Tracing Immigrant Ancestors From Central & Eastern Europe Next At Genealogy Club

On Wednesday, May 12, at 7 pm, noted genealogist Matthew Bielawa will address the Genealogy Club of Newtown on the topic of how to trace the roots of ancestors who came to the United States from Central and Eastern European nations.

Mr Bielawa will discuss how to locate ancestral towns or villages using US records such as Ellis Island passenger lists, church records, naturalization papers, and Census data. In addition, he will explain the different types of foreign records available and offer tips for overcoming the challenges of foreign languages and official shifts in national borders.

Matthew Bielawa is the associate registrar at Central Connecticut State University and serves as vice president of the Polish Genealogical Society of Connecticut and the Northeast. He has a bachelor’s degree in Slavic and East European studies from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in Slavic languages and literatures from New York University.

His research specialization is Western Ukraine/Eastern Galicia and he has founded a genealogy website about the area (www.halgal.com).

The club’s 2010 speaker program continues on June 9, when Professor Timothy Jacobs will speak about “Breaking down genealogical stone walls.”

All meetings of the Genealogy Club of Newtown take place in the community room of C.H. Booth Library, 25 Main Street. Visitors and new members are always welcome.

For additional information call Harlan Jessup, 203-270-7887.