NORTHERN ARIZONA
           GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY    
   (NAGS)

      P.O. Box 695
                 Prescott, AZ 86302       
 
Monthly Programs

Unless otherwise noted, programs are held at the LDS Church, 1001 Ruth Street, on the fourth Saturday of the month at 2 p.m.  The doors open at 1:30 p.m. for social time. Please park at the rear of the building and enter through the double doors in back.  This facility is handicap accessible. ​We will be meeting in Room 20.  The meeting is free and open to the public. 


​2018 Program Schedule 

 
​08 December 2018 @ 2:00 P.M.     "Old Family Photographs in Time"    Member's Gathering
 Members are invited to bring finger food type snacks.  Please submit an undated family image you are curious about which appears to be from the mid-1800s to around 1920 for discussion by the group.  Submit your photo, including its size, to Raylene Hiatt at rjunkins@cableone.net by 1 December and we will discuss the observations that may lead to a confident date range.

Photos will be projected on the screen so everyone can see the photo and we can learn together.  So send your photos and bring your 'cookies' to the December meeting.  Please add a NAGS image for the subject on your submissions to Raylene.

17 November 2018 @ 2:00 P.M.   "Guidelines for Dating Early Photographs"      Sue Kissel 
D. Sue Kissel will discuss " Guidelines for Dating Early Photographs." 
​Anyone who "dabbles" in genealogy collects images of family.  To see their physical forms can be magical.  Not everyone is lucky enough to have photographs with a complete label - who, what, when, and where this photograph was taken.  Photographs are artifacts and documents that can be used to form the basis of conclusions in genealogical research.  The same questions that Suzanne Brayer posed about written documents also apply to images.  Sue Kissel, a long time avid genealogist, will discuss some guidelines for dating early photographs - perhaps knowing an approximate whenmay help sort out the who.
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27 October 2018 @ 2:00 P.M.    "What Does that Document REALLY Say?"   Suzanne Young Brayer -  Arizona Genealogical Advisory Board.
​    Susan Young Brayer is an educator, researcher and avid genealogist. She graduated with degrees in history and education from Arizona State University.

Her involvement in researching her family history began in the early 80's when she and her father worked together gathering the pieces of their ancestry puzzle. From  Mayflower ancestors to Revolutionary War patriots to 19th century German immigrants and  a few criminals along the way, she, like most of us, represents the 'melting pot' of American culture.

She is the past President of the Family History Center of Arizona, a member of The American Council of Professional Genealogists, as well as numerous local and national societies. She has taught genealogy classes and spoken to numerous groups throughout Arizona. She is a lecturer, teacher and genealogist with over 25 years' experience.

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22 September 2018 @ 2:00 P.M "Walking Through the Stones--A Guide to Cemeteries and Headstones". Cemeteries hold a strange fascination for most people.  For some, a cemetery conjures up ghostly thoughts, while others perceive them as places to remember loved ones long gone.  Genealogists look upon cemeteries as a wide-open world of discovery -- discovery of names, dates, associations and stories of ancestors.

 Headstones and gravestone art can provide fascinating insights into the life of an individual if you can interpret what you see.  This talk will provide information on locating cemeteries and graves as well as what to look for when you walk among those silent monuments.
   Sue Williams will also discuss the "cryptic clues" that can be found in gravestone art, symbols and epitaphs.  For example, if you find an ancestor's headstone with a skull and wings, does it mean you are descended from a pirate?  Probably not, but it does mean the grave is likely from the 17th century.  And epitaphs can add humor to your life such as, "I told you I was ill."
   Join us as Sue leads us in a "Walk Through the Stones" to discover more clues (and laughs) in the graveyard as we search for our ancestors.

25 August 2018 @2:00p.m.
 Take a virtual tour of the riches our library has to assist in your genealogy research, all free with your library card!  Everyone knows about Ancestry.com, but did you know the library also has genealogy reference books, and digital access to hundreds of historical newspapers and ebooks?  Learn how to access these resources and more in a 50-minute presentation given by Lead Librarian Ruthie Hewitt who has a Masters in Library Sciences and a BA in Religious Studies.  She has worked at Prescott Public Library for nearly two years and loves the opportunity to share all that the library has to offer.  While she has not done genealogy work herself, her mother has traced their family lineage back to the 1500s.  Librarian Bill Wolf has a BA in Soviet Studies and a Masters and Ph.D. in Russian History.  Bill, a member of NAGs, recently joined the library staff.  He is excited to share his knowledge of the library's genealogy offerings.

Also, we will be voting on proposed changes in the bylaws.  You can view these changes in the attachment.
bylaws_amendments.pdf

​23 June 2018 @2:00 p.m.   "Brick Walls".
Genealogists love to commiserate about the brick walls blocking the findings into their families’ pasts. Often these brick walls need alternate methods so  you can find your way around with a fresh look, different records or some sideways or “cluster” research. Other times, your brick wall proves to be a genuine dead end. Come share your successes and/or your trials and tribulations.

