Moate Museum and History Society, Co. Westmeath

John Hamrock spoke to about thirty members of the Moate Museum and History Society at the Grand Hotel in Moate, Co. Westmeath, on Monday evening, 3rd March. The topic was 'How to Go About Tracing Your Ancestors.' Martina Griffin, President of the Association, Yvonne Lane, Public Relations Officer, and John Griffin organised the event. The turnout of thirty people was excellent as the night was extremely cold and there was another historical event happening in Tullamore that same evening. The talk was about 50 minutes with 15 minutes of Questions & Answers after and was quite interactive. There was also a photographer there from the Westmeath Examiner newspaper.

The presentation covered; Getting Started; Civil Registrations; Census and Census Substitutes, Church Records; Land Records and Estate Records; Grave Records and Inscriptions; Directories and Occupational Sources; Newspapers; Wills and Administrations; and recommended Books and Websites.

One participant was quoted about the talk, 'It was very comprehensive without being too long winded or technical. Hopefully it will ignite an interest in more people to search for their roots.'

For those people who could not make it, but would like a copy of John Hamrock's 25 page presentation slides, please email John Hamrock at john.hamrock@yahoo.ie or at anceto@ancestor.ie. Thank you.