sgsmi.org
check us out on Facebook!
  • HOME
    • Links
    • Libraries >
      • Hoyt Public Library of Saginaw
      • Library of Michigan
      • Allen County Library
      • MidWest Genealogy Center
      • SLC Family History Library
    • Local- Saginaw >
      • Military
      • Cemeteries >
        • Headstones
        • CemeteryMaps
      • County Farm
      • County Schools LIST
      • County Map
      • Funeral Homes
      • Historical Churches
      • Courthouse Index
      • Publications
    • Table of Contents
  • NEWS
    • Whats New - APR 2021
    • Ask Miss Betty
    • Translations
    • Mystery Photos
  • HISTORIES
    • Pioneers
    • First Land Purchases
    • 19th Century Emigrants List
    • Newspapers >
      • Saginaw Daily Courier
      • Saginaw Daily Enterprise
    • History of Bridgeport
    • History of Frankenmuth
    • History of Saginaw
    • Midland County Marriages
  • MEMBERSHIP
    • ZOOM register
    • About Us >
      • By-Laws
    • Officers
    • Donate
    • Benefits
    • CONTACT US
    • Request Membership
    • PAYMENT PAGE
  • MEMBERS
    • ALL SPEAKERS NOTES
    • Speakers Notes/Syllabus
    • Archives of the TTL >
      • Index and Table of Contents
    • Archives of SGS Newsletter >
      • Index and Table of Contents
Picture
Monthly News items

Please Remember....Meetings are the second Tuesday
​on
 the months that we meet and begin promptly at 6:30 pM
​(unless otherwise noted)
at 1415 N Center road, Saginaw, MI 48638 (The Church of jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) 
Which is also the home of the Saginaw Family History Center


2017 SPEAKERS Jan-June

Notes And Handouts From Previous Speakers 
​As A Courtesy To Our Members We Will Include The Highlights From Our Monthly Speakers Presentations Along With Any Printed Information They Gave Out To SGS Members, So That Those Who Were Not Able To Attend Can Still Have Some Of The Benefits Of Membership. GO TO: SPEAKERS NOTES/ SYLLABUS

CALENDAR

  • JANUARY- cancelled due to the weather
  • FEBRUARY- HOW TO READ PROPERTY CARDS - SPEAKER- Linda Armentrout, Saginaw City Assessor
  • MARCH- ONLINE RESEARCH +Ancestry Research Helps- Debbie Sheets and Karen Reynolds                HOW TO INDEX ONLINE  + Special Indexing Project (March 18th-Volunteer Saturday) Karen Reynolds
  • APRIL- ROOTSTECH- 2017 - A Review of the RootsTech 2017 online lectures - Bob Sheets & John Cammin 
  • MAY- No Tuesday General Meeting ***A WALK IN THE PAST ***(Saturday Field Trip!! MAY 13 2:30-4:30)    Tom Trombley giving a historical tour at Forest Lawn Cemetery
  • JUNE* (Elections!) -  POTLUCK PICNIC AND MORE IN THE CAMMIN CEMETERY!  Pioneer Awards meeting is at John Cammin's home next to the Swarthout/Cammin Cemetery at 1500 Hawthorne Dr. Saginaw, MI 48638 

SGS NEWS

  REMEMBER ...
THE TIMBERTOWN LOG HAS GONE GREEN!          
Comes thru your email unless the extra $5.00 fee is included with your annual membership fee
ALL PAST TTL'S WILL BE ARCHIVED ON THE SITE
LOOK UNDER>
MEMBERS ONLY

Recent News 

Picture

​SGS ALERT
   PO BOX  CHANGE !!!

We have a new P.O. Box at the Saginaw Post Office!!!
The new address is :
​P.O. Box 6161 Saginaw MI 48608-6161

The change was implemented in order to place the new mail-box closer to board members, in an effort to receive mailings in a more timely fashion, as the old P.O. Box was downtown. 

Picture

 DID YOU SEE THIS ON Fb?
​Recently seen on our Facebook page...

Picture

​An Imaginary Town Becomes Real... 
Then Not. True Story!

