Our presenters for the seminar are all volunteers and graciously give of their time and talents to prepare and teach on topics of interest to you.  Below are a few details about our 2019 presenters.

 

ARNOLD, Jill -- Jill is one of the Archivists frequently helping researchers in the Reading Room, she is a Digital Engagement Archivist with the Archives of Michigan.  She works to engage a variety of audiences with Seeking Michigan,  (http://seekingmichigan.org) the online platform of the Archives of Michigan.  Jill earned a Master of Science in Information with a specialization of Library & Information Science as well as Archives & Records Management from the University of Michigan.

 

CLYNICK Ann --  Ann is from England,  has 6 children, 13 grandchildren and 3 greatgrandchildren. She continues to work part time and is active in church and community service. Her great love is Family History and she has spent 50 years doing England research.  

 

EARL, Dan -- I got my start in family history at age 10 when my father took me to the grave of my great-grandfather; that sparked a lifetime of interest in family history. I have spent the last 25 years researching my own family history and helping others make history a part of their story.

 

GOSSELIN Gaston G. -- Gaston was born in the northernmost regions of Quebec, a little town named La Sarre. His family moved to the Detroit area in 1966. Even though the French-Canadian school system starts to teach English to the French students in fourth grade, Gus had not had much of a chance to use his English before moving to Michigan thus he spoke very little. However, full emersion his a fantastic teacher! Gus started to dabble in genealogie before the age of the computer. most of the information was gathered through letter writing, phone calls and personal visits. With the advent of the computer, this accelerated, specifically with access to many various websites in French and English to facilitate the work. Gus does not consider himself a genealogical expert, however if there is a quality he has is the hunt for "les Actes", the official paperwork to helps establish a person's story.

 

GROSTICK, Cynthia -- Cynthia was born and raised in Lansing, Michigan.  She first started working on her family’s history in 1995 after reviewing a publication created by a distant cousin.  In order to improve her research skills, Cynthia joined several local societies.  

Her mother’s family settled in a small village in Michigan back in 1839, coming by covered wagon from New Jersey and New York.  Cynthia can trace several lines of her mother’s family in the United States to the 1600s in both New York and New England.  Her father’s family came to Michigan in 1849, arriving by boat from Germany and settled in Genoa Township, Livingston County.  Her father’s mother’s side arrived in the United States from Sweden in the 1870’s, and is able to trace her Swedish ancestry back to the 1600’s in Sweden.

Cynthia currently serves as president of the Livingston County Genealogical Society.  She also serves as their webmaster and newsletter editor.  Cynthia was presented with the Award of Merit from the Federation of Genealogical Societies for her role in helping to preserve the state libraries family history collection.  Cynthia is a past president of the Michigan Genealogical Council as well as founder and past president of the Stockbridge Area Genealogical/Historical Society.  

 

HINKLE, Don -- Don is the Leader of the Midland Michigan Family History Center.  In addition to his normal Family History Center responsibilities, Don is also the Center's Wiki Trainer.

Don is a Certified Trainer, Presenter and Mentor, for The Family History Guide.

Don is a member of the Midland Michigan Genealogical Society and the Virtual Genealogical Association.

Don and his wife, Ruth, moved to Midland from the Lansing area in October 2017 to be nearer to their three children and 10 grandchildren.

 

HODGES,Shirley -- Shirley has been actively doing genealogical research since 1967. She has taught genealogy classes and seminars – both for the novice and advanced genealogist – in the U. S. and Canada since 1994. She has also been a guest lecturer for several college-level programs. Visual aids, handouts and examples accompany her lectures. Although she specializes in tracing your female ancestors she covers a wide variety of topics for both the novice and advanced genealogist. Her interest in sharing her love of genealogical research and her sense of humor has delighted audiences. Shirley served as President of the Genealogical Speakers Guild from 2006-2010.

 

JACKSON Jim -- Jim served as President of the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research, Inc., the Oakland County Genealogical Society and the Calhoun County Genealogical Society; the index editor of the DSGR Magazine since 1994, and the Past-Camp Commander for Camp #22 of the Sons of the Civil War (SUVCW) in Marshall, MI.

Received the 2006 Lucy Mary Kellogg Award from the Michigan Genealogical Council for "significant contribution to the preservation and education of Genealogy and History."

