Genealogy presentation October 22

SANGERVILLE — The public is invited to a meeting on genealogy at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 22 at the Sangerville Town Hall meeting room, sponsored by the Sangerville Historical Society.

Nancy and John “Jack” Battick of Dover-Foxcroft will speak on their efforts to trace their roots and how the public can do the same. Nancy Battick is a published genealogist and historian and her husband is a retired history professor. Both have a wealth of information to share with those wishing to learn more about their family history.

“While genealogy focuses on family roots and branches, to get a fuller appreciation and understanding of your family background, you ought to learn about what was happening during the lives of specific ancestors,” the Batticks stated. “Our lives today are influenced by things we live with. The state of the economy, local, national and international politics, the environment, all to a greater or lesser extent affect our lives today. So did those factors affect the lives of our ancestors.”

Through her research, Nancy Battick has traced her ancestry to Jamestown and Mayflower settlements of the early 1600s. On one side, her ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, while on the other side of her ancestry she discovered that her roots are in the Baltic region which was once part of the great Polish-Lithuranian kingdom and then czarist Russia.

Central Europe, Germany and Hungary all play a role in John Battick’s roots. His ancestors left difficult economic and ethnic situations there to seek better lives in America. They assimilated quickly and found what they had come for. “How they came to be loyal and productive Americans is a fascinating story,” he noted.

Light refreshments will be served.