Ancestry ---finding out who you are

Who are you?

Who are you and where are your family roots? Learning about our ancestors can be a fun and rewarding activity. With all the tools now available on the internet, it is easier than ever to find your roots. So, how do I get started you might ask. To simplify your record keeping and direct your efforts the first thing you should do is get 2 essential forms.

The first is an Ancestor or Pedigree chart. An ancestor chart records the ancestors from whom you directly descend--those for whom you intend to compile a complete and correct family unit. It shows at a glance the progress you have made towards this goal and what remains to be done.

The second is a Family Group Sheet. Each piece of information concerning a pedigree ancestor and his/her family is placed on a worksheet. Since the end result of your research efforts will be to compile complete, correct and connected families, the use of family group sheets from the beginning will make the compilation much easier.

Both of these forms are available for free from Ancestry.com at: http://www.ancestry.com/download/charts#ancchart

Once you have the forms, fill them out starting with yourself. If you want help, the North Berkeley Library will be hosting a Genealogy Club starting in March. Whether you are a seasoned pro or just thinking of getting started we would welcome you to join us.

The initial format for the meetings will be a 15 to 30 minute training video followed by a discussion. Our first meeting will feature a video and discussion on how to get the most out of Ancestry.com. Follow on meetings will cover topics of interest to the membership.

The club will meet monthly on the second Wednesday at 1 pm. Other times will be considered if there is suffient interest. If you are interested please let your librarian know what days and times are best for you. 

Bring your laptop or tablet, or use one of the library's computers to begin or continue your research.  A library staff member will be available at the meetings to assist you if you need help.

-Tom Brown

Local History and Genealogy resources

Learn more about our local community’s history and your own family’s history at the Martinsburg Public Library:

The C.E. Campbell Beall Room (local history and genealogy research room) contains print materials related to history and genealogy in the region including Berkeley, Jefferson, Morgan, and Hampshire Counties in West Virginia, Frederick and Washington Counties in Maryland, and the City of Winchester, Frederick, Loudoun, and Clarke Counties and the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, including many birth, death, and marriage records, cemetery records, tax and census records, deeds and land records, old Martinsburg city directories, and obituary indexes.     A photocopier machine in the reference department enables users to make copies at the cost of 10 cents per copy.

The Microfilm Collection includes newspapers of Berkeley, Jefferson, and Morgan Counties in West Virginia from 1791 to present. Copies may be printed from a microfilm reader at the cost of 10 cents per copy or page images may be transferred onto your own USB drive at no cost.

Research databases available to library users include:

Ancestry.com (a subscription database which may be used in the research room in the main library and branch libraries in the county); 

HeritageQuest Online (a subscription database which may be used in the library or from home); and West Virginia Vital Research Records (a database of birth, death, and marriage records and actual record images available through the West Virginia Division of Culture and History).

And a knowledgeable library staff can help to direct researchers and provide family research files on different local families.

Submitted by Keith Hammersla

What's new--Ancestry.com

Find Your Past at the Library Today

The Martinsburg Berkeley County Public Library has several tools for assisting you in researching your family history. These include Ancestry.com, Biography and Genealogy Master Index, Genealogy Bank, Heritage Quest and others. Some can be used from home by getting a password from the library. Others must be accessed from the library computers. In this BLOG I will provide an introduction to Ancestry.com.

Access to Ancestry is available on computers in the main and branch libraries only. When you sign up to use one of the library's computers, ask the librarian to sign you in to Ancestry.

If this is your first time using Ancestry and you want to be able to save the results of your research in the Ancestry database then you need to create a new family tree. To do this, select Start a New Tree from the Family Trees menu on the menu bar at the top of the page. When you start a tree you will be asked to enter information about yourself, your parents and your grandparents. As you enter information about your ancestors you will begin seeing leaf symbols appear. If you click on a leaf it will take you to records such as birth, marriage, death, census and others that might provide more information about your ancestor.

If you don't want your family information available on a public computer, you can still use the library tools to do your research. In Ancestry you can use the Search menu to search for records for a particular person. The search form will allow you to enter things like the person's name, birth date, marriage date, names of other family members etc.  Enter as much or as little information as you wish. Entering more information will reduce the number of results but may cause you to miss some if what you enter doesn't exactly match what is in the record. As you find records of interest you can print copies or if you bring a flash drive to the library, you can save them there.

If you have questions please ask a library staff member.