​This is the story of a totally made-up place that suddenly became real — and then, strangely, undid itself and became a fantasy again. Imagine Pinocchio becoming a real boy and then going back to being a puppet. That's what happened here — but this is a true story.
It's about a place in upstate New York called Agloe. You can see it here, circled in blue.  
​TO READ MORE CLICK THE LINK BELOW...
LINK TO STORY

Picture
CLICK ON THE Fb ICON ​TO SEE OUR PAGE

Check out our Fb site 
There are lots of cool and interesting things to read there! You can connect to Fb right from our website.
​1.Go to our main page and choose "Fb link" or
2.click HERE
 

You will need to sign into your own Fb account to enter the site.

​Strange But True
Click on the photo below to learn more...
Picture
Saved from: genealogistjournal.blogspot.com​

sURNAME mEANINGS AND oRIGINS

WHAT DOES MY SURNAME MEAN?
Picture
by Kimberly Powell
Updated March 03, 2017
With a few exceptions, hereditary surnames—the last names passed down through the male family lines—didn't exist until about 1000 years ago. While it may be hard to believe in today's world of passports and retinal scans, surnames just weren't necessary before that. The world was much less crowded than it is today, and most folks never ventured more than a few miles from their place of birth. Every man knew his neighbors, so first, or given names, were the only designations necessary.  

Even kings got by with a single name.

During the middle ages, as families got bigger and villages got a bit more crowded, individual names became inadequate to distinguish friends and neighbors from one another. One John might be called "John son of William" to distinguish him from his neighbor, "John the smith," or his friend "John of the dale." These secondary names, weren't quite yet the surnames as we know them today, however, because they weren't passed down from father to son. "John, son of William," for example, might have a son known as "Robert, the fletcher (arrow maker)."

Last names that were passed down unchanged from one generation to the next first came into use in Europe about 1000 A.D., beginning in southern areas and gradually spreading northward. In many countries the use of hereditary surnames began with the nobility who often called themselves after their ancestral seats.
Many of the gentry, however, did not adopt surnames until the 14th century, and it was not until about 1500 A.D. that most surnames became inherited and no longer transformed with a change in a person's appearance, job, or place of residence.
Surnames, for the most part, drew their meanings from the lives of men in the Middle Ages, and their origins can be divided into four main categories: TO READ MORE- CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW

CLICK FOR LINK

Picture

Don't forget about local help.....

The Eddy Room at Hoyt Library

​  In 1991-1994, a small project to renovate four rooms on the second floor of Hoyt Library gave a preview of the beauty and functionality that a full renovation could bring. The Eddy Historical and Genealogical Collection, one of the finest local history and genealogical collections in Michigan, was now showcased in the beautifully renovated rooms, which featured restored oak beams in the high ceiling, and an elegant Victorian color scheme. This $400,000 project, funded entirely through grants and private donations, added the electrical heating and mechanical improvements needed to create a temperature- and humidity-controlled climate for these unique historical materials.
​A state-of-the-art computer training center was created to serve both staff and patron training needs. In the freshly painted and refurnished reference room a large U- shaped block of 15 computer stations was made available for public use. The completely remodeled children's room featured space for 6 computer workstations on child-sized furniture. All areas of the library had new carpet reflecting the Victorian motif, and sturdy, attractive new shelving to replace old wooden shelves that were split and unstable. Hoyt Public Library, completely renovated for the first time in a century, continues to stand as a landmark - a visible sign of the strength, endurance and vision of the people of Saginaw.

Picture
CLICK ON TITLE BELOW TO GO TO LINK
50 Free Genealogy
Sites to Search Today​


FREE, FREE, FREE...

3 Ways to Find Ancestors Who Didn’t Leave a Paper Trail: What to Do When There Are No Reco​​​rds
​Not every ancestor will have a large trail of records leading to them. Some won’t have any, except maybe some census entries, and even then, they may be missing (for numerous reasons) on more than one census. Ancestors who lived in counties where courthouses burned down may have had important records that disappeared with the courthouse. Some ancestors were just purposefully private (and thus, mysterious) people.
There are all kinds of reasons you may not be finding many, or any, records regarding a particular ancestor. Just because there are no records, however, does not mean you can’t find out more about your ancestor and his or her life and family. You’ve just got to get creative in your search. Here are three methods you can use to find your record-less ancestor.

