RGS minutes 2002/2003

June, 2005

Rochester Genealogical Society
General Meeting
June 20, 2003
Ganondagan State Historic Site, Victor, NY

This meeting was the annual outing held each June.

Approximately 40 RGS members and guests gathered at the pavilion at the Ganondagan State Historic Site, the location of a 17th century Seneca town. After enjoying a picnic supper the group listened to an introductory talk on the history of Ganondagan by Michael Galban, a staff member in the interpretation program. After a short walk to the nearby authentic long house reproduction, Michael explained the features of the long house and the use of the various artifacts therein.

Kathryn Heintz
Recording Secretary

May, 2005

Rochester Genealogical Society
General Meeting
May 15, 2003
Asbury First United Methodist Church, Rochester, NY

Mini-Workshop
Jim Swarts, Vice President for Program, opened the meeting by introducing Mr. Douglas A. Fisher, Attorney at Law, who gave an interesting presentation about his father, the late J. Sheldon Fisher entitled "The Local History Legacy of J. Sheldon Fisher." Sheldon Fisher was a charter member of RGS and a life long supporter of the organization.

Business Meeting
President Paul Blake opened the business meeting by introducing Peter Bush who reported the slate of officers recommended by the Nominating Committee. The following is the slate:

Jim Swarts, President
Larry Lavery, Vice President for CIG
Kathryn Heintz, Recording Secretary
Bob Coomber, Corresponding Secretary

There were no nominations from the floor. The vote on the slate was unanimous. Paul congratulated the new officers.

Paul reported that Shirley Iverson of Rundel Library has informed us that there are now two on-line reference services available. Heritage Quest is available anywhere in the County Library System to anyone with a valid library card. Ancestry Plus is available only at Rundel.
The next Board of Directors meeting will be held on Thursday, June 19, 2003 at the Westfall LDS Facility at 7:30 P.M.
Officers and committee chairs were introduced and the reports of the Corresponding Secretary (queries), the Treasurer, the Other Society Liaison and the Tape Librarian were included on a continuously running slide show during the break.

Main Program
Jim Swarts introduced Mrs. Ruth Corcoran, noted Seneca researcher, author, and lecturer whose topic was "Genealogy and the Seneca Indians." In keeping with the theme of the evening, a tribute to J. Sheldon Fisher, Mrs. Corcoran spoke of the high regard the Native American people have for Mr. Fisher's contributions.

Marian Henry in the absence of
Kathryn Heintz, Recording Secretary

April, 2005

Rochester Genealogical Society
General Meeting
April 10, 2003
Asbury First United Methodist Church, Rochester, NY

This meeting is the annual Joint meeting with the Kodak Genealogical Society. RGS President Paul Blake opened the meeting by introducing Dr. Marian Henry, President of the Kodak Genealogical Society who conducted a short meeting of that group.

Business Meeting
President Paul Blake opened the RGS business meeting by reminding everyone about the Genealogical Beginners Workshop to be held on April 27 at 1:30 in the Kate Gleason Auditorium at Rundel Library.

Paul announced that RGS will have a booth at the Irish Festival if volunteers are found to staff it.
The next Board of Directors meeting will be held on Thursday, May 1, 2003 at the Family History Library.
Peter Bush, Chairman of the Nominating Committee, presented the following slate of officers:
- President: Jim Swarts
- Vice President for Program: no candidate has been found yet
- Vice President for CIG: Larry Lavery
- Recording Secretary: Kathryn Heintz
- Corresponding Secretary: Bob Coomber
Roy Thurston, VP for CIG, announced the next CIG meeting on May 8th at Brighton High School will be on Gedcom.
Officers and committee chairs were introduced and the reports of the Corresponding Secretary (queries), the Treasurer, the Other Society Liaison and the Tape Librarian were included on a continuously running slide show during the break.
Julie Steitz again announced that the New York Chapter of Palatines to America will hold a Conference in New Paltz, NY on May 3 and the National Palatines to America Conference will be held June 19 - 21 in Columbus, Ohio.
The May meeting will be a tribute to the late J. Sheldon Fisher who was a charter member of RGS and a life long supporter of the organization.
There was just one first time visitor.

