New Books

This week, the Franklin Sylvester Genealogy and Local History Room (F/S Room) has received several important new books, thanks to donations.

R929.3744
MAY

In November, The Society of Mayflower Descendants in Ohio installed a display outside the history room in honor of the Pilgrims celebrating a day of thanksgiving. I  hope you saw this display because it was splendid!

The members  noticed that our collection of books on the Mayflower Families is incomplete. We had Volumes 1-8, 12, 15-16 and 22, but are missing the rest. They are rectifying the problem by donating the missing volumes. Volumes 10-11 have arrived.

If you can trace an ancestor to someone listed in one of these books, you have a Mayflower ancestor! Congratulations!

That would make you eligible to join the Society of Mayflower Descendants. They left some of their applications behind and you can pick one up in the F/|S Room.

Or you can contact the Society directly:

Terry (Nelson) and Marcia Hart have been compiling lists of U.S. veterans buried in Medina County. They published the first volume on Revolutionary War veterans in 2009.

Revolutionary War soldiers buried in Medina County.
R977.135
Military

The second volume covering War of 1812 veterans buried in Medina County came out in 2012, in time for the bicentennial of the War.

War of 1812 Veterans buried in Medina County.
R977.135
Military

Their latest volume has just been released and again, they were generous and donated a copy to the F/S Room collection. It covers the Mexican-American War. The war was fought from 1846 to 1848. The United States won the conflict and obtained the territories of (Alta) California and New Mexico. The U.S. had already annexed Texas in 1845 and that was part of what led to the war.

Mexican-American War Soldiers buried in Medina County.
R977.135
Military

For each of the 61 soldiers listed you get a map of the location of cemetery, a picture of the tombstone, if there is one and basic information on the soldier, as shown below:

Entry for John Layton McFadden

The photos of the tombstones can be hard to read, just like the tombstones themselves.

This is a great jumping off place for anyone researching their ancestors who served in the military.

Stop by and browse these new books, after the New Year!

Happy Holidays and see you in 2017!

MORE New Books!!

The Medina Library is very fortunate that a number of local organizations donate items for our Franklin Sylvester Room (F/S) collection.

The Medina County Historical Society and the Medina County Genealogical Society donate frequently. The Historical Society will send us any duplicates they have, but don't need. The Genealogical Society will try to get us materials that the Library is not able to get through its normal channels.

Medina County Genealogical Society

Medina County Historical Society

And lately, we have been the benefactors of several other Medina County organizations:

The Family History Center on Windfall Road is downsizing their small library. They have offered the library any of the books we would like to add to our collection. Here is a sampling of their gifts:

Family History Center at Medina
Church of Later-Day Saints

Just some of the books donated by
the Medina Family History Center

Lisa Rienerth, co-worker and a fellow genealogist, recently did a tour of the F/S collection for the Seville Historical Society. Their members noted that the library did not have a copy of their latest publication and they promptly promised us a copy. And here it is!

Connecting the Past to the Present 1816-2016 updates the current histories we have on Seville and Guilford Township.

The Society of Mayflower Descendants, the Western Reserve Colony noticed that our books on the Mayflower Descendants needed updating and donated copies of those along with some other books on the Pilgrims and the Mayflower.

If any of these books are interesting to you, take a look at them the next time you are in the Franklin Sylvester Room.

UPDATES TO PREVIOUS BLOGS:

1. Following up on my applications to lineage societies, I have just submitted my application for First Families of Ohio. If successful, it will prove that my 3X great grandparents, John WILLIAMS and Lucinda Sartain TILLMAN WILLIAMS were in Ohio prior to 1820. I am using a land record to show that William P. WILLIAMS is the son of John & Lucinda WILLIAMS.

2. This is the last week for the online Genealogy Basics course I have been taking through the Library's subscription to Gale Courses. A fuller report will be next week, but overall, it is an okay basic course. It is a bit dated and needs to be updated.  In this fast changing world it is important to keep your material current. Lisa and I update our class materials every time we teach a class.