Discovering your family history can enrich your life in many ways. It can help answer questions about ancestors or even help to clarify a family legend that has been passed down from generation to generation. It can also shed light on important medical history, connect you to relatives you did not know, and help to instill a stronger sense of identity.
October, designated National Family History Month in 2001, is the perfect time to start this journey of self-discovery, and the Southern Ohio Genealogical Society of Highland County is here to assist you in that endeavor.
Whether you’re just beginning or putting the final touches on your family tree, there are plenty of ways to celebrate Family History Month. Here are a few:
1. Visit the Southern Ohio Genealogical Society Library located at 1478 N. High St., Suite 450, Hillsboro. The fall hours of operation for October and November are Fridays from noon to 4:30 p.m.
2. Contact SOGS and an experienced researchers will assist you in your “family history hunt endeavor.”
3. Preserve your family’s oral history by writing down those family stories before they are lost from a generation forever.
4. Create a keepsake that can be passed down for generations. Surprise your family members with a gift at Christmas or birthday documenting their ancestors and stories of their lives.
5. Attend a SOGS monthly workshop on the second Thursday of October, November, March, April and May. All programs are free of charge.
6. Fill out your family tree. Outline all the leaves on your family tree with forms available through SOGS.
7. If you have already completed your family history, consider sharing a copy with the SOGS library
Discovering your family history can fulfill a need that you never knew you had. Interested in starting your research journey this October? Contact SOGS at [email protected] and let them help you. You may also visit its soon to be developed Facebook page or website at www.sogs.info.
Submitted by Dwight Crum, president, Southern Ohio Genealogical Society.
