The Godfrey Update - Godfrey Memorial · PDF filePage 4 The Godfrey Update how much information you can glean from these seemingly sparse records – if you dig deeper. Your first

A Decade of Patience By Christine LeFoll

Often when we think of writing our ancestors’ stories, we think of those ances-tors who lived in the recent past, such as grandparents. We may have known these people ourselves. These recent ancestors probably left behind valuable insights into their lives such as letters, journals, photo-graphs, personal histories, or oral histories by them or others who knew them.

But what about those ancestors who lived hundreds of years ago? These ances-tors may have left behind nothing besides basic facts in vital, census, or other imper-sonal documents. Are they destined to live on only as an entry in a family tree?

It may take a little more work to tell the stories of your distant ancestors– but it is

possible to form the scanty records into a meaningful story. Here’s some ideas that might help.

Digging Deeper

You may have already collected some information about your early ancestors. You may have found your ancestor’s name listed in a U.S. census, perhaps in vital records, or maybe in church records. You can fill in the blanks on your family group sheets – but that’s about all you know.

But, is it all you can know from these original records? You may be surprised at

(Continued on page 4)

Bringing Your Ancestors to Life— Without Stretching the Truth

By Leslie Albrecht Huber

The Godfrey Update The Official Newsletter of the Godfrey Memorial Library

The Godfrey Update Godfrey Memorial Library, 134 Newfield Street, Middletown, CT 06457-2534 Fall 2008

T en years is a long time to wait for something. In the spring of 1998, former Godfrey Director Nancy Doane made a move intended to financially bolster the library. A contract was

negotiated between Godfrey Memorial Library (GML) and the entity that was then known as Ancestry.com. The agreement allowed for their exclusive display and use of the Godfrey’s own American Ge-nealogical Biographical Index. The term of this mutually beneficial agreement was ten years. That agreement ended this past June and Godfrey went shopping for a new contract.

Ten years ago it was almost inconceivable that GML would ever be an online entity of its own. The genesis for that development would take another four years to cultivate. Again, owing to the busi-ness savvy of Nancy Doane, Godfrey launched a subscription web-site in the fall of 2002. The further development and fruition of the website is credited to Mrs. Doane’s successor, Thomas J. Kemp. During his brief time here at Godfrey Library, Tom’s keen vision of


Opportunities Friends FAQ About Us Search Membership Log In

Inside This Issue: A Decade of Patience ······························ 1

Bringing Your Ancestors to Life ·················· 1

News From the “Friends of Godfrey” ··········· 2

The Director’s Note·································· 3

Digitizing Sources on Middlesex, CT ··········· 5

Cemetery Inscription Databases················· 6

Scholars Gain Access to Birth Records········ 7

David Sautter and German Research ·········· 8

Sharing Family History Discoveries ············· 9

Irish Heritage Centers ························ 10-11

American Civil War Research Database······13

Our Patrons and Scholars Write ··········· 14-15

On the Calendar: Upcoming Events ···········16

Annual Appeal Report ·····························20

Donations—What Makes Us Unique?·········23

Ken Cotrone, Jr., digitizes books for the Godfrey Library

Page 2 www.godfrey.org

The Godfrey Update

The Friends of Godfrey Memorial Library 134 Newfield Street, Middletown, CT 06357-2534

(860) 346-4375 • [email protected]

Friends of the Godfrey:

I hope your 2008 Genealogical Research Year has been a fruitful one so far. I also hope that the Godfrey Library has been a rewarding part of that research.

The mission of The Friends of the Godfrey Memorial Library is to foster awareness of the Library and its resources and to strengthen and preserve this valu-able resource for Genealogical and Historical research for future generations.

The only source of income for the Friends is the membership dues of our members. Our funds are used to repair and rebind many of the irreplaceable books in the library. Your membership is our lifeblood. Without you we cannot exist and continue our mission.

On Sunday, October 5, 2008, at 1:30 p.m. The Friends of the Godfrey Li-brary co-sponsored a program with the Jewish Genealogical Society of CT. Steve Morse presented a program on his One Step Genealogical Search Engine. Any-one who does any online searching for genealogical information was invited to attend. The program was held at Wesleyan University’s Exley Science Center in the Woodhead Lounge (ESC 184).

Save This Date

On Saturday, November 15, 2008, the Friends of the Godfrey will sponsor a Beginning Genealogy Course presented by John LaFramboise. The program will be held at the Godfrey Library from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. This program should be on everyone’s list from brand new researchers to casual researchers who have been at it for a while, to those researchers who are always looking for a way to improve their research techniques. There is always something new to be learned.

Come visit the Library. See the improvements and additions to the materials. New items almost every day! If you have a computer and are not a Godfrey Scholar, visit www.godfrey.org. Under “Subscription” is a listing of what is avail-able to you.

First and foremost, be a Friend. Help us support the Godfrey.

Thank you for being a Friend, and The Board looks forward to your continued support.

David E. Rame, President 73 Ridgewood Rd. Middletown, Ct 06457 [email protected]

Bruce Tyler • Chairman & Acting Director Sharon Dahlmeyer • Membership Librarian

Christine LeFoll • IT Librarian Diana McCain • Reference Librarian

Sharon Sharpe • Technical Services Librarian Nancy Thurrott • Acquisitions Librarian

Ken Cotrone, Jr., • Special Projects

Beebe, Charles Blancaflor, Joel Browning, Edward T. Carlson, Ellen Carson, Ken Cater, Chris Charest, Alice R. Charest, Carl DeFrance, Augie DeForge, Tom Downs, Chris Dunn, Winston Fenton, Susan Fenton, Ed Getchel, Michael Giovannitti, Joseph III Gould, Linnae Hamilton, Mary Helfgott, Adam Hunter, Millie Kandetzki, Barbara Krechoweckyj, Kristine

Kuzina, Helen LaFramboise, John A. L’Heureux, Raymond Laput, Ed Lee, Elvira B. Lukasik, Joanne Meyers, Marcia O’Rourke, Barbara Prymas, Barbara Reardon, Jim Regula, Adrian Reid, Diane D. Ryan, Joan Scotti, Rose Sengupta, Sutirtha Shedrick, Christina Smith, Lois B. Stearns, Jean S. Tyler, Bruce Tyler, Karen Welles, Suzanne M. Wilkie, Janice

Godfrey Memorial Library

The Godfrey Update

Newsletter of the Godfrey Memorial Library A Library of Genealogy and History

Est. 1947

The Godfrey Update is published twice yearly; Spring and Fall

Anyone wishing to send articles, letters, news items or place an advertisement should contact:

Nancy Thurrott Acquisitions Librarian

Godfrey Memorial Library 134 Newfield Street

Middletown, CT 06457-2534 Email: [email protected]

Phone: 860-346-4375 Fax: 860-347-9874

The Library is open: Monday 9:00 am to 8:00 pm

Tuesday through Friday 9:00 am to 4:00 pm and Saturday 9:00 am to 1:00 pm

www.godfrey.org

Volunteers

Board of Trustees Bruce Tyler • Chair Charles S. Beebe • Vice Chair August DeFrance • Treasurer Barbara Prymas • Secretary Edward Browning Joanne Lukasik Marianne Halpin Marcia Meyers Ed Laput Thomas Smith

Call us 9am to 9pm (Mon. through Sat.) at (860)346-4375 Page 3

Fall 2008

The Director’s Note

As you are probably aware by now, one of the recent changes at the Godfrey Memo-rial Library this year is that our Director, Richard E. Black, resigned and moved to Utah with his new wife. The Board of Direc-tors decided that for the rest of this year, they would not replace him, but take this time to evaluate where the library is headed.

In the interim, the executive committee of the board is handling the running of the library with the Chairman of the Board, Bruce Tyler, taking the role of Acting Direc-

Acquisitions Corner By Nancy Thurrott

organization we try to keep our costs and prices as low as we can. To do that we have recently reached agreement with Family-Link.com (World Vital Records) to put the American Genealogical Biographical Index (AGBI) on their site and ours. We are the publishers of the AGBI. It is an every name index for hundreds of genealogies and a great deal of other genealogical material including the Boston Transcript genealogi-cal column that appeared from 1896 to 1941.

There will be a cost attached to using the AGBI, but there are advantages. It is a single source to start a genealogical research effort. The AGBI provides an index when the genealogy provides none or only a par-tial index. It indexes materials that other-wise would have to be searched page by page.

So there is a dollar cost, but a time sav-ing. You will have to decide which is worth more to you. ■

tor. If you have signed onto our listserv, you have probably seen the many postings he has made to keep our subscribers up-to-date on what is happening at the library.

Below are some of his thoughts on the library, internet, and the AGBI.

I was reading an interesting article on the internet a while back. The author said that everything on the internet could be di-vided into two categories: free and not free. The point was that we increasingly expect that everything on the internet will be free while at the same time it is increasingly expensive to put anything on the internet at all.

For example, the Library of Congress is free while Ancestry.com is not free. The National Archives are free, but World Vital Records is not free. Then there is free to the individual with a cost attached such as the New York Times online or HeritageQuest online through many libraries around the country.

So the real question, it appears, is who pays for everything on the internet?

Godfrey Library is in the not free cate-gory, but since the library is a not-for-profit

My corner of the Library tends to be a pretty active spot, though often messy and chaotic in appearance. (I get a lot of ribbing about that.) This is where all our new materials come first before they go on the shelves. Here they get organized, catalogued and labeled. When books are donated to us, they each get a book plate on which is written the name of the donor.

It is also where all the catalogs of new books come, from which I get to choose what we buy. Our budget is not large, so I have to choose carefully. I usually choose books with as wide an appeal as possible, such as books of vital statistics or passenger lists. I also try to cover as wide a geographical area as possible.

Though we are strongest in books on the New England states, we are slowly adding more materials about the rest of the country, as

well as international sources. We have genealogical and/or historical periodicals from every state in the union, which provide not only genealogical information about that region, but also give patrons a place to look for further contacts in that area.

Many of the genealogical and historical societies from which we get our periodicals also have publishers who send us catalogs of books about their states. In this way I can find good sources on South Dakota, Kentucky, Ohio, etc. Every state has unique resources that are filled with genealogical data.

All materials get cataloged through OCLC and therefore can be found in the WorldCat. They can also be found in our online catalog on our website. ■

Interim Director Bruce Tyler


The Godfrey Update

how much information you can glean from these seemingly sparse records – if you dig deeper.

Your first step may be a step backwards. Take out those original records of your ancestors again. Look for any clues – no matter how small they may seem. Does the record list an occupation? If so, you just gained an important insight into your ancestor’s daily life. No-tice causes of deaths, names and titles of witnesses and relatives, the presence of signatures (or only the “X” mark), and any other mar-ginal notes the record keeper may have made. All these things tell you something new about your ancestor.

It can also help to make a timeline of your ancestor’s life. If possible, include events in the lives of close relatives as well. Then look at the flow of events. You may realize that your ancestor be-came a land owner the year after his father died - perhaps indicating he inherited his father’s farm. You may see that three members of the family died of small pox within a month of each other. You might notice that the parents married unusually old or young, had their children close together or far apart, moved frequently, or changed economic status suddenly.

