Calendar
PROGRAM MEETINGS take place on the second Tuesday of the month, and are both in-person and on Zoom. Members and non-members are welcome. Zoom links will be available to anyone who wishes to attend remotely. Scroll down to see our upcoming meetings.
SKILL SESSIONS take place on the third Tuesday unless posted otherwise. Members and non-members are welcome. Zoom links will be available 24 to 48 hours ahead to members and nonmembers who wish to attend remotely. Always check the website for last-minute changes or cancellations. Current class offerings are below.
VISITORS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME! If you are not a member but would like a Zoom link to a regular meeting or a skill session, send an email to ColumbineGenealogy@gmail.com. Once on the list, you will receive meeting notices and Zoom links every month.
Zoom help: See our 1-page Zoom Cheat Sheet.
Upcoming Programs
Members! Click this link for upcoming “special interest group (SIG)” sessions.
♦ December 2024
Tue., Dec. 10, 1-3 p.m. – Annual Holiday Social and Potluck Treats
In-person only, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
We will share goodies, holiday stories and traditions, and a few laughs too.
♦ January 2025
Tue., Jan. 14, 1-3 p.m. – Program: Combining DNA and Genealogical Detective Work to Discover a Rowdy G-Grandfather: A DNA Case Study In the middle of the Great Depression
In-person/Zoom, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Presenter: Bob Masson, Longmont Genealogy Society
Tue., Jan. 21, 1-3 p.m. – Skill Session: Opening Up the Bureau of Land Management Records
In-person/Zoom, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Presenter: Carol Darrow, professional genealogist & teacher
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is full of treasures. There are documents dealing with Cash Sales of land across the U.S., Military Bounty Land assignments, and after 1862, Homestead patents. The BLM also granted Timber Culture (1873), Homestead Entry-Stock Raising (1916) and Mineral Patents, Indian Allotments, and the list goes on and on. Let’s find your ancestors there.
Recent Past Programs
♦ November 2024
Tue., Nov. 12, 1-3 p.m. – Program: Sowing Seeds of Success: The Women’s Land Army of America in World War I
In-person/Zoom, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Presenter: Connie Magee Masson, DAR, Longmont Genealogy Society
Have you ever heard of the Women’s Land Army of America or the Women’s Land Army of Europe? They were formed in World War I and again in World War II to work with American farmers, to help farm the crops, feed our allies overseas, and feed our people here at home. You will learn about this great group of women working here on the home front, for whom scant records were kept.
Tue., Nov. 19, 1-3 p.m. – Columbine Secrets Revealed!
Zoom ONLY
How often do you search the Columbine website? Take advantage of “Member Perks”? Visit the Friends Corner? Read the newsletter? We will take you through the website revealing those unknown, unclear drop-down menus, those hard-to-find past video presentations, what’s in the Friends Corner and how to get there. We will also look at our newsletter focusing on what’s new and of interest to all our members and friends. Join us for an interesting session on email notifications, website searching and what goes into the newsletter.
♦ October 2024
Tue., Oct. 8, 1-3 p.m. – Program: Spinning Through Time: Exploring the Rich History of Colorado’s Carousels
In-person/Zoom, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Presenter: Kelly Glenn, Pres., Colorado Council of Genealogical Societies
Kelly Glenn has long cherished amusement parks and their enchanting carousels, with nostalgic memories of Lakeside Amusement Park and Elitch Gardens from his childhood. His fascination extends to Colorado’s carousel legacy, notably the state’s oldest operating carousel, dating back to 1906 at Elitch’s and still delighting visitors in Burlington, Co. Kelly’s curiosity made him ponder on whether his ancestors once reveled in these iconic Denver carousels during their teenage years. Come hear his captivating stories!
Tue., Oct. 15, 1-3 p.m. – Skill Session: What’s New in Family Tree Maker?
Zoom ONLY
Presenter: Mark Olsen, FTM Representative
If you use Family Tree Maker for your genealogy research, you know there are always upgrades and new features in the works. While we wait for the newest version, we’ll get a preview of what to expect, and Mark will have a Q&A with participants. Come with your questions!
