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Scattered areas of heavy traffic could lengthen the commute

Letter to the Editor: Pure and healthy food essential; demand higher standards for keeping out chemicals

<p>Let this be the year you make those breakthroughs that have been eluding you and get the darkest areas of your family history lighted up for all to see.</p><p>No, it won&#8217;t take a miracle &#8211; just hard work and the willingness to try something new here and there. So here are my suggestions.</p><p>1. As I recommend every year, join the Northeast Pennsylvania Genealogical Society. You&#8217;ll gain access to the group&#8217;s research library and get early notice of an array of useful activities, from seminars on ethnic groups to DNA testing. The society is also the local agent for the immense data collection of the Church of Latter Day Saints and sponsors a biennial regional genealogy conference. Go to <a href="http://www.nepgs.com" target="_blank">www.nepgs.com</a> for membership information.</p><p>2. If you&#8217;re not already a member, join the Luzerne County Historical Society. At its Bishop Memorial Library, on South Franklin Street in Wilkes-Barre, it has amazing resources such as newspaper microfilms going back to the 1790s, city directories, mining records and countless other sources of local information to put you in touch with your ancestors.</p><p>3. Subscribe to &#8220;Family Tree Magazine&#8221; to update yourself on the latest genealogy-related products and find articles on specialized areas such as ethnicity and state and international resources. If you can&#8217;t find it on a news stand, go to <a href="http://www.familytreemagazine.com" target="_blank">www.familytreemagazine.com</a> for subscription information. Its articles might well help you make the jump across the water to your ancestors&#8217; countries of origin.</p><p>4. Visit your local library. Even the smaller libraries often have directories, maps and other material connected to the towns they serve. Larger ones, such as the Osterhout in Wilkes-Barre have additional resources, such as newspaper microfilms.</p><p>5. Watch for regional genealogy events and conferences. You&#8217;ll encounter experts in many fields, and one of them might well open a very important door for you.</p><p>6. Take a look at the Luzerne County Genweb (search for it by name). Even beyond its popular message board, it has too many useful features to go into here.</p><p>Records Storage Update: The Luzerne County Council recently voted to buy a Hanover Township building to serve as a records storage facility. The $750,000 purchase is for a Young Street property that was formerly a mail storage facility and has been vacant for several years. State law requires that many older records be retained by counties. For several years Luzerne County has stored its records in a former produce warehouse in downtown Wilkes-Barre. That building has been criticized for lack of temperature control and safety. The new site might also house a county morgue.</p><p>News Notes: The Northeast Pennsylvania Genealogy Society&#8217;s research library in Hanover Township is closed for the holidays. The January reopening date will be announced.</p><p>Hats off to Christian Wielage, William Tenenbaum and Gregory Wolovich for their &#8220;NEPA Engineered&#8221; project, which could prove beneficial to the area&#8217;s genealogists. They acquired a cache of historic engineering and surveying documents from the old Sturdevant and Dilley firm and are turning them into a free online data base. The maps and drawings show many significant properties throughout Luzerne County in the 19th and 20th centuries and could prove useful to area genealogists trying to unravel some family mysteries. Go to www.nepaengineered.com to see those already available via Facebook.</p><p>WVIA will host Mary Tedesco of television&#8217;s &#8220;Genealogy Roadshow&#8221; on Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. For ticket information call 1-800-326-9842 or go to the station&#8217;s website at www.wvia.org.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Tom Mooney Out on a Limb </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_TOM_MOONEY-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Tom Mooney Out on a Limb </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Tom Mooney</p><p>Out on a Limb</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Tom Mooney is a Times Leader genealogy columnist. Reach him at tmooney2@ptd.net.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Out on a limb: 6 ways to help you breakthrough to your genealogy