The Patchogue-Medford Library is one of the top destinations for genealogists on Long Island and this May we’re excited to host our first ever Family History Day. Bring the whole family and join us on Saturday, May 6 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for this exciting mini conference.  There will be interesting and exciting programs and activities for all ages!   Check out our full list of programming below.

We’ll be closing out the day with a special program: Who Do You Think You Are?: PML Edition.  During this interactive program, two lucky participants will be chosen to have their family history uncovered by our resident genealogist, Kathy Then.  Whether inspiring, courageous, or tragic, what’s discovered is sure to change each participant’s life forever!  To be eligible to be chosen, participants must fill out this form prior to April 29  either in person or online.  The lucky winners will be revealed the day of the program.  

On the half hour beginning at 1 pm, tours of the Library’s Genealogy area and Local History Room will be available.  Don’t forget to stop by the Statue of Liberty selfie station!

All Afternoon in the Lower Lobby

World Map

Stop by the map and place two pins in the regions your ancestors hail from. At the end of the day we’ll post pics of our map – with the locator pins – to Instagram!

Patchogue-Historical Society

Stop by the Patchogue Historical Society’s table and learn more about Patchogue’s past.

Genealogy Federation of Long Island

Meet members from the Genealogy Federation of Long Island and discover how they can encourage your study of family history and assist you in your research.  

Sign up for the specific programs below begins in the Lower Lobby at 12:45 pm.  Packets, guides, handouts, and refreshments will be available.

Family History Day Storytime

Pop in and listen to a story with Ms. Alyson and Ms. Elaine.  We’ll also have some fun and easy family history themed crafts for kids.

DNA Q&A with Toren & Colleen

Learn how two staff members used DNA to connect the dots of who they are.

Family History Recording Studio

(15 minute appointments)

Take this opportunity to record, and take home with you, a brief story from your past – a memory of holidays, special gatherings or meals, school, vacations, or important relatives, notable ancestors you remember or were told about, and your family’s roots and traditions!

The Document Doctor

(15 minute appointments)

Find out how to preserve a specific family document or photo.  Bring your item to be examined.

Digitize and Organize Your Family Photos!

Learn easy ways to digitize and store the all those photos you have in albums and shoeboxes.

Family History Crafts

Take time out from more serious genealogy pursuits for some make and take projects –  create an informal family tree, design and color your own family coat-of arms, and do a brass rubbing – all suitable for framing! (For adults and teens, grades 6 and up)

NYC Databases

Don Eckerle from the German Genealogy Group will discuss all the wonderful genealogy records from the NYC area that his group has indexed. These databases are available online for free and contain everyone – not just Germans.

Parent/Teen Genealogy Workshop

Genealogist Kathy will show you how to start your family history search. This program will be held at the Main Library building and is for parents and teens to attend together.

Apps for Family History

Genealogy apps can make tracing your family tree a lot easier.  Learn about the apps that are available and bring one to share if you can.

Hispanic Genealogy

Learn how to begin your family’s genealogy search. Aprende a comenzar la búsquda de genealogía de su familia.  

We are really excited about our very first Family History Day and we hope you are too!  Remember, this event is free and open to all.  Whether you are an experienced genealogist or just starting out uncovering your roots, there will be something for everyone!

George Morgan, one of the hosts of the long-running “The Genealogy Guys” podcast is coming to Patchogue-Medford Library. Photo courtesy of George Morgan.

Hoping to build your family tree? You might just end up becoming a detective.

This is because building out the story of your family’s history involves many of the same skills: researching records, interviewing family members and figuring out the motivations behind your ancestors’ actions.

“You are actually finding out about where they were in various points in their lives,” said George Morgan, one of the hosts of “The Genealogy Guys” podcast. Morgan is coming to the library Saturday for the day-long Genealogy Lock-In. The event will give participants the chance to make the most of Patchogue-Medford Library’s resources by letting them stay after the building’s normal Saturday closing time of 5:30 p.m.

Morgan is coming for the full day, starting with four one-hour presentations that start at 1 p.m. and wrapping up around 7:15 p.m. with breaks throughout. Following these presentations, the library will stay open through 9 p.m. for patrons to do their own research with the assistance of librarians and Morgan. Anyone attending is encouraged to bring their own food, laptops, tablets as well as note-taking materials, and one of the breaks will be used for participants to get dinner on their own.

Morgan said that local libraries are one of the best free resources to take advantage of when doing genealogy research, as they offer databases that can be used to find the origins of family members. His presentations are going to be designed to give ideas on how to build context into the search, including checking through census records, picking apart clues from obituaries, making use of both contemporary as well as historical maps and making use of newspapers for research. This data can help make sense of the motivations of your family during the times they lived through.

“It’s not just collecting names, dates and location. It’s really putting these people into geographical and historical context,” Morgan said.

While Saturday’s event already has a wait list, Morgan recommended a number of free resources that anyone can take advantage of in order to get a genealogy search started. These include Familysearch.org (which includes articles on how to browse census records and other related research), browsing the free videos in the “Ancestry Academy” section of ancestry.com and searching “ancestry” on YouTube. For a preview of Morgan’s presentation style, you can watch this YouTube video featuring both him and his “Genealogy Guys” podcast co-host Drew Smith from one of their research trips.

Anyone who hopes to join the waitlist for the lock-in can do so by registering on Patchogue-Medford Library’s website by clicking here or calling the library at 631-654-4700. Registered participants are asked to arrive and sign in to the library at 12:30 p.m., with the presentations taking place in Meeting Room A&B on the building’s lower level.