Presented talks to various local and national Societies, including the Great Lakes Conference, Fort Wayne, IN; the American Society of Indexers Conference in Philadelphia, PA; the Local History Conference, Macomb Community College, MI; the Ohio Genealogical Society in Cincinnati, OH; the Ontario Genealogical Society in Oshawa, Ontario; and the National Genealogical Society (NGS) Family History Conference in Grand Rapids, MI. 

KOSELKA, Tom  -- Tom has been researching his family history for over twenty-five years. Tom is President of the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research and Past-President of the Michigan Genealogical Council and the Dearborn Genealogical Society and serves as a board member, mentor, and advisor to several genealogical societies. He is retired from Dearborn Music and lives in Westland with his wife, Valerie.

 

LINTON, Jim -- James S. Linton was called as a Family History Consultant for the Lansing Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 5 years ago. He served as a staff member of the Family History Center for 3 years.  He has become familiar with and relies on Family Search.org to do his own family history work.  Mr. Linton has been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since 1989.

 

 

MCINTOSH, Melinda -- Melinda is a long time resident of East Lansing, MI and has served as a consultant and assistant director of the Lansing Family History Center for many years. Her ancestors settled in the American colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, traveling from the British Isles, Denmark, and Switzerland. County and local histories, newspapers, and published biographies have brought these ancestors to life and she enjoys helping others find these invaluable resources

 

McKNIGHT Harrison -- Harrison is a professor at Michigan State University’s Eli Broad College of Business, where he teaches information systems courses. He also researches trust in new technologies (e.g., self-driving cars) and trust within the sharing economy. He received a Ph.D. in management information systems from the University of Minnesota. Before pursuing a doctorate, he earned bachelors and MBA degrees from Brigham Young University and worked for ten years at American Airlines’ SABRE Computer Systems division. Harrison and his wife Jan have four children and seven grandchildren.

 

Moses, James R. – Jim has been an active genealogist since 1979, and has taught beginning genealogy classes since 2000.  He has given talks at many genealogical and historical societies in Michigan and has written a bi-weekly genealogy column for the Sentinel-Standard newspaper out of Ionia MI since 2001.  He is a member of numerous societies as well as the Sons of the American Revolution, where he is genealogist for the Kensington Valley Chapter

 

NORTHRUP, Laressa -- Laressa is from Sanford, MI.  She has certificates from the National Institute of Genealogical Studies in US, Canadian, and English Genealogy.  She began researching her own family in 1978 and belongs to several genealogy and lineage societies.  Her genealogical interests include photographs, church records, New England, the middle colonies and the Midwest.

 

NORTON, Cindy -- She began her interest in Family History in 1977 while living in Fort Benning, Georgia. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Family History from Brigham Young University. While a BYU student she was an intern at the National Archives and the D.C. Archives both in Washington, D.C.  Besides extensive research experience in Virginia, Indiana and Kansas she also has research interests in Massachusetts, Maine, New York, Pennsylvania and Arizona. She is currently a volunteer at the National Archives and enjoys scanning records for other researchers. Cindy and her husband live in Berryville, Virginia.

 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

NORTON, Lt. Col. John Jr US Army – Retired -- John Norton's mission statement reads "to live with integrity and make a difference in the lives of others." He continues to strive to live this every day.

 John was born into an Army family in July 1947. Both his grandfathers, Col. Alex B. MacNabb and Col. Augustus Norton, and his father, Lt. Gen. John Norton, all had distinguished careers in the Army, so it was natural for him to follow in his father’s footsteps also attending the United States Military Academy at West Point.

 His Army career, 1970-92, included combat in Viet Nam with the 101st Airborne Division and the Vietnamese Airborne Division; patrolling the East German and Czech borders by helicopter with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment; and Commanding of an Airborne-Infantry Company in Italy.  He also served as Battalion Executive Officer and Brigade Operations Officer in the 7th Light Infantry Division.  As Chair and Professor of Military Science, Army ROTC, at Brigham Young University, 1987-91, John taught leadership and ethics, mentoring young men and women to become Army officers.

 Upon retirement from the Army in 1992, John began a second career as a Senior Consultant and facilitator for the Covey Leadership Center. In 1994, he worked as Deputy Project Manager for the World Bank, training business leaders in Kazakhstan, and in 1995, he joined Shenandoah University, where he helped create the Center for Organizational Excellence (COE). 

