Family History Fair Saturday, Oct. 26

Family History Fair 2013 is Saturday, Oct. 26, 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m., at Hennepin County Library – Minneapolis Central, 300 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis.

Connect with leading genealogical experts and learn how to start your family genealogy using exceptional state, local and library resources.

Nationally known Minnesota genealogist Paula Stuart-Warren will kick off the event with a keynote on public library research gems for genealogists.

Local genealogists will lead workshops throughout the day on various topics: Finding Family in the Federal Census; Using Religious Records in Genealogical Research; Digging up Clues in the Cemetery; Going Beyond Online Databases; Fun Ways to Share Family History; and Hello, My Name is FamilySearch.org, Have We Met?

Twenty-six genealogical, historical and heritage groups will be available at resource tables to answer questions and share information. Groups joining the fair this year include: Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Finnish Genealogy Group of Minnesota, Germanic Genealogy Society, Italian Genealogy, Pommern Regional Group of Minnesota, St. David’s Society of Minnesota and West Indian/Caribbean Genealogy.

Family History Fair 2013 is sponsored by the Friends of the Minneapolis Central Library in collaboration with the Minnesota Genealogical Society.

 Register for this free event at www.hclib.org or call 612-543-8000.

 Hennepin County libraries offer Genealogy Research events throughout the year to help you trace your family history. More genealogy resources are available at www.hclib.org.

 About the presenters:

 Lois Abromitis Mackin, PhD, focuses on American and English research. She coordinates the Minnesota Genealogical Society’s educational courses and writes for Minnesota Genealogist. She is president of the Northland chapter, Association of Professional Genealogists, and registrar for the Lake Minnetonka chapter, NSDAR.

Kim Ashford is the current president of the Germanic Genealogy Society and an assistant director and instructor at the LDS Family History Center in Crystal, MN. She has been doing genealogy research for about 15 years.

Trudi Campbell is a librarian with 25 years of experience conducting genealogy research and working with Hennepin County Library’s genealogy resources. Her personal research is in Irish and Swedish genealogy.

Linda Coffin is executive director of the Association of Personal Historians and a member of the Minnesota Genealogical Society. Her business, HistoryCrafters, has published many family histories and personal memoirs.

Alice Eichholz, PhD, CG, is a nationally known family history researcher and writer who also works with adult learners in higher education. She was editor of Ancestry’s Redbook: American State, County, and Town Sources.

Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, FMGS, FUGA, is a board-certified genealogist specializing in genealogical and historical research, lecturing, consulting and writing. Her base is Minnesota, but she frequently travels to repositories in other states and loves searching in public libraries everywhere. She is an internationally known lecturer and board member of the Federation of Genealogical Societies.

David Suddarth is a family history researcher, educator and writer with more than 15 years of research experience. He is secretary of the Minnesota Genealogical Society (MGS), serves on the MGS Education Committee and is an instructor in the MGS Genealogy 101 course.