Join Us for Friday's Meeting: Funeral Services of Macomb County, Past and Present

On Friday, October 2, 2015, at 1:00 p.m. in the Auditorium of the Mount Clemens Public Library, Michael McGillen of Kaul Funeral Home will present Funeral Services of Macomb County, Past and Present. 

If you are in the Mt. Clemens area, PLEASE JOIN US. 

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

MCGG Resource Development Session is tomorrow Friday, September 25

Databases created with the help of volunteers.

On Friday, September 25, at 1:00 pm in the auditorium of the Mount Clemens Public Library, we are holding one of our MCGG Resource Development Sessions.

What is a Resource Development Session? It is where those of us who want to contribute back index circuit court and other Macomb County records to create databases to help other researchers. It does not matter if you have Macomb County ancestors or not. It's a nice way to help others; learn what is involved in an indexing projects; and if you do have Macomb County ancestors ... who knows you might just find one. 

So for those of you who are in the Mount Clemens area, PLEASE JOIN US. 

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library! 
LE

What Some of Us will do in the Name of Genealogy -- Go Above and Beyond!

MCGG Member Robert "Bob" McGarry

I think you all know that Macomb County Genealogy Group (MCGG) and Mount Clemens Public Library are into digitizing and preserving original records and making the information accessible when privacy rules allow. 

But sometimes conditions call for something more than standard methods/protocols.

Our member Robert "Bob" McGarry recently went above and beyond standard so that a smelly and possibly moldy funeral home book could be preserved digitally. 

The camera setup outside.

After preparing the book (which took a good length of time) and waiting for a really nice day, Bob suited up in his haz-mat suit and set up his camera and tripod outside to photograph the book. Once the images are tweaked they will be ready for indexing.

Thanks Bob for all you do ... but we all agree that the haz-mat suit selfie is a little funny. 

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

It's Here -- The Used Book Sale Starts Today at Mount Clemens Public Library

Thank you everyone who showed up to buy and help sell last night at the Used Book Sale Preview Sale. The Used Book Sale officially begins today and runs through Saturday.

Used Book Sale Days and Hours are: 

September 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. is Day One of the Sale. 

September 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. is Day Two of the Sale. 

September 19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. is the Last Day of the Sale. 

This year all proceeds benefit the library's Genealogy and Local History Room.  

We hope to see you there ... with at least few arms full of books in the checkout line. Don't forget to tell your friends about the sale. 

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Get Free Access to FindMyPast.com this Weekend -- September 18-21, 2015

This weekend FindMyPast.com is having a free access weekend from 7:00 a.m. EDT Friday, Sep. 18 to 6:59 a.m. EDT Monday, Sep. 21. To participate you need to register on FindMyPast's free weekend webpage. 

Here are the terms and conditions:

Free access lasts from 7:00am (EDT) on Friday 18th September 2015 until 6:59am (EDT) on Monday 21st September 2015. To access the records you will need to be signed in at Findmypast: you can register for free using your name, email address and country of residence. The free access excludes the UK Electoral Registers (2002-2014) and the UK Companies House Directors (2002-2014) record sets. Current Findmypast Local subscribers (whilst they have an active Britain, Ireland, US & Canada or Australia & New Zealand subscription) will be able to access all World records (except those listed above) while the free access is live. Current Findmypast World subscribers (with active World subscriptions expiring after 11:59pm (BST) on Friday 18th September 2015, excluding Findmypast Library accounts) will have an additional three days added on to their subscription. Free access is subject to our fair usage policy: each account may view up to a maximum of 1,000 records per day.

Taking advantage of free access offers can help you decide if a subscription would be worthwhile for your research. FindMyPast has a good collection of databases for the United Kingdom.

So register and get ready to do some exploring this weekend.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

It's Just Around the Corner Now ... The Used Book Sale at Mt. Clemens Library

Setting up for the Used Book Sale.

As you can see we're working like busy bees setting up for this week's Used Book Sale at Mount Clemens Public Library.

