GSBC Meetings + Presentations
GSBC Meetings are held every 4th Monday of the month (except holidays and December). General Meetings include a brief business meeting. Meetings start promptly at 7pm in the Ridgewood Public Library Auditorium, 125 N. Maple Ave., Ridgewood, NJ. Phone (201) 670-5600 (see map, above), unless otherwise noted. Your membership dues directly supports this programming and allows us to host speakers on a wide variety of topics — thank you!
GSBC Special Events + Seminars
The GSBC holds several special events, including our day-long Annual Seminar and late-night RPL Lock-In—where genealogists can attend talks on a variety of subjects, collaborate on problems, and receive one-on-one research assistance. Additional event fee may apply. Discount for GSBC members.
GSBC Classes + Ridgewood Public Library Programs
The Bolger Heritage Center at the Ridgewood Public Library holds events on local history and genealogy-focused computer classes. Ridgewood residents and GSBC members receive a discount on these events. Included in the calendar below are RPL classes of interest to genealogists and local researchers. Please check the full RPL calendar for class information, fees, registration, cancellations, and for classes on other topics. All registration is through the Ridgewood Public Library calendar or by calling (201) 670-5600.
Additionally, the GSBC holds in-depth courses, for those 55 and older, at Bergen Community College, Institute for Learning and Retirement (BCC-ILR). Please check our calendar for registration dates, visit the BCC-ILR website, or contact BCC-ILR at 201-447-7156.
Below is our complete calendar showing all Meetings, Events, Seminars. Library Programs and Classes. Use the Category filter below to hide the events in a specific category.
Specialties:
All computer applications
Advanced Research
Local History
Bergen County
Available by Appointment
On-Site GSBC Genealogy Consultations at the Ridgewood Public Library (RPL)
GSBC Members and others receive complimentary on-site consultation with our Genealogy Consultants at the Bolger Heritage Center. All our consultants can help beginners through experienced researchers, guide you in the use of the Genealogy and Local History Reference collections at the Bolger Heritage Center, and help you break through your brick-walls. If you need assistance with a specific area not listed, contact us and we will match you as best we can with an expert in that area.
To make an appointment, email contact@njgsbc.org to reserve your consultation window.
On-Site GSBC Genealogy Consultations at the Ridgewood Public Library (RPL)
GSBC Members and others receive complimentary on-site consultation with our Genealogy Consultants at the Bolger Heritage Center. All our consultants can help beginners through experienced researchers, guide you in the use of the Genealogy and Local History Reference collections at the Bolger Heritage Center, and help you break through your brick-walls. If you need assistance with a specific area not listed, contact us and we will match you as best we can with an expert in that area.
To make an appointment, email contact@njgsbc.org to reserve your consultation window.
Specialties:
AncestryLE
Canadian Records (French and English)
State and Federal Census
Advanced Research
New York City Research
City Directories
For July 2018: by appointment
On-Site GSBC Genealogy Consultations at the Ridgewood Public Library (RPL)
GSBC Members and others receive complimentary on-site consultation with our Genealogy Consultants at the Bolger Heritage Center. All our consultants can help beginners through experienced researchers, guide you in the use of the Genealogy and Local History Reference collections at the Bolger Heritage Center, and help you break through your brick-walls. If you need assistance with a specific area not listed, contact us and we will match you as best we can with an expert in that area.
To make an appointment, email contact@njgsbc.org to reserve your consultation window.
Monday, September 9th @ 7pm
Railroads in the Civil War
Historian John Clark will discuss how railroad leaders applied their management skills to contribute to victory and defeat on the battlefield. With almost every major battle taking place near a railroad junction or port, the Civil War was truly a modern war. All welcome, no registration required.
Specialties:
AncestryLE
Internet Research
Advanced Research
Netherlands
Available by Appointment
On-Site GSBC Genealogy Consultations at the Ridgewood Public Library (RPL)
GSBC Members and others receive complimentary on-site consultation with our Genealogy Consultants at the Bolger Heritage Center. All our consultants can help beginners through experienced researchers, guide you in the use of the Genealogy and Local History Reference collections at the Bolger Heritage Center, and help you break through your brick-walls. If you need assistance with a specific area not listed, contact us and we will match you as best we can with an expert in that area.
