Tulsa library's genealogy workshops offer links to the past
BY SARA PLUMMER World Staff Writer
Thursday, February 07, 2013
2/07/13 at 6:14 AM
People who want to trace their ancestry shouldn't expect to simply type a name into a genealogy program and see their family history appear on screen.
"Genealogy is a research project," said Kathy Huber, manager of the Genealogy Center, a part of the Tulsa City-County Library system.
Some people who start dabbling in genealogy don't realize how much time it can take and how difficult it can be at times.
"It's a time-consuming but at the same time rewarding pursuit," Huber said. "You start with the known information; you start with you and work backwards."
The Genealogy Center will hold a workshop Saturday that covers how to get started and all the resources the center offers.
Huber said some people try online programs first, but that's not always the best place to start.
"Come here first, and we can offer some guidance," she said. "No one needs to waste time. Hopefully, we can help people not waste time."
Carol Cox, a volunteer at the Genealogy Center who has been working on her own family history for nearly 40 years, said she started looking into her family's past as a hobby.
"It was fascinating to me," she said. "I started out not liking American history. My mother would say: 'These aren't just dates; these were real people.' "
By digging into the many branches of her family all the way back to the 1700s, the past now has names and faces for her, and she has realized that "history's not flat."
The Genealogy Center has five online programs that library patrons can use free. They include ancestry.com, which can be accessed at all the library branches.
The library is also an affiliate of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, so copies of records can be sent to Tulsa, as can items from other libraries across the world through interlibrary loans.
At the Genealogy Center, records from Oklahoma and other states are organized by county, as well as by military records, immigration records, American Indian records, published family genealogies, Census information, and old and current maps.
But people should also expect that not all questions are answered and not all ancestors are found, Huber said.
"It's a mystery sometimes," she said. "Everyone runs into a brick wall sooner or later."
Huber said people have their own reasons for tracking genealogy. Some are looking to verify their American Indian lineage; some black researchers want to find out whether their ancestors were slaves or free.
Others want to trace their family history before settlement in the United States.
Cox said she discovered some of her family's stories while she researched her genealogy, including that one of her ancestors had to pay his church a fine of 50 pounds of tobacco in 1735 because he had been absent from services for two months.
She learned that another branch of her family founded the First Presbyterian Church in Saline County, Ark.
Even though she's been at it since 1973, Cox said she's still not through tracing her ancestry.
"One of my great-great grandmothers - I still haven't solved the mystery of her. I still don't know her maiden name," she said. "I still have a lot of loose ends out there."
Beginning genealogy
What: Learn how to start family history research
Where: Genealogy Center, 2901 S. Harvard Ave.
When: 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday
Ready-Set-Plan! Developing a One-Step Genealogy Research Plan webinar
What: Genealogist Mark Lowe teaches techniques for breaking difficult research problems
Where: Hardesty Regional Library, 8316 E. 93rd St.
When: 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Feb. 16
Using Google Earth to Find Your Ancestors
What: Genealogist Mark Lowe demonstrates how to use Google Earth as a research tool
Where: Hardesty Regional Library, 8316 E. 93rd St.
When: 10:45 to 11:45 a.m.Feb. 16
Original Print Headline: Library genealogy workshops offer links to the past
Sara Plummer 918-581-8465
sara.plummer@tulsaworld.com
