Kicking off a new season of genealogy workshops – The Jersey Journal

View full sizeReena Rose Sibayan/The Jersey JournalThe St. Michael’s Monastery Church in Union City is the site of the first meeting of the fall for the Hudson County Genealogical and Historical Society.
October is Family History Month, and it’s also the beginning of a new season of meetings and workshops for the Hudson County Genealogical and Historical Society. The HCGHS is going to start the season by looking at one of the great landmarks of North Hudson, St. Michael’s Monastery in Union City. Then, in November and December, we’re going to have visits by representatives of two repositories who will talk about what their facilities have to offer.

Stand almost anywhere in the northern part of Hudson County and you’ll be able to see the domes of St. Michael’s standing proudly above the skyline. And they’ve stood there since 1869, when the monastery was opened by the Passionist Order of the Roman Catholic Church. For the first meeting of our year, we’ll be meeting at the Hudson Korean Presbyterian Church, formerly St. Michael’s, to hear about its history from the Rev. Sam Sung. The church is located at 2019 West St. in Union City. The meeting will take place on Oct. 8 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

On Nov. 12, representatives of the Family History Center from Emerson will address our meeting to talk about the materials they have available. The FHC is run by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, more commonly known as the Mormons. The Mormons own the largest library of genealogical materials in the world, based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Family History Centers are “branches” of a sort, and hold copies of microfilms that are of high local interest. And other materials can be borrowed from the Main Library.

On Dec. 10, Lauren Maehrlein, education director of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society will talk about the NYGBS’s holdings. The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, popularly known as the “G B,” was founded in 1869. As a non-profit educational institution, their purpose is to collect and make available information on genealogy, biography and history, particularly as it relates to the people of New York State.

Except for the first meeting, which will be held at the old St. Michael’s, the HCGHS meets at the Secaucus Public Library and Business Resource Center, 1379 Paterson Plank Rd. in Secaucus, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Refreshments are served and the general public is invited to attend. You can find more information about the HCGHS at our web site: hudsoncountynjgenealogy.org. Links to our Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages can be found at our web site.

Daniel Klein is the past president of the Hudson County Genealogical and Historical Society. He can be reached at hudsongenealogy@gmail.org.