INDIANAPOLIS —The signature event during The Indianapolis Public Library’s “One Book, Two Cities” shared reading campaign with Cologne, Germany will feature noted genealogy researcher and author Joshua Taylor on Sunday, January 5 at 2 p.m. at Central Library in the Clowes Auditorium, 40 E. St. Clair Street.
Taylor’s free program, “Finding the Roots of Your Family Legends,” will show how to uncover the truth behind family legends and stories, as well as how to integrate them into one’s personal writing and research. It’s part of the Library’s series of programs surrounding the reading of the novel, Vienna by Eva Menasse, chosen in early December as the title to be read and discussed with Sister City residents in Cologne. Indianapolis readers can participate in Library-sponsored book discussion groups or join those in Cologne by sharing their thoughts and submitting family photos through a special Sister Cities blog found at www.indypl.org. The Library is also presenting free programs on writing one’s family history, preserving family photos, and using Sanborn maps to research family genealogy. Programming continues throughout February.
Taylor’s program will relate to the family theme in Vienna, which chronicles the multi-generational foibles of a half-Jewish Viennese family as they become scattered throughout the world following the Nazi invasion.
Taylor has been the featured genealogist on the “Genealogy Roadshow” (PBS) and “Who Do You Think You Are?” (NBC). He is President of the Federation of Genealogical Studies and the Data Strategy Manager for findmypast.com. He previously worked as the Director of Education and Programs at the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the nation’s oldest genealogical organization, founded in 1845. Taylor has authored articles in American Ancestors, UGA Crossroads, FGS Forum, Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly, and New England Ancestors, and was a columnist for Digital Genealogist.