​1. Look at Family Naming Patterns
You can get a lot of clues as to family relationships by examining naming patterns within a particular family. While it is still popular to name children after grandparents, parents, and other favored relatives, it was extremely common in the 18th and 19th centuries. If you’re dealing with an ancestor who left no records, look at their name and what they named their children.
Middle names are particularly important. They were used occasionally in the 18th century but were commonplace by the mid-19th century. Middle names were often used to honor a mother or grandmother’s maiden name or the first name of a grandfather or other distinguished relative. You can take a middle name or a first name and look in census records for people with the same last name in the general area who are old enough to be your ancestor’s parents or grandparents. You can also take a middle name and look for people in the area with that name as their surname.
Research these people, looking for wills, obituaries, land records, tax records, military records, and anything else that may mention family members. You may just find a mention of your ancestor if they were named after any of these people.

2. Research Their Neighbors
People did not live in a vacuum back in the old days. A community was particularly important in the age before television and the Internet. Neighbors often developed close relationships with each other. Marriages between the children of neighbors weren’t uncommon, especially in rural areas, and neighbors sometimes went to the same churches as each other, and even migrated to other areas together.
This is why it’s so important to research neighbors if you can’t find any direct information on your ancestor. Don’t just research the people who lived next door, either. Look at all of the people in the same general geographic area. You might find your ancestor’s name, and even his or her family relationships, mentioned in a neighbor’s will, land records, military records (if your ancestor gave an affidavit for a neighbor’s military pension application), church sponsorship records, and more. If you discover some neighbors left diaries, try to get access to them, as your ancestor and his or her family may be mentioned in those diary entries, as well.

3. Search Old Newspapers
In and Near the Places Your Ancestor LivedIf you know where your ancestor lived (or the places he or she lived, if there were a lot of moves), you might have a chance at discovering new information about them in local and area newspaper records. Many genealogy websites have searchable newspapers onlinegoing back to the colonial days of this nation. Search for your ancestor by name in the newspapers in the town and county, and even surrounding counties of his or her place of dwelling. Sometimes news traveled to newspapers a surprising distance away.
If you can’t find the newspapers you need online, contact the newspaper offices in the town or county (and surrounding counties) today and ask if they keep an archive of old editions, and how you may access it. It may take a trip there in person and many days of reading through old newspapers, sometimes on microfilm, but it will be worth it if you find an obituary, birth announcement, marriage announcement, or personal story involving your elusive ancestor.


Just because your ancestor didn’t leave adequate records for you to find out anything about him or her directly doesn’t mean your search for information on this person’s life has hit a brick wall. You don’t need a time machine to go back and meet your ancestor in person to get answers. You just need to look at different ways to reach your ancestor from the present day. Not all genealogical searches are direct ones. The information you seek is usually there, though. All you need to do is go the long way around, and through some unusual pathways, to find them.

This just in...

Picture
Picture

CHESANING SCANNING PROJECT

Picture
SGS member Betty Coleman has spearheaded a project in Chesaning, at the public library, with other friends and members of the SGS. They are scanning information from family files at the library in order to make them searchable. Volunteers are VERY welcome. See when the next scanning time is, by contacting SGS at: saggensoc@gmail.com

help us Index!!!

Picture

​US, Michigan—Obituaries, 1820–2006 [Part B]

 FROM THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME, OR WITH HELP AT THE FAMILY HISTORY CENTER, INDEX RECORDS SO THAT EVERYONE CAN ENJOY THE AVAILABLE ONLINE DATA TO USE FOR FREE!  *OR* 
GO TO HISTORY4YOU.COM
AND FOLLOW THE STEPS TO LEARN HOW TO INDEX
  • In this project,index only documents pertaining to a death. Any image that does not show at least one death record should be marked as a No Extractable Data image.
  • The obituaries and death notices are typically in chronological order.
  • Each batch includes up to five images.
  • Each image usually shows just one document, but some obituaries may extend across multiple images, and some images may contain more than one obituary.
CLICK to connect

Picture
THE SAGINAW FHC
IS OPEN AT THE FOLLOWING TIMES FOR FREE HELP...
WHENEVER YOU WANT TO DO A LITTLE MORE DIGGING AROUND                                  YOUR TREE! 

