Genealogical Society of Monroe County, MI

Gerald Wykes, from the Monroe County Museum, will tell us about the family of Robert Duncanson. Mr. Duncanson was an African American artist who lived in Monroe and was nationally known. Other members of the family were decorative artists, although they are not recognized as Robert was.

Jerry will also cover the truths and myths surrounding the Underground Railroad and Monroe's role in it. Dr. Edward Dorsch was a staunch abolitionist and his home, which is now a library, was long thought to be a stopping point on the Underground Railroad.

The public is welcome to attend and refreshments will be served.

Saturday, March 7

March GSMC Meeting (Meeting)

1:00 pm

Monroe County Community College, Administration Building -Rooms 173 A & B

As a child growing up in the 60’s many of the shows Richard Goss watched were set in the ghost towns of the wild west. “I just always assumed ghost towns were this phenomenon out west” Goss said. He said his grandfather grew up in Northern Michigan. His dad, my great grandfather was a logger. My grandpa would mention all these different town that used to be there, and he’d say, “Yeah, they’re ghost towns.” That started his interest in ghost towns of Michigan.
Goss has visited hundreds of ghost towns in his travels across Michigan and Ohio. He said there were as many as 60 in Monroe County. Unlike the ghost towns of the west, the towns in the Midwest didn’t just vanish or become completely abandoned. Often, they’d be incorporated into larger towns or villages.
“I can go through a town and look at the buildings and tell you what was there and where certain things used to be” he said. He started doing a lot of this research while in high school and college, and always enjoyed talking to people in their 80’s and 90’s about this subject. After almost 60 years of exploration and research Goss is hooked on the subject and is willing to share his knowledge.

Join us for a presentation by author Richard Goss about the ghost towns he has visited throughout Michigan, Ohio, Death Valley, and other towns that have historically been 'left in the dust'.

The public is welcome to attend and refreshments will be served.

Saturday, March 21

43rd Annual Spring Seminar (Seminar)

9:00 am

Monroe County Community College, Administration Building

43rd ANNUAL SPRING SEMINAR
GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF MONROE COUNTY, MI
Saturday, March 21, 2020
at the Monroe County Community College
Featuring Kristine Smets

Immigrants from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg

Who were they? Why did they leave? When did they arrive? How did they get here? Where did they settle? This lecture hopes to answer all your questions about immigration from the Low Countries to North America.

How to Find U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Records

Learn how to find clues about your 19th and 20th century ancestors’ immigration in records such as passenger databases, port of departure lists, border crossing reports, passport applications, naturalization petitions and more.

Introduction to Researching Your Belgian, Dutch and Luxembourg Ancestors

This lecture will provide an overview of the most important records in these three countries, show you what you can find on-line, and help you interpret the documents even if you don’t know Dutch, French or German.

Going Beyond: Using Other Records to Tell Your Low Countries Ancestor's Story

While civil registration and parish records in Belgium and The Netherlands allow the genealogist to go back many generations, there are other records that can help you fill in the details of your ancestor’s life. This lecture will show you how population registers, military records, land records and more, can bring your family history to life.

Cost is $30 if you register before March 11, 2020

Download: Seminar Flyer

Saturday, May 2

May GSMC Meeting (Meeting)

1:00 pm

Monroe County Community College, Administration Building -Rooms 173 A & B

Richard Juergens is a native of Northwestern Ohio and a genealogist working with several genealogy societies in Ohio. He will speak on naming patterns and meanings and possibly touch on what to do with your research if you family doesn’t want it.

As always, the public is welcome to attend. Refreshments will be served.