Family History

Open discussion and planning for next year

UMRA’s Family History Interest Group will meet via Zoom on Wednesday, May 7, for an open discussion of ideas, insights, questions, and issues related to family history, and to discuss topics for next year’s meetings.

Finding Almira Fifield (1833-1863) of Valparaiso, Indiana

Event Date: April 2, 2025, at 10:00 AM

Barbara Brandt discovered her ancestor, Dr. Almira Fifield, “the Lost Heroine of Porter County,” buried in an unmarked grave in Indiana. Learn how she unlocked Almira’s story.

Dale Lange

I have developed a special interest in my seventh great grandfather, Michael Pierce… Putting together the pieces of Michael’s life has been an interesting journey, even if at times complicated and confusing. I have learned to evaluate sources that tell different stories and cannot agree on what one might think are basic facts like when and where someone was born. I have learned to accept and live with these and other ambiguities.

Researching family history using local and virtual resources

Event Date: March 5, 2025, at 10:00 AM

Will Craig and Laura Ericksen discuss how they research family history using local and virtual resources.

Out of the basement and into the museum

Event Date: January 8, 2025, at 10:00 AM

See the Family History presentations on sharing belongings that have historic value outside the family!

An African American family history

Event Date: November 6, 2024, at 10:00 AM

Earl and Rebecca Scott draw from their book Forging a Path to Wellbeing: The Journey of an African American Family. The book starts with establishing their family ancestry. The challenges are quite different for families whose history involves de facto and later de jure segregation and where official records are often unavailable due to slavery and loss, e.g., fire. They go on to discuss their commitment to education and family wellbeing.

Open forum and planning meeting

You’re invited to join the final Family History Interest Group meeting for 2023–24. This will be an opportunity to ask questions related to family history, share insights, talk about recent projects, and suggest topics for next year. 

Women’s early role in social change

UMRA members Vicki Gaylord and Craig Swan will share stories of their ancestors’ participation in social change movements in the late 19th and early 20th centuries—and how they discovered those stories—when UMRA’s Family History Interest Group meets via Zoom on Wednesday, April 3.

Are we Cousins?

Inspired by the unexpected discovery that a friend of 15 years was his third cousin, and by the PBS series “Faces of America with Henry Louis Gates Jr.,” Craig Swan wondered how many other cousins he might be meeting every day without realizing they were cousins.

Solving the Mystery of a Grandfather’s Death

Event Date: December 6, 2023, at 10:00 AM

Knowing your family’s medical history is important for everyone, especially as we become more aware of the role played by genetics in many medical conditions. See this video of Michelle Casey, previously a senior research fellow in the School of Public Health, Division of Health Policy & Management, as she presents her trek through family medical history.

Growing up Revell

Event Date: October 4, 2023, at 10:00 AM

This Family Reunion Project is about sharing family stories and learning about surprising family connections. I asked everyone to write an essay, prior to coming, about growing up in the Revell family.  The compilation of essays from three generations that was distributed at the reunion has become a family keepsake.

Craig Swan

How I learned, this summer, that my great aunt, one of my paternal grandfather’s sister, was included in a fresco at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  As far as I know she is the only relative of mine who is part of a fresco anywhere in the world.

Family Stories—Open Discussion

Event Date: May 17, 2023, at 10:00 AM

The May 2023 UMRA Family History Interest Group ZOOM presentation was an open discussion and question/answer session that covered a wide range of topics.

Telling the stories of the living

Event Date: April 12, 2023, at 10:00 AM

Larry Rudnick and Vicki Gaylord shared how they have worked with living family members to gain more information and insight into their family trees. Gaylord and Rudnick explained the processes they used and gave great examples.

Ways to engage family members in family history

Event Date: February 15, 2023, at 10:00 AM

UMRA's Family History Interest Group (FHIG) met via Zoom for two presentations on ways to engage family members in family history.