Rediscovering Your Family History

Genealogy is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. Interest in researching one’s family has grown a great deal since the premiere of popular television shows such as Who Do You Think You Are and Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates Jr. Shows like these offer insight into our own roots and gives our ancestors a narrative  and not just a name listed on a tree for a school project. The quest for roots has turned more into a rediscovery of one’s heritage. A heritage which may have been lost over the years, especially in America; a country of immigrants.

To help in this new cultural past time, the Port Jefferson Free Library offers One-on-One Genealogy Help. Showcasing library databases, a trained staff member will sit down with you to start you off on your road to rediscovery.  Did you know that the library has access to Ancestry FREE from in the library? Already started your search but got stuck along the way? Or are you overwhelmed with all the available databases and websites to utilize? Make an appointment today to reclaim the details of your heritage. 

Popular genealogy titles available to check out at the library:

1.       Family Trees: A History of Genealogy in America by Francois Weil

Traces the history of genealogy in the United States, from its early preoccupation with social status and lineage, to a nineteenth-century search for Anglo-Saxon roots, to a twentieth-century acceptance of diversity and the introduction of DNA technology.

 2.       The Everything Guide to Online Genealogy: Use the Web to Trace Your Roots, Share Your History, and Create a Family Tree by Kimberly Powell

Offers advice on researching family history on the Web, including search strategies, data sharing, government records, genealogical software, and publishing the results on the Web.

 3.       Hey America, Your Roots Are Showing by Megan Smolenyak

A noted genealogist reveals what it is like to be a history detective using twenty-first-century techniques and technology, and discusses some of the cases she has solved, including the families of celebrities and work for the Army and the FBI.

 4.       Crash Course in Genealogy by David R. Dowell

A basic, how-to book written primarily to prepare librarians to assist genealogy researchers, this guide can also be used by those who wish to discover and document their family histories.

 5.       A Genealogist’s Guide to Discovering Your African American Ancestors by Franklin Carter Smith

A guide to tracing one's African-American ancestry features an approach that covers the pre-Civil War era to the present, and includes forms, outlines, maps, and case studies to yield accurate results.

 6.       Faces of America: How 12 Extraordinary People Discovered Their Pasts by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Shares the family trees and genetic profiles of twelve famous Americans from diverse backgrounds.

Copies of the Television Programs, Who Do You Think You Are? and Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates, Jr are available to check out from the library. Contact the library by phone: 473-0022, by text message: 631-213-7535  or email: heritage@portjefflibrary.org