To make an appointment, email contact@njgsbc.org to reserve your consultation window.
Tuesday, 10 September, 2019, 7–8:30pm
Little Falls Public Library
Steven Gabai
Introduction to Genealogy
By using his own family, Steven Gabai of the Genealogical Society of Bergen County will show and explain genealogy records, its research and what you can learn by researching your family history. This 90-minute slide show presentation tells the stories behind those records and research as well as the breakthroughs, frustrations, and brick walls that go along with it.
Steven Gabai started researching his family history over 20 years ago. He is a member of the Genealogical Society of Bergen County and has been a trustee on the board since 2015. With his two genealogy programs — Introduction to Genealogy and Internet Genealogy — his objective is to motivate others to research their family history and to offer assistance.
Free and open to all, no RSVP.
Image: "Immigrants waiting to be transferred, Ellis Island, October 30, 1912," Library of Congress, http://loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3a13599/
Specialties:
Ancestry
Census
Ireland
Immigration
New York City and New Jersey
On-Site GSBC Genealogy Consultations at the Ridgewood Public Library (RPL)
GSBC Members and others receive complimentary on-site consultation with our Genealogy Consultants at the Bolger Heritage Center. All our consultants can help beginners through experienced researchers, guide you in the use of the Genealogy and Local History Reference collections at the Bolger Heritage Center, and help you break through your brick-walls. If you need assistance with a specific area not listed, contact us and we will match you as best we can with an expert in that area.
To make an appointment, email contact@njgsbc.org to reserve your consultation window.
Tech Class: Newspaper Research
September 12 @ 10am
Ridgewood Public Library
Instructor: Joe Suplicki
Class: Newspaper Research
Learn about the newspaper databases available at RPL and some of the free databases available anywhere. This instructional class will assist you in navigating newspapers for your genealogy research.
Registration and fee required—$5 for Ridgewood residents and GSBC members; $10 for others.
http://engagedpatrons.org/EventsExtended.cfm?SiteID=5615&EventID=385170
Thursday, 12 September, 2019, 7–9pm
Ho-Ho-Kus Worth-Pinkham Memorial Library
Steven Gabai
Introduction to Genealogy
By using his own family, Steven Gabai of the Genealogical Society of Bergen County will show and explain genealogy records, its research and what you can learn by researching your family history. This 90-minute slide show presentation tells the stories behind those records and research as well as the breakthroughs, frustrations, and brick walls that go along with it. Registration is required.
Steven Gabai started researching his family history over 20 years ago. He is a member of the Genealogical Society of Bergen County and has been a trustee on the board since 2015. With his two genealogy programs — Introduction to Genealogy and Internet Genealogy — his objective is to motivate others to research their family history and to offer assistance.
Please RSVP for this event (to plan seating) at https://bccls.libcal.com/event/5486039
Image: "Immigrants waiting to be transferred, Ellis Island, October 30, 1912," Library of Congress, http://loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3a13599/
Monday, September 16, 2019 @ 7pm
Author Event: Amy Stewart—Kopp Sisters on the March
Join author Amy Stewart as she returns to the Ridgewood Public Library to talk about her newest installment in the Kopp sisters saga, Kopp Sisters on the March!
This is the fifth book on the Kopp sisters, based on the real-life experiences of Bergen's own Kopp sisters—who worked as private detectives in a time where women could not even vote!
Stewart became fascinated with the Kopp sisters after discovering a newspaper article about them. (Her books were based on research provided by GSBC's Trustee Emeritus, Ree Hopper.) From the publisher:
"In the fifth installment of Amy Stewart’s clever and original Kopp Sisters series, the sisters learn some military discipline—whether they’re ready or not—as the U.S. prepares to enter World War I.