Main program
Jim Swarts introduced Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, FUGA, nationally known genealogist, researcher, lecturer, and author. Mrs. Luebking is editor of FORUM, and co-editor of The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy. Her topic was "More Land, John? Finding the Records in Public Land States." Mrs. Luebking described how the transfer of property can be traced through records kept at the county level. She defined basic terms that appear in land records and outlined the various parts of a typical deed. She described three levels of records - index, abstract and transcript and advised on-site research, cautioning not to stop with an index.

Kathryn Heintz
Recording Secretary

March, 2005

Rochester Genealogical Society
General Meeting
March 20, 2003
Asbury First United Methodist Church, Rochester, NY

Mini-Workshop
Jim Swarts, Vice President for Program, opened the meeting by introducing Mr. Donald Tiffany, Phelps Village Historian. Mr. Tiffany came dressed in a Union Army uniform and explained the uses of the haversack, bayonet and cartridge box. In his presentation, entitled "Local Boy, Union Man: Stories of the Common Soldier", he told several stories of the exploits of soldiers from Phelps, Ontario County.

Business Meeting
President Paul Blake opened the business meeting by announcing that Peter Bush has agreed to be the Chair of the Nominating Committee. He also announced that Mark Bewicke has stepped forward to replace Jim Hall in preparing and distributing the CIG minutes.

The next Board of Directors meeting will be held on Thursday, May 1, 2003 at the Family History Library.
The RGS Membership database is being upgraded by Paul Blake and Pat Mims.
The Treasurer's report is attached to these minutes.
Roy Thurston announced that there will be no CIG meeting in April due to a difficulty in scheduling around Easter.
The April RGS meeting will be held on April 10, the second Thursday of the month, again because of Holy Week.
Officers and Committee Chairs were introduced.
Education Committee Chair Ozzie Salyards again announced the Genealogical Beginners Workshop to be held on April 27 at 1:30 in the Kate Gleason Auditorium at Rundel Library.
Ruth Metzler reported that the NYSCOGO Spring Conference will be held at Olin Library at Cornell University on April 26, 2003.
Dorothy Bailey, DAR liaison, announced a Workshop at the DAR House on April 26, 2003.
Julie Steitz announced that the New York Chapter of Palatines to America will hold a Conference in New Paltz, NY on May 3.
There was just one first time visitor.
The April meeting, the joint meeting with KGS, will feature Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, nationally known genealogist.

Main program
Jim Swarts introduced Bob Marcotte, D & C columnist and author of the recently published, Where They Fell, stories of soldiers in the Civil War from the Rochester area. Mr. Marcotte discussed the multiple sources he used in researching his book, some of which disagreed. He used the 43 volume New York State Adjutant General's Report of 1865, military pension files, and the Official Records of the Civil War, among many other sources.

Kathryn Heintz
Recording Secretary

February, 2005

Rochester Genealogical Society
General Meeting
February 20, 2003
Asbury First United Methodist Church, Rochester, NY

Mini-Workshop
Jim Swarts, Vice President for Program, opened the meeting by introducing Dr. Thomas Greenfield and his trio of musicians. They presented an enjoyable program of original folk music entitled "Relative Merits: Songs about Families, Friends and Others".

Business Meeting
Jim Swarts, Vice President for Program, opened the business meeting by announcing that the Publications Chair position has been filled. Alec Sutherland has agreed to take the position. The President is looking for someone to chair the Nomination Committee. Offices up for election include President, Vice President for CIG, Corresponding Secretary and Recording Secretary.

The next Board of Directors meeting will be held on Thursday, May 1, 2003 at the Family History Library.
Jim Hall is retiring from his CIG communications position. Jim outlined the activities which he performs in recording notes, typing, reproducing, sorting and mailing them out. A volunteer is needed to do this job.
The Treasurer's report is attached to these minutes.
Roy Thurston announced that the program at the next CIG meeting will feature a discussion digital photography by Chuck Bliley.
Officers and Committee Chairs were introduced.
Education Committee Chair Ozzie Salyards announced a Genealogical Beginners Workshop to be held on April 27 at 1:30 in the Kate Gleason Auditorium at Rundel Library.
Another Reception Committee volunteer is needed.
Ruth Metzler reported on ongoing work by NYSCOGO on Native American research.
Tape Librarian Carter Livermore announced the availability of two new tapes.
There were seven responses to the call for first time visitors.