Also, be sure to take note of people nearby your ancestor in the records. For one thing, you may find other family members there. You can also learn what your ancestors’ community – and support network – were like. Did others of his or her ethnicity live nearby? You can also sometimes glimpse trends in the community. For example, if you find the same cause of death listed repeatedly, you may conclude that an epidemic swept through the area.

Besides digging deeper in the records you’ve already found, cast a wider net in your search. Don’t limit yourself to sources that con-tain new “genealogical” information about your family – or in other words, sources that can help you fill in a blank on your family group sheet. Think of less-often used records such as newspaper articles, school records, society membership lists, church committee meeting minutes, bank records, funeral home records, muster rolls, as well as payroll and other employment records.

Looking for the Personal Accounts of Others

We all know what wonderful finds diaries, letters, autobiogra-phies, and other personal records are. The records can also take us beyond the dry facts to give us an understanding of the emotion of the events. Unfortunately, the chances that your distant ancestor left diaries, letters, or other personal information are not great.

But don’t despair. Just because your ancestor didn’t describe his or her experiences doesn’t mean you can’t gain personal insights into them. But - you may need to rely on someone else’s personal in-sights.

Our ancestors shared many of the events and even emotions of their lives with those around them. Of course, the best substitute for personal information provided by your ancestor would be personal information provided by a family member or close friend. Because

their life conditions and experiences were so similar, you’ll find that much of the record is directly relevant. Your ancestor may even be mentioned or described in the record.

Records that provide wonderful information about your ances-tors’ lives may also be written by people who were casual acquaint-ances or even complete strangers to your ancestors. Spend a few minutes brainstorming about what kinds of experiences others may have shared with your ancestor and then written about. Was your ancestor an immigrant? Perhaps someone who traveled on the same ship wrote letters home describing the ship voyage. Even a personal description from someone who traveled around the same time on another ship can help you understand your ancestors’ journey in gen-eral. Did someone from your ancestors’ hometown keep a journal that gives a good idea of what everyday life was like in this particu-lar place?

Even if your ancestor didn’t leave behind records about note-worthy events in his or her life, someone else might have.

Creating the Historical Context

Some of the most important information you can gather to help you tell your distant ancestors’ stories isn’t directly related to your individual ancestor at all. Instead, you have to take a broader look at the time and place in which they lived. You can use this information to create the histori-cal context of your ancestors’ lives.

First, you must have a basic understanding of the timeline of important events that happened around them. If your ancestor lived in Missouri in the 1860s, your story wouldn’t be complete with-

out mention of the Civil War. War, economic downturns, disease epidemics, important law changes and other large events of history impacted the daily lives of our ancestors.

But don’t limit your research to the major political events of history. Explore the social history of the area as much as possible. Understanding the little day to day parts of life such as farming schedules and chores, common foods, normal family interactions, religious beliefs and health care can tell you a lot about your ances-tors’ lives.

You might want to do specific research on areas applicable to your ancestor. If you know your ancestor was a blacksmith, read a little about this occupation. If your ancestor lost three children to typhoid fever, you can easily do a quick search on the internet to learn about the causes, symptoms, and history of this disease.

Once you gain a view of the big picture, bring your focus in for a closer look. You can start with state or province histories. Life in Utah, for example, was much different from life in Massachusetts in the 1850s. Here again you can learn of the outside events that af-fected your ancestors. Then, take a step closer with town or parish histories. These records can give you a sense of the flavor of your ancestors’ lives not available in larger, more general histories. You can learn about the size of the town, the important businesses and people, the economic conditions, and important local events. You might even be pleasantly surprised to find your ancestors mentioned specifically.


Bringing Your Ancestors to Life (Continued from Page 1)

“It can also help to make a timeline of your

ancestor’s life. If possible, include events in the lives of close relatives

as well.”


Fall 2008

Books Published by The Godfrey Memorial Library

Call 1-860-346-4375 to order your choice of books today!

Renew your Godfrey Scholar subscription for 3 years, and receive your choice of any one of the featured books below, FREE!

Jewish Cemeteries of Western Massachusetts By Rabbi Edward Cohen and Lewis Goldfarb The definitive index to thousands of Jewish burials in Western Massachusetts Hardcover: $35.00

A Noble and Glorious Cause: The Life, Times, and Civil War Service of Captain Elijah W. Gibbons By Thomas E. La Lancette “… a classic history of a small unit in the Civil War.” John W. Schildt Hardcover: $39.00; Paperback: $27.95

Richard M. Nixon: A Bibliography By John Robert Greene, Ph. D., and Allan Metz John Robert Greene is one of the nation’s leading scholars of the American Presidency. Hardcover: $45.00

Middlesex County Community Foundation Grant Digitizes Sources on Middlesex, Connecticut

By Diana McCain

T hree basic sources for anyone researching the history, biogra-phy, or genealogy of Middlesex County, Connecticut, are now available in their entirety free to the public at the God-

frey Memorial Library’s website, www.godfrey.org. A grant from the Middlesex County Community Foundation made digitization of these materials possible.

The three books are The History of Middlesex County, Con-necticut, with Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men, pub-lished in 1884; The Commemorative Biographical Record of Mid-dlesex County, published in 1903; and A Statistical Account of the County of Middlesex, in Connecticut, by David Dudley Field, origi-nally published in 1819. These volumes, each more than a century old, are difficult to access in their hard copy format. Hard copies in Connecticut libraries are typically part of the reference collections and thus do not circulate. They are often too fragile to be photocop-ied. Researchers living outside of Connecticut may have no access at all to hard copies. The digitization project funded by the Middle-sex County Community Foundation has put on line more than 1,700 pages of material about the county, its towns, and its people.

David Dudley Field’s 1819 Statistical Account of the County of Middlesex, in Connecticut, includes all manner of intriguing infor-mation about events major and mundane, from murders to mining to the mysterious Moodus noises. The 1884 History of Middlesex County includes detailed histories of each of the 16 towns in the county, highlighting religious, military, and industrial heritage along with interesting tidbits about fixtures of local life such as taverns, newspapers, and schools. It includes biographies of more than 150 notable individuals, and portraits of more than 50 of them.

The 1903 Commemorative Biographical Record of Middlesex County features biographies of more than a thousand men – and a few women – who were prominent at the turn of the twentieth cen-tury, along with their family lineages, and hundreds of portraits. The majority of the biographies are of individuals with roots that ex-tended back to the colonial era, some of whose names are still part of the landscape today, such as Russell, Wilcox, Pelton, Lyman, and Gildersleeve. However, among them are included biographies of a number of recently arrived immigrants from Ireland, Scotland, and Germany, with names like Dunn and Inglis and Kretzmer, who had prospered in their adopted homeland.

The three volumes can be accessed, even if you are not a sub-scriber to our Godfrey Scholar program. On our homepage under the Search tab, in the pulldown menu, you will see Mdlsx Co Hist. Click on this and a page will come up with the hot links you need to go to each book. Just click on a link.

The Middlesex County Community Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life in Mid-dlesex County. Its mission is to work with charitably-minded indi-viduals and organizations to build permanent endowments and other

charitable funds and to support local non-profit organizations through effective grantmaking to address community needs. Since its founding in 1997, the Community Foundation has provided over $850,000 in grants to more than 142 organizations for the arts; cul-tural and heritage programs, educational activities, environmental improvements; and for health and human services.


The Godfrey Update

Cemetery Inscription Databases By Ed Laput

Ed Laput, a member of the Board of Godfrey Memorial Library, has been creating numerous databases of cemetery records.

Already we have three of his cemetery databases online: St. Bridget of Moodus, Skinnerville in East Hampton, and St. Nicholas of Norwich (all in Connecticut). Below he explains how he creates them, and then there is a list of all he has done.

The first three are online at our website. The others are waiting in the wings. Each record has as much info available for it as possible. I went to all ends to make sure the record is complete and accurate. I used every resource available from the local town hall, Barbour Collection, Hale collection, Social Security Death Index, Connecticut Death records, cemetery records and obituaries from local papers to get the exact details of date of birth, death, location of birth and death, and the maiden name of the wife along with the names of their parents if available. If a death on the stone was listed as 1912 I would try to get March 10, 1912. I plan on getting some other cemeteries in Middletown this upcoming year and also in the Haddam and East Haddam area. The painstaking part is naming and getting the information into a database and then the tedious process of fine tuning it to my wishes. Cemetery Name Location Number of Records St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cemetery ---------------------Norwich, CT----------------------------------------------------589 St. Bridget of Kildare Cemetery ----------------------------------Moodus, CT ------------------------------------------------- 1,096 Skinnerville Cemetery ----------------------------------------------East Hampton, CT--------------------------------------------311 St. Mary’s new Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery -----------------Colchester, CT ------------------------------------------------164 St. Mary’s old Ukrainian Catholic Cemetery-------------------Colchester, CT ------------------------------------------------133 Waterhole Cemetery ------------------------------------------------East Hampton, CT--------------------------------------------185 Ponemah Cemetery -------------------------------------------------Colchester, CT ------------------------------------------------381 St. Joseph Cemetery------------------------------------------------Colchester, CT ------------------------------------------------403 St. Andrew old Catholic Cemetery-------------------------------Colchester, CT ------------------------------------------------768 St. Andrew new Catholic Cemetery -----------------------------Colchester, CT ------------------------------------------------757 Bull Hill Cemetery----------------------------------------------------Colchester, CT ------------------------------------------------- 52 Lebanon Jewish Congregation Cemetery----------------------Colchester, CT ------------------------------------------------- 48 Young Street Cemetery --------------------------------------------East Hampton, CT--------------------------------------------104 Westchester Center Cemetery -----------------------------------Colchester, CT ------------------------------------------------530 Hog Hill Cemetery ---------------------------------------------------East Hampton, CT--------------------------------------------120 St. Peter & Paul Russian Orthodox Cemetery----------------Meriden, CT----------------------------------------------------530 Linwood Cemetery---------------------------------------------------Colchester, CT --------------------------------------------- 3,180 St. John’s new Catholic Cemetery-------------------------------Middletown, CT -------------------------------------------- 7,300 St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery -------------------------------------Portland, CT ------------------------------------------------ 3,020 Exeter Cemetery -----------------------------------------------------Lebanon, CT ---------------------------------------------------730 Haddam Center Cemetery-----------------------------------------Haddam, CT ---------------------------------------------------700 Lakes Pond Cemetery ----------------------------------------------Montville, CT---------------------------------------------------- 81 Latimer Cemetery----------------------------------------------------Chesterfield, CT------------------------------------------------ 10 Palmer Cemetery ----------------------------------------------------Colchester, CT --------------------------------------------------- 6 St. John Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery ------------------------Chesterfield, CT-----------------------------------------------106 Chestnut Hill Cemetery---------------------------------------------Colchester, CT ------------------------------------------------- 11 Fawn Brook Cemetery----------------------------------------------Marlborough, CT------------------------------------------------- 3 Pilgrim Rest Cemetery----------------------------------------------Ormond Beach, FL -------------------------------------------280 Selden Yard Cemetery ---------------------------------------------East Hampton, CT--------------------------------------------- 55


Fall 2008

If you like the outdoors, photography and genealogy, then this is the hobby for you. Cemeteries are a rich resource for genealogical information, but it is not always easy to get to them for research. However, a growing number of enthusiasts are bringing them to the researchers. People are going out to the cemeteries, photographing each headstone, transcribing the inscriptions and creating books or databases of the information.