It’s the spring of 1917 and change is in the air. American women have done something remarkable: they’ve banded together to create military-style training camps for women who want to serve. These so-called National Service Schools prove irresistible to the Kopp sisters, who leave their farm in New Jersey to join up.
When an accident befalls the matron, Constance reluctantly agrees to oversee the camp—much to the alarm of the Kopps’ tent-mate, the real-life Beulah Binford, who is seeking refuge from her own scandalous past under the cover of a false identity. Will she be denied a second chance? And after notoriety, can a woman’s life ever be her own again?
In Kopp Sisters on the March, the women of Camp Chevy Chase face down the skepticism of the War Department, the double standards of a scornful public, and the very real perils of war. Once again, Amy Stewart has brilliantly brought a little-known moment in history to light with her fearless and funny Kopp sisters novels."
Stewart's talks and book-readings are always a fun and interesting event—don't miss it!
Pre-order books for signing at Ridgewood's Bookends.
Specialties:
All computer applications
Advanced Research
Local History
Bergen County
Available by Appointment
On-Site GSBC Genealogy Consultations at the Ridgewood Public Library (RPL)
GSBC Members and others receive complimentary on-site consultation with our Genealogy Consultants at the Bolger Heritage Center. All our consultants can help beginners through experienced researchers, guide you in the use of the Genealogy and Local History Reference collections at the Bolger Heritage Center, and help you break through your brick-walls. If you need assistance with a specific area not listed, contact us and we will match you as best we can with an expert in that area.
To make an appointment, email contact@njgsbc.org to reserve your consultation window.
GSBC General Meeting
Monday, 23 September 2019, 7pm
Ridgewood Public Library Auditorium
Alvin Q. Corbett
New Jersey was a Gateway to Freedom: Its role in the Underground Railroad
Curious about the New Jersey’s role in the abolitionist movement and how the trail of safe houses and routes ferrying slaves from the southern states to freedom in the north worked? Alvin Corbett will provide an overview of this extensive network that eventually became known as the "Underground Railroad."
Alvin Q. Corbett, who was born and raised in Wilson, North Carolina, is a historian, educator and lecturer. Corbett holds a bachelor's degree from North Carolina A&T State University and a master's from Stevens Institute of Technology. He served as Vice President of Board of Directors for the Underground Railroad Museum of Burlington County, NJ (2014-2017); has been invited to be a visiting scholar at New Jersey's Rutgers University; is an active member of the Salem and Camden County, NJ Historical Societies; and is a friend of the Peter Mott Underground Railroad Museum of Lawnside, NJ. Corbett also served as Assistant Curator for the Mattye Reed African-American Heritage Museum on the campus of North Carolina Agricultural & Technical (A&T) State University in Greensboro, NC. In 1984, Corbett became one of the first museum digital archivist in the country.
Corbett created, "Jack Sherrod LIVES!" which is an educational art experience showcasing Jack Sherrod's evolution from a slave, to a Civil War Union soldier, and ultimately, a free landowner in Wayne County, North Carolina. Sherrod descendant, Alvin Corbett, created Jack Sherrod LIVES! to engage the community in African-American history; to honor and preserve Sherrod family heritage; and to share the extraordinary life and legacy of his great-great-grandfather, Jack Sherrod.
Corbett also served as a speaker at Rutgers University's Global Timbuctoo Symposium on the topic of the Logistics of the Underground Railroad.
Free and open to the public—all are welcome!
On-Site GSBC Genealogy Consultations at the Ridgewood Public Library (RPL)
GSBC Members and others receive complimentary on-site consultation with our Genealogy Consultants at the Bolger Heritage Center. All our consultants can help beginners through experienced researchers, guide you in the use of the Genealogy and Local History Reference collections at the Bolger Heritage Center, and help you break through your brick-walls. If you need assistance with a specific area not listed, contact us and we will match you as best we can with an expert in that area.
To make an appointment, email contact@njgsbc.org to reserve your consultation window.
