Brentwood library genealogy program helps Long Islanders trace family roots, uncover missing details

After her mother died in 2000, North Bay Shore resident Gerry Lynn Brennan and her father realized they didn't know much about their family roots, so they embarked on a journey to research their history.

The laborious effort has spanned more than 20 years but was worth it, Brennan said. 

“Death has a way of making you realize that time is precious,” she said. “Once someone has left the earth, you can no longer ask questions about the past.” 

For Brennan and other Long Islanders eager to trace their family history, the genealogy group at Brentwood Public Library is one resource that aids them in their search. The group, formed in 2006 by then-librarian Mary Koferl, gives genealogy enthusiasts and novices alike a place to trade tips, explore methods of investigating family history and a way to overcome research roadblocks.

The group is overseen by librarian Peter Ward, who also offers one-on-one meetings to help researchers. The free resources are available to all Long Islanders, Ward said. Tools include genealogy magazines and databases for patrons, such as Heritage Quest and World Vital Records. During the sessions, experts discuss topics such as tracing African American family lines, and members who have completed their own research share their stories. 

The group has helped Brennan discover information about her ancestors and her parents.

She unearthed the passenger list that showed when her ancestors emigrated from Ireland to the United States in 1838. She also discovered the passenger list containing her mother's name, who moved from Belgium to the United States after marrying her father. 

Brennan also used the group's resources to learn more about her parents' brief stay in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, as newlyweds. She knew they had lived there before she was born in Queens in 1951, but wasn't sure when. She had no luck finding their names in the 1950 Census, which was released in April, but a group member suggested she search by the enumeration district, which proved fruitful. She found that her parents' landlord had provided the incorrect first names for her parents to the Census taker, which had thwarted her research. 

"It was really a detective hunt to find them," Brennan said adding she plans to pass her research to her nieces and nephew to share with their children. 

Joan Hackett, of Brentwood, also tapped the library's genealogy program. She has researched her family’s lineage since the 1980s — when genealogy meant slogging through records at a library or courthouse and scrawling notes by hand. Now, information can be gleaned more easily through a computer and digitized records. She had heard family rumors that her "rebel" great-grandfather had come to America in the 1840s from Ireland because he feared being executed; it appears to be true, she said. 

Hackett, whose heritage is Irish, said tracing Irish lineage can be difficult due to the burning of records during invasions throughout the centuries and limited records for poor tenant farmer families. The genealogy group has hosted guides on using Ancestry DNA to aid her research, she said, which helped connect her to relatives.

“I think today more people seem to get involved in looking back. Let’s face it: Who we are today is because of [the people who came] before us,” she said.

By Brinley Hineman

brinley.hineman@newsday.com

Brinley Hineman covers the Town of Hempstead and the City of Long Beach for Newsday. She previously was a reporter in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a West Virginia native.