Programs are usually held on the third Saturday at 2:00 pm four times a year in the months of February, May, August, and November in the Athens-Clarke County Public Library Multipurpose Room A, but variations in this schedule are not uncommon. Special events and activities are usually held in months without meetings, and may include local after-hours research events, carpooling to out of town programs, research field trips, expos, holiday celebrations, historical preservation, etc. Although most programs are free and open to the public, membership is encouraged to enable us to bring in quality speakers that will help further our understanding as family history researchers. Dues are also used to purchase resources for local libraries and offset costs to preserve historical data.
Just Do SOMETHING!
10 June 2023 | 10 a.m. – Noon Athens – Clarke County Library Heritage Room Conference Room Just Do SOMETHING! We are starting a new Shared Interest Group (SIG) in COGS to help us all spend at least a little time each month on our genealogy. The idea is that we will set aside two hours each month to work…
Finding the Anderson Cemetery
presented by Amy RickmanVirtual | Saturday, 13 May 2023 | 2:00 p.m. EDT Cemeteries are major resources when hunting family. This presentation will describe the trail Amy followed to find these ancestors, strategies for finding old cemeteries, and more about the Anderson cemetery in Farmington, Georgia. Attendance is free and open to the public, but…
Genealogy Creations: Ways to Use and Share Your Genealogy Research
presented by Nona Knecht Thornton Saturday, 22 April 2023 | 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. Athens-Clarke County Library Multi-purpose Room A, Athens, GA Nona K. Thornton will show examples of ways she has incorporated family history into gifts for family, home décor, and displays for family reunions. Many of these are simple projects that any of…
Dowered or Bound Out: Records of Widows and Orphans
presented by Judy G. Russell, JD, CG®, CGLSM The Legal Genealogist® Saturday, 21 January 2023 at 2:00 pm EST via Zoom All registrants will have access to the program recording for 30 days! Widows and orphans have always had a special place in the law. But it’s not always the place that 21st century researchers…
Military Records for Family History Research
Saturday, 12 November 2022 at 2:00 p.m. EST via Zoom and in-person Military records are a great resource for learning about people in your family and there are more than most of us know about. On November 12, Laura W. Carter will provide a brief overview of military records, including some you might not know exist, and…
Tracing Family Ties
Friday, 23 September 2022 | 5:45 – 9:00 p.m. EDT Oconee County Library Want to learn more about genealogy resources? What about the items and materials available at the Oconee County Library’s Ivy Room? Join the Clarke-Oconee Genealogical Society, Oconee County Library, and the Athens-Clarke County Library Heritage Room for a special AFTER HOURS research…
What’s New in Family Tree Maker Software Q & A Discussion
Saturday, 20 August 2022 | 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. EDT via Zoom Join us for a live, interactive, Q & A discussion with Family Tree Maker Ambassador Mark Olsen who will provide an overview of Family Tree Maker software and then answer all your questions, including the latest version, updates, features, and more. We will also talk…
New – 1950 U.S. Census Indexing Marathon in July
Clarke – Oconee Genealogical Society’s 1950 U.S. Census Indexing Marathon in JulyAthens – Clarke County Library Computer LabWednesday, 13 July 2022, 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.& Saturday, 16 July 2022, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.Don’t forget to bring your FamilySearch login information! Participants in our May Marathon enjoyed it so much they asked us to…
1950 U.S. Census Indexing Marathon
Clarke – Oconee Genealogical Society’s1950 U.S. Census Indexing Marathon at the Athens – Clarke County LibrarySaturday, 21 May 2022, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.& Wednesday, 25 May 2022, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.Don’t forget to bring your FamilySearch login information! Let’s help index the 1950 U.S. Census together! Sign up for our hands-on 1950 Census…
The Culture and Legacy of Eastern European Emigration to America 1880-1930
Saturday, 30 April 2022 at 2:00 p.m. EDT via Zoom and in-person Join the Heritage Room and the Clarke-Oconee Genealogical Society in the exploration and discussion of Eastern European Emigration to the United States. Bonnie Burke, a representative of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society, will introduce the video The Extraordinary Journey (via ZOOM) which discusses emigration from Eastern Europe…
Research Logs: Write or Regret It!
