Walworth, Rock county genealogists find past times are the new pastime

ADVERTISEMENT

More Walworth County news

For breaking Walworth County news and hourly updates, visit the Facebook.com page throughout the day.

Read online

Walworth County Gazette

Walworth County Sunday

Weekender

Follow us:

Hard-copy reference materials are still a mainstay of genealogical research, but the growing amount of information available online is spurring some people to take a new interest in the past. Some people want to piece together a family tree while others are more interested in finding out what life was like for their ancestors, genealogy experts say. Terry Mayer photo.

Photo

Photo by Terry Mayer

Debbie Ketchum of the Walworth County Genealogical Society is surrounded by reference materials in the Mary Bray Room of Matheson Memorial Library in Elkhorn. Ketchum and other genealogy experts say they^aEURTMre seeing increased interest from people who want to delve into the past.

JANESVILLE — The ^aEURoegood old days^aEUR might be gone, but an increasing number of people are revisiting the past with renewed interest, thanks to today^aEURTMs technology.

(Read all of this week’s stories from Walworth County Sunday HERE. )

TV programs such as ^aEURoeWho Do You Think You Are?^aEUR and online resources like www.ancestry.com and HeritageQuest have encouraged a growing number of people to dig into their family history.

Officials at several area libraries and genealogical societies report that they^aEURTMre trying to keep up with new resources and a growing number of researchers who are using those resources.

^aEURoeIt^aEURTMs picked up a lot in the last 15 years,^aEUR said Debbie Ketchum of the Walworth County Genealogical Society. ^aEURoeI think a lot of that has to do with technology. People can go online and do research.

^aEURoeThe PBS stations also have aired programs about researching family history. There^aEURTMs definitely been a lot of interest.^aEUR

Ketchum said the recent release of the 1940 census also has increased people^aEURTMs interest.

^aEURoePeople are just tickled pink about that,^aEUR Ketchum said. ^aEURoeSome people are able to find information about their parents, siblings and even themselves.^aEUR

The Walworth County Genealogical Society^aEURTMs library, located in the Mary Bray Room of Matheson Memorial Library in Elkhorn, is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesday and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. during the second Saturday of the month. The library offers various resources to help people with genealogical research.

^aEURoeWe have a lot of stuff that has been donated by members or other organizations,^aEUR Ketchum said. ^aEURoeWe have information about the local area, as well as other states and countries. We have self-help books to help people get into (genealogical research). We have information about how people can put together a book about their research.

^aEURoeWe have plat maps, and we have a collection of obituaries. We also have newspaper clippings, and members have donated information about their family history.^aEUR

People often are interested in learning about where their ancestors lived or where they are buried, she said.

For the complete story, see HERE.