Greater Washington Area Historical Society's Annual Antique and Collectible Appraisal Fair is on Sunday, Sept. 26

The Greater Washington Area Historical Society's annual Antique and Collectible Appraisal Fair is on Sunday, September 26, from 12 noon to 4 p.m. at the Washington Historical Museum, 58230 Van Dyke, Washington, Michigan 48094. Event will be held outside, weather permitting. Masks are required.

Whether you have a family heirloom or an item purchased at a sale, the expert appraisers, LaVere and Zola Webster, will provide you with the opportunity to spend some time with an expert and learn not only the background of your item but also its value. The cost is $5.00 per item and you may bring as many items as you wish. The fee may be waived if it is determined an item is of little value. This is a perfect opportunity to find out what the “whatchma call it” you inherited really is.

All proceeds will go toward replacing the roof of the museum. The Society has been working very hard to raise the funds for this project for the past several years. With the help of the community and local businesses, the society is progressing towards its goal.

The Washington Historical Museum is located in the OLD 1916 Washington High School. The school operated from 1917 until 1972 when the new Washington Elementary School was completed. In 1975, the Greater Washington Area Historical Society was granted the old school to use as a Historical Society Museum. The Historical Society is a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization

See you soon someday at our favorite library!
LE

PGSM 43rd Annual Genealogy Seminar Registration Now Open; Closes Oct. 4

Use the link at left; this is just an image.

Registration is now open for the Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan's 43rd Annual Genealogy Seminar on Saturday, October 16, 2021, 10 a.m. to 4:15 p.m Eastern Time.

Registration can be mailed in or completed online and closes October 4, 2021, no exceptions. Mail in registrations must be postmarked no later than October 4. Email registration will close October 4.

The seminar cost is $25. Or $40 for the seminar and a one-year membership in PGSM.

This year's seminar includes four live webinar presentations with Q&A, syllabus and door prizes.

“Poles Who Served in Foreign Armies” presented by Piotr Nojszewski, Warsaw, Poland

“Census of the Former Prussian Partition” presented by Michał Jan Marciniak, Warsaw, Poland

“Our Ancestors’ Lives in the 1800’s and Early 1900’s” presented by Piotr Nojszewski, Warsaw, Poland

“The Why, Who, What, Where, and How to Achieve a Successful Genealogical Research Journey” presented by Deborah Irwin and Elaine Bostwick, Michigan, USA

It looks like another interesting seminar on Polish research.

See you soon someday at our favorite library!
LE

MCGG Members: No Email Reminder? Go to MCPL Library Events to get Zoom Link

Yesterday, we had some email problems. Particularly with those members using email providers wideopenwest and wowway along with some comcast emails with a spattering of other email providers. Our MCGG Meeting reminder email did not go thru to about half of our members from what we can tell.

Later in the evening we sent a second email reminder with just the Zoom link to tonight's virtual meeting. But again, about half of our mail list members appear to have not received the email.

So, any MCGG mail list member who did not receive either of the emails sent yesterday should get the Zoom Meeting invite link from the Mount Clemens Public Library's Events Calendar.

It will take a little time to fix this issue. Essentially we think we have to divide our mail list up into at least two different groups to make our mail list group smaller so it does not get treated as spam by some email providers.

See you at the meeting tonight.

See you soon someday at our favorite library!
LE

Our Fall 2021 Season of MCGG Meetings Begin Tomorrow, Sep. 8 at 7 p.m. Virtually

It is time for a new season of MCGG meetings. Our next MCGG and Let's Talk...Genealogy groups combined virtual meeting is tomorrow, Wednesday, September 8, 2021, at 7 p.m. using Zoom Meeting. The topic of the meeting is  ... Where Do I Go From Here?

Bring research questions, brick walls, or new finds to share with the group! Let's share our challenges, maybe someone will have an idea to solve them.

Why is this our most popular discussion topic? Because it is your opportunity to get your questions or problems hopefully answered. But not just from one point of view but often several. And, when you have a new genealogy find you have like-minded genealogists who understand that satisfaction when maybe family members do not.

MCGG members on the mailing list will receive the Zoom Meeting invite in the reminder email to be sent prior to the meeting. New attendees can obtain the invite link using the Library Events calendar on the website of the Mount Clemens Public Library.

We are still working on our 2021 Fall Schedule. Once we have it finalized we will let you know what topics are on board for the rest of the Fall schedule. Stay tuned!

See you soon someday at our favorite library!
LE

Library of Michigan has its own Digital Website: Library of Michigan Digital

As the Library of Michigan and the Archives of Michigan begin their openings with scheduled appointments, we remind everyone it is a good idea to do your prep-work ahead of your visit and make a research plan for your visit to make better use of your appointment time.

