Happy New Year! We here at the CHC hope everyone had a lovely and restful holiday season. To kick off the new year, we’d like to share a fun event series hosted by our friends over at the Cambridge Public Library (original post at the Cambridge Room’s blog):
Are you looking for something fun to do in the new year? Join the Cambridge Public Library for our popular 4-week beginner’s genealogy workshop series. Classes will be held at CCTV, located at 438 Massachusetts Avenue.
Join us for a 4-week, beginner’s genealogy workshop. For two hours each week, we will demystify the overwhelming process of sorting through online records as well as give tips for how best to make use of research visits to local repositories. We will help you find ancestors, organize your research, and start a family tree. Come with a new question every week and leave with an answer and something tangible to bring home, such as a copy of a birth certificate. By taking this class, you will be automatically eligible to enroll in a FREE, two-part course on digital storytelling taught by CCTV. Learn how to make a digital film about your family’s history based on your genealogical research. Create a treasured digital keepsake to pass on to family members. Registration is mandatory for the series. To register, please contact Keaton Fox at keaton@cctvcambridge.org.
Close-up of architectural inventory form for an address on Hampshire Street, CHC
Join staff members from the Cambridge Historical Commission, the City of Cambridge Department of Public Works and the Cambridge Room at the Cambridge Public Library for a three-week series on researching the history of your house or building.
Registration is mandatory, though you do not have to attend all three sessions (though we highly recommend it!). For your convenience, each department will offer two days of the same session – one in the evening and one in the afternoon.
To register, please check out the schedule below and contact the person listed. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Session 1: The Cambridge Room at the Cambridge Public Library This hour-long, hands-on workshop will guide you through a variety of online resources that will help you research your home from the comfort of your home. Discover when your building was built and by who. Find out who lived in your house and how your neighborhood has changed. We will provide laptops. Registration is mandatory.
Monday, October 16
6:00 – 7:00 PM
Location: Community Room, Cambridge Public Library
Max. 16 participants
or
Wednesday, October 18
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Location: Beech Room, Cambridge Public Library
Max. 13 participants
Led by Alyssa Pacy, Archivist at the Cambridge Public Library. To register, email: apacy@cambridgema.gov or call 617-349-7757
Session 2: Cambridge Historical Commission The Commission’s research collection is founded on an architectural inventory that contains survey forms, photographs, and documentation on all 13,000+ buildings in the City. Participants will learn how individual homes can be researched using these inventory files, as well as the Commission’s collection of city directories, atlases, maps, photographs, books on the City’s different neighborhoods, and some deed, tax, and building permit records.
Led by Cambridge Historical Commission staff. To register, email: egonzalez@cambridgema.gov or call: 617-349-4070
Session 3: Cambridge Department of Public Works The public works collection is primarily focused on sewer & drain utility drawings and plans showing the boundaries of the public rights of way. But many of these and other records, which go as far back as 1840, also include interesting historical facts such as previous building, street, and water body configurations as well as ancient industries, property owner names and assessment values. Participants will learn how individual locations can be researched with geographic, database, and online indexes and they’ll see how those indexes have evolved.
Monday, October 30
6:00 – 7:00 PM
Location: Department of Public Works, 147 Hampshire Street
Max. 12 participants
Or
Wednesday, November 1
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Location: Department of Public Works, 147 Hampshire Street
Max. 12 participants
Led by George Stylianopoulos, City of Cambridge Department of Public Works. To register, email: sgeorge@cambridgema.gov
General questions about the series? Call 617-349-4683.
