Surprising Finds Of The Super-Sleuths

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From left is Alvin Carlsward, Carl Herman Carlsward and an unknown friend with a dog fishing in a drainage ditch in front of their home on 37th Street sometime in the 1920s.

Digging up family history is an avid pastime for many people in Indian River County, thanks in part to the unique resources and colorful leadership of the Main Library’s Archive Center and Genealogical Department. Residents tirelessly sleuth here to find their roots, discover inherited traits and tendencies, and turn yellow newspaper clippings and census schedules into an ordered and interesting storyline.

Genealogical research can evolve into an all-consuming project, as suggested by insider jokes about hyperventilating at the sight of an old cemetery. Genealogy addict and retiree George Reed readily admits to spending six hours at a stretch clue-seeking at the Archives Center, where he’s on a first-name basis with Supervisor Pam Cooper. Reed grew up in foster care and has been on a mission for several years to learn about his parents and find two older sisters he hasn’t seen since he was barely 2.

Read the entire article in the Summer 2013 issue

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