The Genealogy Club of Newtown (GCN) will meet on Wednesday, February 12, at 7 pm via Zoom.

Jeanette Sheliga will present “Above the Fold: Your Ancestors in the News.”

Newspapers are a fantastic source of research leads, information, and historical context for family history. The stories of ancestors’ lives can be found in the pages of archived newspapers.

Most genealogists know the value of newspaper reports of major life events, including births, engagements, marriages, and especially obituaries. But many of ancestors were also mentioned in news articles of various kinds.

Sheliga’s presentation will help guests learn how to better search for their ancestors in the news, and how that can help lead to the answers to research questions.

Sheliga, of JeanettesGenealogy.com, lives in Lockport, N.Y., and has been researching her family tree since 2002. She has been lecturing on genealogy topics since 2011. She has presented to societies and libraries locally and virtually all over the world.

Sheliga is the president of Virtual Genealogical Association (VGA). She holds positions in local, state and national societies, and she has completed the study groups of ProGen 49 and Certification Practicum 02, which are self-study programs designed to prepare participants for the Board for Certification of Genealogists.

She has attended many genealogy institutes to enhance her skills as a professional genealogist.

Registration is required for the virtual GCN meeting on February 12. Those interested in attending need to send an email request with name, phone number and email address to genclubnewtownct.secretary@gmail.com by February 10. An email with a link to the meeting will be confirmation.

Those planning to attend are asked to sign in starting at 6:45 February 12 so that everyone will be admitted before the meeting starts promptly at 7 pm.

Programs of The Genealogy Club of Newtown are co-sponsored by C.H. Booth Library. Everyone interested in genealogy is welcome to attend.