news release

The Indian River Genealogical Society is pleased to announce Melissa Barker as the program speaker at our regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, May 11, 2021.  The program will start at 11:00 am followed by a brief business meeting. The meeting is FREE and open to the public. This meeting is virtual and pre-registration is required.  Please email info@irgs.org at least one week in advance of the event to request a link for a complimentary registration.

Melissa Barker is a Certified Archives Manager and Public Historian currently working at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives.  She lectures, teaches and writes about the genealogy research process, researching in archives and records preservation.  She conducts virtual webinar presentations across the United States for genealogical and historical societies.  She writes a popular blog entitled A Genealogist in the Archives and is a well-known genealogy Book Reviewer.  She writes a bi-weekly advice column entitled The Archive Lady published at Genealogy Bargains.  She writes history pieces for her local newspaper The Houston County Herald called From the Archives.  She is a Professional Genealogist with an expertise in Tennessee records and she is currently taking clients.  She has been researching her own family history for the past 31 years.