Saturday, 22 January 2022 at 2:00 p.m. EST via Zoom We are excited to begin the new year with the program Research Logs: Write or Regret It! presented by genealogical researcher, lecturer, and instructor Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG®, CGLSM. Why is this such an important topic? Organizing is key to understanding. If you can’t find it, how can…
The 1950 U.S. Census – Are You Ready?
Friday, October 22, 2021 at 5:45 p.m. ET via Zoom Do you remember the excitement in April 2012 around the release of the 1940 U.S. Census? Who did you find once the census was released – your grandparents, your parents, yourself? Following the “72 Year Rule” for records at the National Archives, the results of…
50 Things to See in The Family History Guide
August 21, 2021 | 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. EDT | via Zoom The Family History Guide website is a free learning, research, training, and activities center for family history. Mr. Bob Taylor of the Family History Guide Association will be our website tour guide on August 21. The Family History Guide website provides instruction on…
Scanning Days
As a follow-up to our program with Thomas MacEntee on January 16, 2021 (You Can Do This: Photo Organizing and Preservation), COGS is offering a special opportunity for members and guests to continue with their personal photo (or family document) preservation project. Two scanning days were arranged for our membership through a collaboration between the…
It’s Time to Climb Over that Pesky Brick Wall!
Are you up against a genealogical “brick wall?” Often in our family history research we create our own brick walls because of the things we do not know or do not know how to find. Sometimes the information, or at least clues to the information, is staring us in the face and we simply miss it! While…
You Can Do This: Photo Organizing and Preservation
Are you sitting on a pile of old family photographs and wondering what is the best way to preserve them? What about boxes of family vacation slides, photo negatives or home movies? As more and more Baby Boomers take on the task of organizing family history materials, we’re uncertain about the best way to preserve…
COGS Virtual Holiday Celebration
Our annual holiday get together will be Saturday, December 12 at 2:00 pm via Zoom. Since we cannot meet in person, we are planning a scavenger hunt activity to share our family treasures, traditions, and stories to learn more about each other. Plan on looking for some unique facts about your family. For instance, we…
The FamilySearch Research Wiki: Your Genealogy BFF
One of the most important tools in genealogy research is the free FamilySearch Research Wiki. International in scope, the ever-changing wiki offers historical information, articles, online records, links to information on places all over the world (countries, states, provinces, counties, parishes, etc.), migration trails, local history, African American research, American Indian information, other ethnic research,…
Stories of Our Fathers
COGS members are invited to honor their fathers, Saturday, June 13, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. during a virtual Father’s Day Coffee. An email has been sent from Clarke-Oconee Genealogical Society inviting members to register for this Zoom event. Our meeting will have a short agenda, including a quick tour of our new website followed by…
Eastern European Immigration to America between 1880-1920
We look forward to rescheduling our program with Bonnie Burke, Carpatho-Rusyn Society Branch Coordinator of the southeastern states. Her presentation was originally scheduled for early April. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we have temporarily suspended all in-person COGS programming but look forward to putting her back on our calendar as soon as it is…
Searching After Sunset
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this event has been postponed. Are you curious about your family history? Need more time in the Ivy Room? Clarke-Oconee Genealogical Society (COGS) is partnering with Oconee County Library for an after-hours genealogy research event on Friday, March 20, 2020 from 5:45 – 9:00 p.m. This event is open to…
Members and guests are encouraged to stay after COGS’ programs to enjoy light refreshments, ask questions, share genealogy finds, or merely catch up with friends.
Please consider volunteering to provide a refreshment at one of our future programs.
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