♦ September 2024
LAST MINUTE CHANGE OF PROGRAM FOR SEPT 10! The program below will be rescheduled. Our Sept. 10 speaker will be Bob Masson, “When Genealogy Meets Artificial Intelligence (AI)”
Tue., Sept. 10, 1-3 p.m. – Program: What Genealogical Resources does the Denver Public Library offer?
In-person/Zoom, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Presenter: Jaymie Middendorf, DPL Genealogy Librarian
Denver Public Library will reopen all floors soon! DPL has one of the nations renowned genealogy collections for research. Jaymie Middendorf will give us a virtual tour through slides of the library’s vast and unique collections. She can help you find materials for your family research and how to use them. Also, Columbine Genealogy will unveil its new logo!
Tue., Sept. 17, 1-3 p.m. – Skill Session: Breaking Through Brick Walls: Taking the Long Way Around
Zoom ONLY
Presenter: Greg Liverman, Ph.D.
One of the most effective techniques for getting around a brick wall in tracing your family is to examine associates: other family members, friends, neighbors or people who travelled with your family from their ancestral homeland. This indirect approach, the “long way around,” quite often yields new information about your ancestors. And periodic re-researching of repositories you’ve already checked may yield new records.
♦ May 2024
Tue., May 14, 1-3 p.m. – Program: Migration of Northern Italians to Silver Plume, Colorado
In-person/Zoom, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Presenter: Frank Francone
Frank’s grandfather Carlo Francone was born in northern Italy. He emigrated to Silver Plume, Colorado, in 1892 and married here. Frank’s father was born there. Frank found detailed records in the Silver Plume Museum including data on northern Italians who immigrated to Silver Plume in the late 1800s to work in the mines. This included records (in Italian) of the societies formed by these immigrants. Frank is the author of “The Plume on Their Cappello,”describing the life of the Italian immigrants in Silver Plume.
♦ April 2024
Tue., Apr. 9, 1-3 p.m. – Program: Lineage Societies – What, Why and How
In-person/Zoom, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Presenter: Sandy Carter-Duff
Sandy will explain what lineage societies are and explain why it is important to join one. The main emphasis will be on HOW you must document your lineage, i.e., what is acceptable and what is not. Sometimes obvious documentation such as birth, death and marriage certificates are not available. She’ll present ways to get around that problem. She’ll also share a list of lineage societies with websites to explore specific requirements and make contacts.
Tue., Apr. 16, 1-3 p.m. – Skill Session: Creating a Research Plan
Zoom only
Presenter: Marilyn Edward-Roberts
When you research, do you wind up going down rabbit holes rather than work toward a goal? This is a step-by-step guide to creating a research plan.
♦ March 2024
Tue., Mar. 12, 1-3 p.m. – Program: Women’s Lives in the British Isles and Ireland
In-person/Zoom, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Presenter: Sylvia Tracy-Doolos
Understanding how to research our female ancestors begins with understanding the context of their lives. The goal of this program is to provide you with some of the legal, social and cultural variations that can help you with your research, as well as an understanding of what their lives may have been like.
Tue., Mar. 19, 1-3 p.m. – Skill Session: Genealogy Sourcing and Other Things Learned Over 30+ Years of Researching
Zoom only
Presenter: Beverly Harbourt
Beverly says: This presentation is designed to provide you with some of my “lessons learned” that work for researchers regardless of your experience level. I will mainly focus on the what, why, and how of genealogy sourcing; touch on what a GEDcom file is and how you create and/or use one; and hopefully provide a few helpful suggestions to aid your research.
♦ February 2024
Tue., Feb. 13, 1-3 p.m. – Program: Be A Detective: Searching for an Adopted Child’s Birth Parents
In-person/Zoom, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Presenter: Marylee Hagen
This presentation is about Marylee’s daughter Cheryl, but Marylee’s research techniques can help in finding any lost person in your life. If only they had health records earlier in Cheryl’s life, it would have saved some heartache. She had to use many different research techniques as her birth parents did not take DNA tests.
