The Pagosa Peak Genealogical Society will hold its regular monthly meeting this Saturday, March 1.
We will meet from 10 a.m. to noon at the Community United Methodist Church, 434 Lewis St., in the fellowship hall.
There will be a short business meeting followed by a video presentation by Lisa Louise Cooke as she interviews professional genealogist Shelley Bishop about finding maiden names.
Finding female ancestors poses unique challenges that can throw roadblocks in your way. And the reason for that is simple. The women in our family tree assume the surname of their husbands when they marry.
In genealogy, we’re researching backward through time, and that means we encounter a woman’s married surname first. However, it’s critical that we eventually locate the records that mention the woman’s maiden name so that we can find her parents and continue to climb her family tree.
Bishop has come to the rescue in her new family tree magazine article. It’s called “Ladies in Waiting.” In that article, she covers 12 resources for discovering maiden names.
The genealogical society meets on the first Saturday of each month. It hosts guest speakers on a wide range of topics relating to genealogy and history, including the rich history of our local area.
We are a member of the Colorado Council of Genealogical Societies, where we have access to professional speakers from across the state. Our society has also partnered with the Town of Pagosa Springs in its ongoing efforts to research and improve our local cemeteries.
Visitors are encouraged to attend our meetings.
For more information, please contact Carolyn Paschal at carolynpaschal@gmail.com or check out our website, pagosapeakgs.org.
