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Berkeley County Library launches genealogy club at Goose Creek branch

AnyFans 2025-09-30

By Matt Bise

It was announced in August that the Berkeley County Library System will begin a genealogy club. It was at the coaxing of a 74-year-old who has worked with the meticulous science for 50 years. On Saturday, Sept. 13, the Goose Creek Library hosted the club’s first meeting.

There was a smattering of attendees; however, because patience and optimism are critical strengths for any genealogist, organizers believe that, in time, the numbers will grow.

Genealogy is the study of family history and lineage. Those in the practice use census data, birth, death, and marriage records, as well as any other available information, to open a new door. It’s arduous, sorting through centuries-old data for a little nugget of confirmation, which in turn, produces a few more questions.

Club organizer and Berkeley County resident Bill Ferris loves finding dead people, he claims; there are plenty to search for, as he offered a unique and stunning piece of his own data, he said he calculated. It shows that, as one is reading this, one can be reminded that one is the product of at least some 30,000 individuals.

“If everybody only had one child for 15 generations, you’ll have over 32,000 people,” said Ferris. “That’s your family that made you who you are. In the past 15 generations, you are the result of over 32,000 people’s dreams, hopes and aspirations. I did the number crunching on that, by the way, and that is accurate.”

Ferris has perfected his craft over the course of several decades, mainly through his involvement with the Mormon faith. A pillar of the Church of Latter-day Saints is that all eternity will be spent with family. Therefore, baptisms into the Mormon faith, by proxy, of those who died long ago, are common, according to church doctrine. Now Ferris wants to expand and share his ideas and passions.

“I love talking to people and helping them with their genealogy,” he said. “Somebody asking me to help them with their genealogy is like giving the keys to a candy store to a 5-year-old. Some people want to discover who their great-uncle is. I have one lady trying to prove heirs on a property so she can find out which property belongs to her family.”