Godfrey Update 2011 Issue-final

Transcription

T HE
EST. 1947
GODFREY
UPDATE
The Official Newsletter of the Godfrey Memorial Library
Godfrey Memorial Library, 134 Newfield Street, Middletown, CT 06457-2534
The Godfrey Update
Using Maps To Track Down Your Ancestors
By Leslie Albrecht Huber
W
hen we think about genealogy
records, we often think about vital
records or census records—records
that we hope will contain the names of
our ancestors. But one of the most important records that you might use in
your research may not have any of your
ancestors’ names in them. These records are maps.
Maps can be invaluable in genealogical research. Of course, not all
maps are created equal when it comes
to hunting down your family members.
The type of map that is most useful to
you depends on what information you
need! If you haven’t spent a lot of time
using maps, you might be surprised at
how many different types of maps there
are. You are probably familiar with
state, country, and town maps, as well
as road and topography maps. Maps
can also show transportation routes,
military battles, natural
resources,
boundary
changes,
and property
plots, along
with
many
other things.
Remember though,
that maps have changed over time as
The Old Leather Man
places have changed. Towns have
come into and gone out of existence.
Counties have been reorganized. Parts
of countries have been lost or gained
from neighboring countries. In general,
it’s best to use a map from around the
time your ancestors lived there—and at
the time when the records you are looking for were created.
Why Use Maps?
There are many reasons genealogists rely on maps to help them with
their research. For one thing, finding a
place on a map helps you verify that
this place actually exists! Often, we
glean place names, such as the name
of our ancestor’s hometown, from other
records. But these place names might
not be exactly correct. Spellings may
have changed—or place names may
have just been misspelled in the record.
This is especially likely when we con(Continued on page 25)
Inside This Issue:
By Dan W. Deluca
The Friends of Godfrey ·························· 2
Who was The Old Leather Man?
The Old Leather Man was a mysterious folklore looking person who became a legend in his own time, and
after he died, his legend was kept alive
by newspapers, researchers, and everyday people, who passed down stories
about him from one generation to another.
Allison Albee a famous OLM researcher, when asked that same question in 1937 said: “Occasionally, legend
and reality unite in the form of some
remarkable soul who, through peculiarity or chance, assumes a role resembling the mythical characters we read
about in childhood’s fairy tales.”
The Old Leather Man
Spring 2011
I have been researching the OLM
off and on for about twenty-two years
(Continued on page 4)
The Director’s Note ······························· 3
The Old Leather Man ····························· 4
Cemetery Project Update························ 5
Essay Contest Winning Entries ·············6-9
On the Calendar: Upcoming Events ········10
Reviews··············································11
The Directory of Genealogists ················12
Our Patrons and Scholars Write ········ 14-15
Writing a Page-Turning Family History ····20
Fremont Rider Award / Volunteer Night ···22
Annual Appeal Report···························24
New Links ···········································26
The Godfrey Update
Godfrey Memorial Library
James R. Benn • Director
The Friends of Godfrey Memorial
Library
Sharon Dahlmeyer-Giovannitti • Membership Librarian
Christine Spencer • IT Librarian
Nancy Thurrott • Acquisitions Librarian
Kenneth Cotrone, Jr. • Special Projects
William Cooney • Update Layout
134 Newfield Street, Middletown, CT 06457-2534
Board of Trustees
Bruce Tyler
Edward T. Browning
August DeFrance
Barbara Prymas
Lynn M. Baldoni
Charles S. Beebe
Dan Deluca
Liz Petry
•
•
•
•
Chair
Vice Chair
Treasurer
Secretary
Ed Laput
Joanne Lukasik
Marcia Meyers
James Pompano
The ‘Friends’ support the Godfrey Memorial Library
in the purchase of new audio-visual equipment and in sponsoring
ongoing educational programs.
♦
Membership benefits include:
• Access to Connecticut birth record not yet 100 years old;
• Educational programs to aid in genealogical research.
Connecticut Volunteers
Baldwin, Diane
Bartolotto, Gary M.
Beebe, Charles
Brown, Ellen
Browning, Edward T.
Bruns, Mike
Carlson, Ellen
Carson, Ken
Carnegie, Mark
Charest, Alice R.
Charest, Carl
Dahlmeyer-Giovannitti, Sharon
DeBlasio, Jeff
DeFrance, Augie
Deluca, Dan
Deluca, Laura
Downer, Ruth Ann
Dunn, Winston
Fenton, Susan
Fiacre, Al
Giovannitti, Joseph III
Gould, Linnae
Gumbs, Gene
Hathway, Linda
Heins, Donna
Herron, Bob
Hill, Dorian
L'Heureux, Raymond
Laput, Ed
Laput, Nicole
Lukasik, Joanne
Meyers, Marcia
O'Rourke, Barbara
Prymas, Barbara
Razel, Tony
Reardon, Jim
Reid, Diane D.
