Using deeds, general land office records and other land information in your genealogy quest will be the subject discussed at the next meeting of the Smithville Genealogy Society, Saturday, Jan. 9 at 9:30 a.m. at Smithville Public Library, 507 Main St., Smithville.

Many genealogists either are not aware of the value in researching land records for their ancestors or they put off using them due to lack of understanding or simply not knowing where to go and what to ask. We who live in Central Texas are fortunate – we not only have county clerk offices to aid in finding deeds, but also the Texas General Land Office, located in Austin. At the meeting, we will look at various types of deeds, language used in them and find how they can be helpful to understand more about our families and they way they lived.

Smithville Genealogy Society meetings are open to anyone who wishes to attend. There are no dues or membership requirements. Those interested in learning more about researching family history are always welcome at our meetings, usually held at the Smithville Public Library on the second Saturday each month.

For more information, call Carol Snyder at 830-839-4080 or the library at 512-237-3282, ext. 6.

Field trip

An all-day trip to the Clayton Library for Genealogical Research – a branch of the Houston Public Library system – is planned for Thursday, Feb. 25. Please contact Snyder at 830-839-4080 or KD5BSX@ARRL.NET if you are interested in joining this field trip for genealogical research.  If you’ve never been to a genealogical library to do research, be sure to attend our February meeting for the program: “Preparing for a Trip to the Genealogical Library.”