Welcome to GSWC!
The Genealogical Society of Washtenaw County, Michigan (GSWC) welcomes anyone interested in genealogy and local history, whether they are beginning or more experienced family history researchers. We publish a quarterly journal called Family History Capers and hold eight general meetings a year, each with a program and a class. We have two active special interest groups - German and Ireland & UK. Attending GSWC meetings will help you keep current in the world of genealogy.
Membership in GSWC will give you full access to the society collections by unlocking member-only indexes, databases, cemetery records, and the Family History Capers archive. Membership will open up opportunities for you to meet like-minded people who will listen to your stories. Whether your skill set lies in writing, editing, speaking, teaching, research, administration, marketing, cataloging, indexing, formatting, or field work (reading gravestones! photography!) you can find your special niche here. Or, try something new! Join us and experience the satisfaction of helping others. We encourage you to become a member.
Thank you for visiting the GSWC website. We hope your visit will be productive and that you will return often.
GSWC Meeting December 8, 2024 1:30 PM
After the brief business meeting starting at 1:30pm Richard Hill will present, via Zoom, "Finding Your Family with DNA Testing."
Learn how adoptees and others find biological parents and siblings through DNA testing. Review the case that started it all and see today’s recommended strategies. View examples of surprise discoveries and see the tools used to identify relationships.You may attend by Zoom or in person at the Trinity Health Education Auditorium, Administration Building, Ann Arbor.
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After a short intermission Annette Burke Lyttle will teach, via Zoom, "Probate Records: Wills and a Whole Lot More."
Probate records can be some of the richest genealogical resources. Yes, they can contain wills, but often the best information comes from the other records in the packets—and our ancestors didn’t even have to die to make an appearance in a probate action. Learn about how to find probate records online and mine them for genealogical gems.
Family History Capers - Current Issue
To read the current issue of Capers, 48#1, first log in. Then, go to Washtenaw Research > Capers Archive. Contents include Washtenaw County Rural Schools: Part 1, Lyndon Schools; Oral History Interviewing Tips: Floor Plans, Part 2; Washtenaw County Farm Bureau and Junior Farm Bureau Membership, 1944; Book Review of Buried Secrets; Hull and Van Buren marriage, 1908; and Theodore D. Ford bible record.
2024-2025 Lectures and Classes
Click here for information about our meetings and the meeting schedule through May 2025. Our Website
Our website features an extensive list of Washtenaw County and Michigan research links and resources; databases; indexes; a surname database; a library catalog of over 2,000 books, cemetery records, and census records; and a calendar of events.
We invite you to explore the site. Browse the public resources in Washtenaw Research, filter the records in the Library Catalog, or search for a surname submitted by members. For help with GSWC library research, please use Research Requests. The GSWC Library is temporarily closed to all but
the Research Committee, To s
ubmit a query to Family History Capers see Washtenaw Research > Queries and Lookups.
Navigation notes:
- If you click on Members or Washtenaw Research, submenu items appear.
- Further submenu items appear under Members and Washtenaw Research if you are logged in.
- Under Members, a link to member-only downloads is available if you are logged in. Most handouts for the programs and classes are restricted to members only, except on the day of the event.
- The complete run of Family History Capers, including the current issue, is available under Washtenaw Research > Capers Archive, if you are logged in.
- Our brochure, bylaws, and a journal sample are publicly available under About Us.
Our Memberships and Social Media
