Minutes

Larimer County Genealogical Society

July 28, 2005

 

President Ken Goldsberry used his trusty cowbell to call the meeting to order at 6:30 pm.  He presented the following agenda for the meeting:

 

1.      Introduction of New Members and Visitors

2.      Committee Reports

3.      Member Recognition

4.      Genealogy Gems (Jim Willard will present a special Genealogy Gem using Powerpoint and Photoshop skills he learned in a recent class)

5.      Question and Answer Period

6.      Tour of the Genealogy Section of the Library

 

 

New Members and Visitors

 

Shirley and Ken Morey are new members who have recently moved to Ft. Collins from Arizona.  They are experienced researchers who are searching for ancestors in New England and Pennsylvania as well as ancestors from Germany.  In addition, Shirley is researching some Germans from Russia.

 

Several visitors were present:  Heather Dahl, Max Miller, Bob Grundborg and Betty Peterson.  Ken welcomed them and encouraged them to join our Society.

 

Committee Reports

 

Membership

 

Jean Anderson reported that we now have 131 members.  In addition, the surname list (names that Society members are researching) is now ready to be posted on our website.

 

Website

 

Webmaster Dolores Ray was not present, but President Goldsberry drew members’ attention to the Society website and suggested they visit it frequently.  He presented a banner with our website address:  www.jymis.com/~lcgs to make sure everyone had the correct address.

 

Newsletter

 

Bob Larson presented some information concerning the newsletter.  He asked for any comments concerning the newsletter.  All of them were positive; everyone is enjoying the family stories about member’s ancestors.  He thanked Boyd and Gwen Johnson for their input on the story about Boyd’s ancestors which appeared in this month’s newsletter.  Gerri Becher has resigned as publisher of the newsletter due to other commitments, and Kareen Whatley has agreed to take over the position.

 

Bob also briefly reviewed a book he has about Lithuanian family history which is available from him for anyone to read.

 

Publicity

 

Bob Larson gave a brief report on Publicity.  He discussed whether the emails concerning upcoming events were coming through to the members.  From the response of the members, it appears that everyone is receiving the mailings.

 

Bob also mentioned several news articles about our Society which have appeared in local newspapers.  Copies of these articles, as well as several other genealogy articles, are available if members wish to read them.

 

Publications

 

Carolyn Jones has agreed to be our new Publications Chair.  Mary Joy Hauk then presented information about our new publications:  Cemeteries of Larimer County, Colorado, Volume VI, Larimer County Colorado Divorce Application Index 1825 to 1950 and Larimer County, Colorado Marriage Index, 1910 to 1950.  She gave a brief synopsis of each book.

 

Cemeteries of Larimer County contains the Wellington Cemetery listings as well as other small Larimer County cemeteries.  Mary Joy explained that several years ago Duane and Susan Kneibe volunteered to do a survey of small cemeteries in Larimer County.  Originally it was to be a very small project, but years later, they are still finding more small cemeteries.  It is thanks to their research that the Society is able to publish the book.  Mary Joy extended special thanks to Barbara Graham, a Society member and Wellington native, for her help in getting the Wellington Cemetery project started.  Thanks also go to Sonja Mehaffey, Evelyn Haines and Mary Joy Hauk for their work on this project.

 

Larimer County, Colorado Divorce Application Index was prepared through the efforts of Mary Joy Hauk, who coordinated the project; Al Boswell, who did computer programming for the project; and the following researchers: Nancy Abrahams, Barbara Graham, Evelyn Haynes, Sonja Mehaffey, Betty Robinson, Chris Smith and Carol Stetser.

 

Marriages in Larimer County was coordinated by Sonny and Jan Hygh.  Volunteers who did the research for the project follow:  Jean Anderson, Gerri Becher, Mary Joy Hauk, Evelyn Haynes, Julia Hillen, Jessica Kistler, Sonja Mehaffey, Carol Minicus, Betty Robinson, Lyn Rubenthaler, David Shaw and Melanie Tafaro. 

