Adult ed a great start for family historians

Adult education classes are generally one of the best deals in town. Phil Getchell will once again teach a genealogy course for Bangor Adult Education 6:30-9 p.m. Thursdays, Sept. 18-Oct. 30.

Typically, Getchell teaches the first class at Bangor High School, then holds hands-on classes in the Bangor Room at Bangor Public Library, a wonderful place to do Maine and New England genealogy. It’s a tremendous opportunity to learn about “what’s where,” especially since Getchell has many years’ experience as a volunteer in that very room – and in the microfilm room next door.

The cost for the class is $30 for Bangor residents, $40 for others, plus materials.

You may register 8 a.m.-3:30 p.m. weekdays; or, after Labor Day, 6-9 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Bangor High School. Or register by phone weekdays, using a Visa or MasterCard, at 992-5523.

Whether you’re a beginner or someone who has been researching your family tree for a while, an adult ed class in genealogy is most worthwhile.

No genealogy class in your area? Suggest such a class to the adult ed director in your school district, and get your fellow genealogists to suggest it, too. If you know of speakers who might teach such a class, offer those names as well.

A couple of great genealogy conferences will be held in Maine next month, but sign up now to save money.

The seventh annual Genealogy Conference will be held Saturday, Sept. 6, at Winslow Congregational Church, Lithgow Street, next to Taconnett Library. Sponsored by Silence Howard Hayden Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, the event will feature American Revolution re-enactors, vendors, door prizes and workshops on family history.

Registration and coffee hour will be 8-9 a.m.

Workshop sessions include: “Strategies for New England Roots,” taught by Carol McCoy in two sessions; “Beginning Genealogy;” “RootsMagic Genealogy Software,” Debbie Roberge; “Civil War Maine Men at Andersonville Prison,” Debbie Roberge; “Franco-American Research,” Bob Chenard; “Lineage Societies,” Donna Dunbar Hoffmann, honorary state regent, DAR; “Organizing Your Research,” Carolyn Browne; and “Native American Genealogy,” Nancy Lacompte.

McCobb’s Co., 74th Regiment of Foot, Argyll Highlanders, Capt. John Campbell’s Battalion will re-enact American Revolution-era events 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on the banks of the Kennebec River. Vendor tables and the Taconnett Library will be open.

Registration is $12 by Aug. 29, $10 for DAR members. At the door, the cost is $15. A deli buffet lunch is available for $6.

For a brochure or more information, contact Marilyn Dennis at 453-8351 or crdennis@colby.edu; or Carolyn Kelley at 465-2278 or shhdar@verizon.net.

Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, author of “Trace Your Roots with DNA: Using Genetic Tests to Explore Your Family Tree,” will give the keynote address at the Maine Genealogical Society Conference, “Linking to Your Family’s History,” on Saturday, Sept. 20, at the Wyndham Portland Airport Hotel in South Portland. She also will give workshops on DNA throughout the day.

Other breakout sessions will include: “Mapping Your Ancestors Electronically” with Geoff Rasmussen; “A Conversation about LD 1084” with state Sen. Paula Benoit, who spearheaded the effort to pass a Maine law to allow adoptees 18 and older who were born in Maine to have a copy of their original birth certificate; “Marketing Your Ancestors with Message Boards and Mailing Lists” with Rasmussen; and “The Maine-Canada-Ireland Connection: Seeking Rogers Roots” with Carol P. McCoy; “Legacy Software: Insider Tips and Tricks” with Rasmussen; and “Preservation of Modern Imaging Systems” with David Mishkin.

Registration begins at 8 a.m.

The best rate is available to Maine Genealogical Society members who register before Aug. 31. They pay just $40. Non-MGS members pay $55 before Aug. 31.

Everyone who registers after Aug. 31 pays $75.

Add $25 for luncheon buffet.

Make checks payable in U.S. funds to the Maine Genealogical Society, MGS, PO Box 221, Farmington, ME 04938.

To join the society in order to get the best rate for pre-registration, send $20 to MGS at the above address. (For first-class postage on the quarterly journal and the newsletter, add $5. Membership in Canada is $29, and outside the U.S. and Canada, it’s $34.)

For information on the conference, visit www.maineroots.org.

There will be vendors of books and other items as well as the very popular “Research Room” from last year.

The Penobscot Geneaolgy Society will meet for a tour of the resources at Fogler Library at the University of Maine on Wednesday, Aug. 20. Those who wish to carpool should meet 5 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. in the parking across from Bangor Public Library. The group will park in the lot by Lord Hall on campus. For more information and directions, e-mail Phil Getchell at towncrier2@yahoo.com.

Send genealogy queries to Family Ties, Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or familyti@bangordailynews.net.