​                  TUES 1-4 / WED 6-9 / SAT 9-3
                  1415 N Center Road, Saginaw, MI 48638     
                  Call: 989-793-1696 x2
​CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW
​TO SEE A MAP OF THE AREA

LINK TO MAP

​Interesting Stuff

Picture

Thank you Jessica Milly 
who sent us the following link information:

http://householdquotes.co.uk/ultimate-genealogy-guide/
PS: We will add this page to our LINKS page!!

Picture
Ultimate Genealogy Guide
​
Householdquotes.co.uk


These days it seems you can’t be alive on planet earth and not have met someone who happens to be doing an ‘indepth search’ on their ancestors, or in other words embarking on a spot of what is officially referred to as Genealogy. This crusade to find out more about where we came from, how we got here and, in doing so, possibly learn a lot more about our own personality and beliefs etc, has been growing phenomenally in popularity over the years here in America.
And if you don’t quite believe that fact then just ask ABC News. Their statistics revealed Genealogy to be the second most popular online website category to be visited in 2013 (this is a family article so we won’t mention the first). Meanwhile, celebrated University of Michigan anthropologist Beverly Strassmann acknowledges that Genealogy appears to be “America’s second-most popular hobby.”
The fascination for tracing our ancestors is believed to date back to author Alex Haley’s book Roots, published in 1976 and made famous globally after it was adapted for TV. The author described himself as being ‘addicted’ to Genealogy, having studied it for 12 years and until his death still searching for scraps of ongoing evidence. Even US president Barack Obama became enamored with the past time, publishing his autobiography and family history ‘Dreams From My Father.’
That’s all very well, but how do you even go about starting to look? Well, read the following and find out:
Where people get their information fromWithout a doubt, the biggest resource for people tracking down their ancestral history has to be the internet. There are a number of online websites specializing in Genealogy databases and receiving around 108 million visits a year, according to statistics from Genealogy In Timemagazine.
Based on Alexa rankings, the most popular Genealogy site in America is Ancestry.com with an astounding 38,890 visitors a day, followed by MyHeritage.com with 11,870 visitors and thirdly FindAGrave with 11,310 people dropping in daily.
There are paper records too, of course. The Baptist churches encouraged its members to research their fathers back before the publication of Roots. Libraries store archived records and there are lists of federal agencies with interesting records. And that’s just for starters.
Why do individuals embark on it?According to the anthropologist Strassmann mentioned in our introduction, it’s all down to evolution and the fact we can’t help caring about family (both immediate and cousins, great aunts etc). And if someone cares about you and looks out for you then you’re more likely to survive. It makes sense!
Of course, there is also a sense of satisfaction and pleasure gained from discovery. You may, for instance, be the only person for hundreds of years to uncover a particular piece of family history and which would otherwise probably have gone undiscovered for another few centuries. At the same time you’re discovering a little more about American culture at a given period. This video from the National Genealogy Society reveals professional Genealogists and amateur searchers revealing what they get from the subject.
Credit
How to start your Genealogy questFirst decide what type of Genealogy you’re about to embark on. For instance, is it your family history as a whole you’re looking to recreate, or are you on the pursuit of one particular family line? Next:
  • Quiz your family. Grandparents, in particular, often have the key to unlock certain doors from the past. So do great aunts, uncles and elderly distant cousins. Start visiting them and listening to their reminiscences. Try and get as many details as possible about nicknames, addresses, ages, and dates around births, marriages and deaths (as these should all be recorded).
  • Snoop around your parental home. Asking for permission first is easier! Look at old photos and birth certificates, also school report cards, letters and diaries if possible. There may even be an old family tree started by some distant relative who, for some reason, abandoned his or her genealogical search.
  • Draw a basic family tree. Regardless of whether you’re looking for just one individual ancestral line or many, it still helps to have this ‘family map’ to refer to. It can be online or hard copy; just add things to it as you go along and try to keep it tidy for easy reference.
  • Look for a particular story of interest. This could be a relative’s student years at college, military service or serving the community as an elected member of the council. If, during your search you come across what appears to be an even more interesting story on another family member, try to stay loyal to the first otherwise your search may not be as thorough as it could have been.
  • Review the US Census. This is reasonably extensive since the first US Census was taken as far back as 1790 when George Washington was the President. However, do approach it with caution since the records for Delaware, Georgia, New Jersey, and Virginia were lost and up to one third of the original data was destroyed. This involved records originating from
Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Vermont.
Do, however, refer to this official record – and the others following –  to try and trace family since it contains names, ages, birth places, occupations, addresses and immigration details.
  • Network with other genealogists. Joining FB groups and online forums can help you pick up valuable tips for your own search. They could also prove encouraging when you hit what you consider to be a brick wall and your passion for the pastime starts to fade. There may even be a Family History Society which physically meets up near where you live.
Have you caught the ancestry searching bug yet? If so, we don’t blame you. Meanwhile, here’s some further resources that can help with your hunt or just remind you of why again you want to pursue this often frustrating – but ultimately – rewarding past time. Enjoy!

