The Tennessee State Library & Archives and the Friends of the Tennessee State Library & Archives are hosting Family History Day on Saturday, October 29, starting at 9:30 a.m.

The event will allow attendees to learn tools to discover their family and community’s stories by “learning how to research the places where we live and work.” The featured presentation for this year’s Family History Day is Welcome Home: Unlocking History Through the Places We Live, led by librarian Trent Hanner.

On Family History Day, attendees will be assisted by Library & Archives staff and volunteers from the Friends of the Tennessee State Library & Archives as they trace their family history and be shown how to preserve and care for their family letters, photographs and mementos.

Those planning on attending are encouraged to bring any information they already have, including names, dates, addresses, and more in order to begin their research.

“The Library & Archives has a wide range of physical and online resources to help our patrons research properties,” James Ritter, Tennessee State librarian and archivist, said in a statement. “During this year’s Family History Day our team of experts will help guests utilize our collections to help them discover their unique family stories.”

The event is free and open to the public; however, the Library & Archives notes that reservations are required due to limited seating.

“We are excited to celebrate both Family History Month and Archives Month by moving our annual Family History Day event to October,” Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett said in a statement. “Having traditionally hosted this event the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we hope our new date will allow even more Tennesseans to attend.”

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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network.
Photo “Tennessee State Library & Archives” by Rogerscas80. CC BY-SA 4.0.