Find Your Family in February!

February is a great month to work on your family and genealogy research. The Southern History department has two types of classes to assist you whether you are a beginning or an advanced genealogist. Choose from our Beyond the Basics of Genealogy workshop or our Introduction to Genealogy class.

We will hold our first of five Beyond the Basics of Genealogy (BtB) workshops in which participants will gain in-depth knowledge of specialized areas of genealogy research. February’s topic is universally appealing to anyone who has ever done any family research. Is your genealogy research out of control with piles of paper and scattered files on your computer? If you answered yes, come learn about different methods of organization and techniques for both paper and digital files and set yourself up for organizational success. The BtB workshop, Piles of Paper and Digital Dilemmas: Organizing Your Genealogy Research, will be offered on Saturday, February 28th at 10 a.m. in the Arrington Auditorium of the Linn Henley building at the Central branch of the Birmingham Public Library. Workshops are free of charge, but registration is requested. You can register online using your library card or contact the Southern History Department of the Birmingham Public Library at 205-226-3665.

If that BtB workshop sounded interesting, but you do not have any research yet to organize, we suggest that you attend our Introduction to Genealogy class. This 1 hour class is designed for people who are novices or beginners in genealogical research. Here are some of the topics that will be covered:

• Planning a Research Trip
• Vital Records 
• Census Records 
• Church Records 
• Courthouse Records 
• Ancestor/Pedigree Charts and Family Group Sheets 
• Popular Genealogy Websites 

This month, Introduction to Genealogy will be offered on Tuesday, February 3rd at 11:30 am and again on Sunday, February 15th at 2:30 pm, which are conveniently scheduled before the first BtB workshop.  This class meets on the first floor of the Linn-Henley building in the Southern History department, and no registration is required.  If your calendar is already full for these dates, don’t worry we hold the Introduction to Genealogy class several times a year, and the content is the same with each offering.