September 2012 Family History Writing Program at the Clayton Library

The September 2012 Family History Writing Program at The Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research will host the following lecture and writing activity this month …

Writing Your Family History – An Interactive Day
Saturday, September 29 10:30AM – 4:00PM

Join Paula Stuart-Warren, CG, for a very exciting day consisting of a morning lecture with an active afternoon of writing exercises.

A Baker’s Dozen
10:30AM-12:30PM

Anyone can write! Learn ways to get your family history in print without a lot of strain! A “Baker’s Dozen” of ways to get started and ideas to get your greater family involved will be shared. You may find that you are already doing some of these but hadn’t realized you were actually getting family history into print! We’ll cover focus points, themes, photos, incorporating general history, and editing. Come prepared to write and take home a new outlook on getting YOUR family history written.

Writing Exercises
2:00PM-4:00PM

The afternoon will consist of writing exercises, individually and in small groups. Attendees are requested to bring a personal laptop if available. There will also be some actual writing, so please bring lined paper and pens and pencils of different colors.

This program is free and open to the public. Seating is limited to 45. You MUST call Clayton Library at 832-393-2600 to sign up. You will register for the whole day. Adult/Teens.

For more information, visit the Clayton Library webpage: http://www.houstonlibrary.org/clayton.

Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research
5300 Caroline Street
Houston, Texas 77004
Phone: 832-393-2600

Library Hours are:
M Closed | T 10-6 | W 10-8 | Th 10-6 | F 10-5 | Sa 10-5 | Su Closed

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African American Research at the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research

Black History Month 2012

It’s Black History Month 2012 and one place you will certainly find me doing African American Research is at the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research to learn more about the groundbreaking  African American Heritage database they have devoted to African American family history research . . . woo-hoo! To learn more about this event and another program of interest this month, check out the information below. And if you live in H-town, or you have travel plans that bring you this way,  be sure to stop by the Clayton Library this month!

African American Heritage Database

Saturday, February 18, 2012 2:00-3:00PM
Please join Sue Kaufman, Clayton manager, for a presentation of the African American Heritage database. This groundbreaking digital resource is exclusively devoted to African American family history research. The collection was created in partnership with leading African American genealogists to develop a comprehensive mix of resources, records, and tools specifically pertaining to African Americans. Reservations required, please call 832-393-2600. Adults/Teens.

Researching Free Persons of Color in Louisiana
Saturday, February 25, 2012 10:30-11:30PM
Learn how to do genealogical research on free persons of color in Louisiana from the early French period to the years before the Civil War. The presentation will include case studies and discuss valuable resources. Learn the definition of “free person of color,” along with a brief discussion on the culture of pre-American Louisiana and some of the other labels used to describe free persons of color. Reservations required, please call 832-393-2600. Adults/Teens.

Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research
5300 Caroline Street
Houston, Texas 77004
Phone: 832-393-2600

Library Hours are:
M Closed | T 10-6 | W 10-8 | Th 10-6 | F 10-5 | Sa 10-5 | Su Closed

It’s Family History Month at the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research

It’s Family History Month at the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research and below are events, news, and programs going on the month of October 2011

October 2011 news and programming

Clayton Library Orientation
Saturday, October 15, 2011 10:30-11:45AM
Learn about the vast resources and how to efficiently utilize genealogical research materials housed at the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research. No reservations needed, meet at the Information Desk in the library. Adults/Teens.

Funeral records: the final event
Saturday, October 22, 2011 3:00–4:00PM
Wednesday, October 12, 2011 3:00-4:00PM
The final event of a life generates final records of a person’s life. Various records will be discussed including digital collections, printed, and microfilmed sources as well as alternatives to traditional burials. Reservations required, please call 832-393-2600. Adults/Teens.

Road Trip: Clayton Library, Center for Genealogical Research

Photo Credit: Susan D. Kaufman

My road trip this quarter (on 20 August 2011 to be exact) was to join other family historians for an orientation of the fourth largest genealogy library in the United States — the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research.

Let me say that this wasn’t my first visit to the Clayton Library. Before United States census records became searchable online, I used this library’s census records and microfilm readers whenever I was in H-town visiting family and following up on research leads. So this orientation gave me an opportunity to gain a better understanding on how to use the vast resources and research materials housed at this facility. After a couple of hours in this place,  I totally understand why Family Tree Magazine named it, “one of the 9 genealogy libraries you need to visit before you die (July 2008).”

So what are some of the resources available to genealogists at the Clayton Library? WHEW . . . LOTS!  What began as a separate collection at the Houston Public Library in 1921, is now one of the best genealogical libraries in the United States! With regards to the library’s collection, genealogist will find:

• census records for all states on microfilm from 1790-1930
• Soundex/Miracode indexes for 1880, 1900-1920, and some 1930
• city directories
• birth and death indexes
• estate records
• deeds
• wills
• newspapers
• handbooks
• guides
• databases

Their Notable Collections consist of:

• the Draper Manuscript Collection, with guides
• a substantial collection of Records of Ante-Bellum Southern Plantations on microfilm
• one of the largest microfilmed collections in the country of the Papeles Procedentes de Cuba (Cuban Papers)
• a collection of documents generated by the Spanish government for the Mississippi Valley, Gulf Coast, and East and West Florida

To learn more about the various resources available at this library, feel free to download the Clayton Library Collection Summary Sheet I have linked below:
Clayton Library Collection Summary

View a video of the Clayton House!

Just across the driveway from the main library building is the Clayton House, a three story Georgian style home that was built in 1916. This house was the home of businessman and statesman, William Clayton and his wife Susan Ada Vaughn Clayton, until 1958. Then it was deeded to the City of Houston for library purposes. As the Houston Public Library’s genealogy collection grew, it was eventually moved to the Clayton House, which was located in Houston’s historic Museum District at 5300 Caroline Street in 1968. Once the main building was completed in 1988, the library’s entire collection was moved there and is where it remains today. Now that renovations of the Clayton House is complete, it’s open to the public and is a partner of the Family History Library (FHL) of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) in Salt Lake City. Clayton Library users are able to order microfilm and other materials directly from the Family History Library and view them on-site at the Clayton Library.

Library Hours are:

M Closed | T 10-6 | W 10-8 | Th 10-6 | F 10-5 | Sa 10-5 | Su Closed