8 Week Genealogy Class

University of Missouri Extensions’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute delivers courses designed to complement the interests, concerns and lifestyles of the over-50 adult.  New programs for Fall 2014 include Researching Your Family History which will run weekly from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays starting on September 9 and ending October 28. These classes are presented using interactive television (ITV) and will be held at the Poplar Bluff Municipal Library. The cost for each course is $90 which includes 8 sessions and handout materials.  For more information on the classes, or to register, call the extension office at 573-686-8064 or visit their website at extension.missouri.edu/butler.

Researching Your Family History

[8 SESSIONS] -- 10–11:30 a.m., Tuesdays
Sept. 9, 16. 23, 30 and Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28

One of the world’s most popular hobbies is genealogy.  You may have dabbled a bit or have already been bitten by the genealogy bug. What starts as simple curiosity can quickly grow into an obsession. People decide to research their family’s history for different reasons, perhaps to understand a little more about themselves and their roots; to give their children a sense of family by providing them with information about their ancestors, where they came from and how they lived; to compile a family medical history; to qualify for a lineage society, such as the Daughters of the American Revolution or Sons of the American Revolution or other heritage societies; or to publish a family history book. Whatever your motivation, this class will examine the “hows” and “wheres” to research your family history. It is helpful if participants have begun the process and know how to complete pedigree charts and family group sheets, either on paper or a computer. Though not required, participants will find access to a computer of benefit since many sources of information are readily available online.

Instructor: Anna L. Martin, EdD, retired educator, has been researching her family tree for more than 30 years. After teaching high school history, it was a natural progression to researching her family history.  She previously taught a genealogy course at NCMC in Trenton, Mo., and two genealogy courses for Osher. She continues to write a monthly genealogy column for her hometown newspaper, the Republican Times in Trenton, and has written articles for the Missouri State Genealogy Society journal and the local Genealogy Society of Central Missouri newsletter. She is a member of the Genealogy Society of Central Missouri in Columbia and the Grundy County Genealogical Society.