News from Other Societies - Pinellas Genealogy Society

The Pinellas Genealogy Society will meet on 21 March, 2009 beginning at 11:00 am at the Largo Library, 120 Central Park Drive in Largo, FL. All are welcome to attend this free program.

The speaker will be Brett Rinehart, Senior Adjudications Officer with the Tampa Field Office of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services. His topic will be "Immigration--Current Laws and a Historic Overview." This presentation should be very useful in helping you find your immigrant ancestors.

The program is preceded by an informal Q&A session on "Computers in Genealogy" beginning at 9:45 am.

Light refreshments will be served after the presentation and there will be opportunity to talk with the speaker and PGS members.

FGS Meeting - Saturday, March 21, 2009

The Florida Genealogical Society is pleased to present a very special program on Saturday, 21 March 2009, at the John F. Germany Public Library in downtown Tampa.

This month's program features Dr. Vernard Adams, the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner, and FGS President Drew Smith presenting a program about "Unclaimed Persons." There is an epidemic in the United States of persons who die whose remains are unclaimed. County officials do not have the means or funding to locate family members, but genealogists have stepped up to help. A large group of more than 500 genealogical researchers on Facebook (at www.facebook.com) have stepped up to use their skills to help identify and locate surviving family members, many of whom have lost touch with their relatives, to help identify and find final resting places for their family members.

Tampa/Hillsborough County has benefited from the "Unclaimed Persons" initiative, and Dr. Adams and Drew Smith will talk about the problem, the progress that "Unclaimed Persons" has made, and other topics.

Dr. Vernard Adams, a native of Maine, has been Chief Medical Examiner for Hillsborough County since 1991. He graduated from the University of Maine at Orono with a B.A. in Chemistry and from Tufts University College of Medicine with a M.D. Degree. His post-graduate pathology training was at the New England Medical Center Hospital, the Mayo Clinic, and the Dade County (Florida) Medical Examiner Department. He is board-certified in anatomical, clinical and forensic pathology, and holds a faculty appointment as Associate Professor of Pathology at the University of South Florida College of Medicine.

Dr. Adams has written numerous scientific publications in the field of forensic pathology and has lectured at several medical conferences. In addition, he is an Associate Professor at the University of South Florida since 1991. Current professional associations include: American Academy of Forensic Sciences, American Medical Association, College of American Pathologists, Florida Association of Medical Examiners (President 1997-98), Florida Medical Association, Hillsborough County Medical Association, and National Association of Medical Examiners.

You do NOT want to miss this important and exciting program! The meeting will be held at 10:30 AM in the auditorium of the John F. Germany Public Library. Afterwards, please visit the genealogy collection on 2-West, one of the finest genealogical collections in the Southeastern United States.

News from Other Societies - Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Tampa Bay will meet at the LDS (Mormon) Family History Center, 9000 106th Ave N., Largo, Florida, on Sunday March 8, 2009, at 1:45 PM.

Ann Peterson, staff member of the Family History Center in Largo, will present "An Introduction to the Family History Center Archives" and will provide guidance on how to do genealogical research using the archives of the LDS (Mormon) Church's Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Branch Family History Centers – more than 3,500 of them around the world – provide access to most of the microfilms and microfiche at the main Library in Salt Lake City to help patrons identify their ancestors. Everyone is welcome to come to the centers and use their resources. The Family History Library in Salt Lake City is the main repository for most of the genealogical information the LDS Church has collected – more than a billion records – the world's largest genealogical collection.

Ann Peterson was the director of the Largo Family History Center for eight years from 1994 to 2002, and for the past seven years has been a staff member providing assistance to genealogical researchers. The Center is located at 9000 106th Ave N., Largo a block west of Starkey, on the south side of 106th Ave. It is just south of Bryan Dairy Road.

Anyone interested in learning how to do Jewish genealogical research is invited to attend. Beginners as well as experienced researchers are welcome. For information on the organization or directions to the meeting call Sally Israel at 727-343-1652 or Rita Shapiro at 446-9311.