Please join us for our monthly (virtual) meeting on Tuesday, September 15 at 7 pm.The program will feature an archived webinar by Jill Morelli, entitled Using Non-Population Schedules for Context and Evidence. The meeting will be via GoToWebinar, and you must pre-register at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6239218723798048270After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing an “invitation” and information/link for joining the virtual meeting/webinar. Webinar Abstract: Every 10 years the US Federal Government gathers data to apportion the House of Representatives. You may not know that in the 1800s, they also gathered statistical information related to business and industries, communities, agriculture, mortality and assessment of the insane, physically handicapped and those individuals in prison. Some of these schedules will provide you with evidence, while others provide context interpretation of other pieces of evidence is bolstered and your family history enlivened. Using examples of each, learn how these schedules can help, why they were established and where they can be found.Presenter: Jill Morelli lectures and writes on genealogical topics that often transcend the more narrowly defined family history. She provides general genealogy services and house histories in the Puget Sound and national venues. She has spoken before large (300+) and small groups and is an engaging and entertaining speaker who conveys genealogical concepts suitable to the level of the audience. She has been previously published in local, regional and national publications. Jill writes frequently at her blog ‘Genealogy Certification: A Personal Journey’ about her educational efforts to become a certified genealogist.

The internet is a wonderful tool for genealogy. But, it should not replace some of the tried-and-true methods for discovering our ancestors. Please join us for our monthly (virtual) meeting on Tuesday, October 20 at 7 pm, featuring an archived webinar by Peggy C Lauritzen, AG, entitled But, It’s All on the Internet!The meeting will be via GoToWebinar, and you must pre-register to attend at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4559709215502153741After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing an “invitation” and information/link for joining the virtual meeting/webinar. About 10 minutes before our meeting click on the invitation link. We will join you at the time of the meeting and will then proceed with our scheduled presentation. Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, AG, was involved in genealogy before she was even born. The daughter of avid genealogists, she was spending time in courthouses and cemeteries while other children were playing on swings and going to the beach. The love of her family’s history has never left her. With her experience serving as a Family History Director, she frequently speaks at genealogical societies, workshops, seminars, and webinars where she loves bringing genealogy to life. Some of those would include The Ohio Genealogical Society, The Ohio State University, Brigham Young University, and many other state and local genealogy societies. She has recently completed several Legacy QuickGuides on Appalachia, and is a well-known webinar presenter. She is also an instructor at Ancestry Academy.

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.

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.