Two professional and veteran genealogists will be presenting at the Plymouth Historical Museum on Saturday May 7, at 9:30 am. Located in downtown Plymouth in the heart of the cultural campus, the Museum has plenty of convenient free parking. The all day event will include lunch and access to the current exhibit “Rediscovering the Civil War.” The $50 registration also incorporates all support material. The presenters, Kathy Petlewski and Ceil Wendt-Jensen are experienced and established genealogists.
Petlewski said, “In addition to traditional resources, we will both discuss online sources, and free databases, along with social networking sites.”
A longtime librarian at the Plymouth District Library, Petlewski will feature, ‘Researching- Immigration and Naturalization’, ‘Immigrant Ancestors- Arrival to the United States’ and ‘Genealogy in Cyberspace’. She is an accomplished webmaster and reference specialist. Recent advancements in digitization and programming on the Web will expose attendees to new on-line resources for both novice and expert genealogists.
Jensen’s topics will include, ‘Holy Moses- Four Brothers in the Civil War,’ and the ‘Research of Civil War Obituaries- Headstones- Monuments.’ She will explore in depth the traditional and digital resources used to develop an account of a family’s service during the “War Between the States.” She also has published a successful workbook for the aid and research of Polish Genealogy, “Sto Lat: A Modern Guide for Polish Genealogy.” Jenson is also on staff doing Polonia research and archival work on the Galleria exhibit on the campus of the Orchard Lake Schools at St. Mary’s.
For avid Civil War researchers The Plymouth Historical Museum has great records on the home grown Company C, 24th Michigan Infantry Regiment. They had a storied record including being part of the Michigan Iron Brigade and service at the Battle of Gettysburg. The 24th Michigan Infantry was mustered together in Detroit on August 15, 1862.
Company C, mustered in Kellogg Park, Plymouth, Michigan, August 5, 1862
From the PHM Archives – On August 5, a meeting was held in Plymouth to procure enlistments for a new company of volunteers that would become part of the 24th Regiment. During that afternoon, Company C, enlistees were gathered at the Village Green, or what is today known as Kellogg Park. The company was to have one hundred volunteers, and they quickly stepped forward. As it turned out, sixty-nine men out of the one hundred in the company were citizens of Plymouth. The others included seven from Canton, nine from Livonia, six from Nankin (Westland), eight from Salem, and one from Detroit. Another fifteen Plymouth-Canton residents joined other companies of the 24th. So it was on August 5, 1862, that Company C of the 24th Michigan Infantry Regiment was born.
At the conclusion of the war they were selected as escort for the funeral of President Abraham Lincoln.
The Abraham Lincoln Exhibit and the 150th anniversary of the Civil War exhibit are worthwhile attractions at the Museum. These include amazing Lincoln artifacts from the lifetime collection of renowned historian Dr. Weldon Petz. For registration call 734-455-8940 or contact the Liz Kerstens at director@plymouthhistory.com