Both the facilities utilize the Answer Catalog and it is possible to narrow your search to just one facility or the other that way you do not find yourself wanting something from the facility you did not schedule your appointment with that day. So we strongly suggest starting with the Answer Catalog.

But remember both facilities do have some online digitized materials you can research from home. See our latest post on the Michiganology.org website about how to find more than death certificates there.

Yes, you read that right -- both facilities have online digitized materials.

Did you know that the Library of Michigan has its own website for digitized resources too? It is called Library of Michigan Digital. The link icon is right there on the Answer Catalog homepage along with the Michigan Electronic Library MeL.org link icon (where you go to access the MyHeritage Library Edition database link) and the icon for the combined MSU-Library of Michigan Catalog.

One way to start is to just browse around the Library of Michigan Digital website. The Library of Michigan has created several highlight collections. Some of these collections have more items, some have less like the Michigan Maps which has just one digital image -- an 1840 Wayne County map.

This digital collection website includes older records and newer records. If in trying to view a document/record image you get a message to login do not worry you that are in a wrong place. This site uses the same login account as the WorldCat.org (OCLC Online Computer Library Center) website. There are free WorldCat accounts. If you have a WorldCat account just login, if not just go to WorldCat and create one. You will find the login in the stacked menu (three bars) in the top right-corner of the Library of Michigan Digital website.

Another way to find records on the Library of Michigan Digital website is to use the Answer Catalog. Notice any entries that say "Electronic Resource" and just click the link "Connect to Archived Issues" to be taken to the online records. (The Connect to Resource takes you to the record originator's part of the michigan.gov website.) Now the Connect to Archived Issues link may take you to the OCLC website and if you select a record to view you may get a login and refresh the page (on the Library of Michigan Digital website.)

If so, try logging in and refreshing the page. If that does not work, then using the information that you used to find the subject/record in the Answer Catalog go to the Advanced Search of the Library of Michigan Digital website and search using the term(s) you used. (You should still be logged into the website.)

Here is an example. While researching Eschenburg Bars it was learned through the digitized WWII years of the Mount Clemens Daily Monitor and Daily Monitor-Leader that the owner of the second Eschenburg Bar lost his liquor license from a raid by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission in December 1941. He did get the liquor license back but the article made the researcher think: "I wonder if the MLCC has minutes of its meetings or hearings and if those minutes have been preserved?"

Searching the Answer Catalog for Michigan Liquor Control Commission brought up many hits. Add minutes and it narrowed the result list down. (See the image example above.) Selecting the Connect to Archived Issues takes one to the OCLC results list. Selecting a year of minutes to view resulted in the above login issue mentioned. 

Going to the Library of Michigan Digital home page or finding the advanced search link, the researcher typed in Michigan Liquor Control Commission Minutes and when the results brought up more than the expected results, the filter "minutes of the state liquor control commission" was selected and the results list expanded to show 200 results on one page making just one easy to read page of results.

The years 1941 and 1942 (the year the newspaper article appeared) were searched without success. It appears the list of the hearings (names and reasons) were kept separate from the minutes for an reason unknown to the researcher.

An alternate search was to go back to Advanced Search and add another search parameter with the surname you are seeking. This narrows the results to the MLCC minutes where that surname appears. It did not find the hearing mentioned in the newspaper because the hearings appear to be redacted for that time period. But the search did find one prior and one later for two other Eschenburgs who also owned or ran a bar. Now those have been added to a To-Do list for searches in the Mount Clemens newspapers still not digitized. The researcher only wishes the MLCC minutes started before 1933 so more research could be done on the first Eschenburg Bar.

So that is how you find the Electronic Resources that are mentioned in the Answer Catalog.

Have fun finding your digital treasures!

See you soon someday at our favorite library!
LE

Washington Museum Hosts Program by Author of Washington Township Book

The Washington Museum will be open on Thursday, September 23 at 7 p.m. for an informative program. Linda Osborne Cynowa will talk about her "Images of America" book by Arcadia Publishing Company on "Washington Township."

Cynowa will share many stories about our local area and its early settlers such as James Thorington, Asahel Bailey, William Austin Burt, and Elon Andrus. 

The museum is located at 58230 Van Dyke north of 26 Mile Road. For more information, call the museum at 586-786-5304 or go to the Greater Washington Area Historical Society facebook page.

The museum is also open for tours from 1 to 4 p.m. on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month through November.

See you soon someday at our favorite library!
LE

CMU Clarke Historical Library's Digital Michigan Newspaper Portal Updated

Central Michigan University's Clarke Historical Library has updated its Digital Michigan Newspaper Portal. 

The portal has increased from 399 links to over 1,000 links. And now all 83 counties are represented. This was done by including links to modern and still in operation online newspapers.

Explore your family's past and current life in newspapers.

See you soon someday at our favorite library!
LE