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Table of Contents

1. Table of Contents
2. The President's Message
3. 1997 Winter Meeting Programs
4. Membership Report
5. Gary Boyd Roberts “Alert”
6. Ancestors – Family Research Series on WXXI-TV
7. Computer Interest Group
8. FGS/RGS 1996 Conference – Final Accounting
9. Unpublished Town of Henrietta Resident Deaths
10. Queries
11. ‘Michael Vincent's Good Cause’
12. RGS Officers
13. RGS Activity Chairpersons

Reflections

As we welcome the new year of 1997 I can't help but reflect on the events of the year just past. Unquestionably the highlight of 1996, perhaps the highlight of the Society's 50-plus year history, was hosting the FGS National Conference last August in Rochester. More about the conference in a moment. Our membership now stands at about 400 hardworking genealogists, which is probably a record for RGS. The Computer Interest Group, perhaps the only one still functioning in New York State, is healthy and active as it enters its sixth year of operation. Dick Halsey, RGS Membership Chairman, published the second edition of his great booklet on research facilities in Monroe County - all profits going to the Society. Gale Smith and many RGS/CIG members published the first volume of records from the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Rochester. By the way they are preparing to start work on volume two. It has been an eventful and profitable year for RGS.

Speaking of profitable, the Society has shared in the profits of the FGS/RGS conference. Our treasurer recently received a check for more than four thousand dollars ($4,000) for our participation in this very successful event. While the decision to expend all Society funds rests with the RGS directors, I would appreciate your thoughts on how you think these funds may best be used. Please drop me a note with your ideas and I will insure that the directors see them. Do it right now for our January director's meeting.

I have addressed the past, now I'd like to say a few words about the future. It will be difficult, if not impossible, to surpass our activities in 1996, but let's look at some of the things planned. Dr. Larry Blackman has put together a fantastic series of monthly RGS programs since last September and I have to believe that his offerings for this first half of 1997 will be as good or better. For instance, the joint meeting with the area genealogical societies in April will feature Gary Boyd Roberts of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (see page 5). I know you will enjoy the June picnic/meeting at the Wadsworth estate in Geneseo. Local RGS members have the opening of the new and enlarged Rundel Library to look forward to in 1997 (I think!). Look for more announcements about the library, perhaps there may even be a surprise or two.

Beginning this month the PBS television series Ancestors will be aired locally on WXXI-TV twice weekly, Thursday and Saturday (see page 5). Remember the program Roots in the 1970s? I anticipate that this series of 10 half-hour programs will have an profound impact on genealogical awareness wherever it is shown. Libraries, LDS Family History Centers, and genealogical societies will have increased volume, to say nothing of the strain on local government and church facilities.

Larry Blackman

The Rochester Genealogical Society will continue to meet the third Thursday of each month (except December, July, and August) at Asbury First United Methodist Church in Fellowship Hall. Asbury is located at 1050 East Avenue (just west of Granger Place) with ample parking and handicapped facilities including ramp, two wheel chairs and an elevator to Fellowship Hall. The mini-workshops start at 7 pm (except as noted for special programs) followed by the business meeting at 7:30 pm and the main program at approximately 8 pm.

Visitors are very welcome.

See Asbury First UMC map.

Pedigree Chart Analysis in April

The program committee is pleased to announce that Gary Boyd Roberts of the New England Historic Genealogical Society will be the featured speaker at the combined RGS/Kodak meeting in April. Circle the date Thursday, 17 April 1997, on your calendar. He will speak on the topic, “The Current Scene in New England Genealogy.”

But the really exciting news is that he will be staying an extra day in Rochester to do pedigree chart analyses for certain persons. On Friday, 18 April, Mr. Roberts will spend up to one half hour with these selected individuals, whom he will meet in my home in Pittsford. In some cases he will actually make additions and/or corrections to charts from memory. In others he will suggest printed sources to be consulted later.

There are a few ground rules that must be followed. During these individual sessions, Mr. Roberts will do the talking; he does not wish to listen to “stories.” Also, it would be inappropriate to ask him to sift through documents. To make the best use of this opportunity, only pedigree charts should be brought to him for analysis.

Now, the big job will be to determine who will be meeting with him. There will be “slots” for approximately ten to fifteen persons. The program committee wishes to make these selections in an equitable fashion. It would be most advantageous if those meeting with Gary Boyd Roberts would meet the following criteria:

More than 100 million Americans are exploring their own roots, making family history research one of the fastest growing hobbies in the United States. Local groups such as the Rochester Genealogical and Ontario County Genealogical Societies are experiencing a boom in membership.

Now, the first national television series dedicated to genealogy comes to WXXI-TV. “Ancestors” shows viewers how they can start mapping their own family tree. Through personal stories and professional hints, the series illustrates the fun and significance of going on a family history journey. The series premieres on WXXI-TV on Thursday, January 9 at 8 p.m. Each of the 10 episodes will repeat the following Saturday at 2:30 p.m. beginning January 11.

Genealogy has become a multi-faceted field. Today. therapists are using family history research in prisons and with troubled youth to foster a sense of responsibility and worth as part of the rehabilitation process. Medical pedigrees can provide life-saving links by revealing genetic risks for certain diseases.

Research begins at home, with a hunt through family photographs and interviews with living relatives. The series also demystifies the use of libraries, archives, computers, and census and military records in hunting down biographical information. The stories of a Mexican–American, an African–American, a Vietnam veteran, a cancer survivor and others help to illustrate the different ways of creating a family tree.

A local connection in the series emerges in the final episode of “Ancestors”. Nancilu Burdick, a retired schoolteacher and quilting expert from Orchard Park, shows how creating a family heritage includes your leaving your own legacy for future generations.

Join WXXI- TV for the most personal of detective stories - tracking down your own “Ancestors”.