 John served as Senior Vice President and Director of Human Resources and Marketing for a community bank, 1998-2010 and from April 2010 – May 2014 he returned to consulting work with Franklin Covey. From August 2014-2017 he worked as the Lead Facilitator for the DoD Executive Leadership Development Program and he currently serves as the East Coast Director and Senior Consultant for VisionBound™International.

 John holds Master of Arts degrees in International Relations (MAIR) from the University of Southern California (USC) and in Organizational Behavior (MAOB) from Brigham Young University (BYU).

 He regards his greatest work, however, within the walls of his home, where he and his wife, Cindy, are the proud parents of seven wonderfully engaged young adults, ages 30 – 41 (and includes an “adopted” Russian daughter), and 16 grandchildren.  John is driven to apply “Carpe Diem” in his life each day.

 

OGILVIE Ginger -- Ginger is a professional genealogist who is passionate about helping people connect with their roots. As a descendant of Utah pioneers, she has studied several Westward migration patterns, and has researched families in all regions of the continental United States, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Scotland. Ginger has a B.A. in History, and holds a certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University. She is a member of: Association for Professional Genealogists, National Genealogical Society, Utah Genealogical Association, Mid-Michigan Genealogical Society, Lansing Area African American Genealogical Society, MSU Community Club’s Family Links, and is a Find A Grave volunteer. Ginger loves to incorporate DNA testing into her research, and is a founding co-administrator for the Ogilvy Y-DNA Surname Project through Family Tree DNA.

 

QUARNBERG, Cassie -- Cassie (Merrill) Quarnberg grew up on a farm in Idaho. Her Grandfather, J. C. Sandberg, served in the Idaho State senate several terms. It was important to him that, as his grandchildren, we learned the law making process and how time and history morph our lives into a necessity of change. I appreciate his forward thinking now, more than I did forty something years ago .
Though the dynamics of each household varied, my grandparents’ lives were quite similar because of economics and world events. I enjoy finding a story or event that somehow connects the farmer and the senator.

 

QUARNBERG, Dave -- Dave is the Director of the Lansing Family History Center. Dave has been in the computer industry for 31 years. He has been a technology specialist for the Lansing Family History Center for many years. His grandmothers researched genealogy through old libraries and records; tracing the family line back to an elusive Swede. Dave loves what the always new and improving technology brings to family history research.

 

RUDDOCK, Bill – Bill is a native of Washington County New York State with deep colonial roots in the Hudson Valley. He has authored many books and articles that relate to New York colonial families.    He is a contributing editor to the New York Genealogical and Biographical Record and for five years, was the editor of the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research Magazin

 

RZEPCZYNSKI, Kris -- Kris is a Senior Archivist at the Archives of Michigan, where he specializes in family history and Michigan research, Kris has worked in the genealogical community for nearly 20 years. He holds a Master of Library and Information Science from Wayne State University and a Master of Arts in History from Western Michigan University. Kris has presented at national, state, and local conferences, including RootsTech, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, National Genealogical Society, Ohio Genealogical Society, Indiana Historical Society, and for dozens of local genealogical societies and public libraries. A former Vice-President of Membership for the Federation of Genealogical Societies and a former President of the Mid-Michigan Genealogical Society, his current memberships include the Association of Professional Genealogists, Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan, Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society, and Historical Society of Michigan.

 

SHAW, Linnea   --  Linnea has had a lifetime interest in history, especially family history.  She has been involved in genealogy for about 20 years.  Since half of the roots of her family tree are planted in Swedish soil that country has been a focus of her research.

 

TOLKSDORF. Alexander -- Alex is a financial analyst for the Ford Motor Company, the President of the Ford Genealogy Club, and a native resident of the Metro Detroit area. He has been active in researching his family for 10 years, starting with a high school class trip to Ellis Island in 2009. Paternally, his family is German, primarily from the Prussian provinces of Westphalia, Posen, and East Prussia. Maternally, his family roots are Ukrainian, Belarussian, and Lithuanian.  All four of his grandparents immigrated to the United States in the 1950s following the Second World War; as such, the majority of his research experience and focus is in German and Eastern European sources.

 

TROTTER, Jessica -- Jessica holds a Master of Science in Information, Archives and Records Management Specialization from the University of Michigan—but works in public libraries by day. Her genealogy research areas include Midwest, African American, British Isles, Canadian, and Early American research. She also maintains a genealogy research related blog called Genie Road Trip at http://genieroadtrip.wordpress.com.

 

 

Many thanks to our presenters for their time and effort.