At our August 5th monthly meeting, we will be welcoming back Sara Campbell for a new  presentation –“Using  Land  Records  in  Genealogical  Research.”  Sara  is  a popular  lecturer  and  educator  in  Western  Mass  where  she  has  been  active  in  the genealogical community for over 25 years. As many of you know, Sara’s background as a professional civil engineer provides her with a unique perspective on her research.

Sara is the author of a recently released book, Six Generations in Otsego, the story of the Colman family, spanning 150 years from the early years of the Republic in the late 1700s, to the mid-twentieth century.  She maintains a blog about history and genealogy athttp://www.rememberingancestors.com.

Sara describes her presentation as follows: “Land records take us a step beyond the top two sources we search when  beginning  genealogical  research:  vital  records  and  census  records.  Deeds  can  help  us  understand  our ancestors’  movements  when  buying  and  selling  land,  identify neighbors,  and  sometimes  uncover  an  elusive spouse. Digging into these records should not be any more intimidating than any other source. The terminology may sound confusing, but we can get through it together. We will review a variety of deeds and explore what can be found online as well as in person in repositories.

“I find that some of the institutes and national webinars focus on ‘platting’ and land in the west that was based on ‘ranges’ and everything is square. That is not the case in New England.”

Mark your calendars, as you won’t want to miss Sara’s presentation on Wednesday, August 5th at 6 PM.