Luckily for us, the works of many of these people are finding their way to the Godfrey Memorial Library. Recently, David Shortell stopped by the library to show us his latest book, and we ended up buying it and five others. His cemeteries were all in Connecticut - Farmington, Glastonbury, Middletown, Unionville, and East Hartford. Not only did he have books, but he also had the information on disks as well, so they will soon be showing up on our website under our Unique Resources category.

Each person who works on a project like this develops his/her own way of presenting the material. One man got very elaborate, including diagrams of the cemeteries and other tidbits of information discovered while doing the project. Another created a book using the actual photographs (not digitized or photocopied) to illustrate the transcriptions. Each project is beautiful in its own right.

This kind of project has often been done by Eagle Scouts. So if there are any scout enthusiasts out there, consider doing this kind of work. Of course we are hoping that a copy of the finished work will find its way to us. If anyone is looking for advice on how to begin such an adventure, they can contact us here at the library (860-346-4375 or email [email protected]). We can put you in touch with folks who have done this.

Cemetery Projects: An Exciting Hobby for Genealogists

Notice: Godfrey Scholar Subscribers Gain Access to Birth Records

Godfrey Scholar subscribers are now entitled to access birth records less than 100 years old in the custody of Connecticut town or city clerks and registrars of vital statistics. According to Section 7-51 of the Connecticut General Statutes, individuals eligible to have ac-cess to birth or fetal death records less than 100 years old include family members, their attorneys, certain government officials, and “members of genealogical societies incorporated or authorized by the Secretary of the State to do business or conduct affairs in this state.” In May of 2007 the Godfrey Memorial Library was approved by the state for inclusion on that list of genealogical societies, which was distributed to town clerks by the Registrar of Vital Records at the State Department of Public Health.

Godfrey Scholars of any level – red, blue, green, or gold – are legally entitled to access birth records less than 100 years old by showing their Godfrey Scholar card and photographic identification. Town clerks or registrars of vital statistics who may be uncertain about Godfrey Scholars’ eligibility to access birth records less than 100 years old can be referred to the list of Genealogical Societies Incorporated or Authorized to do Business or Conduct Affairs in Connecticut at the Connecticut State Library web site at http://www.cslib.org/gensoc.htm, which lists the Godfrey Memorial Li-brary.


The Godfrey Update

David Sautter and German Research

R ecently we have been in contact with a man who has done some extensive genealogical research in Germany. David Sautter is a graduate of Wharton School of the University

of Pennsylvania. He started tracing his own family back to Ger-many and ended up broadening his research to include all the people who emigrated from the same place as his ancestors. He has been following the generations of people who immigrated to America from the German town of Endingen. There, he has been working with another man, Dieter Gaiser, to compile lists of the names of people who left Endingen and moved to America. Dieter Gaiser is the town historian who has done extensive family research on the residents of Endingen. Mr. Sautter then has followed the progress of the immigrants here, through correspondence, town records, church records, and other sources.

One of the people with whom Mr. Sautter had been correspond-ing is a volunteer at the Godfrey Memorial Library – Jean Stearns. She found him while searching the internet for a solution to a brick wall she had hit. With his help she was able to move past the wall and proceed onward.

She suggested that we contact him and see if he would be will-ing to share his research with us. We contacted him, and he has been pleased to send some of his materials to us with the understanding

that they be freely available to the public. Some materials will be only available to use in the library itself, but other parts will also be found online in the free folders on our website.

Excerpts of one book that will be found on our website is Orts-familienbuch Endingen, by Dieter Gaiser. It can be seen even if you are not a subscriber to our Godfrey Scholar program. To get there just click on the login tab on our home page. When the four colorful boxes come up, just click on any one of them. That will bring up a login box. Do not put anything in any of the boxes, just hit the Go button at the bottom. That will take you in. Once in you will see three columns of free links. Mr. Gaiser’s book will be found in the German folder (in the right hand column) as well as in the October folder.

In the Summer, 2008 (vol. 9, no. 3) issue of New England An-cestors (published by the New England Historic Genealogical Soci-ety), Mr. Sautter wrote an article “A Significant Migration from Wurtemberg to Franklin County, Massachusetts.”

Reviews Svenska Adresskalendern Denver 1910 (Directory of Swedish Residents in Denver 1910) version 2.1 – Republished by

the Swedish Genealogical Society of Colorado. Adobe Reader or other PDF reader required. Works with Windows and MAC operating systems. This CD-ROM holds the rare book originally published by Adolf E. Bundsen in 1910. It gives a look at the breadth and depth of the Swedish community in Denver at the turn of the last century. Over 6200 adult individuals, their addresses, and occupations are listed. It also includes many advertisements from businesses operated by immigrants from Sweden.

1881 Census of England and Wales • Thanks to the help of our volunteers, led by Ellen Carlson, we now have available the Complete Census of 1881 for England and Wales, organized by counties or Shires (75 of them), including Scotland. The fiche for each county/shire are organized by Surname index; Birthplace index; Census place index; As Enumerated; Miscella-neous notes; List of vessels/ships; List of institutions. It is an extensive collection of information of vital interest to those with ties to the British Isles.

It Happened In Connecticut by Diana Ross McCain • “From witchcraft trials to the invention of modern football, twenty-five events that shaped the Nutmeg State.” Published by Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, Connecticut, 2008. This is a unique book that chronicles special events in the history of Connecticut. The stories range from the 1600s up to the present century, describing small events like the Dark Day of 1780 to much larger events like the Great Blizzard of 1888, or the reactions to the 9/11 tragedy. This book gives a fine picture of the life and character of the people of Connecticut.

Family Photographs and How To Date Them by Jayne Shrimpton • Published by Countryside Books, Newbury, Berk-shire, 2008, distributed by the David Brown Book Company. (ISBN: 9781846740992, price $29.95) This book is filled with wonderful photographs illustrating the styles of each decade from 1850 to 1940. The clothing worn by the subjects in a picture can provide a wealth of information such as social status, occupation, or special events (like wed-dings, christenings, birthdays, enlisting in the armed forces) as well as the time frame in which the photograph was taken. All these clues pulled together can help to identify family members in old treasured pictures.

Ortssippenbuch Weissach (Soon to be on our shelves)


Fall 2008

I spent months tracking down the birth record of my great-great-great grand-mother Kerstina Nilsdotter. Using im-

migration, church, census, and vital records, and through a lengthy process of trial and error, I identified her true hometown at last. With this information, I could begin tracing her family back in Sweden. I was excited to extend my family tree.

Then, a few months into my project, I stumbled across something unexpected. When submitting my family pedigree to a computer genealogy database, I found that a few of the earlier generations of my Swed-ish family were already included there. With a little effort, I tracked down the name of the submitter. I played detective for the next couple of weeks, and finally contacted this submitter’s daughter. (The submitter had died several years ago.) It turned out this woman was a descendent of my ancestor’s brother. She explained that her mother had done lots of genealogy research and even hired a professional genealogist to work on this line. Since her mother’s death though, the informa-tion had gotten scattered, filed away, and forgotten. She agreed to copy the pedigree charts and family group sheets and send them to me. A few weeks later, a large envelope arrived in the mail. When I opened it, I couldn’t be-lieve my eyes. Page after page traced the family in great detail back to the 1600s.

On one hand, I was thrilled. At the same time, I couldn’t help thinking of the months I had spent groping in the dark, when all along a relative had already found and assembled the family information. My long efforts were unnecessary. If I had somehow come across these charts earlier, I would’ve saved myself a lot of time and frustration.

Experiences like mine are common in genealogy research. Often people spend a lot of time carefully digging up family infor-mation, only to leave the treasure buried when they are done. Their family history discoveries become well-kept secrets, not

available to anyone, and not found online or in any well-known databases. With no way of knowing someone else already researched the line, a new researcher is doomed to re-peat past efforts.

You can’t always avoid being the re-searcher stuck repeating someone else’s efforts, but you can avoid being the person with the buried treasure. Instead of keeping your family history information to yourself, make your results visible so that others can benefit from what you have found - and not have to follow in your footsteps, step for every tedious step.

Distribute Your Information

The easiest and most obvious way to make sure others know about the new fam-ily history information you’ve found is to

give it to them! Spread your knowledge far and wide within your family. Information can be easily distributed in a number of ways. I’ve received photo-copies, cassette tapes, emails, computer files, CDs, and even videotapes, all containing important information to add to my family history collection.

Find the way that works best for you. While copying and mailing stacks of papers to numerous people can become time-consuming and expensive, emailing your pedigree files or computerized family his-tory information is free and only takes a few seconds.

Don’t wait for a relative to request the information – send it anyway. Although the family member may not fully appreciate the information now, he or she may appreciate it later. Even if this particular person never gains any interest in family history, his or her children and descendents may want to know about their lineage.

When sharing your information, think broadly about who your family members are. Of course, giving information to sib-lings and parents is important. However, family trees extend much farther than this. The people interested in the lineage of your

great-great-great grandmother, for example, reach far beyond your first cousins. If you have addresses or email addresses for sec-ond cousins, great aunts, or any other distant relatives, send them information as well. Encourage them to disseminate it among members on their branch of the family.

Besides sending out information, make sure you let people know that you are inter-ested in collecting records, stories, or docu-ments about your family. Then, when others are working on building your family tree, someone will direct them to you.

Assemble Short Family Histories

While doing research about your fam-ily, you probably uncovered other interest-ing things – perhaps descriptions or photo-graphs of ancestors, letters, immigration information, military records, school papers, or other documents that make them come to life. You may have spoken with people who knew stories about them. These discoveries are just as important to preserve and share as those all-important dates and places.

You can distribute information like this in several forms. However, the easier to understand and store the information is, the less likely it is that it will become buried again. Family stories scribbled on scraps of paper or only shared orally will probably soon be forgotten. Stacks of documents in foreign languages or letters in hard-to-read handwriting are likely to suffer the same fate. Of course, it’s important to share the information in its raw form so that the origi-nal documents don’t get lost. These records may fascinate some members of your fam-ily. However, most will probably prefer an easier to digest form.

Taking the time to compose short and simple family histories of certain people or families in your lineage can greatly increase the chances that others will read, preserve, and distribute the information. These family histories don’t need to be elaborate in con-tent or appearance. They can be simple sum-maries of what you know about the ancestor typed in a computer and printed on regular paper. Include your name and contact infor-


“The easiest and most obvious way to make sure

others know about the new family history information

is to give it to them!”

Sharing Your Family History Discoveries By Leslie Albrecht Huber


The Godfrey Update

Irish Heritage Centers

Recently, we had been corresponding with Pat Codney of Ohio, sharing information. She sent us the following list of Irish Heritage Centers that she thought might be useful to our patrons.

