Speaker focuses on researching African American genealogy

A genealogist who faced the special challenges of tracing his African American ancestry will share his story and the research lessons he learned, during a program at the Oshkosh Public Library on Thurs., March 9.

The Challenges of African American Genealogical Research: A Personal Journey into the Unknown begins at 7 p.m. in the library’s lower level meeting room and is sponsored by the  Winnebagoland Genealogical Society.

In his presentation, Jim Walker will share his personal journey from the vastness of West Africa to the small Wisconsin village of Nelsonville. He’ll talk about the difficulties associated with African American genealogy, the growing number of resources now available to researchers and the approaches that ultimately led him to clear the hurdles he encountered.

Jim Walker is a retired probation officer who spent his career in California and now lives in Nelsonville. He started doing genealogical research in 1981.

The Winnebagoland Genealogical Society meets on the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Oshkosh Public Library. Meetings are open to the public. For more information visit http://winnebagogenealogicalsociety.blogspot.com/  or www.oshkoshpubliclibrary.org.