Piecing Together Our Past, the 2008 Abrams Genealogy Seminar, Friday, July 25-Saturday, July 26 at the Library of Michigan in Lansing has something for every genie! On Friday, experts will concentrate on the many local history rooms, special collections and organizations throughout Michigan that can help you with family history research. Dr. George K. Schweitzer, author of some 20 genealogy books, will lead two seminars, "Tracing Ancestors Back Across the Atlantic" and "Civil War Genealogy." You can print and mail in the registration form. For more info, contact Randy Riley or Kris Rzepczynski at (517) 373-1300.

Lauren Groff's "exuberant" debut The Monsters of Templeton* is a "fantastically fun read, a kind of wild pastiche that is part historical novel and part mystery, with a touch of the supernatural thrown in for good measure".

Pregnant and troubled, archaeology student Wilhelmina (Willie) Upton slinks home to Templeton, N.Y., after a disastrous affair with her professor, on the very day a long-feared sea monster surfaces in Lake Glimmerglass, quite dead. When Vi, Willie's flower-child mother let slip that Willie's father is in fact a respected citizen in town rather than a nameless hippie from Vi's commune days, Willie dives headlong into untangling the roots of the town's greatest families and her father's identity.

Brilliantly incorporating accounts from generations of Templetonians — as well as characters borrowed from the works of James Fenimore Cooper, who named an upstate New York town Templeton in The Pioneers, Groff, a native of Cooperstown(on which Templeton is based), will delight readers with Willie's sharp wit, literary/historical references and lore.

* = Starred Reviews

There are still a few seats left at WCC's FREE genealogy workshop this Friday, June 13, 9:00 - Noon. The workshop will be held in the Morris Lawrence Building and experts will discuss the use of census, naturalization, death, and military records in genealogy research. Register by calling 734.973.3379 or email lrosser@wccnet.edu.

Looking for new ways to research the family tree? "Learning More at the Library of Michigan," a free annual genealogy seminar set for Saturday, March 29, will focus on utilizing online resources for family history research. The workshop runs from 1 to 4:30 p.m. at the Michigan Library and Historical Center. Seating is limited, so registration is recommended. Sign up online at www.michigan.gov/familyhistory, by e-mail at librarian@michigan.gov or by phone at (517) 373-1300.

Join fellow family historians at the CSI Meets Roots seminar, July 20-21, at the Library of Michigan and learn new tips, new resources and the new methods of forensic genealogy. Check out the complete schedule of programs and register soon ~ this will be a popular event.

If you're just starting a family history project or if you have already had some experience in conducting genealogy research, a special workshop offered by the Richard W. Bailey Library at Washtenaw Community College should be of interest to you. 'Tracing Your Roots: Do You Really Know Who You Are?' will be held on Friday, June 8 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon at the Towsley Auditorium in the Morris Lawrence Building on the WCC campus.
Featured speakers include Wally & Doris Patrick [LDS Ann Arbor Area Family History Library]; Kris Rzepczynski [Library of Michigan]; and Bobbie Snow
[longtime genealogical researcher]. Topics included are: Genealogy Resources, Census Records, Vital Records, Immigrant Ancestors, African-American Genealogy and Internet Genealogy Resources. The workshop is free of charge. Those interested should register by June 1 by calling (734)973-3379 or by email: lrosser@wccnet.edu.