Wednesday, November 22, 2017

2020 Mayflower


American Ancestors just unveiled their new 2020 Mayflower website to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the 1620 Mayflower voyage.

The website includes biographies of Mayflower passengers, information on Mayflower descendants, and resources for proving your lineage. More features and material will be added to the site periodically.

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

FamilySearch Affiliate

Glenview Public Library is a FamilySearch Affiliate Library. As an Affiliate, patrons can digitally access restricted content on FamilySearch while in the library.

If you're trying to view an image or access a digital microfilm collection but see a message that says you must "Access the site a FamilySearch Affiliate Library," those images can viewed at the Glenview Library.


You can view digital content on all library computers or via our wifi connection.

Access to FamilySearch's increasing digital collections should greatly expand your genealogy research options! 

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Spratts from Maine by Gertrude Lundberg

Local genealogist, Gertrude Lundberg notably published several collections of cemetery records but she also wrote family histories. In Spratts from Maine written in 1968, Lundberg chronicles the Spratt family.

Mercy Ward Spratt, 1803-1879
The history begins with the story of George Spratt from Wexford County, Ireland who emigrated to America around 1760 and follows various family lines until 1968. Photographs and transcriptions of original documents complement the family trees.

In addition to basic familial facts, Lundberg includes relevant social history and interesting anecdotes about the family. She adds traditions and family lore to the story: George Spratt supposedly survived a shipwreck on his way to America. There is also an early history of Maine and an account of the towns of China and Palermo where the Spratt family settled. Lundberg includes maps and diagrams of the family's properties and the surrounding areas.

This is a very nice example of how to write and research a succinct, well-documented but still interesting family history.