Genealogy Drop-in Help Online via Zoom to get started on a genealogy project or to complete a challenge. Increased flexibility in meeting times! Request a convenient time. Online Resources These databases and more are available remotely with an NPL card number & PIN. At the library, they are available without a card, for devices connected to our WiFi network. NPL is a Family Search Affiliate Library. Connect to our WiFi to access restricted records.
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Nichols Library 200 W. Jefferson Ave. Naperville, Illinois 60540 95th Street Library 3015 Cedar Glade Dr. Naperville, Illinois 60564 Naper Boulevard Library 2035 S. Naper Blvd. Naperville, Illinois 60565 630-961-4100
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Ancestry Library Edition remote access through March 31, 2021 Access Naperville Public Library's online genealogy resources, including AncestryLibrary Edition, on our Genealogy & Local History page. Ancestry Library Edition includes worldwide records and access to public 'Family Trees' (linked in the filters on the left side of a search results page). For those who are new to family history exploration, the 'Learning Center' within Ancestry Library Edition has a 'Getting Started' section. The 'Census' section also provides instruction for getting the most out of those valuable records. Three additional skill-building resources are Family Tree Magazine, Great Courses, Moved to Overdrive The library's digital magazine collection has moved from RBDigital over to Overdrive, which can be accessed on our Download & Stream page. You can view a variety of magazines with Overdrive's 'Libby' app or in your web browser. Great Courses, including John Phillip Collettas's Discovering Your Roots series, have also been moved to Overdrive. Many Great Courses videos are also available on Kanopy. Nature and Nurture One of the reasons people pursue genealogy research is to gather a sense of identity, to gain an understanding of both the genetic and cultural influences that make us who we are. The standard ancestral chart displays the links between parent and child through generations. (Ancestral forms are available to download from the 'Charts and Forms' section of AncestryLibrary Edition.) It is tempting to concentrate on the accumulation of generations, reaching back as far as possible for our most ancient ancestors in direct lines of lineage, looking for the origins of our genes. Carl Zimmer's book " She Has Her Mother's Laugh" looks at what has been discovered so far about the inheritance of traits from our forbears. Yet, there is also the nurture portion that influences who an individual becomes and what they pass on to their children. A person's identity, customs, and interests are influenced by all sorts of caretakers, some related, some not. I have learned that a focus on one's bloodline can sometimes distract from these other influencers of family heritage. DNA testing is a fantastic tool for discovering relatives. DNA results can be filtered by surname to help with researching particular family lines. Expanded family research may also reveal non-blood relatives who played significant roles in an ancestor's life. Both my grandfather and his father died young. My great-grandmother remarried and her new husband became a step-father to her young children. He did not bare our family name. A name upon which I have spent some time researching. Yet, it is that other-named step-father who was there with encouragement as my grandfather grew and eventually pursued a medical degree. That step-father is not in our bloodline, but he was a caretaker who helped out when his step-son died and left three children without a father. After my father died, I inherited boxes of correspondence and photos that included the (step)grandfather to which my father was apparently closest. Reading those letters I learned of the depth of their bond, something I had not anticipated because of the alternate surname. Look through census records and you will find many instances of non-birth-parent caretakers. 'It takes a village' was especially true for small towns with numerous interrelations. This includes supportive aunts, uncles, older children raising their siblings, and neighbors housing an elderly member of the family from next door. Timelines can also be useful tools for discovering family dynamics and changes in caretakers. AncestryLibrary Edition has a guide "Creating Timelines that Produce Answers" in the 'Learning Center' under 'Getting Started'. Family and local Histories, found in AncestryLibrary Edition and HeritageQuest provide insight into broader influences on an ancestor's upbringing. Local histories may also be found on the library's ' Biblioboard' eBook site. You can input location keywords on Biblioboard to find local histories and genealogies that have been posted by libraries and other societies. Family and local histories can sometimes be requested through interlibrary loan. Submit a request with our Materials Request form. Internet Archive is another large digital repository that includes these histories.