Irish Heritage Centers Rate Structures

Since the beginning of this year (2008), re-search charges at IGP centers have been standard-ized. Centers undertake two types of commission: Full family history research leading to a detailed report on a particular family, or searches of speci-fied records for specified items of information.

FULL SEARCH

When a Centre receives an inquiry, an appli-cation form is supplied to the client and a prelimi-nary assessment fee of 10 to 15 pounds is quoted. On the return of the application form and fee, an assessment is made of the information likely to be turned up by a search and the time such a search is likely to take. A quotation is then sent to the cli-ent. It is difficult to generalize about the cost of a full search since the amount of information avail-able can vary enormously from one family to an-other. The lower end of the scale would be around the 150 pound mark.

For this, a client could expect to receive a pedigree chart detailing, generation by generation, the family’s descent from the earliest ancestor located to the beginning of the present century. Facsimile documents, maps, gravestone inscrip-tions and other corroborative evidence would be included with the report. Some background infor-

mation about the locality, social customs, and history of the surname would complete the pack-age.

RECORD SEARCHES

The following selection of charges should give a clear indication of the range and cost of other services supplied by IGP centers:

Civil Records (1864-1921): A search for one record (birth, death or marriage) costs 10 pounds if the Centre has civil records computerized. If not computerized, the charge is 15 pounds per ten year period.

Church Records (from starting date up to 1900): A search for one record (birth, death or marriage) costs 10 pounds if the records are computerized or 25 pounds per ten year period if not computerized.

A search for one household in the 1901 cen-sus costs 10 pounds.

Tithe Applotment Books: A search for one surname in a given parish costs 10 pounds; a county-wide search costs 20 pounds.

A printout of all the information in the docu-ment is supplied in all cases. You can link to the Irish Heritage Centers or read their addresses on the next page.


Fall 2008

Antrim/Down Ulster Historical Foundation 12 College Square E.; Belfast Belfast BTI 6DD Email: [email protected] Homepage: http://www.uhf.org.uk (0232)332288: John Napier

Fermanagh/Tyrone Heritage World, Heritage Centre, Pomeroy Rd., Donaghmore,Tyrone Email; [email protected] Homepage: http://www.iol.ie/irishworld (08687)67039: Fergal O’Donnell

Monaghan Monaghan Ancestral Res. Monaghan County Council Cootehill Re., Monaghan (047)82304: Theo McMahon (047) 82211: A J Murphy

Armagh Armagh Ancestry 42 English Street, Armagh BT60 7BA Email: [email protected] (0861)527808: Grace McPartland

Galway East Woodford Heritage Centre Main St Woodford, Co. Galway (0509)49004: Loreta Canning (0509)49309: Cora Flannigan

Roscommon Heritage & Genealogical Strokestown, Co. Roscommon (078)3380: Mary Harte, Evelyn Cusack

Carlow Carlow Genealogy c/o Co. Council Offices Committee Carlow (0503)31126: Jim Kearney

Galway West Co. Galway Family History Unit 3, Venture Centre, Lioslaun Estate Tuam Rd, Galway (091)56737: Lois Tobin Society (091)67922: Marie Mannion

Sligo Heritage & Genealogical Stephen’s Street, Sligo (071)43728: Jim Mulcahy, John O’Hara, Sarah Mannion

Cavan Cavan Heritage & Genealogy Centre Cana House, Main, Cavan, Co. Cavan Email: [email protected] (049)61094: Mary Sullivan

Kerry Kerry Genealogy & Visitor Centre c/o Kerry County Library Tralee, Co. Kerry (066)21200: Kathleen Browne

Tipperary North Tipperary No. Family Governor’s House, Nenagh History Foundation, Co. Tipperary (06733850: Nancy Murphy, Nora O’Meara

Clare Clare Genealogy Centre Coreofin, Co. Clare Email: [email protected] Homepage: http://clare.irishroots.net/ (065)37955: Antoinette O’Brien

Kildare Kildare Genealogy Co. Co. Library, Newbridge, Co. Kildare Email: [email protected] Homepage: http://kidare,ie/library/KildareHeritage/index.htm

Tipperary South Bru Boru Her. Centre Cashel. Co. Tipperary Email: [email protected] Hopepage: http://www.comhaltas.com

Cork city Cork Ancestry, c/o Cork County Library Farranlea Road, Cork (021)546499: Ruth Flanagan

Kilkenny Kilkenny Arch. Society Rothe House, Kilkenny (056)22893: Mary Flood

Tipperary Heritage Email: [email protected] Homepage: http//www.iol.ie/~thu (062)61122: Deirdre Walsh, Una O Murchu

Cork North Mallow Heritage Centre 27-28 Bank Place, Mallow, Co. Cork (022)21778: Siobhan Daly

Laois/Offaly Irish Midlands Ancestry Bury Quay, Tullamore, Co. Offaly Email: [email protected] Homepage: www.irishmidlandsancestry.com (0506)John Kearney, Michael Byrne

Waterford Warerford Heritage Survey Jenkins Lane, Waterford Email: [email protected] Homepage: http://www.iol.ie/~mnoc (051)76123: Carmel Meehan, Fr. Michael O’Connor

Derry Genealogical Centre Heritage Library, 14 Bishop Street Derry Bt48 6PW (0504)269792: Brian Mitchell

Leitrim Leitrim Heritage CentreCo. Library, Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim Email: [email protected] (078)44012: Sean O’Suileabhain

Westmeath Dun na Si Heritage Centre Moate, Co. Westmeath Email: [email protected] (0902)81183/(044)40004 Cathryn O’Flaherty/Bridie Hamm

Donegal Donegal Ancestry Makemie Centre, Backlane Rathmeltorn Co. Donegal Email: [email protected] (0074)51266: Joan Patton

Limerick Limerick Archives The Granary, Michael St., Limerick (061)410777: Dr. Chris O’Mahony

Wexford Wesford Tagoat Com. Dev. Tagoat, Rosslare, Co. Wexford Email: [email protected] (053)31177: Maria Pask, Pat Stafford

Dublin City Dublin Heritage Group 2nd Floor, Cumberland House Fenian Street Dublin 2 Email: [email protected] (01)619000: Fionnuala Hanrahan

Longford Longford Genealogical 1 Church St., Battery Rd Training Project, Longford (043)45052: Jude Flynn (043)41235: Julianne Clarke

Wicklow Wicklow Heritage Centre Court House, Wickow Email: [email protected] Homepage: www.wicklow.ie (0404)67324: Joan Kavanagh

Dublin North Fingal Heritage Project FAS Training Centre, Baldoyle, Dublin 13 (01)391144 ext. 469: Claire Campbell

Mayo South Family Research Centre Town Hall, Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo Email: [email protected] Homepage: http://mayo.irish-roots.net (092)41214: Gerry Delaney

Dublin South Dun Laoghaire Heritage Centre Moran Park House Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin (01)2806961: Eimear Malone

Meath/Louth Meath Heritage Centre Trim Co. Meath Email: [email protected] (046)36633: Noel French


The Godfrey Update

Inventory Project By Sharon Sharpe, Technical Services Librarian

Our inventory project is proceeding full steam ahead with the assistance and dedication of our wonderful volunteers, (like Ray L’Heureux who has been most diligent in his efforts). We are currently putting the finishing touches on the Biographies and Genealogies room and the New England Room. Next we will set our sights on the oversized book collection.

By ensuring that these books are catalogued properly, access will be made easier and more direct, and we will have a much more accurate idea of what we have in our collection.

Again, we thank all our volunteers for their many hours of dedication and attention to detail.

~ Keep us in mind ~

A Legacy is a gift you leave for generations to come.

If you would like to remember Godfrey Memorial Library in your will,

please contact your trusted financial and legal advisors today.

———————

For more information about leaving a tax-deductible Legacy donation,

call (860) 346-4375.

mation on the histories to facilitate future exchanges of information.

Submit Information to Databases or Libraries

No matter how many copies of com-puter pedigrees or family histories you send around, you can’t guarantee that everyone who wants it will receive it. However, you can guarantee that the information is avail-able to anyone who looks for it in certain, widely used places.

Most people doing genealogical re-search now use computers and the internet to some extent. The internet hosts numerous large databases, many featuring linked fam-ily trees, available for anyone to find. Some large on-line databases to which you may submit your information include Pedigree Resource File (at www.familysearch.org), A n c e s t r y W o r l d T r e e ( h t t p : / /www.ancestry.com/trees/awt/main.aspx), W o r l d F a m i l y T r e e ( h t t p : / /f a m i l y t r e e m a k e r . g e n e a l o g y . c o m /wfttop.html), WorldConnect (http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/), Kindred Kon-n e c t i o n ’ s M y T r e e s ( h t t p : / /www.kindredkonnections.com/), GeneaNet (http://www.geneanet.org/), and GenCir-c l e s ” G l o b a l T r e e ( h t t p : / /www.gencircles.com/globaltree/) among many others. Usually submitting your fam-ily tree to these databases is free (although searching them isn’t always). The sites con-tain instructions on how to get your infor-mation included in the databases. Often, you will need to have your pedigree in a GED-COM format, created from a family history database program. Many will allow you to include your contact information so an inter-ested researcher can connect with you. (Before submitting your family pedigree, consider the privacy of living relatives in-cluded in your files. Some programs have ways to filter information.)

Besides submitting names and dates to computers, you can also submit actual pa-pers to libraries for preservation. One excel-lent option is to submit your family history papers, photos, books, or other material to the Godfrey Memorial Library. Family history information in any format is ac-cepted – it doesn’t need to be published. They will catalogue and/or digitize the in-


News from the Family History Center Submitted by Barbara Prymas

The Family History Center at Godfrey Library is happy to announce that FamilySearch in Salt Lake has notified the library that our center now has the privilege of extending microfilm loans to indefinite status.

Formerly, after the expiration of the second film renewal, a microfilm was returned to the distribution center in Salt Lake. This is no longer the case. After the second renewal, the film will remain in the Center indefinitely, or until the patron chooses to have it returned.

Many of our patrons have already taken advantage of this new privilege.

In addition to the LDS films on patron loan, the Family History Center also houses on microfilm all Federal Censuses taken in Connecticut from 1850-1930; civil records for the towns of Melilli and Sortino in the Province of Siracusa, Italy; and various issues of the pub-lications The Maine Times, American Historical Review, The Journal of Negro History and Ebony Magazine.

Family History Center hours are Monday 4-8 pm, Tuesday 1-3:30 pm, Wednesday 9-4 pm, and Thursday 9-noon, and 1-4 pm (except in January and February).

Godfrey Scholar Program

FREE OFFER! Sign up or renew any subscription package

for two years and receive our Godfrey Library Brief Case Bag as our

“Thank you” gift to you.

While Supplies Last!

Sharing Family History Discoveries (Continued from Page 9)


Fall 2008

The American Civil War Research Database

The American Civil War Research Database is the definitive online resource for researching the individuals, regiments, and battles of the American Civil War. It contains up to twelve combinable fields for searching more than 4.3 million soldiers and thousands of battles, together with more than 16,000 photographs. It contains all known American Civil War regimental rosters—more than 4,600; 3,461 regimental chronicles; and 1,010 officer profiles. Hundreds of individuals have contributed more than 100,000 hours to its creation.