Specialties:
AncestryLE
Canadian Records (French and English)
State and Federal Census
Advanced Research
New York City Research
City Directories
For July 2018: by appointment
On-Site GSBC Genealogy Consultations at the Ridgewood Public Library (RPL)
GSBC Members and others receive complimentary on-site consultation with our Genealogy Consultants at the Bolger Heritage Center. All our consultants can help beginners through experienced researchers, guide you in the use of the Genealogy and Local History Reference collections at the Bolger Heritage Center, and help you break through your brick-walls. If you need assistance with a specific area not listed, contact us and we will match you as best we can with an expert in that area.
To make an appointment, email contact@njgsbc.org to reserve your consultation window.
Specialties:
AncestryLE
Internet Research
Advanced Research
Netherlands
Available by Appointment
On-Site GSBC Genealogy Consultations at the Ridgewood Public Library (RPL)
GSBC Members and others receive complimentary on-site consultation with our Genealogy Consultants at the Bolger Heritage Center. All our consultants can help beginners through experienced researchers, guide you in the use of the Genealogy and Local History Reference collections at the Bolger Heritage Center, and help you break through your brick-walls. If you need assistance with a specific area not listed, contact us and we will match you as best we can with an expert in that area.
To make an appointment, email contact@njgsbc.org to reserve your consultation window.
Specialties:
Ancestry
Census
Ireland
Immigration
New York City and New Jersey
On-Site GSBC Genealogy Consultations at the Ridgewood Public Library (RPL)
GSBC Members and others receive complimentary on-site consultation with our Genealogy Consultants at the Bolger Heritage Center. All our consultants can help beginners through experienced researchers, guide you in the use of the Genealogy and Local History Reference collections at the Bolger Heritage Center, and help you break through your brick-walls. If you need assistance with a specific area not listed, contact us and we will match you as best we can with an expert in that area.
To make an appointment, email contact@njgsbc.org to reserve your consultation window.
Michelle D. Novak
“Picturing” Your Research—Finding, Procuring, and Preserving Images
Wednesday 16 October, Noon
New Jersey State Library, Trenton, New Jersey
“Picturing” Your Research—Finding, Procuring, and Preserving Images
Did you realize that you have a UNIQUE, never shared before collection of archival materials in your house right now? Your family photos!
Your research can come alive with images, but finding, scanning, and preserving them can be a daunting prospect. In this talk, we’ll look at all three—from the perspective of a designer, photographer, researcher, and archivist (in training). Michelle D. Novak will give us an introduction on how to best scan the images you have, ways to find images in collections to supplement your research, new online resources to help identify those mystery people, and share some tips for protecting the photos and artifacts for future generations. (P.S., It’s her favorite talk and a hot-topic!)
Michelle D. Novak is a brand designer at [MND] (mnd.nyc) which serves finserv, education, and technology clients; genealogist; and teacher. She is a Master of Information student (formerly, MLIS) at Rutgers University in archives and digitization, holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, and certificates from Boston University, Gen-Fed, and the Genealogical Institute of Pittsburgh, among others. Novak is Trustee and Webmaster for the Genealogical Society of Bergen County (GSBC), New Jersey, and a former Trustee of the Genealogical Society of New Jersey (GSNJ). She also serves as Project Administrator for the GSNJ-NJSA New Jersey Early Land Records Project (a joint project between the Genealogical Society of New Jersey and the New Jersey State Archives); Editor of the GSBC’s national award-winning newsletter, The Archivist; and is involved with numerous transcription, indexing, publicity, and digitization projects.
Free—all are welcome. Free parking in the Statehouse Garage. Please RSVP (for seating planning) at https://www.njstatelib.org/event/picturing-your-research/.
And, while in Trenton, explore the wonderful genealogical collection at the New Jersey State Library (did you know that the NJSL has a dedicated and Genealogical Librarian?) or visit the New Jersey State Archives, just across the plaza.
Braen family July 4th (no year, c1925) family picnic, location unknown. Photographer possibly Arthur Tuschmann, Jr. (d 1948). This photo is used in this talk, and others, to demonstrate photo dating and copyright, as this image would have come out of copyright protection only in 2018! (Novak is still working to identify people in the image.) Collection of Michelle D. Novak.