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by Adam Pratt | Fox Valley Genealogical Society | Register Thursday, January 14, 7 p.m. Gathering and scanning family photos is an important step in building a Family Photo Archive, but what’s next? Learn best practices from a professional photo organizer for organizing your photos, following industry standards, to ensure your photos are safe and searchable for generations to come. This talk will also include the use of metadata for organizing photos. Adam Pratt loves people, photography, and a good story! He has experience as a photographer, book author, software trainer, and photo organizer. He’s also the founder of Chaos to Memories where he helps people enjoy their photos again by turning their photo chaos into precious memories they can enjoy and share. by Mary Eberle | Naperville Public Library Wednesday, January 20, 7 p.m. Mary Eberle of DNA Hunters, LLC will use case studies to demonstrate how to employ DNA results to solve genealogy problems. This program will be presented virtually via Zoom. by Ginger Frere | Naperville Public Library Wednesday, February 24, 7 p.m. Genealogists often use records from the federal government, or county records such as vital records. But too many times they overlook unique local government records. Ginger Frere, an instructor from Chicago’s Newberry Library, will reveal some of these genealogical treasure troves.
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Both Print and eBook available
Presents a history of the human understanding of heredity and how it has shaped society, chronicling the transitions brought about by genetic research and making predictions about how evolving understandings are likely to impact the future.
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The Family Tree Guide to DNA Testing and Genetic Genealogyby Blaine T BettingerNewly revised and updated, this easy-to-understand one-stop resource on genetic genealogy for family histories walks you through the benefits of DNA testing, which is the most cutting-edge tool available to discover the answers to your family history mysteries.
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eBook on Overdrive
The author relates his DNA-guided quest for his ancestry, which took him through time and across continents, learning lessons about evolution, genetics and the amazing diversity of human culture along the way.
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Print, eBook, eAudiobook on Overdrive
When Kristin L. Hoganson arrived in Champaign, Illinois, after teaching at Harvard, studying at Yale, and living in the D.C. metro area with various stints overseas, she expected to find her new home, well, isolated. Even provincial. After all, she had landed in the American heartland, a place where the nation's identity exists in its pristine form. Or so we have been taught to believe. Struck by the gap between reputation and reality, she determined to get to the bottom of history and myth. The deeper she dug into the making of the modern heartland, the wider her story became as she realized that she'd uncovered an unheralded crossroads of people, commerce, and ideas.
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Discusses how to start family history research using traditional paper records, online databases, and social networks, and provides tips for establishing an effective research strategy and efficient search techniques.
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by Steve Robinson Print, eBook Two hundred years ago a loyalist family fled to England to escape the American War of Independence and seemingly vanished into thin air. American genealogist Jefferson Tayte is hired to find out what happened. This is a centuries-old mystery with a present-day thriller that brings two people from opposite sides of the Atlantic together to uncover a series of carefully hidden crimes. Tayte's research centres around the tragic life of a young Cornish girl, a writing box, and the discovery of a dark secret that he believes will lead him to the family he is looking for. Trouble is, someone else is looking for the same answers and will stop at nothing to find them. In the Blood is the first in the Jefferson Tayte mystery series.
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Hiding the Pastby Nathan Goodwin Peter Coldrick had no past; that was the conclusion drawn by years of personal and professional research. Then he employed the services of one Morton Farrier, forensic genealogist - a stubborn, determined man who uses whatever means necessary to uncover the past. With the Coldrick Case, Morton faces his toughest and most dangerous assignment yet, where all of his investigative and genealogical skills are put to the test. However, others are also interested in the Coldrick family, people who will stop at nothing, including murder, to hide the past. As Morton begins to unearth his client's mysterious past, he is forced to confront his own family's dark history.
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Print, and eBook on Overdrive
For young readers. Explores the experience of immigrants who came to America in the twenty-first century, celebrating the diversity of the country and hope for the future.
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