The Hilda Hoffman Memorial Archives is continuing to offer a series of workshops to help participants preserve their family history. Next week, a free workshop will cover how to fill in a family tree.
June 7, the public is invited to attend the Tips and Tools to Expand your Family Heritage workshop at the facility, located at 301 Williams Avenue in Picayune.
The event is one in a series of workshops about creating a family heritage book, which is a combination of genealogy, family stories and history, HHMA Chairman Dr. Carole Lund said.
Personal anecdotes and family stories are really what make a family heritage book come alive, Lund said.
The HHMA is sponsoring the event as a way to show the public what can be gained from hundreds of local family histories in its collection.
“We’re always looking for ways to help people,” Lund said.
During a previous workshop, participants were given blank family trees and were asked to fill out a generation or two.
“It would be great if they bring some of that back in and plug that into the resources we have,” she said.
Those resources include memberships to Ancestry.com and Family Tree Maker, which work together to give participants a full history of their ancestry using the world’s largest genealogy databank, Lund said.
With just a touch of their finger, participants can make a colorful family tree and print it out to have as a lasting keepsake, she said.
The workshop will feature three presenters; the first is Clara Howard, a local historian and member of the HHMA who will talk about the historical resources available at the facility, Lund said.
Next, Mike Fitzwilliam, another local historian, will demonstrate some tips on how to build a family tree, she said.
Lastly, Lund will demonstrate how to use the Family Tree Maker and choose from hundreds of designs, she said.
Because Ancestry.com and the Family Tree Maker software go hand in hand, it’s easy to transition data from one program to another, Lund said.
Anyone at any level of family history research can easily participate, she said.
Because the HHMA is a non-profit, the program is free, only charging a small fee to cover the cost of printing and copying, Lund said.
Guests are invited to bring a brown bag lunch, but refreshments will be provided.
The program begins at noon and ends at 1:30 p.m. For more information, call the archives at 601-799-5671.