Two hundred twenty-two volumes of the state rosters published by the Adjutants General for each state involved in the War form the basis of the collection. Included are the military records for each member of that state's forces; the Official Records; pension index records; 1860 census records; GAR records; Roll of Honor records; Medal of Honor records; and regimental histories. Volunteers have submitted information located in personal items, copied from graveyards, and culled from newspaper reports. The resulting database contains a wealth of information unavailable until now, in a format for ex-ploring and manipulating the data in new ways.

How complete is the database? The American Civil War Research Database includes a record for virtually every soldier in the war. For the more fa-

mous individuals, there are several pages of narrative and multiple photographs. Some data, not collected by the rosters themselves, have been assembled from other sources, providing at least basic information on every soldier. There are de-scriptions of thousands of battles, with detailed multi-page battle orders and reports for significant battles such as Gettys-burg, Shiloh, and Antietam.

The file is refreshed bimonthly—approximately 35,000 records are updated every year, including some 600 new photo-graphs and 500 corrections. Within the next 12 months Medical and Surgical History of the Civil War and records from Confederate Veteran magazine will be added.

How can the file be used? Examine the military record for each soldier. Trace the war effort, using critical statistics including average age, method of entry into and exit out of the military, war

engagements, and associated loss and prisoner statistics. Search the entire database by person, regiment, state, town, and battle. Go below the big picture to analyze the details of specific regiments—where they saw combat, their casualty statistics, and the effects of disease. Use census

information to decipher the impact on a particular soldier’s home town. Cross-reference variables in new ways.

Analytical tools A distinctive feature of The American Civil War Research Database is the ability to identify a large-scale trend and then focus down to the regiment or individual

soldier. For example, after locating the number killed per month, from both the Union and Confederate sides, you can then see exactly who was killed, the soldier’s back-ground, and his cause of death.

Uncover new areas of research by highlighting regiments whose experiences were unusual and haven't been included in traditional historical writings. What is the story behind the soldiers who enlisted at the age of 14? Which regiments had the highest desertion rates, and what accounts for the desertions? Among the many other tools are: Regimental Assignment Chart showing, by time period, the regiment's command assignments; Regimental Casualty Chart listing, by date and place, each documented regimental engagement and those killed, wounded, taken prisoner, or missing; Regimental Roster; Regimental History.

Dozens of charts and graphs give an immediate visual understanding of complex data. During a soldier's first five or six

months of service, he was especially vulnerable to dying by disease. What was happening and why? Which regiments suffered the most? Users of the database can explore, for example, the Regimental Casualty Analysis and the Regimental Assignment charts for clues.

ALEXANDER STREET PRESS 800-889-5937 • [email protected] • http://alexanderstreet.com

copyright © 2007 Alexander Street Press, LLC


The Godfrey Update

S haron: Thank you for sending the material that you found on the Hildebrand family in the AGBI. It will be helpful in my

research. I also appreciate that it came so quickly. Enclosed is my check for $10.00 to cover the search, postage and handling fees. Gene Murdock Bonne Terre, MO

I was very happy to see the envelope from you in my mail the other day. There is some very good information there, and I

really appreciate your finding it and sending it to me. It's thrilling to see an ancestor's name on copies of documents from colonial times! Thank you so much for your help.

Teresa

M y name is Pam Belden. Currently I do not have a subscrip-tion to Godfrey but have in the past and do plan to again in

the future. Like everyone else, I have to watch when and where I spend my money so have to put it where needed.

I wanted to tell you personally that I really like the Godfrey site and think you do a “great job.” I have gotten a great deal of infor-mation from your site. Thank You! I understand you are a small, private library, work with limited funds, and are probably under-staffed. Of course I was disappointed when you lost some of your subscriptions and had to raise the prices to keep others but under-stand why it happened. I know you did everything you could to keep them. Personally, I don't think those who subscribe give you credit for all you do. Anyway, just wanted to let you know that not all of us are unhappy.

I hope all of you have a wonderful Easter weekend! Do your best and ignore the rest,

Pam Belden

Y ou DID find my family! There they are all living together on Chestnut Ridge in Bedford! Actually your research caused

me to revisit an old 1850/60 map of Bedford, where I also found an old “ME Church” shown on the same road, Chestnut Ridge Road. I called the Westchester County Historical Society, and they said that there was a church there called “Chestnut Ridge Method-ist Episcopal Church,” but it’s gone now, of course. Maybe that’s where my family’s records were recorded. So, now I’m looking for a defunct church. And the beat goes on.....

I was particularly interested in the mention of John Penoyer in “Early Settlement of Stamford, Connecticut,” by Jeanne Ma-jdalany.

Thanks a million! This particular Reynolds line ain’t easy, so we're breaking new/old ground.

Barb Wiener

F or quite a few years, I’ve been a Godfrey Scholar, and I must say every time I receive your newsletter “The Godfrey Up-

date” I fall in love with your library all over again. Your newslet-ter is truly one of the best newsletters I receive.

I recently completed a “project” which spans over 100 years of photos from my Jackson Family. I first scanned in all the photos, organized them in groups by branch then created a digital photo album in Publisher. Once that was completed to my satisfaction—if that actually ever really happens—I converted the file to PDF so that anyone with any computer could reproduce the photos should they want to.

The originals are now housed in museum quality photo protectors. Each page is preceded by the matching page from the digital al-bum so that all the names, dates and other data can be put with the photo without further degrading the original photo in any way.

Until I read your article on “Acquisitions,” it never occurred to me that your library might be interested in a digital copy of my photo album. We’ve run into a brick wall with this Jackson Family and I can not get them further back than about 1790 in Washington, Berkshire County, MA but not for the lack of trying. They may have actually come up the Connecticut Valley into the Springfield, MA area since many settlers did follow that route. Would your institution still be interested in my digital photo album? None of the photos was taken in any of the New England States. Most are in the Williamsport, PA, Harrisburg, PA and Tioga County, NY area. I personally would never think to look in your library for anything Jackson-related but then again if I was in your area, I certainly would make it a point to visit your library.

If you think you might like a copy of my digital Jackson Family Photo Album please let me know and I’ll be glad to mail you one. Keep up the good work.

Catherine Hollenback Comeau =^..^=

T hank you so much. I’d be honored to have my letter in your newsletter and also I'd be honored to send you a CD of my

Jackson Family Photo album. It was nice speaking with you this afternoon.

Our Patrons and Scholars Write

These are messages from Scholars who use our online subscription service as well as from patrons who come to the library or

call in for an AGBI or Quick Search request.


Fall 2008

I’m thrilled to have access to your library for the next 2 years. I have found so many, many wonderful things there in the past. I appreciate your email.

Nancy Roach

T hank you so much for the helpful lookup on Philip Burr Jack-son that was returned in February. The one paragraph from

the History of the Families of Old Fairfield opened an entire line of eight generations! Thanks so much.

Renee Furgeson

T hank you for help today. You’ve really straightened me out in several ways. I was very glad to hear the full scoop on your

site and World Vital Records. And I’m very happy to know I can continue to use Marquis Who's Who. As you can tell, I did receive your voice message but as we are out of town now, I have elected to re-subscribe online. I’m in again for another year!

Thank you and all your associates for such a fine website and ser-vice to the Genealogy Community. You are at the top of my list of favorite genealogical websites. Best wishes in your continued ser-vice to all.

Carol B. Moss

J ust want to send you a belated “Thank You” for sending me that info about the Subletts. I am sorry I took so long in sending

this. I hope to be able to continue my work on genealogy. Thanks again.

Dolores Balderas

T hank you for your recent response to my inquiry about Col. Thomas Terry and where he might be buried in CT. I am

sending this info to my son who was asked about this in the first place. I believe the person who wanted to know about T. Terry lives in his house. It was Thomas’ son David who drowned at sea, not Thomas, so still have to pursue this some more.

Thank you for your time and effort in all this. You have always looked up things for me in the past. I do hope to be able to come in person some day soon. Thanks again.

Anne

Note: T. Terry was a cousin quite a bit removed but still family.

I t was exciting to see that you’ve made a marc record in OCLC for my book. Thank you!

Cathy Nelson, Berlin-Peck Memorial Library

R ecently, I received the 1790 VA census for William Bullitt. Thanks so very much for your kindness and effort! I was

wondering why the first page showed number of whites and blacks while the second page showed white souls, dwellings, and other buildings? Again thanks for your help!

Nancy Wujcik

I received the mail from you and thank you sincerely! None of this information is duplicate. The handwritten Barbour collec-

tion data is fascinating. I appreciate all these enriching resources and will share them with others in my family. Best Wishes.

Mary Margaret Coffield

Y our help is much appreciated. I mistakenly assumed you only put on the list books that had been added. I had just finished

an update on a family whose story starts in Newbury and had not seen this.

I tested the new Civil War research site with my g-g grandfather’s name and it is superior to anything else I have seen online. Much more info and well constructed. I checked it against copies his military and pension records I have and my notes on the same Roster.

My husband who is new to the game also tried it as he was inter-ested in finding a record. There was only one place that we had reason to grumble. There was no way to back out and return to the results if we had clicked the wrong Abraham or the hyperlink on the regiment. We found we had to go clear back to beginning and reconstruct a results list again. Of course the day will hopefully come when someone copies the original military records but for now this fills the bill.

Pat Lakerville, MN

Our Patrons and Scholars Write (Page 2)

We want to hear from you! Send us your research adventures, success stories,

comments, suggestions and opinions.

Email us at: [email protected]


The Godfrey Update

~ On the Calendar: Upcoming Events ~

Monday, October 13, 2008 CLOSED • COLUMBUS DAY

Godfrey Memorial Library is closed

for Columbus Day

Saturday, December 6, 2008; 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Intermediate Genealogy Contact: Chris LeFoll: (860) 346-4375 • [email protected] John LaFramboise will be presenting a class in Intermediate Genealogy.

Saturday, March 7, 2009; 1:30-3:30 p.m. The Master Genealogist User's Group Contact: Nancy Thurrott: (860) 346-4375 • [email protected] The Master Genealogist User’s Group will hold its monthly meeting. All users of this program are welcome to come.

Saturday, October 18, 2008; 8:00 a.m. • ALL DAY All Day CSG Seminar Contact: Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Inc. (860)-569-0002 Speakers • David Miskin: “Preservation of Photographs” and “Preservation of Modern Imaging Systems” • Jack Skully: “Genealogy & Technology: an Old Hobby with a New Twist;” • and Dick Roberts from the CT State Library: “Researching Newspapers & Where to Look.” • Coffee & Danish and Hot Buffet Lunch. Reservations must be made. NO WALK-INS. Cost: Members: $38.00; Non-members: $40.00 • Late Registration after September 30, 2008. Members: $47.50; Non-members: $50.00 Call CSG office for reservations and information Location: Courtyard Marriot 4 Sebethe Drive, Cromwell, CT

Saturday, December 6, 2008; 1:30-3:30 p.m. The Master Genealogist User's Group Contact: Nancy Thurrott: (860) 346-4375 • [email protected] The Master Genealogist User’s Group will hold its monthly meeting. All users of this program are welcome to come.

