1989 - WINTER PROGRAM
Letitia & William Welch

VOLUNTEERS STILL NEEDED FOR THE "TELEPHONE TREE"

In order to promote ease of communication between RGS officers and the local membership, our President, Ruth Metzler, has proposed the idea of a telephone tree, consisting of the executive committee and member volunteers who live in the Rochester area.

This telephone committee will be pressed into service when a situation arises that needs the immediate attention of the general membership that can't wait for the next meeting. Each committee member will be assigned a few calls to make. The more volunteers, the smaller each member's job will be!

A sign-up sheet will be available at the January meeting. At least eight more volunteers are need to set up the program, so please don't be shy. If you can't make the January meeting, but would like to help, you may call Loretta Welch at 225-3438.

GRANTEE LIST FOR EARLY LAND PURCHASES IN ONTARIO COUNTY, NY
Jim Roome

Grantor: Oliver Phelps, unless marked with *.

MEETINGS REVIEW - Ellen Grabb

COURT RECORDS

Kay Thompson presented a Mini-workshop on court records at the 19 Oct 1989 meeting. Kay stressed the need to search the court records in every locality where an ancestor lived. She stated that a possible place to start your search would be at the place of death. Even if the courthouse in the locality where your ancestor lived has burned, the original records may be held and treasured by a family member. (Examples of such records are will, land grants, leases, naturalization papers, adoptions, divorce decrees, apprenticeships, water rights, etc.)

An excellent reference to court records is found in Val Greenwood's book A Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy.

HISTORICAL/ENGLISH GENEALOGY

Leah Kemp of the Rochester Museum and Science Center was the main speaker of the evening. Her topic was "Historical/English Genealogy." Leah and her father have made two trips to England in search of their family. Their plan was to work five days a week in libraries and archives, and to stay in cottages in the area in which their ancestors lived.

They ventured on their journey believing that they were Mayflower descendants; but, through their research, discovered that this was not the case. In preparation for their trip, Leah and her father studied In Search of British Roots; by Angus Baxter, and they wrote to record societies in each shire of interest. When they reach London, they joined the Genealogical Society there.

The library of the London Genealogical Society has a wealth of information for the researcher: an enormous card catalog, the IGI, Boyds Marriage Index, bound family histories, boxes of family correspondence, etc. All of this information can bc found on the shelves. There are Saturday tours highlighting the resources there and the best way to use them. (It should be noted that this library, also has an extensive collection of Parish Records going back to the 16th century. Ed.)

PHOTOGRAPHIC MATERIALS

The main speaker at the November meeting was James M. Reilly of the Imaging Permanence Institute at RIT. Mr. Reilly is an authority on identifying and dating photographs through his knowledge of photographic materials. He took us through the history of photography from Daguerreotypes to Ambrotypes to Tintypes to Albumin prints and finally Gelatin prints on paper.

To preserve photographs it is most important to keep them cool and dry. An ideal spot would be a closet on the main floor of a house. To protect them against extreme fluctuations in conditions, photographs should be enclosed individually in a folder or a box in a cabinet. That is the ideal three layers of protection. Light Impressions Corp. in Rochester has many supplies for the protection of valuable photographs.

Mr. Reilly suggested that the best way to exhibit a treasured photograph is to have a copy made, display the copy, and protect the original as he described.

MEMBER ACTIVITY
Julie Steitz

Dorothy (Dot) Bailey, a member of the Rochester Genealogical Society since before 1974 is very active in genealogical organizations. She volunteers once a week in the library and is house manage for the Hervey Ely DAR home in Rochester.

Current activities include the following:

1. President of the Genealogical Round Table of Rochester.
2. 2^nd Vice President of the Colonial Dames of the 19^th Century Society, a national organization.
3. Secretary of the Alice Putnum chapter of the 19^th Century Colonial Dames Society.
4. Librarian of the Tri Town Genealogical Society.
5. Volunteers in the Penfield Local History Room and assists with the Pioneer Certificate Project of Penfield.

In the past she has been:

1. Program Chairperson for the Genealogical Round Table of Rochester.
2. President of the Irondequoit Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
3. President of the Tri-Town Genealogical Society.

Dot is always ready and willing to help with any genealogical project. In her spare time, she is compiling a family genealogy for publication.

To Volume 10, Number 3
To Volume 11, Number 2

Back to Hear Ye Archives page

Back to RGS home page.