Recently I took a group of residents in my day job to the Historical Museum in our city. Having only lived here for a year, there is a lot I don’t know about the city.
However, I realized how helpful the Historical Museum in a city can be to genealogist {and writers}. I discovered that visiting a museum can benefit my genealogy research. This is especially true if a family has been in an area for a long time, is a founding member or is a prolific family to the area.
- Historical information about the area—the museum has historical museum about the area from it’s inception through to the modern day
- Artifacts—artifacts are provided from by gone times of items that were used in the home and on the land for making a living.
- Prominent Families—prominent and founding families are profiled for the area. You never know where you may find a relative.
- Forgotten Towns—the museum I attended profiled an old town that no longer existed. To learn the history of this town was very interesting and informative.
- Time Periods—profiles are covered of life during the Civil War, Colonial Times, Revolutionary War through to World War I and World War II.
- Tragedies—often tragedies affect a town and can change the landscape. This museum displayed the fire of the 19th Century and Gas Leak from the 20th Century and the effects on the town.
- Business—life can change in a town when a business arrives. The railroad was covered when it arrived in the 19th Century and then the effect the nuclear plant had on the area when it arrived. This is everything from the economic benefits to how towns were moved, changed and altered.
One of our residents is in her 90s and has lived in the area all of her life. Listening to her memories as we toured the museum made the visit even more interesting and informative.
What information have you learned about your family by visiting a museum?