Saturday, April 4, 2009; 1:30-3:30 p.m. The Master Genealogist User's Group Contact: Nancy Thurrott: (860) 346-4375 • [email protected] The Master Genealogist User’s Group will hold its monthly meeting. All users of this program are welcome to come.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday December 25 - 27, 2008 CLOSED • CHRISTMAS


for the Christmas Holiday

Saturday, May 2, 2009; 1:30-3:30 p.m. The Master Genealogist User's Group Contact: Nancy Thurrott: (860) 346-4375 • [email protected] The Master Genealogist User’s Group will hold its monthly meeting. All users of this program are welcome to come.

Saturday, November 1, 2008; 1:30-3:30 p.m. The Master Genealogist User's Group Contact: Nancy Thurrott: (860) 346-4375 • [email protected] The Master Genealogist User’s Group will hold its monthly meeting. All users of this program are welcome to come.

Thursday, January 1, 2009 CLOSED • NEW YEAR’S DAY


for New Year’s Day

Monday, May 25, 2009 CLOSED • MEMORIAL DAY


for Memorial Day

Tuesday, November 4, 2008; 10:00 a.m.—2:00 p.m. Annual Meeting—Connecticut Society of Professional Genealogists Contact: Olivia Patch: (860) 871-2650 The Connecticut Society of Professional Genealogists will hold their Annual Meeting at the Godfrey Memorial Library. Luncheon is provided.

Monday, January 19, 2009 CLOSED • MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY


for Martin Luther King Day

Saturday, June 6, 2009; 1:30-3:30 p.m. The Master Genealogist User's Group Contact: Nancy Thurrott: (860) 346-4375 • [email protected] The Master Genealogist User’s Group will hold its monthly meeting. All users of this program are welcome to come.

Saturday, November 15, 2008; 1:30 p.m. Beginning Genealogy Contact: Marcia Meyers: [email protected] The Friends of Godfrey Memorial Library will be hosting a program at the library on Beginning Genealogy. John LaFramboise will present

Saturday, February 7, 2009; 1:30-3:30 p.m. The Master Genealogist User's Group Contact: Nancy Thurrott: (860) 346-4375 • [email protected] The Master Genealogist User’s Group will hold its monthly meeting. All users of this program are welcome to come.

Thursday, Friday, Saturday November 27 - 29, 2008

CLOSED • THANKSGIVING

Godfrey Memorial Library is closed for the Thanksgiving Holiday

Monday, February 16, 2009 CLOSED • PRESIDENT’S DAY


for President’s Day


Fall 2008


The Godfrey Update

The Godfrey Memorial Library is always looking for people interested in contributing their time and talents to a variety of ongoing pro-jects, some which benefit from the regular commitment of time, and some which occur on an irregular basis. Volunteers can commit to a regu-lar time or day each week, or just pop in spontaneously when time permits. There are always things to do, such as:

Digitization:

We are in the process of digitizing much of the unique materials that the Godfrey Memorial Library has. The process requires photo-graphing pages, editing the images and often some transcription work.

Cataloging:

The Godfrey Memorial Library does a great deal of original cataloging by analyzing parts in books and creating new entries in our cata-log. These entries are done in OCLC and can then be viewed in the WorldCat. (The WorldCat is an internet-based resource for libraries where people can search libraries all over the world to find where certain materials may be found.) Volunteers who are interested in this kind of work may be trained to work with a template, entering data that will eventually be added to the catalog.

Research:

Godfrey Memorial Library is not a lending library, meaning we do not let our books leave the library. However, we do let information leave. For this purpose we have two types of research forms: AGBI requests and Quick Search requests. Our volunteers take these forms and go to our shelves to search for the information. They make copies of the materials they find, which then is sent to the person making the re-quest.

Book Processing and Inventory:

When books or materials are catalogued they then need to be distinctly labeled so that they can be found on the proper shelves. Each type of material has special needs. Each item requires some form of barcode label, spine label, or bookplate. How they are put on may be different for each type of material. Because of our inventory project, colored dots are also being used to identify those items that have been inventoried or catalogued in OCLC.

Docents:

These volunteers come in to help patrons make use of the Library’s resources. They help them find materials or work on the computers.

Landscaping:

The landscaping around the Godfrey Memorial Library building is completely done by volunteers. At this time we have only 1 regular volunteer available to do all this work. More hands would certainly make this job easier. Volunteers are needed during the spring, summer, and fall months. Hours are the same as library hours - weekdays 9-4, and possibly Saturday mornings. Tasks include planting, weeding, mulching, etc.

Volunteer Opportunities At Godfrey Memorial Library—Fall 2008

Pennsylvania Research Specialists PennsylvaniaResearch.com

(717) 754-0283 [email protected]


Fall 2008

Family Bibles Year Books

Last issue we reported on a Microfiche project that was being led by Ellen Carlson and her team. That project is nearly done now, with just a few more boxes to be checked and then cataloged.

One of the completed parts of that project was the complete 1881 Census of England and Wales. The numerous microfiche filled 10 boxes, which are now cataloged and ready for patrons. This series organized the census information by counties (or shires) in four ways – by surnames, by place of birth, by place of census, and by enumeration (the order in which they were counted). There are also fiche labeled Vessels/ships, institutions, and miscellaneous for each county/shire.

Also now ready for viewing is one box with English and Irish records in it. Another box has general genealogical information, in-cluding a genealogical column from the Hartford Times (from 1940 through 1967); American History Illustrated magazine (vol. 16-20); American Heritage Magazine (vol. 30-36). A third has information on individual states, and soon there will be several more boxes of genealogy and biography (individual family names).

Ellen and her crew should be congratulated for handling such a daunting task as sorting through all the old boxes and making sense out of all our fiche.

Our Bible Project is also making great strides. Kris Kre-choweckyj has been doing the bulk of the transcriptions and data entry for the website. Bible Project #1 is already online. Bible Pro-ject #2 is nearing completion, and due to the wonderful responses we are getting, there will also be a Bible Project #3

Our other volunteer projects are going great guns as well. Our analytic catalogers are growing in number. Since May of this year, they have added nearly 12,000 new entries to our catalog. These entries let our patrons searching our online catalog find articles about people of interest to their research.

Our devoted volunteer researchers are kept busy responding to the growing number of AGBI and Quick Search requests we re-ceive. Every day at least a dozen requests come in, either by mail, email, or phone. More and more patrons are discovering the benefit of this service which allows them to find information from our shelves, without actually coming to the library itself.

Volunteer Projects Update Update on Our Continuing Projects: Your Help Is Great!

REQUEST FOR YEAR BOOKS Do you still have your old high school or college year book? The

names and photos they contain would be a wonderful addition to our library! Since we started this project we have received many great books, some filled with memorabilia saved by the owners. The memorabilia we put in an addendum file, which is kept with the books. Please consider donating to us.

REQUEST FOR BIBLES We have had a great response to our request for Bible Records. Already online we have one Bible Records database. The second one is nearly ready to go online, and a third is already in the works. If you have an old family bible that contains a section for recording birth, death, and marriage information please consider making a copy of the information written there and mailing it to GML, Attn: Bible Project. (PDFs also accepted at [email protected]. Re: Bible Project.) This information will be made available to search online as the project continues.

Part of the Family Bible Collection


The Godfrey Update

Supporters Beebe, Charles S. Fuss, Ruth Park Prymas, Barbara and Stan Tyler, Bruce and Karen

Donors

Cummin, G. Jeremy Haughton, Beverly B. Purnell, Karen Brown Sage, Donald Atkinson Smith, Thomas & Antonia

Associates

Ainsworth, Wayne Alexander, Lynne Anonymous Bialas, Doris Botelle, James Carson, Kenneth Choquette, Anne Cole, Janace D. Coyle, John Curtis, Laurie Cutshall, Patricia Dean, David J. Dohrman, Arthur Fennelly, Thomas J. Fort, Lillie Freeman, Cynthia & Joseph Frye, Eleanor Fuller, Bill George, Julia B. Gerdts, Janice Graves, Richard Hablitzel, Donna Harper, Janice & Denver Harvey, Elaine Hill, Karen A. Hoffman, Thomas R. Holley, Melvin J. Jenssen, Margery Jordan, Joan Kearns, Donald & Ruth Klehn, Victoria Koroghlanian, Carol Lavender, Vickie Lawrence, Jane F. Lerea, Joan Lombardi, Guy & Patricia Malcarne, Don Marino, Anthony S. Marsh, Mary A. Martin, Cornwell Maynard, Marilyn K. McBride, Donald III McCain, Diana R. McClung, Barbara McGuire, Georgianna McNish, Linda Melton, Vicky A. Meyers, Martha & Arthur Morton, David & Rosemary Myrick, Jack V.

Hunter, David Jackson, James F. Johnson, Hazel S. Jones, Betty Katz, Tobie Kennedy, Vondell Kiley, Ruthann Klein, Barbara Krechoweckjy, Kristine Larson, Nancy Homann Lewis, Anna M. Lingenfelter, Marjorie Little, M. Irene Lott, Barbara Makai, Jeanne Maloney, Rondal E. Marshall, Shirley Mattox, Jean Mazeau, Mary I. McCreedy, Shirley A. McKiernan, Rose Meeker, Linda Meyer, Joan H. Miller, Robert C. Montero, Virginia Morgan, Elizabeth J. Murphy, Eva Oblak, John Osburn, Diane L. Pash, Deborah Peer, Marie Pinyan, Eleanor Prie, Janice D. Rich, Betsy Ricketts, Dorothy Roberts, Adina & William Robinson, Joyce Rockaway, John Russell, Beverly J. Sattler, Janice E. Savage, Marion Schnieder, Sue Schopp, Paul W. Simpson, Doris E. Smith, Nancy Smith, Peter A. Stearns, Jean Stoner, Al Syron, Virginia Tepe, Susan L. Thelen, Judy Thompson, Constance C. Tobin, Kathleen G. Todisco, Mary Trapnell, Donna Trotter, Elsie Upton, George C. Van Dorn, Clara Ellen Van Hoose, Madeline Vislocky, JoAnn Weider, Andrea M. Wells, Beth & Wayne Williams, Robert L. Winslow, Alan

Taylor, Patricia Thompson, Arthur Tuttle, Jane L. Vanderwall, Jan Ward, Eleanor R. Washington, Carrie Westfall, Cheryl White, Janet Whittington, Nancy Wilcox, Wenda Williams, Dorothy J. Williams, Louis Wilson, Keith

