Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

Jacksonville Historical Society to Expand

The Jacksonville (Florida) Historical Society announced Monday it will purchase the Old St. Luke’s Hospital complex and convert it into “a premier research and exhibition center.”

The $5 million project, which includes about $600,000 for the purchase of two buildings and 1.2 acres of land, will enable the society to consolidate its scattered archives, provide lots of exhibit space and create a place where the society can teach people how to preserve historic artifacts, said Jerry Spinks,  the society’s president. It will house the offices and library of the Southern Genealogical Exchange Society.

Tip of the Iceberg Poster For Sale

In March I mentioned (at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/03/internet-genealogy-its-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg.html) the "Tip of the Iceberg" poster that developed during a casual conversation between California Genealogical Society member volunteers Lisa Gorrell and Tim Cox. Lisa asked her daughter Elizabeth to create a graphic image and the project snowballed. Tim followed up and had a poster created which was unveiled at the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree in June. (Click on the image to the right to see a larger version.)

Now the "Tip of the Iceberg" posters are available by mail order. The money goes to a good cause: the California Genealogical Society.

You can read more at: http://calgensoc.blogspot.com/2009/08/tip-of-iceberg-poster-buy-three-get-one.html.

Increase in the Guild of One-Name Studies Subscription

The following was written by the Guild of One-Name Studies:

The Guild of One-Name Studies is increasing its subscription rate to £15.00 with effect from the 1st November 2009.  This is the first increase in the Guild’s subscription rate for twelve years.  A subscription is payable on joining, and then annually on 1st November each year. Applications processed before the 1st August will be deemed to be for that year, and another subscription will be due on the next 1st November. Members joining before 1st August will receive a Welcome Pack containing the latest Register and the Journal back numbers for that year.

Indiana Genealogical Society to Digitize Boxes of Court Records

The Indiana Genealogical Society, with the support of Hendricks County Clerk Cindy Spence, is coordinating volunteers and funds to preserve and digitize 25 boxes of probate records that are in the basement of the Hendricks County courthouse in Danville, Indiana. These records date from 1824 (when the county was founded) to 1899 and have never been microfilmed, indexed or otherwise been accessible to the public. They contain valuable information about the lives of some of the county's earliest settlers.

Jackson County (Indiana) Historical and Genealogical Societies Merged

The Jackson County Historical and Genealogical Societies have recently voted to merge to become the Jackson County History Center, Inc. Details may be found at http://www.ingenweb.org/injackson/genealogicalsoc/pressrelease.htm.

Lincoln County (Mississippi) Historical and Genealogical Society to Obtain a New Home

The Temple B'nai Shalom in Brookhaven, Mississippi probably is about to be donated to the Lincoln County Historical and Genealogical Society. Let's stress the word "probably." For one thing, funding could be a problem.

APG Award Nominations Due July 10

The following announcement was written by the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG):

APG will be awarding its third "Professional Achievement Award" at the Professional Management Conference, Little Rock, Arkansas, September 2, 2009.  Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG received the award in 2007; and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking received it in 2008.

Call for Recommendations - APG Board of Directors

The following announcement was written by the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG):

Call for Recommendations for Nominations for APG Board Positions and Nominating Committee that take effect 1 January 2010.

Deadline for Recommendations: Postmarked or e-mailed by 1 August 2009.

Executive Committee for Two Year Terms for 2010-2011
       President
       Vice President
       Secretary
       Treasurer

$15 Off for an NEHGS Membership

The New England Historic Genealogical Society is holding a "special" for the month of July: $15 off the price of an annual membership.

The normal NEHGS research membership is $75, but is now available for only $60 for the entire month of July. A family membership, normally priced at $90 (for 3 members of a household) is discounted to $75.

Brant County Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society Has a New Home

Brant County family historians have a new home thanks to the generosity and determination of Helen and Floyd Doctor. The mother-son duo have erected a new building to house the office and research library of the Brant County branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, at Smokey Hollow Estates Retirement Village on Powerline Road, northeast of Brantford.

Grand opening ceremonies will take place on Sunday at 2 p. m. with awards, recognition of founding members, speeches and a ribbon cutting by Brant Mayor Ron Eddy.

NEHGS Receives $7.5 million Gift

The New England Historic Genealogical Society has received its largest donation in its history -- $7.5 million. As the oldest and largest genealogy society in the U.S., the non-profit can't believe its good fortune. In the midst of a recession it gets the largest donation in its 164-year history.

