Monday, October 14, 2013

FEEFHS Fall Workshop - Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor

The following is from the Federation of East European Family History Societies (FEEFHS). 

Finding your Immigrant Ancestor
FEEFHS Fall Workshop

Genealogists with ancestors from Eastern European countries often get stumped before they even begin.  To assist them, the Federation of East European Family History Societies (FEEFHS) has developed a new workshop, “Finding your Immigrant Ancestor”.  The program will be held November 12-15, 2013 at the Salt Lake Plaza Hotel in Salt Lake City, with research, labs, and consultations conducted at the nearby Family History Library.

“In order to successfully research your ancestors in Eastern Europe, you must first know their village of origin,” reports Peg Ivanyo, a genealogist researching her husband’s ancestors from Slovakia and administrator of the annual FEEFHS research workshops. “Until you know the name and location of the village your ancestor came from, was born in, it is impossible to find them in the records overseas.” 

This new fall offering by FEEFHS will focus on the US and Canadian records that will help researchers identify that village, the methodologies for such research, and the geography-related basics required to place the village once a name is obtained.  Professional genealogists specializing in both immigrant research and East European records will provide instruction.  The three-day workshop includes classes each morning, with computer lab assistance and one-on-one consultations daily each afternoon.  An optional pre-workshop orientation of the Family History Library will be offered on Tuesday, November 12th, and the program will close with dinner and a presentation by Milan Pohontsch, “Chasing the Elusive Ancestor.”

A detailed schedule, speaker biographies, travel information, and online registration are available at feefhsworkshop.org.  Class size is limited to assure adequate personal assistance.


FEEFHS was founded in 1992 as a non-profit umbrella organization for related societies.  It continues to provide information and access to genealogical resources and educational workshops relating to Eastern European family history research.  Additional resources and information may be found at feefhs.org.



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