Allies

Anderson, Lee Nina Anderson, Sherwood Baker, Elizabeth Bancroft, Cathleen L. Bancroft, Nancy L. Barnes, Shirley M. Barth, Sarah Bell, Nancy Bertrand, Kathleen Black, Virginia Roger Bloodgood, John H. Boursaw, Donnie Bray, Gwen M. Brooks, Joan Brooks, Liz Brown, William Morris, Jr. Budney, M.V. Caliandri, Sarah Campbell, Georgina Carey, Amos Chesnut, Graham Christiansen, Joy & David Colburn, Mary C. Collins, Helen J. Cooney, Jane Cotter, Jacquelyn A. Cummiskey, Robert J. Dapkus, Mary Jane Dion, Patricia A. Dix, Dennis, Jr. Doebler, Lizabeth Dougherty, Gwen Duy, Dolores Benes Eastwood, Lily Eller, Darla S. Fiacre, Albert E. Jr. Fielding, Marilyn Fischer, Joseph Fodor, Lynn Fremut, Catherine Gill, Lowell F. Gillette, Melvyn Goodson, Rita W. Gray, Michael Green, Arthur Hale, Bruce & Donna Hale, Julie F. Harwood, Theresa Hasbrouck, Julia

Healy Nackley, Mary T. Henderson, Charlotte Hill, Nicholas & Barbara Hine, Louise W. Hopfenbeck, Linda Hughes, Robert C. Hugo, Catherine Jenkins, Roberta Johnson, Dean T. Johnson, Mary E. Kanawyer, Carol Kesinger, Jean Kiley, Mary P. Knobel, Mary Koelbl, Mary Jo Lamb, Rosalie Langford, Michael J. Lapchynski, K. Larsen, Dwayne E. Lawrence, Carol R. Lawson, Colleen Briggs Leland, Robert K. Leonard, Brad Levesque, Jeannine Lewis, Elizabeth H. Longwell, Margaret A. Lucchesi, Ruth A. Marsh, Sandra Martin, Barbara F. Massey, Karen McMichael, Joyce McVean, Deborah Metzler, John Moore, Michael R. Morrison, Emily S. Morton, Frank Neal, Barbara P. Neville, John & Alice Parsons, Dale Perusse, Gerard Pompano, Jim Prusz, Margaret Quigg, Gloria Ramsdell, Karen Rand, Kathy Reitt, Barbara B. Rigney, Alice Sanders, Robert L. Sans, Bob Scheer, Christine L. Schofield, Alice G. Shannon, Mary Sheehan, Richard Sievers, Bruce Smidt, Susan Snyder, Doris Sparks, Larry L. Speirs, Carol L. Standley, Peter G. Stever, Doris Stone, Susan C. Swanson, Phyllis K. Talbot, Marilyn Taylor, John L.

Nelson, Cheryl Rame, David Rickey, Addie Dyal Rinner, Linda A. Sivigny, Arthur Stafford, Robert B. Stanley, Sharon C. Stevens, Harold R. Steves, Myron Sr. Stoddard, Richard A. Thetford, Norman Turner, Larry West, Lyle H. Westphal, Joyce Wilmot, Candace

Contributors

Adams, Karen Allen, Melvin N. Anonymous Atkins, Barbara Schanne Austin, John Banerjee, Virginia Bauer, Virginia Biebesheimer, Judith Bills, Jeanne H. Bradbury, Susan Brookshier, Joe Brown, Barbara Butler, Roger Campbell, Steven & Joan Cappello, William O. Cardinal, Judith Carlson, Janet Carlson, Joan Carlson, Natalie Clemems, Patricia Cook, Helen G. Cota-Anderson, Kim M. Crawfors, Denise Dahl, Judy Dimmick, Charles Doten, Ramona Dudley, Albert Eisenmann, Judith Eisenstaedt, Lynne Esteves, Alfred & Isabelle Fedde, Julie Fink, Mary Flater, Delight H. Foster, Nancy Fouraker, Jane L. Frohn, Henry G. Fullam, Dianne B. Gill, Diana Ginter, Lucia & Donald Glick, Robert Good, Gregory G. Grubbe, Deborah Hablitzel, Donna Hasha, John L. Hathcock, Jennifer Hawkes, Isabelle and Ray Hawley, Phyllis N.

Annual Appeal Report—2007-2008 Put your hands together and give yourselves a round of applause!

Thank you to all the wonderful people who contributed to the 2007-2008 Annual Appeal.

We would also like to take this opportunity to acknowledge, and express our gratitude for the many generous memorial donations that were contributed to the Godfrey Library. From this point forward, we would like to gratefully recognize their contributions.


Fall 2008

Some of the links I often use in my work may be helpful to you. Here are some of the new-est links. Welcome to the PRONI website.

PRONI aims to identify, preserve and make available Northern Ireland's unique archival heritage and community memory. This website is the first phase of a project to index and digitize all the early wills that were proved in the District Probate Registries of Armagh, Belfast and Lon-donderry from 1858 to c.1900. It provides a fully searchable index to the will calendar entries for these three District Probate Registries with the facility to view the entire will calendar entry for each successful search. The second phase will link the index entries to both the will calendar entries and the copy wills on the History of Probate page. Old Fulton NY Post Card Web Site

Search Historical Photos and Newspapers From New York State 1832 thru 2005! I have found an enormous amount of information using this site. By typing in my great grandparents’ name of Senk, I have pulled up 5000 documents. Articles covered birth announcements, mar-riage announcements, 50th wedding anniversaries, multiple automobile accidents, photos of members, death announcements as well as other day to day records. That particular line has grown twice as large after combing through this site for weeks with stories to match each per-son. I have in my possession an old Communion book from 1929 that was given to my grand-mother. The inscription only stated a first name which left me with many questions and no hope of ever knowing who gave this to her. By sifting through those articles I have since learned the name of her 81-year-old great aunt Louise. Here are some of the newspapers mentioned in Ful-tonHistory.com.

Port Byron NY Chronicle Amenia NY Harlem Valley Times Poughkeepsie NY Daily Eagle Binghamton NY Press Millbrook NY Round Table Utica NY Daily Press Marcellus NY Weekly Observer Utica NY Observer Newspapers Skaneateles NY Free Press Syracuse NY Daily Standard Rochester NY Union & Advertiser Genoa NY Tribune Newspaper Buffalo NY Morning Express Annals of Albany Fayetteville NY Bulletin

CT History Online Connecticut History Online is a collaboration between the Connecticut Historical Society,

the Connecticut State Library, the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center at the University of Con-necticut, Mystic Seaport, and the New Haven Colony Historical Society. The CHO website cur-rently contains about 14,000 images of photographs, drawings and prints which may be searched or browsed in a variety of ways, including by keyword, subject, creator, title and date. This site can be used by typing in a name, location or even a business. There are many pictures never seen that are housed in this site. The images are clear with sourcing for each one.

The Line Between Fact and Fiction

Often when you use the techniques above, you find yourself drawing more con-clusions about your ancestors’ lives. As you read about conditions on the immigrant ships, or other traveler’s reactions to the journey, you may start to think you know how your ancestor felt. Your ancestor is becoming a real person to you. This is great – as long as you keep your facts straight!

There is nothing wrong with adding your interpretation to events. In many cases, it can be beneficial. However, stick to some guidelines. First, make your conclusions based on as many facts as possible. The more details you’ve accumulated and the more accurately you can paint the world around your ancestor, the less leaping be-tween facts you have to do.

Perhaps most importantly, make sure you always keep clear what information comes from fact and what comes from your interpretations. There’s nothing wrong with extrapolating facts about the population in general to cover your ancestors – as long as you let the reader know what you’re doing. Be sure to indicate that your conclusions are only possibilities – not certainties.

Similarly, when imposing emotions or thoughts on your ancestors that you are only guessing at, make sure you make it clear that these are not documented facts. For example, if you know that your ancestor left her family behind and emigrated to the U.S. alone, you may speculate on her feelings or her reasons for making this decision. Specu-lations like these can add feeling to other-wise dry accounts. Just remember to indi-cate that these are your thoughts. Give any evidence you may have for these conclu-sions – such as letters of other emigrants in similar circumstances that indicated their feelings.

Leslie Albrecht Huber is a genea-logical freelance writer and lecturer based near Amherst, MA. Dozens of her articles have appeared in twenty different magazines and journals. Her website, www.understandingyourancestors, provides more information for people tracing their Western European roots.

Bringing Your Ancestors to Life (Continued from Page 4)

New Links for the Fall—2008 Sharon Dahlmeyer


The Godfrey Update

the future of online access to electronic versions of major genealogi-cal resources provided foundational support for Godfrey’s growth and entry into the major marketplace with the commercial providers.

In October of 2005 Godfrey welcomed its then Outreach Librar-ian, Richard Black, as interim Director upon Mr. Kemp’s departure. Within two months, Richard was offered the position permanently. His tenure caused Godfrey’s Board of Trustees and staff to look fur-ther into the future at what technology could do to advance our posi-tion. His thrust was on developing an economic stream for the library using resources we already had in our possession, that’s how our digitization project was born.

Richard Black formed a partnership agreement with FamilySearch.org. As part of that agreement, the Godfrey Scholar Program would be made available in every Family History Center in the world, at no cost to the individual using it. In turn, the very knowledgeable engineers at FamilySearch loaned us a digital camera unit designed by their department and the software they created to run it. Then they flew out here to provide training to us. With their assistance we were able to get our project underway.

Since Richard’s departure last June, we have progressed a little further, equipping ourselves with a more powerful dual digital cam-era system. With this new system (pictured on page 1) we are able to move through the process of creating extremely high quality elec-tronic images in very little time. We have been able to capture im-ages of our AGBI (as well as many other books) in the newest most up-to-date format possible.

These newly created images of the AGBI will be available by subscription on our website (www.godfrey.org) in 2009. Godfrey’s Chairman of the Board Bruce Tyler, now interim Director, has nego-tiated a contract with Family Link to also display the index on their website at World Vital Records. In his estimation, this agreement will not only provide another income stream to the library, but more importantly, it will allow more researchers (non-Ancestry.com users) to become acquainted with the ABGI and begin using this tremen-dous resource to advance their own genealogical pursuits.

formation, making it widely available to any who might be interested in it.

Create a Family Web Page

Similar to submitting to databases, you can make your family history information visible to anyone using the internet by creating a family web page. You can include as much genealogical information on the website as you’d like in the format you choose. Pedigree charts, basic statistics, family histories, photographs, and many other things can be linked to your site. Be sure to include an email address or phone number so an interested person can contact you with ques-tions or with information to add to your web page.

Although the idea of creating a web page can be intimidating, it doesn’t take a computer expert to create a simple website. Some genealogy computer programs have features that can assist you in making a family site and getting your information on the web. In addition, software to design web pages is widely available, inexpen-sive, and relatively easy to use.

These are only a few of the ways you can make your family history discoveries available to others. No matter what specific ac-tions you undertake, make an effort to be proactive in sharing your genealogical information. Instead of waiting for others to find and ask you about your family, make your information easily assessable to as many people as possible. Even if it seems nobody in your fam-ily has interest now, it’s almost guaranteed that someone will want the information you’ve gathered. Taking the time to distribute your information, write family histories, submit pedigrees to large data-bases, or to create a family web page can ensure your treasures of family history information are available to others.

Leslie Albrecht Huber is a genealogical freelance writer and lecturer based near Amherst. Her website, www.understandingyourancestors, provides more information for people tracing their Western European roots.

Looking for a unique gift idea for any occasion? Why not try a Gift Subscription to the Godfrey Scholar Program?

