcement came out this morning about the Forensic Genealogy Services giving back awards. You see, I had been notified about the awards a little while before they were announced and if you follow the link you will know why! I am planning to attend the IGHR this June in Samford, Alabama for the first time and take their Professional Genealogy track. Through the generous giving back of Dee Dee King, I have been awarded a scholarship to help me with the tuition to attend.

This week long session will help me to develop my business even better and better be able to serve my customers and the genealogy community at large. I am looking forward to a week of fun and learning with old friends and new, as well as experiencing Alabama in June! Wish me luck- I hear it is very hot then. This small scholarship is not a deciding factor in attending, but it will be a great help and I am thrilled and honored to be selected for it.

Thanksgiving

Just writing a quick note to everyone, as we’re all in the midst of preparations. A Happy Thanksgiving to all! In keeping with the theme of Thanksgiving, I am most thankful for the members of the Mayflower creating their settlement, especially Elizabeth Tilley, her parents John and Joan Tilley, John Howland, George Soule and especially those that saved John Howland when he fell overboard in the middle of the ocean. For, without these people, it is quite simple, I wouldn’t be here!

To each and everyone, whether you can find those elusive ancestors that were there on the Mayflower, or were more recent immigrants like my own grandmother, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Things are progressing behind the scenes and are getting in order for the launch of the research end of this blog/website.

New England Historical Genealogical Society

After a trip to Boston, I am sorting through papers and figuring out which end is up here at Remling Genealogy.

The first week in November was a long anticipated trip to Boston and the New England Historical Genealogical Society (NEHGS). Although I had been to Boston before, I had never had the opportunity to step inside NEHGS. Located in a small building along Newberry Street in Boston, you would think that there is not much to NEHGS. However, upon entering, you will quickly find that your impression was wrong. Very wrong. To start with they have over 200,000 books available to you. I did not get the numbers on rare books, microfilms, microfiche, periodicals and manuscripts.

All of these resources are available to you as a member. For non-members there is I believe a small research fee charged and you can’t access some of the special collection items. Of course, beyond these resources there is one other very important resource available to all who visit, call, email or write them. The most valuable resource of all is living and breathing- the staff! Whether it is a librarian or another staff member, all are extremely helpful and knowledgeable. And they are eager to help you with your quest.

After three wonderful days of researching, my husband and I boarded the train the next day headed for home. I was looking through a few of my digital images on the computer during the trip and spotting a few new directions to take on the various research. This is one of the times that I violated the method of research that we all should be following. Research, analyze what you find, revise and research some more. There is so much available and we had just a short time, so the analyzing and revising had to wait until after we left. Oh, and those digital images? This is one of the options for making copies that is available to you at NEHGS. You can make traditional copies on the copy machine, save those copies as digital images to a thumb drive or use your own camera to take digital images. I opted to use the camera on my iPad to make my digital images. It is quick, they come out clear and not only do I already have a digital copy without scanning them later at home, but it makes my computer bag a lot lighter to haul around than if I got paper copies!