of the Lansing Area African American Genealogy Society
Conducted Fall Workshop
LAAAGS conducted a Genealogy Workshop in October 2005 during Family History Month at the Library of Michigan.
This was an exciting undertaking for LAAAGS. It marked the organization’s third annual public event. Previous events have been:
2003-The Tony Burroughs “Roots Workshop: Researching African American History”
2004-The Fort Wayne, Allen County Library Genealogical Research Trip
The 2005 event was a part of the Family History Month celebration series at The Library of Michigan. The LAAAGS presentation was Saturday, October 8, 2005, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. The Workshop occured on the regular LAAAGS monthly meeting date and served as the meeting for October.
Sessions were:
Beginning Research
Conducting online searches for African Americans
Advanced Searches
Presenting Individual Member Research Findings
The LAAAGS Fall Newsletter will have more details on the program.
LAAAGS member Larry Griffin was the chairperson for the event.
We very much appreciated the huge community support for this 2005 LAAAGS public event.
Early African American Families in Lansing
The Lansing Area African-American Genealogical Society is gathering information on early black families in Greater Lansing for a publication.
The printed work will include how African-Americans first came to this region and why. The descendants of several families have been contacted and included.
If members of your family settled in Lansing between 1847 and the 1940s, and you can document it, please contact the society at P.O. Box 22203, Lansing, MI 48909-2203 or www.laaags.org. Phone: 882-1293.
Many early families settled in cities close to Lansing and not in the city proper. This is valuable information about the early black presence in this region. The compilation of information on early families will augment existing information about the city of Lansing as well as provide a resource for research.
If you have photographs, birth certificates, letters, military records, baptismal records or other such documentation, these data prove invaluable in finding out about your family.
If you are interested in learning about how to find information about your own family or in genealogy as a subject area, the society encourages you to visit. Meetings are held at 9 a.m. the second Saturday of each month at the Michigan Historical Library, 702 W. Kalamazoo Street.