“Among the best online genealogical research tools available anywhere…”

Tell us which person in your life you’d like to surprise with the gift of a subscription to the Godfrey Scholar Program We’ll arrange everything and even send along a special gift notification card

Godfrey Memorial Library, 134 Newfield St., Middletown, CT 06457-2534 • Phone: (860) 346-4375 • Fax: (860) 347-9874

A Decade of Patience Continued from Page 1

Sharing Family History Discoveries Continued from Page 12


Fall 2008

Donations—What Makes Us Unique?

O ne of the things that makes Godfrey Memorial Library unique is the vast array of materials that we receive, almost daily, from patrons sharing their research. The Library is the

grateful recipient of any and all genealogical data whether it has been published or not.

One of our regular patrons, Irma Carper-Miller, is frequently here bringing books, or copies of books, that she has found either in her own research or at tag sales. She has given us yearbooks, city directories, family histories, cemetery inscriptions, church histories and a wonderful aerial photograph – framed – of Middletown, CT which we have hung on our wall.

Another very large donation – the Andrews Collection – we recently received from the widow of a man, Mason P. Andrews, who had been doing extensive work on the Andrews family. He ap-parently made booklets and newsletters that he must have shared with others, for we have multiple copies of some of them. Much of his research was New Britain, CT, but there is information on Wal-lingford, CT, as well as the New London, CT area. A lot of the pieces are in the raw state (photocopies of documents fill at least two boxes) not yet pulled together for a publication. We have two boxes of photographs, some of which have yet to be completely identified.

We also get donations from other libraries who share their du-plicates or unwanted materials with us. The Friends of Southington Library (Connecticut) regularly cull out the donations that the South-ington Library does not need and shares appropriate titles with us.

Recently, they brought us some yearbooks for our yearbook project. Someone had actually contacted the family of the original owner to be sure that it would be okay to give it to us, and at the same time got some anecdotal information about them.

From the Genealogy & Local History Dept. of the Mid-Continent Public Library, Independence, MO, we have been sharing duplicate periodicals. Gary Toms sends us lists of items that he has available to share and we reciprocate with duplicates of our own. So far we have had the better half of the deal, since he has far more du-plicates than we receive. Much of the periodicals he has given us come from parts of the country from which we do not get much on our own. Periodicals like these are a rich source of information for patrons not only for the genealogy they contain, but also for contacts for those seeking more.

We also get lists of duplicate books from the Genealogy De-partment of the Utah Genealogy Society. They post lists regularly to a long list of patrons like us. We then reply with a list of items that we would like if they are still available. They give the items away on a first-come first-serve basis. We have been fortunate to receive a great number of materials from them, from books and periodicals to loose pages.

All of these treasures are cataloged and put on our shelves for patrons to come in and use. Whenever possible, we try to find items that we can add to our website as well. They may contain just the item someone needs to further their own research.

TAPES AVAILABLE •Nati 1820-1829 --- •Nati 1929-1837 •Nati 1938-1846 --- •Nati 1847-1854 •Nati 1855-1862 --- •Matrimoni 1932-1850 •Morti 1833-1850 --- •Morti 1851-1865 •Nati 1866-1873 --- •Nati 1874-1888 •Nati 1911-1925 --- •Morti 1885-1899

•Nati 1900-1910—Pubblicazioni 1900-1910 •Matrimoni 1851-1865—Morti 1820-1832

•Matrimony 1900-1910—Cittadinanze 1900-1910—Morti 1900-1910 •Nati 1863-1865—Matrimoni 1820-1831

•Nati 1926-1929—Pubblicazioni 1911-1929—Matrimoni 1911-1919 •Matrimoni 1920-1929—Morti 1911-1927

•Nati 1889-1899—Matrimoni 1866-1882 •Matrimoni 1880-1899—Morti 1866-1884 •Morti 1928-1929—Cittadinanze 1912, 1929

Title: Registri dello stato civile, 1820-1929 Authors: Sortino (Siracusa). Ufficio dello stato civile (Main Author)

Notes:

•Microfilm dei registry originali nell’Archivio di Stato, Siracusa e nel Tribunale di Siracusa. •Microfilm ad alta riduzion (42x). Si consiglia di adoperare una macchina ad alto ingrandimento. •Civil registration of births, marriages, deaths records from Sortino, Siracusa, Italy. Text in Italian. Some years may be missing or out of order. •Include indici.

Subjects: Italy, Siracusa, Sortino – Civil registration Format: Manuscript (On Film)

Language: Italian.

Publication: Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmati dalla Genealogical Society of Utah, 1986-2001

Physical: In 21 bobine di microfilm: 16 mm.

Sortino Tapes—Now at Godfrey’s Family History Center Through the generosity of Ed and Bonnie Laput, the acquisition of the Sortino films was made possible. They are given in memory of

Bonnie Laput’s parents: Frank Bombaci and Lucy Randino Bombaci. By Barbara Prymas


The Godfrey Update

NEW!: American Civil War Research Database

Now available to all Godfrey Scholar Subscribers! You can find it under “Godfrey Scholar Premium Databases”

When you first click on it, it will ask for your usernname or password, or your library card number. In the bottom library card number box, enter your Godfrey Scholar barcode. (After you have entered it once, a cookie is created for your computer and it will not ask you again. However, if you clear out your cookies, you will have to enter it again.)

The American Civil War Research Database “A solid 10 at the purchase price quoted. It’s a bargain at lower consortial prices. BOTTOM LINE: Essential for American History collections in academic and middle to large-sized public libraries and all American History research institu-tions.” — Cheryl LaGuardia, Library Journal

As you read through this issue of the Godfrey Update, you can see that we are doing a great many exciting things here. We are for-tunate to have a good many volunteers available to help make it all happen. However, it takes more than volunteers to keep the library running smoothly. I hate to say it, but it takes money as well.

Soon you will be getting an email from us about our Annual Appeal. The money goes to more than just the overhead costs. More

Annual Appeal Time

funding allows us to buy more databases to add to our online offer-ings. We might be able to get another camera for our digitization project, which will get more of our unique materials online faster. We could also rebind more old books, or buy new ones. Please take the time to read our email and consider giving what you can to help our cause.

The American Civil War Research Database The American Civil War Research Database™ is the definitive online resource for researching the individuals, regiments, and battles of the American Civil War. Originally created by Historical Data Systems, Inc., the database contains indexed, searchable information on over 4 million soldiers and thousands of battles, together with 15,000 photographs. With thousands of regimental rosters and officer profiles, the database will continue to grow as new information is loaded semiannually.

FEATURED:

2nd Massachusetts Heavy Artillery Reiment (Union)

Cold Harbor, Virginia: May 20th 1864 to June 12, 1864

1st Arkansas Light Artillery Battery (Confederate)

Vicksburg, Mississippi: May 18, 1863 to July 4th 1863

Copyright © 2008 by Alexander Street Press, LLC • About | Help | Terms of Use American Civil War Research Database™ • Copyright 1997-2008 Historical Data Systems, Inc.


Fall 2008


The Godfrey Update

“I have found all my relatives and am done looking up my roots.”

That’s one comment I have never heard. In genealogy you always have something out there to be found. Genealogists are always searching sources of information hoping to find a piece of the puzzle about who their ancestors were. If you are anything like me and need to know more, perhaps we can help.

Godfrey Memorial Library is the owner and publisher of the American Genealogical Biographical Index (AGBI) which contains more than four million names, statistics, and sources for research including local histo-ries, church and vital records, military lists, and more. It also includes over two million records from the Boston Transcript. AGBI is the largest and most important genealogical reference set ever published and clearly the best starting point to find any early New England settlers. This is an index to the books and periodicals on our shelves.

We have two unique searches at the Godfrey Library.

An AGBI search:

A researcher conducts look-ups from the AGBI collection and utilizes all the sources therein mentioned.

A Quick search consists of:

AGBI (American Genealogical Biographical Index): an every name index to over 800 sources on our shelves; County and local major histories, biographical information and vital records that are available here at the library; published genealogies -- indexes only will be checked; White's Revolutionary War Pension Abstracts (if applicable).

Here are a few comments from patrons who have used this service:

I was very happy to see the envelope from you in my mail the other day. There is some very good information there, and I really appreciate you finding it and sending it to me. It's thrilling to see an ancestor's name on

name of a person in the county whose hobby was collecting plats and obituaries about the county. I contacted him and he quickly lo-cated Fassett. He had pioneered at Mt. Ta-bor before 1870, 240 acres in very hilly, forested land. What possessed him?He lived to age, 96. One daughter and a son also pio-neered in the area. None showed on census records. We found Fassetts homestead and tombstone. Have also located info on his children which has provided some great stories. I have even located a woman who is a third cousin and who grew up in the area. We have met. Interestingly, she taught school in Minnesota, in the school which my children attended although not their teacher. Small world.

One big mystery remains. On Fassett's and His wife, Jemima's, gravesite there are bronze markers indicating that they be-longed to the GAR. No one understands why or how. The markers are supposedly only for graves of Civil War veterans. Nei-ther the cemetery, the county Veterans Af-fairs office or the Wisconsin Veterans Af-fairs office has any record or idea why the markers are there. Fassett would have been over age 60 during the Civil War. What is his story?

So, your help provided the key to this inter-esting discovery. Of course other people also gave great help. Thought you might enjoy learning what resulted from your help.

Thanks, Henry (Bud) Kapell

If you want to know more then please go to Godfrey.org, click on the SEARCH tab and click on the desired tab.

copies of documents from colonial times! Thank you so much for your help.

Teresa

I was out of town last week & when I got home, there was a nice big envelope with my acceptance into the Mayflower Society! So all the hard work was successful- and of course the reference I obtained with your help. So many thanks---And I know where to write if need more references for addi-tional ancestors.

Many thanks--- Cindy

Thank you for the copies of records; they arrived today. I especially appreciate the “over and above” research done on ancillary lines. I have always heard good things about the Godfrey – now I can speak from my own experience, too.

Dave Bradford

I received your photocopy of the page from the 1790 US Census, chapter State Censuses 1782…, specifically the 1783 Shenandoah County, Virginia Tax List showing on p. 65: the Aron Henry household. I very much appreciate you taking the time and making the effort to sent that to me. It was ex-tremely helpful. Thank you again. And very happy Holiday wishes to you and yours.

Gary Halsey, Dayton, OH

Some time ago, 2004, you gave me some genealogy information which provided a key that solved a major mystery for me. It just occurred to me that I should give you my thanks.

The pathway of the solution was convo-luted. My great-great grandfather, Fassett Cleveland, was listed in the 1860 census in Vermont. He was then age 61. I was sure that he had lived to at least 1890 and had moved to Wisconsin but could never find any record. You sent me a letter which gave a location as Mt. Tabor. I could find no re-cord there. Finally I went to Mt. Tabor - it consisted of two residences and three other buildings. No one knew of any Cleveland and he was not in the two cemeteries near the town. One of the residents gave me the

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Documents

The Godfrey Update - Godfrey Memorial · PDF filePage 4 The Godfrey Update how much information you can glean from these seemingly sparse records – if you dig deeper. Your first