Talk kicks off OCC library genealogy effort

       Tools for genealogical research will be discussed in a free presentation at the Old Colorado City Branch Library Friday, Oct. 10.
       David Doman of Pikes Peak Library District's Special Collections area will particularly focus on researching federal censuses using the district's Heritage Quest database, he explained.
       Scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to noon, the program could be the start of a monthly “genealogy group” at the Old Colorado City library, 2418 W. Pikes Peak Ave., according to branch assistant David Rasmussen. A second meeting on genealogy is being organized for November.
       “These sessions would be of most interest to seasoned genealogists, but even someone with minimal experience would be inspired to look more into their personal history,” he said.
       Rasmussen described Heritage Quest as “an excellent, largely free to library users, database that links to digitalizations of original documents. It is thrilling to see a great- or great-great-grandfather's actual signature.”
       According to Doman, “the U.S. Federal Population Census enumerated the residents of each state every decade beginning in 1790, with 1930 being the most recent census available. These records are essential to researching one's family history and, until now, were sometimes only available at distant libraries and only on microfilm. Today, many of these census records can be searched or browsed via the Internet from home!”
       Advance registration is required for the presentation. For more information, call the library at 634-1698.

Westside Pioneer/press release