Eastman Kodak Company provided production funding and outreach and promotion support for “Ancestors”. Local presentation of the series on WXXI- TV is made possible by Trident Precision Manufacturing Inc.

In the pursuit of this hobby of genealogy we spend countless hours researching and gathering information. It must be fun because we keep doing it. Using this information we generally do two things: (1) share our information with other people for the purpose of gathering more information and (2) record the information for future generations.

In order to effectively accomplish our desired purpose, it is necessary to record our information in a specific format so that eventually someone can read it. We can write the information longhand, type it on a typewriter, or record the info on a computer. In these modern times it is more efficient to use a computer. Data can be entered quickly, be stored accurately in memory for future use, and the memory does not forget. Data can easily be updated, changed, or corrected. Data can be printed out and displayed in several forms, including trees, or put on a disk and given to others. Also, your data can be entered in special files maintained by LDS, and made available for viewing by millions of people at Family History Centers around the world.

When recording data using computer genealogy programs it is necessary to follow certain rules regarding the format and style of entries. For example, would you enter dates as March 1, 1905, 1 March 1905, 3-1-1905, 01 Mar 1905, 3/1/1905 or 1/3/1905? If data is not entered correctly according to the rules, it may not be transferred correctly to other computers and your information will be lost or misinterpreted. Similar issues arise with regard to entering place information (city, county, state, country) and with given names, surnames, titles, and other vital data. After doing all this work to gather the original information, the recording of same in the correct format is extremely important.

The proper recording of information is one subject which is studied by the Computer Interest Group (CIG), simply because computers are fussy about this type of thing. If we learn a few basic rules, we find things go much better. The rules are not difficult and once learned become second nature. If data is not entered according to the rules, someone someday will have to correct this, and it's just not as much fun the second time around. Digressing a moment, this is not to say that it is always necessary to write the date for example, as 01 Mar 1905. If you are writing a family history in prose form, writing “he was born on the first of March 1905” is much more readable. So we must use a little common sense here.

Members of the CIG can answer specific questions on how to enter data, or better yet, direct you to sources so that you can study the rules yourself. Perhaps in the near future someone will present a mini-program on this topic, or the Education Group will offer a special seminar on the subject. In any event, it is beneficial to all of us to learn and use the rules for data recording. Proper documentation of sources of data is also a topic that is currently being discussed by genealogists. The rules for this subject are yet to be finalized.

It's not necessary for you to own a computer to utilize these rules. You should start using them now, regardless of how you are recording information.

Here is an idea! Write or type your family vital data in “letter” form, using numerical identifications i. e., first generation 1., second 1.1, third 1.1.1 etc. Write, type, or printout this information. Now, you may know someone who has a computer and a genealogy program. This could be a daughter or son, or other relative who has a computer and is just looking for a good use for it. Give them your data and ask them to put it on the computer. And make sure they follow the “rules”. They may know the “rules” but check it out to make sure. I know this works. I met a cousin last summer at a wedding and she was interested in family history. I gave her a 3-page document at her request. She gave it to her son who is a computer “nut”. A month or so later, I received a complete family tree. A lot of it was info that I had provided; but there was much additional information re: her family, names, and dates which I found useful. So it works! To get more information visit one of our CIG meetings or talk to one of our members.

Final Accounting

The final accounting has been received by the treasurer of The Rochester Genealogical Society, Roy Thurston, from the treasurer of The Federation of Genealogical Societies, Gary Mokotov. The RGS share (40%) of the proceeds from the 1996 National Conference in Rochester is several thousands of dollars. National Conference Chair, David Rencher, has written, “I hope that now all of the accounting is done for the conference that you can look back on the conference experience as having done something very positive for RGS. For a society of its size to have pulled off a national conference is, I think, a tremendous compliment to those on the local conference committee. I hope you think it was all worth it!”

Local Conference Chair, James Hall, wishes to share these (and many other) accolades received. All of the members of RGS, Kodak Genealogical Society and other members of the region's genealogical family and the conference attendees can be pleased with the results of their efforts. The RGS Board of Directors will soon discuss use of the special funds received.

Town of Henrietta resident deaths for the years 1882 - 1897. The full record contains the following: Last name, First name, Middle name, Death date, Age in (Years/Months/Days), Sex, Status (Single/Married/Widowed), Color, Occupation, Birth (Country/State/Town), How long resident of town, How long resident in US if foreign born, Fathers name & birthplace, Mothers name & birthplace, Place of death, Cause of death, and Burial place.

These records of Henrietta Resident Deaths appears in 3 issues of Hear Ye, Hear ye:

1. Vol 17, No 1 (Austin, Jennie Hannah to Gay, Wm.)
2. Vol 18, No 1 (this issue – Gerth, John to Martin, Morris)
3. Vol 18, No 2 (Martin, Nathan C. to Smith, Samuel Allen)

* Jones Cemetery = Maplewood Cemetery.

This article describes Dr. Vincent's search for clues as to why young people with no apparent heart disorders would suddenly die, sometimes after suffering occasional bouts of unexplained fainting. His research showed that the victims all had one thing in common; an electrocardiogram trace that showed an abnormally long interval from the start of the Q wave to the end of the T wave, known among cardiologists as the Long QT Syndrome.

This is especially interesting to Genealogists due to the fact that one of the early death victims, a 36 year old mother of three, had good genealogical records and by using those records, as well as those of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Dr. Vincent was able to trace the syndrome back to the older of two Danish brothers who immigrated to the U.S. in the mid-19th century.

This article goes on to describe Dr. Vincent's search for descendants of that brother and his startling finding of early death or fainting spells in many of that brother's ancestors.

RGS Officers
1996 - 1997

RGS Activity Chairpersons
1996 - 1997

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