Carol Darrow
The morning news program just aired a story of an 18-year-old who helps people find their ancestors. He’s been doing it for years. He uses online databases such as Ancestry. com and FamilySearch.org as well as DNA results. He may be unusual for an 18-year-old but he is certainly not unique.
Denver is rich in the number of people who volunteer to find your ancestors. The Central Denver Public Library has volunteers Monday through Thursday from 10 – 1 pm who will assist anyone who presents themselves asking for help. All you need is a name, location and birth year of the person you’re seeking. The help is free. The Denver branch of the National Archives, located in Broomfield off of I-25 at Highway 7, open from 8:30 – 4 pm, Monday through Friday, also has volunteers who can get you online with Ancestry.com and Fold3.com to point you in the right direction to find your ancestors. All of their help is free.
Most people who take advantage of these free services are amazed at how quickly the volunteers can cut through the underbrush and find their family tree – many times in just an hour or two. They can also help you become familiar with the online systems that they use. But if you do not want to become an expert on the computer searches, you can still benefit from the skills of these volunteers in finding long lost family.
The key is to ask. You must come and be willing to ask the question: Can you help me find my family? You will be amazed at how quickly these volunteers will jump to the challenge and can find people who are part of your extended family in short order.
~ Carol Cooke Darrow, CG, volunteers at DPL on Tuesday mornings and at the National Archives branch in Broomfield all day on Thursdays.