Minutes

Larimer County Genealogical Society

November 17, 2005

Fort Collins Public Library

Ben Delatour Room

President Ken Goldsberry cowbelled the meeting to order at 6:35 pm.

Committee Reports

Education and Outreach

Dolores Ray, committee chairperson, was not present, but Len Ray, committee member, reported that the committee recently met and is planning for 2006. One project that is being planned is an outreach program for school children.

President Goldsberry reported that, due to heavy demands for library space, the Society will be limited in its ability to use library facilities for various workshops. The Society is presently checking the possibility of alternate locations.

Membership

Jean Anderson, committee chairperson, reported that the Society now has 148 members. This total is an increase of about 20 new members this year.

Hospitality

Committee chairperson, Marge Abrames, reported that all is going well. She indicated that members are requested to bring treats for the January meeting. Further details will be supplied.

Newsletter and Nominating Committee

Bob Larson, newsletter editor, reported that the November/December newsletter had been recently mailed. Everyone should have or will soon be receiving a copy.

Bob also reported that, in the future, he will not be sending out Society emails. That job will be performed by the Publicity Committee. He mentioned that his recent email on spotting signs of a stroke had engendered several positive comments.

Bob also reported on the Nominating Committee of which he is chairperson. Dale Erickson and Marilyn Rudd are the other members of this committee. The committee was tasked with finding candidates for Vice President, Treasurer and Recording Secretary. Since the incumbents: Len Ray, Mary Joy Hauk and Carol Stetser are agreeable to continuing in their offices, the committee officially nominated them. Voting will be done at the January meeting.

Finally, Bob drew members’ attention to copies of a news article which in the local newspaper “North Forty News” (see attached). The article concerns the publication of our Society booklet on the Wellington Cemetery. Carol Stetser wrote most of the article, and Bob Larson took the photograph. Mary Joy Hauk coordinated the cemetery project, as well as the divorce project, which was recently published. Sonny Hygh coordinated the other recently published book on Larimer County marriages.

Publications

Carolyn Jones, committee chairperson, reported that the new publications are selling well. She has recently had the Wellington book reprinted as she ran out of copies. In addition, she mentioned that the Society owns several genealogical videos which members may borrow. She has a checkout list available, if members wish to use the videos.

Publicity

President Goldsberry indicated that Kathy Patrick has recently agreed to chair the Publicity Committee. The Society’s thanks go to Kathy, since that position has long been vacant.

Budget and Finance

President Goldsberry announced that Majel Morgan and Roger Wood have agreed to be on the recently formed Budget and Finance Committee. Leonard Kopek and Mary Joy Hauk will also serve on that committee, which will be meeting next week.

Corresponding Secretary

Sareta Carmody has agreed to serve as the Society Corresponding Secretary. Carol Stetser resigned from this position in order to serve as Recording Secretary; Sareta has been appointed to serve out the rest of Carol’s term.

Delegate to Colorado Council of Genealogical Societies Report

Marilyn Rudd, Society Delegate to Colorado Council of Genealogical Societies, reported that the focus of the Council has shifted from presenting workshops and other direct information to member societies to a more “behind the scenes” approach. For example, they are holding various seminars to help officers of member societies. In January, in conjunction with their regular meeting, they will hold a training session for treasurers and other financial officers of genealogical societies. Marilyn is attending the session in Denver and will be glad to provide a ride for anyone who wishes to attend.

Volunteer Certificate

President Goldsberry presented Marilyn Rudd, longtime member of the Society, with a certificate from the Federated Genealogical Societies naming her as a Volunteer of the Year. Congratulations were extended to Marilyn.

Local History Archive Volunteers

Carol Stetser reported that, due to budget cuts, the Local History Archive at the Ft. Collins Library will be losing its part time librarians. This means that the Archive will have fewer operating hours. Archive librarian Rheba Massey would like several volunteers to help staff the Archive and to do research. See attached information concerning Rheba’a requirements. Carol circulated a clipboard for volunteers.

Museum/Pioneer Anniversaries

President Goldsberry stated that the local History Museum is celebrating its 60^th anniversary, and the Pioneer Association is celebrating its 100^th anniversary. Ken would like stories, old photos or any information about old-time Ft Collins. He further stated that plans are in the works to celebrate these anniversaries with a barn dance, storytelling and a band concert. He also mentioned that Laurel School will be joining in the celebrations since it is also celebrating its 100^th anniversary.

