Brandon Twp.’Colleen Stringer is known as ‘the treasure hunter? at the Brandon Township Library.
‘X? marks the spot in the local history room for Stringer, whose official title is adult services librarian. The small room contains scrapbooks, history books, old newspaper articles, yearbooks, old records of dog tags and board meetings and even a photocopied diary from 1880. These things may not sound like riches to some, but to people doing genealogy research, they can be a gold mine of information.
‘It is like being on a treasure hunt… looking for another piece in the puzzle of family history,? Stringer said.
Stringer has worked at the library for three years and in the past year has taken on the task of organizing materials in the local history room that had been in boxes.
During her time at the library, she said dozens of people have come in to the library or sent letters and e-mails seeking information about relatives who have lived in Brandon, Groveland or Hadley townships or the village of Ortonville. Some people also want to know the history of their homes that are located in these communities or about old businesses in Ortonville that are now gone.
‘Mostly people just want to find out anything they can about a relative to complete their family tree,? Stringer said. ‘I like to give them more than birth and death dates to help flesh out who they were as a person.?
Stringer attempts to help by using materials in the local history room such as scrapbooks from the 30s and 40s. The books are full of newspaper articles documenting clubs, school and church activities, military service, weddings, funerals, and other ‘events,? ranging from large? an 1896 tornado that destroyed the town of Oakwood (formerly located at the corner of Baldwin and Oakwood roads) to small’who had dinner at whose house. She recently finished indexing the books and can now look for an ancestor by name and page.
In reading through various books and records in the room, Stringer has been fascinated following individual stories? reading about military service members and wondering what happened to them, sometimes learning later they died serving their country.
She also read the 1880 diary of Nettie Moleby, who lived in Ortonville. Information donated along with the diary showed Stringer that Nettie married in 1883 at the age of 23, had four children and died after a short illness on Jan. 22, 1894.
This year Stringer assisted a woman who came into the library seeking newspaper articles from the late 1800s about her grandmother, who had disappeared in Port Huron. She was also able to use some books on Michigan war veterans to help a woman wanting information on a relative who was a Civil War veteran.
Stringer said that while she is not always successful in helping people in what they are looking for, she can often give them a lead to help them on their quest.
‘It’s like a big mystery, trying to find clues,? Stringer said. ‘But it’s fun. If people are persistent they will find what they are looking for or a clue to lead them in another direction.?
Stringer had no interest in genealogy until she started organizing the old materials for the library. Now she says that although genealogy research is time-consuming, it’s addictive. Stringer plans to one day do some genealogy research on her own ancestors. Her grandfather came to the United States from Cork, Ireland, traveling on a ship with two brothers and she wishes now that she had heard about his trip. He died 25 years ago.
‘I think a lot of the time kids aren’t interested, but someday they will be,? Stringer said. ‘If you want to give something valuable to your family and you’re interested in it, it would be worthwhile to research your family roots and preserve family stories.?
Stringer is almost done organizing the local history room and said it has become easier helping people research their family history. She also uses a computer database, Ancestor Plus, which is available for patrons to use free of charge at all Michigan libraries. Many of the items in the local history room are also being digitized and will soon be available for viewing online.
‘One of the most fascinating aspects of the job is acquainting people with the astounding variety of resources available and getting them started on their genealogy search,? Stringer said, noting that genealogy is one of the fastest-growing hobbies in the U.S. ‘Anyone who has questions about local history or genealogy, we will do our best to help them.?