Used Book Sale Days and Hours are: 

September 16, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. is the Preview Event. Preview Event Admission is $10 per person. Shop the sale early for the best selection. 

September 17, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. is Day One of the Sale. 

September 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. is Day Two of the Sale. 

September 19, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. is the Last Day of the Sale. 

This year all proceeds benefit the library's Genealogy and Local History Room. So fill your pockets and wallets with some cash and come buy some books! Books are great curling up in a comfy chair with a warm beverage and blanket on a chilly day. 

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Join Us for Friday's Meeting: Learn about the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public LIbrary

Tonight's Let's Talk...Genealogy meeting at 7 p.m. is not the only genealogy event taking place this week!

On Friday, September 11, 2015, at 1:00 p.m. in the auditorium of the Mount Clemens Public Library, Mark Bowden of the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library will present Selected Detroit and Michigan Genealogical Resources at the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library. 

If you are in the Mt. Clemens area, PLEASE JOIN US. 

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

This Wednesday's Let's Talk...Genealogy is Where Do I Go From Here? AND Archives of Michigan Attendee Follow-Ups

This Wednesday, January 14, at 7 p.m. in the Genealogy/Local History Room of the Mount Clemens Public Library is MCGG's Let's Talk...Genealogy meeting. The discussion topic of the night is Where Do I Go From Here? AND Archives of Michigan Attendee Follow-Ups. 

Bring your research questions, brick walls, or new finds to share with the group, maybe someone will have an idea to solve them or where to go next. We'll give everyone a turn. Also, Attendees of our June trip to the State Archives can share "after the trip" reports if they would like to do so.

See you soon at the Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

Labor Day Holiday Genealogy Free Access at AmericanAncestors and Ancestry

By now you should all know to keep an eye out for sales and free-access around the various holidays. This holiday, Labor Day, is no different. Here are some deals that we've spotted.

New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) and its website AmericanAncestors.org is offering free access to its Census, Tax and Voters Lists from now until Wednesday, September 9th. You need to use a free Guest User login so use your pre-existing one or create one. If you have an NEGHS membership, that login works also.

As you know from our previous post today, Ancestry.com has just released a new collection of U.S. Wills and Probate Records for many of the states. It is also giving free access to this collection and all U.S. Birth, Marriage and Death Records until Monday, September 9th. Please note that this collection is not an every name index of anyone mentioned in the various papers; it is an index of those who are deceased whose estates (with a will or not) are going through probate. If you are not finding someone, browse through the images just in case that area's records have not been indexed yet. You can also use the browse to verify what date range is covered for each specific area.

To take part in the free access at Ancestry.com start a search and click the free search button. When the results page shows a window will appear asking for your name and email so you can be sent a temporary username and password. This route will get you free access without needing to supply a credit card. Do not click on the start a free trial (unless you want to do so) at the bottom or side of the page as this route will ask for a credit card.

See You Soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE

What Did You Find?! Wednesday Ancestry.com Now has U.S. Wills and Probates -- Some Searchable!

Ancestry.com Promo Announcment

What Did You Find?! Wednesday

HEY EVERYBODY!

I got a slow start this morning so not more than an hour ago when I first signed on today I learned something new.

Ancestry.com has just released a whole ton of U.S. Wills and Probate Records. I think just about every state in the union is represented. And they are searchable -- enter a name and hit search! (But just to be safe, remember to browse the images too in case not everything has been indexed for the online database.)

The only hiccup is that you have to use Ancestry.com's new interface to view them. But don't worry, when you are done you can change back by selecting "Old Ancestry" under your profile name in the upper right corner of the browser window... for now.

Ancestry Library Edition already uses the new interface. (Just remember to bring your USB drive with you to the library, or your laptop.)

Okay, I'm keeping it short so I can get back to 6th great grandpa's probate in Connecticut. I almost ordered that microfilm! Thankfully, I started with the land records.

See you soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!
LE