Library offers help tracing family history

DERRY — Christine Sharbrough is an expert on her own family history and wants to help others become experts, too.

Sharbrough works as a reference librarian at Derry Public Library and is also a certified genealogist.

She will lead three upcoming library events on tracing family history. She said the library is a rich source for those looking for information.

The three genealogy sessions are set for Sept. 29, Oct. 6 and 13, all beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Sharbrough said the library has just what anyone needs to help that search process move along.

She is the keeper of her own family history, taking on the task of preserving her own legacy for decades.

As an expert on genealogy, Sharbrough urges people to come to the library to learn more and use resources and archival information available.

One stop on the family history path is the library's New Hampshire Room, where the most historic library documents and archival materials are stored.

The room can be a valuable resource for anyone's search, Sharbrough said.

The New Hampshire Room is the repository of the library's most historic collections, archives and genealogical information. For anyone looking to trace family roots through wartime, or other specific time frames, this room can help.

Shelves are arranged with items of historical interest including books, old yearbooks, town records, legal records, maps, state papers, and many military records dating back to Revolutionary War years.

"There is predominantly Derry history in the room," Sharbrough said.

The room is full of useful knowledge for people looking to discover their past, she said.

"There are a variety of things," she said, "a lot of information to be found here, a lot of clues."

She said the library is always looking for donations for the room's collection.

For anyone hoping to study family roots and genealogy, Sharbrough has important advice.

"I tell people the most valuable resources you have are the memories of the people that are still alive," she said. "

The New Hampshire Room is open to the public, but people must sign in to protect the integrity and condition of the library's archive.