 

Mary Joy and President Goldsberry once again thanked the volunteers for their work, stating that the projects could not have been completed without their help.  Mary Joy informed members that order blanks for the books are available if anyone wishes to purchase copies.

 

Hospitality

 

Marge Abrames reported that the Society picnic will be held on Saturday, August 20 from 1:00 to 4:00 pm at Edora Park.  She passed around a clipboard asking for volunteers to provide side dishes, etc.  She also stated that members will be receiving telephone calls concerning the picnic. 

 

Education and Outreach

 

Jim Willard reported that the next “Genealogy on the Internet” seminar will be held on October 8 at Harmony Library.  These seminars have proven very popular, and the October 8 session is already full.  There are plans to hold another in November.

 

Jim reported that there will be a seminar on October 29 on “Preservation of Documents and Photos”.  A sign-up sheet will be available next month.  In addition, Lady Teviot from England will be presenting a workshop about British research on October 15 at the Harmony Library.

 

Member Recognition

 

President Goldsberry informed the Society that 10 individuals have been members of the Society for 20 or more years.  These members were recognized and presented with certificates for their achievement:

 

            Art and Vera Corey                              20 years

            Betty Winberg                                      20 years

            Linda Habel                                          21 years

            Evelyn Haines                                       23 years

            Jim and Donna Willard              24 years

            Ceil Damschroeder                               24 years

            Lela Smelker                                        25 years

            Marilyn Rudd                                       27 years

 

At this point a break for refreshments and conversation was taken.

 

Library Tour

 

After the break, Ginny Feagler, who is the Society liaison with the Fort Collins Public Library, spoke about the resources for genealogy which are present in the library.  She stated that the genealogy collection is eclectic; it contains a little bit of everything including books, magazines and databases.  Some of the books of note include:  Genealogies in the Library of Congress, Dawes Commission Reports, Daughters of the American Revolution books, family genealogies, books of passenger lists and Burke’s Peerage books.  Ginny has also prepared a special sheet on Hispanic Genealogy sources.  The library has a special database on this aspect of research.  The library subscribes to several genealogy magazines.  Ginny has had printed a bookmark listing those magazines.  In addition to the Hispanic Genealogy database, the library subscribes to Heritage Quest, a helpful database for genealogists.  After her talk, Ginny took groups of members on a tour of the genealogy section of the library.

 

Jim Willard Presentation

 

Jim Willard gave a short PowerPoint presentation on his Robbins lineage to give members a sense of what can be done with PowerPoint.  He strongly urged members to take a class to enable them to make similar presentations.  He next spoke of another class he took through the Education and Life Training Center here in Ft. Collins called “Historic Restoration of Old Photos”. Jim brought examples of photos in poor condition that he had restored using the techniques he learned.  His final comment was, “Copy those old pictures and send them to everyone in your family.  It’s the only way to make sure that at least some of them survive for later generations.”

 

Question and Answer

 

Following Jim’s presentation, the floor was opened for questions.  Nancy Abrahams asked a question about finding parents’ names in Kentucky.  Mary Joy Hauk wondered about getting access to old newspapers.  The members discussed these questions and had some suggestions for possible solutions.

 

Genealogy Gems

 

President Goldsberry asked if anyone had genealogy gems to share.  Several members shared stories of serendipitous findings; others talked of making connections with distant relatives and the kindness of strangers.  Ceil Damschoeder seemed to sum up the experiences of the group when she said, “Be friendly.  Go out and talk to people.  Don’t be afraid to ask.”

 

Finally, Barbara Graham showed the group  50th  and 60th wedding books she had found at a garage sale.  She couldn’t bear to see them thrown away, and she wondered if anyone knew the couple involved, Mr. and Mrs. Cashner, who apparently lived in Larimer County and Cheyenne at various times.  No one seemed to know them, but Bob Larson volunteered to take them to the Cheyenne Genealogical Society to see if anyone there knew the couple.  If not, the books may be donated to the Local History Archive.

 

The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 pm.

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Carol Stetser

Corresponding Secretary