History Commons^™

Caring For The Family Tree: Helping Patrons Select Genealogy Software, Beth Transue, Rob Lesher

Library Staff Presentations & Publications

Caring for the Family Tree: Helping Patrons Select Genealogy Software

Presentation by: Rob Lesher, PA Library Association PA Forward Manager and Beth Transue, Messiah University Information Literacy Librarian

Presented at the PA Library Association annual conference, October 2023, Kalahari Resort, Poconos, PA

Objectives:

• Help patrons determine genealogy research goals and budget parameters
• Explore genealogy software options
• Assist patrons to select genealogy software options based on research goals and budget parameters

This Civic & Social Literacy focused presentation will help librarians work with patrons to select genealogy software. As the hobby of genealogy grows in popularity, there is a multitude of …

Walking In The Steps Of The Emperors: Exploring Beijing's Forbidden City And Surrounding Hutong Neighborhoods, Beth Transue

Library Staff Presentations & Publications

A photographic exploration of Beijing's Forbidden City as told by a Messiah University librarian. Beth Transue has visited China three times, two of which were university cross-cultural courses for undergraduate students.

Access Your Ancestors: Introduction To Free Online Genealogy Resources, Sarah Myers

Library Staff Presentations & Publications

Wednesday, March 10, 202110:00 am - 11:00 am

Virtual on Zoom

Are you interested in finding out about your family history and climbing your family tree? This course will be an introduction to online genealogy resources that are free to use and easily accessible to anyone with internet access. Find census, birth, marriage, military, and death records with ease and without spending a dime. This class will energize you to make discoveries on what makes your family unique, special, and downright interesting.

All participants will receive a resource packet to organize and keep track of their findings. In addition to …

A Lasting Legacy: E. J. Swalm’S Story Of Conscientious Objection During World War I, Beth Mark

Library Staff Presentations & Publications

Ernest John Swalm, despite being a part of a peace church, was drafted into World War I. In this article, Beth Mark, a librarian from Messiah University, discusses how he has become an symbol for historic peace churches, such as Mennonite and Brethren in Christ, for his experiences as a conscientious objector.

Janice Holt Giles And The "White Caps” Of Kentucky, Michael R. Brown

Library Staff Presentations & Publications

Janice Holt Giles (1905-1979) has more to say about the Brethren in Christ than any other novelist or popular writer;' in fact, she stands alone. Her 25 books, written from 1950 to 1975, sold four million copies in her lifetime, and some remain in print and have recently attracted renewed interest. Primarily noted for her historical fiction about the Western frontier, she is also noted for novels and memoirs set in her adopted state of Kentucky. Of these, four describe or characterize the Brethren in Christ at varying length and another three mention or make allusions to them. One novel, …

'From Your Loving Isaac': A Nineteenth-Century Courtship, Beth Mark

Library Staff Presentations & Publications

For sixty years a packet of late nineteenth-century love letters were stored away in the attic of the Isaac Swalm farm near Duntroon, Ontario. The letters and a photograph, discovered by Isaac's son, Ernest John (E.J.) Swalm, were written by Isaac to his first love, Minnie Kelly.

These very personal letters of love and faith provide an intimate look at a young man, newly converted to the Brethren in Christ, who is trying to explain his conversion and "plain" lifestyle to his beloved (but Presbyterian) Minnie Kelly. The correspondence is a blend of typical love letters, including declarations of hope …

Maggie Leah Steckley Swalm: A Teacher Of Good Things, Beth Mark, Louann Swalm Walker

Library Staff Presentations & Publications

Maggie Leah Steckley Swalm was born March 6, 1895 in Whitchurch Township near Stouffville, Ontario. She was the eighth children of fourteen. Her father was Bishop Peter Steckley. In January of 1920, Maggie married E.J. Swalm and moved to the farm at Duntrron where she resided until her death on April 15, 1984.

This article appeared in a somewhat shorter form in the third book of Canadian Brethren in Christ biographies, released in August 2006.