Family stories make history at Oshkosh Public Library
April 25, 2008 –A master storyteller and historian with ties to the Fox Valley will discuss the relationship between family history and our nation’s past on May 8 at the Oshkosh Public Library. The evening program with Joseph A. Amato, presented in cooperation with the Winnebago Genealogical Society, begins at 7 p.m. under the dome in the library’s historic William Waters building.
Amato, a professor emeritus of history and rural studies at Southwest State University in Marshall, Minn., will read from and discuss his latest book, Jacob’s Well, a Case for Rethinking Family History. In the book, Amato traces his ancestors through seven generations from Arcadia, England, Ireland, Prussia and Sicily, to the Midwest and eventually the Fox Cities. Their journey serves not only as a personal family record, but as an insightful history of the American poor.
“Knowing your family history is the key to really knowing yourself,” contends Amato. “And it’s amazing how closely one family’s journey can reflect the transformation of a nation over a given period of time. Family histories really are important chapters in the story of America.”
Amato’s own family stories, portrayed in Jacob’s Well, find one branch of his family in the Fox Cities in the early 1900s. It is here that Amato’s great-grandparents make the transition from rural poor to urban poor, and gain some notoriety as a result of his grandfather’s tragic and well-publicized death. “I think of him frequently and when I do, I cannot easily put him or his death out of my mind,” Amato writes.
In writing about his Fox Valley ancestors, Amato tapped into the extensive local history collection of the Oshkosh Public Library and the expertise of reference librarian Mara Munroe, who specializes in local history and genealogy. The library’s extensive collection of local history books, digital books and photo collections, community indexes, maps and atlases, and other resources are a mainstay for anyone interested in area history and genealogy.
Jacob’s Well is published by the Minnesota Historical Society Press. No registration is necessary for this program. Books will be available for purchase. For more information visit www.oshkoshpubliclibrary.org or call 236-5205.
*Amato also will appear May 6 at the Menasha Public Library and May 7 at the Neenah Public Library.
