Lectures and Walking Tour at Cultural Festival

“Preserving Our Italian Heritage a Treasure!”
12:15 pm Visitor Center– Upstairs
Prof./Cav. Philip J. DiNovo

Some may wonder what Prof./Cav. means, Prof. DiNovo has been knighted by the Italian government. He taught at Morrisville College, a part of SUNY and was the chairman of the Business Admin Dept for 33 years.  He has a AAS, BS and a MBA.  Prof. DiNovo founded the International American Italian Heritage Association in 1979 and the American Italian Heritage Museum in 1985.  He is also the President of the Association and the Executive Director of the Museum and the editor of the American Italian Heritage Digest bi-monthly newsletter. 

  “Origin for Your Irish Ancestor” 2:00 pm Visitor Center– Upstairs
Lisa Dougherty

Anyone who has an Irish ancestor in their family tree is usually eager to find out just where in Ireland they came from. This can be a very difficult task for researchers, given the limited information typically given in historic documents about Irish ancestors, especially those of the famine era (1840's-1860's). This presentation will focus on sources to use here in the United States to help identify a place of origin for your Irish ancestor, and hopefully help further your research in Ireland.

Lisa Dougherty has been actively pursuing genealogy as a hobby for 17 years. Lisa is a former volunteer at the National Archives, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and currently volunteers at several local libraries offering assistance to people tracing their family stories. She lectures regularly around the area on genealogy topics, and has contributed to various published genealogies and society newsletters. She has been working as a professional researcher for nearly 4 years, is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and various local genealogy groups.

Waterford and Cohoes’s Franco-American Community– 3:15 pm
Visitor Center– Upstairs
Bernard Ouimet

Mr. Ouimet is the author of a book on the history of the former Franco-American church, St. Anne’s, in Northside, Waterford. He will discuss the characteristics of the make up of the French people in Northside, give an overview as to why they came to Northside, who they were, the type of work they did, and their everyday life based on the years 1887-1914.

Walking Tour of Canal –12:15 pm Lock 2 Park
Russ VanDervoort

Walk the old towpath with local author Russ Vandervoort and hear some stories from the old canal days.