The Berkeley County Library System (BCLS) is excited to partner with the General Marion’s Brigade Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), and the Colonel Hezekiah Maham Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) to bring you “Tapping into Your Roots,” a genealogy research event and celebration for all ages. This event will be held at the Moncks Corner Train Depot on Saturday, October 7th, from 10 am – 2 pm.
Attendees will have the unique opportunity to learn more about free resources available for researching family history and creating their own family tree. In addition, guests can learn about the local chapters of the NSDAR and NSSAR and how to get involved. A representative from the National Society Children of the American Revolution will also be in attendance to provide information on their organization and some kid-friendly activities.
Pam Herndon, President of General Marion’s Brigade NSAR chapter, explains how this event came to be. “With the increasing population growth and focus on the rich history in Berkeley County, members of General Marion's Brigade, NSDAR, saw a need to not only increase public awareness of the group's presence in Berkeley County, but to educate those interested in what DAR is all about.”
From then on, the organization looked for other community groups to work with. Soon the Col. Hezekiah Maham Chapter of the SAR agreed to collaborate, as well as the LDS Church Family Search Center and the Children of the American Revolution (CAR).
When the DAR began envisioning the community event, the idea of educating the community on multiple research services evolved and a partnership with the library system, who offers multiple resources for genealogy, seemed like the perfect addition. Herndon said, “Vice Regent Harriet Coleman of General Marion's Brigade, NSDAR, works for the Berkeley County Library System and coordinated the involvement of BCLS to share the library's available resources.” All of these volunteer organizations actively promote historic preservation, education, and patriotism.
Ramona Grimsley, historian and archivist for BCLS, comments, “In this age of the Internet, don’t discount your local library. Not all genealogy sites are free. We subscribe to several genealogy databases for you, our customers. Also, The South Carolina Room provides access to many one-of-a-kind print materials that may help with filling in your family tree!”
Those free-to-the-public genealogy databases from the library include Ancestry® Library Edition and ProQuest African American Heritage, which are accessible only from library computers, and Heritage Quest, which is accessible from anywhere. The Oct 7th event will give brief instructions on how to use the library-only databases but will have offer immediate access to Heritage Quest and provide a list of other free resources. Computer stations will be available to offer access to the library’s database as well as the LDS Church Family Search. Attendees are also able to bring their own devices.
Grimsley and a representative from LDS will serve as the resident research experts. Interested participants may secure a 15-minute session with the research experts online at www.berkeleylibrarysc.org/tapping or at the door.
If attendees have an activate BCLS library card, they can bring that as well. If not, the library will have pre-activated digital access cards available for all attendees. These cards will allow the user to access the library’s digital resources for 30 days during which time they can take it to any BCLS library and active it as a full access library card.
The Tapping Your Roots Genealogy event is open to all, regardless of race, religion, ethnic background, age or origin, if you have a desire to learn more about your ancestors, this event is just for you.
