Events

March 21 -

Researching Women in Archives

Location: Peter and Julie Cummings Library,
2551 SW Matheson Ave., Palm City.

Women make up 50% of your ancestry, yet their lives, experiences, and even complete names are all too often forgotten by written history. When they survive, diaries, letters, account books, family bibles, samplers, organization records, and more can reveal more about a woman’s daily life than any government document. Rhonda McClure will discuss how we can use these unique records and manuscripts to piece together a family story, and how we can hit genealogical gold by digging in the archives.

Rhonda, senior genealogist at American Ancestors/NEHGS, is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer. Before joining American Ancestors in 2006, she ran her own genealogical business. She has been a contributing editor and writer for several genealogy and history magazines, and has written 12 books, including the award-winning The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Online Genealogy, Finding Your Famous and Infamous Ancestors, and Digitizing Your Family History. She also edited the 6th edition of the Genealogist’s Handbook for New England Research.

Rhonda will present via Zoom. If you can't attend in person, you can watch via Zoom. Registration required. Click here to register.

April 18

Martin Digital History

Martin County and the Treasure Coast is filled with historical treasures. Photographs, scrapbooks, records, letters can provide us with the stories of the lives of our residents and help to build an accurate picture of the history of our communities. The mission of Martin Digital History is to encourage the appreciation of Martin County’s unique history by collaborating with community members and local organizations to collect, present, and interpret relevant digital content. Local historical organizations such as the Stuart Heritage Museum and the Black Heritage Initiative and individuals like Sandra Thurlow, and many others, have come together to help create a cooperative digital community archive open to all.

Presenter, Georgen Charnes, is the archivist and project director for Martin Digital History. She has master’s degrees in library science and communications, and has been an archivist in a number of places, including New Orleans, Nantucket, and Utah.

If you can't attend in person, you can watch via Zoom. Registration required. Click here to register.

May 16 -

History Makers are Found Here: All Saints Cemetery

Martin County celebrates its centennial in 2025, and in commemoration, MCGS welcomes Joyce Fletcher-Menard to talk about some of the people she has gotten to know in her work at All Saints Cemetery in Jensen Beach. One of the oldest cemeteries on the Treasure Coast, at 125 years, All Saints is the final resting place for many of the people who laid the foundation for Jensen Beach, Rio and Martin County.

Joyce Fletcher-Menard, a Martin County High School and University of Florida graduate, had a 20-year career in the U.S. Army. After her retirement, she re-invented herself as a genealogist and author. Since returning to the Treasure Coast in 2006, Joyce has served as the historian and archivist for All Saints’ Episcopal Church and All Saints’ Cemetery. She has written one book on the church, and four on the people in the cemetery. Joyce was the 2022 Martin County Historic Preservationist of the year, and belongs to several lineage societies, including the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.

If you can't attend in person, you can watch via Zoom. Registration required. Click here to register.