Blog Entries

Family History Corner

Researching Common Surnames:

May 2022

My last name is Smith.  I have been told that our ancestors changed our surname before immigrating to the United States from Poland.  I have hesitated to attempt any research because I feel like I truly have a generic name.  Would it even be possible to learn anything about this family?

-A Researcher

Your question really has two parts to it.  How can I find the original Surname of my family? If it is a common surname, how do I research it properly?  Having a generic surname can be very fr...

Organizing your Family History Research: Special Program with Family History Hunters

April’s Family History Hunters meeting will feature a special presentation on organizing your family history research. Our presenter for this meeting, Tina Claflin, is the owner of Halcyon Reflections, a certified photo manager, and offers independent consulting and organizing services for veterans, families, and non-profits to help others get organized to preserve their stories.

Tina will cover how to manage the physical organization of genealogy materials, as well as organizing digital files on a computer and on a chosen cloud service. The presentation is intended for both begin...

Family History Corner: How do I Start my Family History?

By Joan Wood, Archives Assistant & Genealogy Specialist, Stewart Bell Jr. Archives

WELCOME, to the new Family History Corner! 

The purpose of this blog is to answer your general genealogical questions.  I am really excited about this opportunity to connect to anyone who has been attempting to start their family history or who has been researching for quite a while. If you have any general genealogy questions, please send me an email at archives@handleyregional.org.   Subjects that you submit do not have to be specific to Winchester or even Virgini...