Events

November 8, 2008

The Hudson County Genealogical Society will be holding its regular meeting. Our featured speaker will be Kathleen S. Dodds, D.A. on the staff of The Msgr. William Noé Field Archives and Special Collections Center, Seton Hall University. She will present "The Use of Catholic Sacramental Records in Genealogy Research: Looking for Family History in All the Right Places."

During the presentation, we will learn how to begin and how to pursue compiling a family history by means of Catholic sacramental records such as baptisms and marriages. Working back through generations may mean searching out parishes using clues in the sacramental records one has already found and employing hints from civil records or family lore – beware! We will look at examples of different registers and examine how the form of the book influenced the types of information recorded. Our study will also include deciphering Latin entries and dealing with archaic handwriting, faded ink, lack of indices and changing names.

Time: 11:00 am – 1:00 pm
Location: Secaucus Public Library, Secaucus, NJ
Directions: http://secaucus.bccls.org

About Kathleen S. Dodds, D.A.

After completing her undergraduate degree at the State University of New York, College at Oneonta and further baccalaureate studies at University College, Dublin, Ireland, Kate taught high school English and theatre arts at Ichabod Crane Central School District in Kinderhook, New York south of Albany in the Hudson Valley. Concurrently she earned her M.A. in English at the State University of New York, University at Albany. In addition, she was instructor of acting and speech at the New York State Theatre Institute at the Egg in Albany and earned a D.A. in Humanistic Studies concentrating in Museum Education from SUNY-Albany. She has served as Education Staff Coordinator at the New York State Museum in Albany, Museum Educator at the New Jersey Historical Society in Newark, New Jersey, and as Administrative Assistant to the director of the Hermitage, a historic house museum in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey prior to joining the staff of The Msgr. William Noé Field Archives and Special Collections Center, Seton Hall University in February 2000.