Also, we will be voting on proposed changes in the bylaws.  You can view these changes in the attachment.
bylaws_amendments.pdf

26 May 2018 @ 2:00 p.m.- Death Certificates   Death might seem a strange place to begin an ancestor search, but the documents produced at the end of a life can offer a summary of that family member.  All true?  Only research and documentation can prove that life.  Come join Barbara Wich as she shares the process of approaching an ancestor's life from the perspective of their death.  A few research reminders will be discussed along with an extensive list of documents a person's death might create. She will emphasize death certificates and some of the hurdles in analyzing their contents.  Please bring distressing or curious death certificates for discussion with the group.
        
28 April @ 2:00 p.m. - "Mining the Census."   The United States collects a decennial (every ten years) census mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution, which states:  "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States ... according to their respective Numbers ... .  The actual Enumeration shall be made within three Years after the first Meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subsequent Term of ten Years."  To protect respondents' privacy, decennial census records are confidential for 72 years.
The Federal Census is the bedrock of genealogical research.  From 1790 through 1940, the U. S. census is an easily accessible public record that allows one to trace people through time and space.  From 1790 until 1850, the census only named the head of household, but counted others in the household by gender and age brackets.  Since 1850, entire households are listed with answers to an astonishing array of questions regarding financial and social issues of interest to the demographers of that time.  In addition to the federal population schedules, censuses in the late 19th century also included agricultural and industrial schedules to gauge the productivity of the nation's economy.  Mortality schedules taken between 1850 and 1880 captured a snapshot of life spans and causes of death throughout the country. 
Come join Raylene Junkins Hiatt as she unwraps the magic of mining the federal census for over 150 years of unique American records.  Our census follows migration patterns, social and household changes, and the financial ups and downs of your families.  Raylene, an early member of NAGS, is an experienced genealogist with a passion for family history.
 

24 March @ 2:00 p.m. --  A Common Thread  - Textiles played an important part in the lives of American colonists.  Estate inventories indicate that bedding and bed curtains were among the most highly valued possessions, exceeded in value only by land, buildings, and, in rare instances, wrought silver."  A Common Thread reveals that we all descend from weavers.  From the Stone Age to the Middle Ages, spinning and weaving innovations took different paths across cultures and continents.  Making thread and cloth was at the core of European economies for centuries.   In Colonial American, weaving was a vital skill that required the whole household’s efforts.  Their equipment and methods are familiar to modern hand weavers.  Textiles played a central role in both the American and Industrial Revolutions and to migration patterns through the 1800s.  Three generations of one immigrant family demonstrate the path from Scottish mill mechanic to an American “family of experts in the manufacture of textile fabrics.” Although hand weaving supposedly ended with the Industrial Revolution, hand weavers today use new materials and computers in their craft.
Mary Kelly is a member of the Mountain Spinners and Weavers in Prescott and the Midcoast Weavers in Maine.  She always knew she would weave, but couldn’t explain why.  Family genealogies and D.A.R. records document two lines of her family, however, by exploring other branches of her family tree, she unraveled the thread to her “weaving gene.”               Common Thread Handout

24 February   Richard Norman will join NAGS to discuss and answer questions of how family history charts and books are handled and printed at A&E Reprographics.  Anyone considering displaying a professionally printed family tree chart or publishing a genealogy book will gain insights into the processes of commercial printing in the Quad Cities area.  Knowing what formats are necessary may save time as you organize your project.  Mr. Norman will bring examples of some printed genealogical projects.

January 27   John Thorne, a member of NAGS, will relate the exciting history of the “The Boston Tea Party and The Last Surviving Member.”  The Boston Tea Party of 16 December 1773, was a key event that lead to the American Revolutionary War.  The "last surviving member" was David Kennison who allegedly died at the age of 115 in Chicago on 24 February 1852, having married 4 wives and fathered 22 children over his long life.  After the Boston Tea Party, David participated in numerous battles during the Revolutionary War and later the War of 1812.  He was granted a government pension for his military service.  Ripley's Believe It or Not featured David Kennison in its 1976 bicentennial Book of Americana.  His life is also documented in other more authoritative (historical) publications.  David Kennison is the speaker's 4th great-grandfather, hence John Thorne is keenly interested in the Boston Tea Party and has done extensive genealogical research on this particular participant.

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Prescott Public Library 
Genealogy Research Series

17 September  2018  2:30 - 4pm "Researching Your Ancestors' Military Service: Locating Source Documents and Adding Historical Context," by Bill Wolf, Monday, September 17, 2018, 2:30 to 4pm at the Prescott Public Library.   This talk is part of NAGS' quarterly Genealogy Research Series talks at the Library.


13Nov2018