Discover Your Family’s History

The genealogy volunteers at Will Rogers Library are available to help you learn all about your ancestry.

The genealogy volunteers at the Will Rogers Library in Claremore are back after a seasonal break for Christmas and bad weather. These volunteers are Farrel Prater, Dolores Johnson, Sandy Sanders, Bonnie Senese, Barbra Pool, Louise Horner, Glenda Henson and Jan O’Brien.
This May, 2015, they will have completed their 9th year of assisting patrons of the library and visitors with their genealogy research. The group meets at the library from February to November on Mondays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the genealogy area of the library.   
Several times during the year, the group offers workshops on special areas of genealogy, including beginning your research, organizing your paperwork, and how to do your own detective work with the many resources available at the library and on the Internet. “We continue to keep ourselves updated by attending genealogy seminars nearby, visiting other libraries offering genealogy classes, and assisting each other when we can share something new with all of the genealogy volunteers,” said Dolores Johnson.  

Everyone has a specialty (National Mayflower Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, and Pocahontas Club memberships), and 15 to 20 years’ experience in doing personal genealogy, with areas of specialization in such topics as U.S. Federal Census, State Census, and Native American research including the Five Civilized Tribes. They can help you map your ancestors’ history to and across our nation.

“We can assist you in mastering the software program of Family Tree Maker or Legacy, entering your data one time, giving you the ability to print out the information in several forms, a pedigree chart in several formats, a group sheet, source information and other neat ways to display your ancestry,” said Glenda Henson. “We teach you how to research on the computer through Ancestry.com and Fold 3, both subscription databases that are available free at the library. We also use a number of free and subscription programs that specialize in genealogy.”

Twenty years ago, it was necessary to write or call libraries, historical societies and genealogy societies to find local information. “Today, we jump on the Internet super highway, our computer, and Google our way back to find the towns, counties, vital records, books, and history about where our ancestors lived and what was going on in that area when they were living there,” said Louise Horner.

“In 2006, after attending the National Genealogy Conference in Kansas City, Missouri, I realized that it is no longer a hobby but an industry of its own, employing and volunteering thousands of men and women across our nation as well as globally,” said Jan O’Brien. Several television shows on ancestry research have increased the interest of the entire population, and before that, the television movie “Roots” sparked the popularity of genealogy research. This year, the conference will be held in St. Charles, Missouri, west of St. Louis and the starting point for Lewis and Clark’s expedition west. “It is a drivable distance from Claremore and some of us are planning to attend,” added Farrel Prater.

For instruction in Green Country, there is a seminar in Miami, Oklahoma held at the
Miami Public Library in March and April. For more information, call Barbara Becker at (918) 541-2292 or visit eat0@eau0eav0eaw0. In March and April and July of this year, the Tulsa Genealogy Library is presenting genealogy classes; contact Kathy Huber at (918) 549-7691 or email eat1@eau1eav1eaw1.   

For more information, contact

Will Rogers Library

1515 N. Florence

Claremore, OK 74017

(918) 341-1564