Tue., Feb. 20, 1-3 p.m. – Skill Session: The “Bounty” in Bounty Land Records
Education class; Zoom only
Presenter: Eilene Lyon
Bounty lands have been issued to veterans dating back to the Revolution. Learn about the history of these records, how to request them and what types of information these files contain. Understand that land patent records often have different warrant holders and patent recipients, and why that is. Bounty land files can fill in gaps in military service records and offer clues about family relationships.
♦ January 2024
Tue., Jan. 9, 1-3 p.m. – Program: Adventures in Researching New York City Records and Data
In-person/Zoom, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Presenter: Sandy Ronayne
A friend asked Sandy to research her grandmother Frances Fitzgerald Dowling. All the friend knew was that Frances died young, was married to a Harry Dowling, and perhaps lived in New York City. Sandy wasn’t familiar with NYC research, but jumped in and was able to identify Frances’ family and many interesting facts (births, deaths, marriages, immigration, multiple births and more). Sandy loved the challenge, and will talk about NYC records and how to identify and obtain them.
Tue., Jan. 16, 1-3 p.m. – Skill Session: Finding and Using Property Records and Maps for Genealogy,
Education class; Zoom only
Presenter: Eilene Lyon
See how land records and maps drive family history storytelling. Learn about various record types, where to find them, and what information can be gleaned from them. Sometimes you will find much more than just property details: relationships between family members and neighbors, financial health, business information. Maps can help you visualize the context of your ancestor’s lives. You may even discover that old family homes still exist!
♦ December 2023
Tue., Dec. 12, 1-3 p.m. – Gail Murphy, Colorado’s Rosie the Riveter, AND, Columbine Annual Holiday Potluck
In-person/Zoom, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Presenter: Gail Beaton, author
This is a finger food potluck so bring a little something savory or sweet to share. Come join us for an afternoon of genealogy, holiday fun and door prizes!
“Rosie the Riveter,” the name given to women war workers during World War II, lived and worked throughout the U.S. welding, making bullets and doing a wide variety of factory jobs. From 1941 to 1945, Colorado had its own “Rosies” working at the Remington Arms Factory in Denver. Located at the site of the Denver Federal Center, the Denver Ordnance Plant produced as many as six million bullets a day for the U.S. troops. “Gail Murphy” is a composite character drawn from the records and memories of these women war workers.
♦ November 2023
Tue., Nov. 14, 1-3 p.m. – How Karval, Colorado, Got its Name (not what you’d think!) (and Columbine Annual Meeting)
In-person/Zoom, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Presenter: Roger Dudley, librarian, author & researcher
Roger demonstrates how easy it is to repeat bad information until it is widely believed, though easily shown to be inaccurate. Karval was named after Roger’s great grandfather and is seen on many local weather maps as the only town besides Limon in Lincoln County.
♦ October 2023
Tue., Oct. 10, 1-3 p.m. – Follow Your Ancestor’s Footsteps from Their Home Country and Across America
In-person/Zoom, Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Presenter: Marylee Hagen
Marylee traces her Irish great-grandparents from their homelands and across the United States to where they settled. (One great grandmother lived in 8 states.) Her Norwegian grandfather went by ship to England and on to New York. He took a train across the U.S. to South Dakota. She uses Primary and Secondary records, certificates, books, maps, train schedules, state & federal census records, photos.
Tue., Oct. 17, 1-3 p.m. – Advanced Research on Passenger Lists
In-person/Zoom, Englewood Public Library
Presenter: Julie Miller, Certified Genealogist
Passenger arrival records are the link that connects the old country to the new and completes a chain of events for our ancestors. These records may provide a wealth of personal information or only basic data. But they are more than a list of names. If you have found a passenger list, you may have overlooked some clues. Knowing how to mine these records for information could lead to additional knowledge about your immigrant ancestor.