Main program
Jim Swarts introduced the "Stump the Experts" panel which included Ruth Metzler, Larry Naukum, Roy Thurston, Ozzie Salyards and Jim Swarts. They responded to a variety of questions with suggestions for use of family genealogies, county maps, Family History Centers and online resources, National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections and Periodical Source Index (PERSI).

Kathryn Heintz
Recording Secretary

January, 2005

Rochester Genealogical Society
General Meeting
January 16, 2003
Asbury First United Methodist Church, Rochester, NY

Mini-Workshop
Jim Swarts, Vice President for Program, opened the meeting by introducing Donovan Shilling, retired school principal, author and collector of Rochester history. Mr. Shilling is a most entertaining storyteller and his talk titled "Men of Faith" related anecdotes of several religious leaders and their contributions to the history of the city of Rochester.

Business Meeting
President Paul Blake opened the business meeting by announcing that the Publications Chair position still has not been filled. He also announced that Jim Hall plans to retire from his position as editor of the CIG newsletter and a volunteer is needed to take that position.

Dr. Gale Smith has not completed Mt. Hope Volume II yet.
Larry Naukam reported that the microfiche collection in the Retrieval Room at the Rundel Library has recently been expanded.
Officers and committee chairs were introduced and the reports of the Corresponding Secretary (queries), the Treasurer, the Other Society Liaison and the Tape Librarian were included on a continuously running slide show during the break.
The Treasurer's report is attached to these minutes.
Roy Thurston announced that the program at the next CIG meeting will feature a discussion of RootsWeb by Larry Lavery.
Jim Paprocki reported that Mt. Hope Project Part III packets are available.
Steve Clarke, SAR liaison, announced the publication of his new book, The Lord Peter Wimsey Companion.
The Westfall Road Family History Center plans to be on-line by mid-February with two computers.
There were six responses to the call for first time visitors.

Main program
Jim Swarts introduced Sister Connie Derby, R.S.M., Audio -Visual Resource Librarian for the Archives of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester. Sister Connie described the organization and scope of the collection and showed a number of slides which illustrated the types of materials which are available in the Archives.

Kathryn Heintz
Recording Secretary

November, 2005

Rochester Genealogical Society
General Meeting
November 21, 2002
Asbury First United Methodist Church, Rochester, NY

Mini-Workshop
Jim Swarts, Vice President for Program, opened the meeting by introducing Anita Hartwig, Retrieval Room Coordinator at the Rochester Public Library. Ms. Hartwig discussed the resources available in the Retrieval Room. These include local birth, marriage, death indexes, indexes to the New York state vital records and Revolutionary War records for Rochester citizens. She indicated that her staff is working on putting retrieval indexes on cds, then eventually on-line.

Business Meeting
In the absence of President Paul Blake, Jim Swarts opened the business meeting. He announced that Sue DeVelder has volunteered to fill the vacancy on the reception committee. The Publications Chair position has not been filled.

The reports of the Corresponding Secretary (queries), the Treasurer, the Other Society Liaison and the Tape Librarian are included on a continuously running slide show during the break.
Roy Thurston announced that the next CIG meeting will be held at the Brighton High School. Larry Naukam will demonstrate how to use the LDS Family Search site.
Corresponding Secretary Bob Coomber encouraged members to check the queries file and respond to them if possible.
Family History Center liaison Greg Spacher reported that visitors to the Westfall Road Family History Center are impressed with the facility and thanked the many RGS members who volunteer there. The FHC plans to be on-line before the first of the year.
Jim Paprocki reported that Mt. Hope Project packets are available.
The Treasurer's report is attached to these minutes.
There were five responses to the call for first time visitors.

Main program
Jim Swarts introduced Dr. Carol Faulkner, of the Department of History at SUNY at Geneseo. After a general introduction to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, DC, Dr. Faulkner discussed some of the interesting records and documents she had uncovered in her research related to women and to the Freedmen´s Bureau. She also listed some of the information at NARA of particular interest to genealogists such as census records, ships' manifests, passport applications and passenger arrival lists.

Kathryn Heintz
Recording Secretary

October, 2005

Rochester Genealogical Society
General Meeting
October 17, 2003
Asbury First United Methodist Church, Rochester, NY

Mini-Workshop
Jim Swarts, Vice President for Program, opened the meeting by introducing Dr. Alec Sutherland, Ph.D., who discussed his experiences searching for his family's records in smaller Ontario, Canada libraries. His resources included special collections, cemetery transcriptions, city directories and also the rare book room in a large library in Toronto.

