Contact: Pattye Archer

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Learn how heirlooms tell family stories during the annual E.O. Templeton Jr. History and Genealogy Fair, scheduled for June 2 at Mitchell Memorial Library.

The free event is open to anyone interested in learning more about genealogy and will feature a keynote speaker and interactive workshops.

“There will truly be something for everyone to learn—whether you have been doing genealogy for 20 years or you are not even sure where to begin,” said Jennifer McGillan, MSU Libraries’ coordinator of manuscripts. “Anyone interested in improving their skills in genealogy research or learning how heirlooms speak to us from the past should attend.”

Sharon Leslie Morgan of the Noxubee County Historical Society is this year’s keynote speaker, and her discussion, “Precious Things: Telling Family Stories with Heirlooms,” will begin the event.

Attendees are encouraged to bring an heirloom to discuss.

“Precious heirlooms speak to us from the past. They are physical evidence of our family stories. This session will help you appreciate their significance,” Morgan said. “To participate, bring a special object that you use to tell a family story to share with the group.”

Following the opinion session will be two workshops: “Genealogy 101: Getting Started and Tips and Tricks for Mississippi” and “FamilySearch 101.”

Led by DeeDee Baldwin, assistant professor and history research librarian, “FamilySearch 101” will teach attendees how to use the free resources at FamilySearch.org to create and manage your tree and effectively search their records, including Mississippi records not found on Ancestry.com.

“We believe this year’s GenFair is going to be a great day with a lot of good information,” McGillan said. “We are looking forward to a large crowd.”

For more information or to register for the event, please visit https://www.library.msstate.edu/genfair.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.