Further Reading
http://time.com/133811/how-genealogy-became-almost-as-popular-as-porn/ – How Alex Haley’s book Roots sparked a national obsession with Genealogy
http:/www.genealogy.com/articles/research/12_alexh.html – The father of Genealogy Alex Haley’s story of what he gets from the past time and how it shaped his own ideas about relationships
http://www.fgs.org/cstm_societyHall.php – A list of genealogy clubs in America
http://www.findmypast.com/content/20-family-history-resources – 20 top Genealogy resources
http://www.dar.org/national-society/genealogy/start-what-you-know – Applying for access to the archives held by the Daughters of the American Revolution

Picture

from our readers...

Picture
click on box to access link
We are always open to new information and cool stuff to pass on to our members and followers. Recently we got a letter from a group at the Sutter Library in Yuba City, California. We would like to thank Meg Taylor from the Sutter Library and her group for their good website find! This website has many links associated with it and can be accessed from the link ABOVE.
​Just click on the box to access it. It is also now found on our HOME page under the TABLE OF CONTENTS in LINKS
(Genealogy Facts and Finds)
 Well done Meg!!!

NOW THATS JUST WEIRD...

BOY, AND YOU THOUGHT YOUR FAMILY WAS HARD TO FIGURE OUT!!!
Picture
Need help? Give us a ​call @ the Saginaw Family History Center
We can help you get your tree
​GOAT FREE!
989-791-1696
or visit us at
​1415 N. Center Road, Saginaw, MI

Tuesday 1-4 pm
Wed 6-9 pm

Saturday 9-3 pm

DID YOU KNOW...

SAGINAW NEWS OBITUARY INDEX

With over 200,00+ obituaries for you to find. ​Click on the photo link below or go to:  http://obits.netsource-one.net/
Picture

MORE FREE STUFF...

Your Michigan Library Card Is Good At More Than Just Libraries ​​If you want to take advantage of this, just print a free one-day pass, which you can do either at your local library or at home. Then use the pass at any of the 102 state parks or 138 campgrounds around the state. It’s all a part of the Michigan Activity Pass Program, which you can get more info and details on at michiganactivitypass.info
Picture
Are you a Michigan library card holder?  Did you know that as of May 24th 2016, you can now access hundreds of Michigan’s state parks, historic sites, recreation areas and campgrounds for either free or discounted admission? You can even use it to visit any of the Seven National Park venues in the state!
​
Read More: Your Michigan Library Card Is Good At More Than Just Libraries | http://mychannel957.com/your-michigan-library-card-is-good-at-more-than-just-libraries/?trackback=tsmclip  
OR CLICK ON THE BUTTON BELOW
CLICK HERE

Designed by K_web Development. Powered by weebly.com