"I was of course blown away," said Brenton Simons, president and CEO of the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

National Genealogy Hall Of Fame

The following announcement was written by the (U.S.) National Genealogical Society:

The National Genealogy Hall of Fame program honors outstanding genealogists whose achievements in the field of American genealogy have had a great impact on our field. The 2009 selection is Willard C. Heiss, an Indiana Quaker scholar.  He was born in 1921 in Randolph County, Indiana and attended Indiana University and during World War II served in the Navy. After 25 years as administrator of the Records and Microfilm Division of the City of Indianapolis, he retired in 1986 after bringing order out of chaos in the city’s archives. At the same time he also retired as chairman of the Family History Section of the Indiana Historical Society and editor of its publication Genealogy. He died two years later in 1988 at 67 years of age.

Ontario Genealogical Society to Digitize the Entire OGS Library

This is big news! The Ontario Genealogical Society has announced an ambitious plan to digitize every single book in the society's library and to make those books available to members and eventually available to the general public. To cover expenses, a fee will be charged for each book borrowed.

The society plans to scan both copyrighted and out-of-copyright books. This apparently is legal as long as only one digital file of the book is checked out at a time and the digital file is created from a physical book that remains in the library at the time. This method has already been used by a number of other libraries, but this is the first time I have heard of a genealogy library using the "check books out electronically" method.

Once the system is fully operational, books will be available to patrons around the world.

Georgia Historical Society To Hold Summer Classes

The Georgia Historical Society will turn its reading room into a classroom this summer as it presents courses on genealogy, oral history, the Civil War, influential Savannah women and other subjects.

Groundbreaking Held For New Ohio Genealogical Society Library

The Ohio Genealogical Society dreamed it, planned it and thanks to donors a new 18,000 square-foot library will be built on Ohio 97 Bellville.

A groundbreaking ceremony was Friday on an eight-acre site of land, donated to the society by James and Marjorie Gorman for the new Samuel D. Islay Library of the Genealogical Society.

My Visit to Chelmsford

If you are in or near Chelmsford, Massachusetts, you might want to stop in at the monthly meeting of the Chelmsford Genealogy Club next Tuesday (June 2). It will start at 7:00 PM at the Chelmsford Library, located inside the "traffic circle" in the middle of town.

I will be there as I am the guest speaker for the evening. I'll be talking about "Genealogy Searches on Google." This will be a "how to" presentation that shows how to use everyone's favorite search engine more effectively. It will cover search methods that are not well-known and will also describe how to isolate newly-added information so that you do not need to uncover the same material time and time again.

I'd love to meet newsletter readers as well as the regular attendees of the Chelmsford Genealogy Club.

Maine Historical Society's Library to Reopen

The following announcement was written by the Maine Historical Society:

The Brown Library at Maine Historical Society to Reopen on March 24 after 2-year Renovation and Expansion

Portland, Maine, March 19, 2009 – Maine Historical Society is pleased to announce the reopening of the Alida Carroll and John Marshall Brown Library at 485 Congress Street, Portland, Maine, on Tuesday, March 24, 2009, following the completion of a 2-year, $9.5 million renovation and expansion.  While the historic character of the 1907 building has been lovingly preserved, the library has been transformed into a state-of-the-art research facility, providing first-rate care of the collections.  A new 13,000 sqare foot wing provides expanded storage, climate-control, and a home for the Maine Memory Network.  Landscaping and planting the Longfellow Garden will be completed in the spring.

Ohio Genealogical Society Schedules Groundbreaking for Its New Library

The following announcement was written by the Ohio Genealogical Society:

The Ohio Genealogical Society will break ground for its new library and headquarters in Bellville, Ohio, on Friday, May 29 at 10:30 a.m.

For several years, OGS has been raising funds to build a library designed to facilitate genealogical research by its members and visitors, and to assure preservation of irreplaceable records of interest to genealogists. The new library building with floor space of 18,000 square feet will be built from the ground up to accomplish those purposes. The start of construction coincides with the society’s 50th anniversary.

Wanted: Pontotoc County, Oklahoma Photos of People and Places

The Pontotoc County Historical and Genealogical Society and PAST organization are soliciting identifiable photographs of early Pontotoc County people and places. They are in the process of preserving all of the photographs which are in the possession of the Pontotoc County Historical and Genealogical Society and will appreciate the help of area residents in adding more to the collection.

BCG Certification Seminar Video Available Online

The following announcement was written by the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG):

The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG)® announces an exciting new addition to its website: a videotape of a BCG Certification Seminar presented before a live audience in Salt Lake City in November 2008 by Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG(sm), CGL(sm), FASG, and Elissa Scalise Powell, CG. Tom and Elissa have conducted this seminar numerous times over the past several years, mainly at national conferences. The seminar includes information about the certification process, the required portfolio elements, tips about mailing the package, expected turnaround time, suggestions for preparing for certification, and many other topics. The two-hour program has been broken into short segments for convenient online viewing.