Business Meeting
President Paul Blake opened the business meeting by announcing that volunteers are needed for two appointed positions. Mary Gerew, who has been on the Reception Committee for a long time, is retiring and the Publications Chair position is also open. Paul also announced that two longtime RGS members, Constance Reda and Wesley Ashman, have died.

The Board of Director's meeting will be held on November 13, 2002 at 7 p.m. at the Westfall Road Family History Center.
Paul Blake introduced all the officers and committee chairs of RGS. He announced that, as had been the case last year, the reports of the Corresponding Secretary (queries), the Treasurer, the Other Society Liaison and the Tape Librarian will be on a continuously running slide show during the break.
Roy Thurston announced that the next CIG meeting on November 14 at 7:30 will be held at the Westfall Road Family History Center. He also announced that one of the computers at the FHC will go on-line soon.
The Membership Report was given by Jim Hall in the absence of Membership Chair, Pat Mims.
Bob Coomber announced a change in dates for the next Salt Lake City trip. It will be held May 18-25, 2003.
Ruth Metzler announced that the NYSCOGO publishing committee is working on Searching for Your Native American Ancestor in New York State. She also announced that Saturday, November 23 is the date for the annual Pilgrim Dinner. Details later.
There were four responses to the call for first time visitors.

Main program
RGS member Ozzie Salyards presented a very informative talk on census records. Ozzie began with a review of census records 1790 - 1920, citing the particularly important data in several of them. He discussed the importance of enumeration districts in finding your ancestor and some of the map websites which can help determine these. He noted that the every name index for 1880 is available at the Westfall Road FHC and briefly discussed state census records.

Kathryn Heintz
Recording Secretary

September, 2005

Rochester Genealogical Society
General Meeting
September 19, 2002
Asbury First United Methodist Church, Rochester, NY

Mini-Workshop
Jim Swarts, Vice President for Program, opened the meeting by introducing Ken Veneron, RGS member, who presented a slide show on the RGS-sponsored trip to Salt Lake City in May, 2002. In addition to his photographs of the Family History Center and of Salt Lake City, Ken included interesting data on the collection at the Family History Center. Bob Coomber then discussed the trip planned for May, 2003.

Business Meeting
President Paul Blake opened the business meeting by recognizing the contributions of the retiring officers: Kevin Monaghan, Historian/Genealogist, Pat Southcombe, Treasurer and Larry Schongar, Vice President for Program. Special recognition and a plaque were given to Jim Hall for all his contributions over the years including originating the Genesee Country Family File, starting the Computer Interest Group, serving as RGS President and local chair of the FGS Conference in 1996, producing the CIG newsletter for several years and most recently acting as Membership Chair.

RGS will again have a booth at this year's Irondequoit Oktoberfest. A volunteer is needed to coordinate a similar RGS booth at the Irish Festival next year.
The next Board of Director's meeting will be held on November 13, 2002 at 7 p.m. at the Westfall Road Ramily History Center.
Ruth Metzler announced that the next NYSCOGO meeting will be held at the Oneida County Historical Society. She has details.
Paul Blake then introduced all the officers and committee chairs of RGS. He announced that, as had been the case last year, the reports of the Corresponding Secretary (queries), the Treasurer, the Other Society Liaison and the Tape Librarian will be on a continuously running slide show during the break.
The Treasurer's report is attached to these minutes.
Roy Thurston announced that the program for the next CIG meeting on October 10 will be a demonstration of Family Tree Maker v.10.
There were eight responses to the call for first time visitors.

Main program
"Social History of European Immigration in the United States" was the subject of a talk by Dr. Lynne Gorden, Professor of History, at the University of Rochester. Dr. Gorden explored the history of immigration to the US, the attitudes of Americans toward immigrants and the changing policies of the American government with respect to immigration. She also discussed reasons for a percentage of immigrants returning to their home countries and how immigrants handled the balance between assimilation and retaining the customs of their country of origin.

Kathryn Heintz
Recording Secretary

Rochester Genealogical Society, Inc.

Minutes of RGS Meetings

2002/2003