The Library will be closed on Thursday, November 28 & Friday, November 29, 2024, in observance of Thanksgiving.

family tree

Collage of books about unknown genealogy, family tree and adoption
Janice Batzdorff, March 07, 2022

Imagine discovering that the man who raised you is not your biological father. That your mother’s race differs from how she presented herself. That the person you are attracted to is your sibling. That you are the descendant of a renowned individual. A monstrous one.


photo composite of old family photos, postcards and documents
Julie Huffman, October 12, 2021

One of the good things to come out of our COVID year was the explosive popularity of online programming. Genealogy Garage—the library's monthly genealogy session—has taken the plunge, too, and we now have recordings of our presentations for you to watch whenever you want!


Slave Premiums table
Julie Huffman, February 24, 2016

Insurance companies have long provided policies to cover losses of property but, before the end of the Civil War, this also included pay-outs for injury and death of the formerly enslaved.


Dr. Strangelove Meets Genealogy
Julie Huffman, January 01, 2015

To the bane of many genealogists, the eleventh census of the United States was heavily damaged by a fire at the Commerce Department in 1921. Less than one percent of it survived, which means we have census data (e.g., age, place of residence, family members, etc.) on only 6,160 Americans in 1890.


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