New Members/Guests

Pat Hazard was the only new member in attendance. The Society had three guests: Sharon Kobler, Betty Wickum and Nina Montgomery. President Goldsberry welcomed them all.

At this point a break was taken for conversation and goodies. The break was at approximately 7:00 pm, about fifteen minutes earlier than usual, so that the speaker would have ample time for her presentation.

Church Denomination Archives – Valerie Eichler Lair

Valerie Eichler Lair was the guest speaker. Her presentation was on accessing and using church archives. A copy of her handout is attached.

Valerie began her presentation with an overview of church records. She stated that these records are some of the most useful and, at the same time, underused records available. Her presentation merely represents a small sampling of what is available.

Before using church archives, the researcher needs to ascertain what church his ancestors belonged to. Valerie stated that several factors influence this including: time period, ethnic background and state or locality of residence.

Once a denomination is determined, the next step is to determine what kind of records were kept and at what level they were kept. Some denomination records may be local; others may be located at a central archive. Sometimes the archives are far from the place in which a researcher’s ancestors lived.

Valerie then listed sources which are useful in finding various denominations’ archives. These include: Survey of American Church Records by E. Kay Kirkham; The Source: a Guidebook of American Genealogy, edited by Scuzs and Luebking; the Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches published by Abingdon Press; and The Genealogist’s Address Book by Elizabeth Petty Bentley. Valerie suggested that it’s necessary to be persistent in looking for church archives. One good starting point is to check large libraries for information.

After her talk, Valerie took questions from the members. In answer to a question, she mentioned another good source of religious information. This is the National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC). This indexes manuscripts held in collections throughout the United States.

Finally, Valerie stated that Society Vice President Len Ray had recently had an experience using church archives, which she asked him to relate. Len said that he had written to the Concordia Institute, which archives Lutheran records, for information on his family. They sent him a wealth of information dating from 1866 through the present.

By-Laws

At the conclusion of Valerie’s presentation, President Goldsberry discussed the changes which are being proposed to the Society by-laws. Gerri Becher, Dale Erickson and Leonard Kopek were on the committee which addressed these changes. Most of the changes are superficial in nature and make the by-laws less specific to allow future Boards of Directors more flexibility. One change he mentioned was the addition of two at-large directors. The amendments to the by-laws will be officially voted on by the members at the January meeting.

New Meeting Place

The members were reminded that this meeting is the last time the Society will be meeting at the Main Library. There will be no meeting in December, and the January meeting will be the first time that the Society meets at the Harmony Library. The Society has appreciated the helpfulness and availability of the Main Library, but the Harmony Library has a larger room. With the ever-growing membership, this has become necessary. In addition to the change in meeting place, the Society will also change its meeting date starting in January. Meetings will now be the 3^rd Thursday of the month (except November, which will be the 2^nd Thursday).

Questions and Answers

Since there were a few minutes remaining, questions from the coal bucket were discussed. One query was how someone could get his family tree published. Members suggested various possibilities including online venues such as Ancestry.com, Rootsweb and Genealogy.com. The discussion progressed to the necessity of having good sources before anything is published. Before publication, everything should be verified to avoid disseminating false information. Bob Larson mentioned that the Family Tree Makers Group on November 22 will be about publishing family history. Everyone is invited.

Another question concerned a researcher’s inability to find ancestors in the census. Some discussion followed suggesting alternate methods of searching. With the new indexes available online, it’s possible to search in various ways using only first names, birth places, etc. Sometimes this will bring results when last names are misspelled. Betty Wickum mentioned that she had had difficulty finding her family in the 1930 census, but using the new indexes had helped her find them.

Genealogy Gems

Cathy Smith reported that she had been able to find several family members on the World War I draft records that Ancestry has made available (for free!) for a limited time.

Carol Stetser mentioned how important it is to attend Society meetings. After our last meeting on googling, she went home and, using the techniques explained in the presentation, found a picture of her husband’s second great grandmother. Nadine Gates seconded this thought, stating that she used the wildcard function in google and was able to find Civil War pension records for an ancestor. Neither Carol nor Nadine had realized the records they found were online prior to googling them, using the information given by Birdie Holsclaw in her presentation.

Prior to concluding, President Goldsberry stated that 54 members were in attendance. He suggested that everyone bring a guest to the next meeting to get the total over 100. The meeting was adjourned at 8:35 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Carol Stetser

Recording Secretary