Life in one Vermont Town: A Genealogy & Local History Workshop
Saturday March 16, 2013
10:30 AM until 12:30 PM
Brooks Memorial Library will host a Local history/genealogy workshop with Linda Hay, former Academy School Librarian, on Saturday, March 16, at 10:30 AM in the Library’s meeting room.
Whether one is a family historian, a researcher into local history, or just curious, the daily lives ordinary people lived in the past can seem a mystery.
In trying to discover exactly what life was like in one small Vermont town in one particular year, librarian Linda Hay has uncovered resources which, taken together, paint an unexpectedly lively picture. Wary of much of what passes for “history” in older sources, it has become her habit to look for “facts” which have not been obscured by points of view. She will present her search for documents, methods for digging out the fascinating details from apparently boring statistics, and ways of combining the findings to “make history come alive.”
Although working most recently on Guilford’s past, she also has a wealth of experience exploring the past in Brattleboro and Vermont in general, thanks to 3 decades working in local libraries. Since her own school days her passion has been finding and using primary documents to understand individuals, and their world. Many of these resources are now appearing on line, while others await in local libraries and historical societies. Join her for an illustrated talk, followed by “hands on” examination and analysis of typical sources from the Brattleboro area, including the challenges of deciphering records written with a quill pen.
The workshop is free and open to the public and requires NO registration
Location: Brooks Memorial Library Meeting Room
