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Your Huddled Masses Yearning to Breathe Free: Immigration and Naturalization

Online
Learn how our ancestors were naturalized; when, where, and what records were created; and the information that might be found in these records. Presenter Jeanne Larzalere Bloom, Certified Genealogist, is a full-time professional researcher specializing in problem solving and compiling multi-generational family histories. As a former trained and certified Confidential Intermediary for the State of Illinois, Ms. Bloom was court appointed to locate sought-after relatives for adoptees, adoptive parents, birth parents and other birth relatives. She is a published author and lectures frequently. A case manager, she works for the Repatriation and Family Affairs Division of the Army Casualty and Memorial Affairs Operation on identifying family members to aid in the possible identification of unaccounted for soldiers from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.

“Pits I Have Fallen In and How to Avoid Them”

Online
Please join us for our next AIGS Virtual Monthly Meeting, Tuesday, Feb 16, 2021, at 7:00 PM. “The best thing about making mistakes is the opportunity to learn from them. I’ve made my share of genealogical mistakes over the years, but I’ve learned that most of them have resulted from faulty assumptions. In this talk, we’ll examine eight commonly-held but incorrect assumptions and consider some strategies and resources to help head off errors before they happen.”

Finding Isaac and Dora Peckham

During our next virtual meeting, genealogist Linda Olsen will give a LIVE presentation about her research into the eventful lives of Isaac and Dora Peckham, who served as keepers of the St. Simons Lighthouse in the late 1800s.

How to Build Historical Context

Come join us on Tuesday, June 15 at 7:00 – 8:00pm, to listen to a professional recording of a lecture by Professor John Philip Colletta, titled How to Build Historical Context. The program will be introduced by Dennis Partridge, and this month we will be using a different technology, called Google Meet. Please use the following link to login. No pre-registration is needed.Video call link: https://meet.google.com/eea-ywfj-htnOr dial: (US) +1 413-758-2715 PIN: 804 988 470#​ Professor John Philip Colletta is one of America’s most popular genealogical lecturers. He holds an M.A. and a Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America. He is a faculty member of the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama; the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy; and Boston University’s Genealogical Research Program. Professor Colletta also has been an instructor and course coordinator for the National Institute on Genealogical Research, the Genealogical Institute of Texas, and the Genealogical Institute of Mid-America.  How to Build Historical ContextThe lives of your ancestors provide all of the elements of engaging true stories. The challenge is to narrate the facts you’ve discovered within the larger physical and temporal world in which they were once lived events. If you want to get to know your ancestors, you must see them as real people living in a particular place at a particular time. In other words, the biographical facts you gather must be situated in their proper historical context. As we build historical context in this lecture, you’ll see how all the sources we’ve […]

How to Write Biography

You’ve explored a broad array of sources for discovering the facts of your ancestors’ lives, and you’ve depicted those facts schematically on pedigree charts and family group sheets. In last month's meeting you saw how those bare-bone facts may be fleshed out into real-life events, which is what many of us are seeking in genealogy. A narrative genealogy or family history is a collection of biographies of people related by blood—in other words, an anthology of the life stories of kinfolk. In this lecture, we’ll see the process of constructing and narrating the biography of an ancestor. Come join us on Tuesday, July 20 at 7:00 – 8:00pm, to listen to a professional recording of a lecture by Professor John Philip Colletta, titled How to Write Biography.

UNF Excavations at the Mocama (Timucua) Indian Village of Sarabay (Big Talbot Island)

Fernandina Beach Library 25 N 4th St, Fernandina Beach, FL, United States
Presentation by Keith Ashley, UNF Professor of Anthropology. Located on Big Talbot Island, Sarabay was one of the local Mocama Indian communities mentioned by French and Spanish explorers during the 1560s. The University of North Florida (UNF) first investigated the site in 1998-99 and returned for more excavations in the fall 2020 and summer 2021. Artifacts recovered so far include thousands of fragments of indigenous pottery along with bone, shell, and stone tools. The recovery of a small collection of Spanish artifacts dates the site to AD 1580-1620.  This presentation discusses the findings of ongoing excavations at the site of Sarabay. Bio: Keith Ashley is an archaeologist and Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of North Florida.. His current research focuses on the indigenous peoples and histories of southeastern North America, particularly Florida. He is actively involved in archaeological excavations with UNF students throughout northeastern Florida.

