Presentations at Upcoming Meetings
APRIL
DATE: Saturday, April 12, 2025, 12:00 noon (Mountain Time)
LOCATION: Idaho State Archives (Idaho History Center), 2205 Old Penitentiary Rd, Boise
GENEALOGICAL HELP SESSION
Come and learn how our Research Committee tackled "brick walls" that were submitted in advance (before March 12th). If time permits, additional questions will be considered during the meeting.
Having problems finding that elusive ancestor of yours? Have you hit the proverbial “Brick Wall” and can’t seem to locate any more records of your ancestor? We invite you to tell us about your research problem so we can delve into it and give some suggestions and possible sources to help you find your ancestor. Then join us on April 12th to learn what we have found.
Please submit your “problem(s)” or “Brick Wall(s)” to us no later than Saturday, March 12th, and be sure to include the information you already know (names, dates, places, etc.) — and where you have already searched — so that we have a starting place to work on your genealogical dilemma.
Send submissions to idahogensociety@gmail.com with subject "April Help Session".
Note: Walk-in questions will be considered as time permits.
MAY
DATE: Saturday, May 10, 2025, 12:00 noon (Mountain Time)
LOCATION: Idaho State Archives (Idaho History Center), 2205 Old Penitentiary Rd, Boise
SPEAKER: Kim S. Harrison
TOPIC: Genealogical Research Using Railroad Records
Our May speaker will provide an overview of the different types of records or sources that were created by the railroad or the people who worked on them. A quick look at the value of these records tell us about our railroad ancestors.
Speaker Bio
Kim S. Harrison has been doing genealogy since 1974, and in 1998 was fortunate to turn her passion into her vocation. She had the privilege of working in the library community by representing some of the big online providers of information (Gale, Otherdays.com, ProQuest, NewsBank, and Ancestry) before relocating to Arizona for seven years and now back in Michigan (May 2023).
Her genealogy membership since the 1970s has been the NGS and the Ohio Genealogical Society as well as being past President of the Michigan Genealogical Council, founding member of the Grand River Trails Chapter of the DAR (MI), and past President of the Arizona Genealogical Advisory Board. During the 1980s she lobbied the National Archives to stop the destruction of the Railroad Pension Application files. Later she wrote a grant for the preservation of the investigation in the Sultana Disaster, which is now available (free) on Fold3. Her most interesting ancestor was Lot Little, and she was able to join the DAR under his service. Lot was a freed slave from New Hampshire.
All monthly meeting presentations are free and open to the public, both in person and via Zoom. Society members receive meeting notifications that include the pertinent Zoom information. Nonmembers may request the Zoom link during the week each meeting is held by sending an email to idahogensociety@gmail.com. Zoom requests must be received no later than 9:00 a.m. (Mountain Time) on the day of the meeting. The Society's Board Meetings are held on the same day as its monthly meetings and are also open to anyone who would like to participate. These meetings begin at 10:30AM. If attending via Zoom, use the same Zoom information as for the monthly meeting presentation.