Historic Happenings Blog

Sunday, March 8 – Monmouth County The Monmouth County Genealogy Society “Doing Time - Prison Records as Genealogy Resources”     Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist, will speak at the Monmouth County Genealogy Society meeting on Sunday, March 8, 2020, at the Community Center, 72 Broad Street, Eatontown. She will be speaking on “Doing Time - Prison Records as Genealogy Resources.”   Join us for refreshments and networking at 1:30 P.M. followed by the business meeting and speaker at 2 P.M. Admission is free and the public is welcome.     “The brick walls of a family tree are no match for prison walls”, Ms. Russell writes about this topic. “From intake photo to receipts for cash and clothes when they see release, prisoners in jails and prisons were recorded and documented, often in stunning detail.” Her audience will learn what records may exist about their families’ wayward members, at least the ones who got caught, and wher...

Sunday, January 12 – Monmouth County The Monmouth County Genealogy Society Topic: “World War I and II Military Clues” Eatontown, NJ -- Chris Tracy (Genealogy Chris) tells us “Chances are your ancestors were called to serve in the military in World War I or II. Clues from pictures, letters and other documents can put the pieces of your ancestor’s military service together in spite of the damage done in the fire of 1973 at the National Personnel Records Center.  Don’t be discouraged. Chris will speak at the January 12, 2020 meeting of the Monmouth County Genealogy Society at the Community Center, 72 Broad Street, Eatontown. Join us for refreshments and networking at 1:30 P.M. followed by the business meeting and speaker at 2 P.M. Admission is free and the public is welcome. Chris Tracy is a professional genealogist who has been conducting research for over 25 years, specializing in the NJ/NY/PA areas. He has a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston Unive...

Fred Voss, a professional genealogist, will speak about “Stories from Ellis Island” on Sunday, September 8th at 2:00 pm at the Eatontown Community Center, 72 Broad St, Eatontown.      MORE STORIES FROM Ellis Island. From 1892 to 1954, more than 12.5 million immigrants were processed through Ellis Island. Coming from all corners of the world, these souls—whom nearly 40% of Americans can call "family"—left behind possessions and family to reinvent themselves in America. Most were processed through Ellis Island without incident.  But some immigrants found themselves detained due to mental or physical illness, because their paperwork was not in order, or because those who were due to receive them did not show. What kind of stories could they tell?     Mr. Voss is a professional genealogist and a volunteer tour guide at Ellis Island National Park. His talk will explore the personal, sometimes heartbreaking, stories of those who came thro...

Sunday, July 14 – Monmouth County     Author Rick Geffken will present his program on Slavery and the Quaker Abolition Movement in Monmouth County to the Monmouth County Genealogical Society and interested visitors on July 14th @2pm. Program takes place at Eatontown Community Center, 68 Broad Street, Eatontown, NJ.    This presentation is an overview of the history and legacy of New Jersey’s two-hundred-year embrace of human bondage. New Jersey, sadly, was the last northern state to outlaw slavery (1866). Images and stories  of the enslaved, slave owners, and the local Quaker Abolition movement are examined and illuminated by the influential early activities at the Shrewsbury Meeting, the Manasquan Meeting, and other Quaker Meetings in West Jersey.    At the famed Four Corners in the Borough of Shrewsbury - where today’s Route 35 intersects Sycamore Avenue – the occupants of the...

Sunday, March 10 – Monmouth County The Monmouth County Genealogy Society Topic: “How to Navigate the FamilySearch Website”      Volunteer genealogy specialists Richard and Angela Wood, on leave from their regular duties in the Seattle, Washington area, will explain “How to Navigate the FamilySearch Website”  at the March 10, 2019 meeting of the Monmouth County Genealogy Society. The meeting will begin at 1:30 P.M at the Community Center, 72 Broad Street, Eatontown. Admission is free and the public is welcome.    As Family Search is the largest genealogy organization in the world, having digitized their 2 billionth record, it is no wonder even experienced researchers need a little help navigating the site. The Woods answered the call of their church almost 18 months ago, shuttered Richard Wood’s business law practice, and have been in New Jersey and New York providing help to volunteers and visiting researchers at Family History Cent...

Sunday, January 13 – Monmouth County The Monmouth County Genealogy Society Topic: “Sources and Strategies for Discovering Immigrant Origins”       The Monmouth County Genealogy Society welcomes  Melissa Johnson as our first speaker of the new year. She will speak on “Sources and Strategies for Discovering Immigrant Origins.”  at 1:30 P.M on Sunday, January 13, 2019 at the Community Center, 72 Broad Street, Eatontown.      Her talk will cover immigration, naturalization, and alien records as well as other record sets covering a full range of time periods.  “I'll be teaching about a variety of sources that can identify an immigrant's specific place of origin (town in Italy or Ireland, etc.) but will also focus on strategies that can be helpful when that key document doesn't exist or can't be found.” Melissa said “We'll talk about how to use DNA, how to use a network of friends, neighbors and associates, and how to corre...