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Fundamentals of Land and Probate Records for Genealogists

Fernandina Beach Library 25 N 4th St, Fernandina Beach, FL, United States
Fundamentals of Land and Probate Records for Genealogists, with particular focus on Nassau County court records The purpose of this program is to provide an overview of the land and probate record keeping systems used in the United States of America. Land and probate record systems were created for economic and legal purposes, so understanding why and how those systems work aids the genealogist’s search to determine who our ancestors were, what they did, where, and when.
Free

Collecting family history with a Harley and a camera

Fernandina Beach Library 25 N 4th St, Fernandina Beach, FL, United States
Theron Rogers, as a volunteer for Find a Grave, goes around on a Harley Davidson taking pictures of gravestones. Theron will give us a short introduction to Find a Grave, a website that allows you to see the burial sites of your family and friends. He will then tell us about his adventures on his motorcycle, the many cemeteries he visited and the fascinating graves he discovered and photographed.
Free

Ancestors Road Show and 2021 Annual Meeting

Fernandina Beach Library 25 N 4th St, Fernandina Beach, FL, United States
The Amelia Island Genealogical Society will hold its annual meeting at 7:00 PM on Tuesday, November 16, 2021 at the Community Room of the Fernandina Beach Public Library, 25 N 4th St. Following the election of officers and approval of the budget for the next year, there will be short introduction to the new AIGS website. After that it will be time for our popular show-and-tell, a.k.a. the “Ancestor Road Show”. Members are invited to bring heirlooms, photographs, scrapbooks or other items for general display, and give a short (3 minutes) verbal presentation on these items. If you wish to share a story with us, please let us know well in advance by writing to programs@aigensoc.org Public welcome. Annual Meeting Information: Proxy statement 2022 slate of candidates AIGS budget for 2022
Free

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The Last Spanish Land Grant in Florida

Fernandina Beach Library 25 N 4th St, Fernandina Beach, FL, United States
Join us at the Fernandina Beach Branch library on Tuesday, January 18, 2022 at 7pm to hear the fascinating story of the family of Domingo and Mary Fernandez who owned large plantations on Amelia Island, donated land for the Fernandina Lighthouse, but whose descendants retain ownership of probably the Last Spanish land grant in Florida, which constitutes one acre between St. Michael’s Church and St. Michael’s School between North 4th and 5th Streets. Descendants were plantation owners, not only in Florida, but also in Kenya; they were attorneys, scholars, ordinary people whose influence has been felt around the world.
Free

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The Genealogy of Genes

Fernandina Beach Library 25 N 4th St, Fernandina Beach, FL, United States
For centuries, genealogists have based their studies on ancient records and oral affidavits to establish line of descent. Fifty years after the discovery of DNA, the age of genealogical DNA testing was launched, providing us with scientific methods to prove relationships. But how were DNA and genes discovered? What are their lines of descent? This entertaining presentation will focus on describing the thrills, intrigue and espionage associated with the amazing race to solve the puzzle of this remarkable molecule by three competing scientific teams. The speaker will also describe the different types of DNA genetic testing, and will show how his own DNA test results encapsulate the story of human migration.
Free

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In Their Own Words

As part of the third system of fortifications built for harbor defense, Fort Clinch was constructed from 1847 to 1867. Serving in three wars, the Civil War, Spanish-American War, and World War II, the fort never saw battle and was never fully completed. Frank Ofeldt III will share with us how life was for the soldiers that were stationed there during these periods, based on their own accounts, letters and diaries. Frank A. Ofeldt III began as a Fort Clinch volunteer in the fort’s interpretive program in the 1980s. After college, he pursued a career with the Florida Park Service, for which he has served almost 30 years. He can often be found at the Fort portraying a Sergeant of Engineers. Frank is an avid reader, researcher, and collector of American military antiques, and authored a book on Fort Clinch. He often speaks to civic organizations regarding the military history of Amelia Island.
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