Rodriguez, Christina
Rogers, Shirley
Savard, Linda
Spash, Elizabeth
Tyler, Bruce
Tyler, Karen
Vayneris, Gregory
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
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
2011 Membership Application
Friends of the Godfrey Memorial Library
Yearly Membership: From January 1 to December 31
Check One:
New Member
Check One:
Individual $15/year
Family $25/year
Life (over 60) $150
Name:
Address:
City, State, ZIP:
Phone: (
)
Email:
Mail the form with your check payable to:
Friends of the Godfrey Memorial Library, Inc., ATTN: Treasurer
134 Newfield Street, Middletown, CT 06457
♦
Check out our Blog:
http://godfreylibrary.typepad.com
or
Visit us on Facebook and become a fan!
Page 2
Membership Renewal
~ THANK YOU ~
www.godfrey.org
GML
Spring 2011
The Director’s Note
Director James R. Benn
It was May 6, 1951. Sixty years ago, the
Godfrey Memorial Library first opened its
doors. If Fremont Rider (born in 1885) could
return today, at first glance the place would
look not terribly different. The Bauhaus architectural style of the building is still intact. The
AGBI is still on the shelves, and the paintings
of his family hang over the fireplace. The
physical library would have a familiar look, but
the virtual library, the digitized genealogical
data…well, what would anyone born in the
19th century make of that?
The Godfrey was recently represented at
the 11th New England Regional Genealogical
Conference—Exploring New Paths to Your
Roots, April 6-10, 2011 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Outreach Librarians Alice and Carl
Charest staffed a table in the exhibit area, with
membership information and duplicate library
books for sale. Board president Bruce Tyler
and I presented an overview of services provided by the Godfrey Library to a group of
about sixty attendees. For more information
on this great conference, see:
http://
www.nergc.org/
Planning has begun for the annual fund
appeal, which will kick off in the fall of 2011.
These days, fund-raising is an increasingly
important tool to help us keep the doors open
and services available. Donations go to help
in many ways; with the general operating
budget, and for special projects, such as in-
Reviews
American Military Cemeteries, second edition; Holt, Dean W., McFarland &
Company, Inc., publishers, Jefferson, North Carolina,
2010
(www.mcfarlandpub.com order line 800-253-2187)
This is an updated edition of the 1992 reference work. Divided into 2
parts (1—Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemeteries and Related
Sites; 2—Other cemeteries and monuments) This book tells how and why
sites were chosen, and is illustrated with many photographs. It is well indexed, including the names of notable individuals buried within the cemeteries. Appendices are provided, listing installations by state, information on
headstones and markers, The Medal of Honor and much more.
In the Shade of Oaks, a story of American Heritage, by Margaret Louise
Harris. Published by Margaret Louise Harris, Missoula, MT. 2009.
This is a fine story of one person’s search for her ancestry, which led
her through all the important events of our country’s history. She not only
finds her ancestors, but learns the details of their lives as well and how they
fit into the circumstances of their times. It is much more than a detailed listing
of who descended from whom. With many illustrations, photos, charts, facsimiles, etc. she tells the story of an American heritage.
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creasing energy efficiency through the installation of new double-pane windows, as we
did in late 2010. When the annual fund appeal kicks off, I hope Godfrey supporters will
once again show how much the library
means to them.
Another way to help the library is by joining the Godfrey Legacy Circle. Members
share not only a love of family history and
genealogy, but also a commitment to maintaining accessibility to information for future
generations of researchers. A Legacy gift can
take several forms: a current donation of
$3000 or more; including the Godfrey Memorial Library in your will; naming the library as a
beneficiary in an insurance policy; or including
the library in a charitable trust, gift annuity or
other such fund.
We have submitted an application to
have the Godfrey Memorial Library listed on
the Connecticut State Register of Historic
Buildings. Not only would this recognize the
library for its signature Bauhaus style architecture, but such a designation makes it easier to
secure grants for building improvements.
To stay in touch with the latest news
from the Godfrey Memorial Library, simply go
to Facebook and ‘like’ us there:
www.facebook.com/
•
Female Occupations, Women’s Employment 1850-1950, by Margaret
Ward. Published by Countryside Books, Newbury, Berkshire, England, 2008.
Learning about our female ancestors is often difficult, almost a ‘hidden
history’. This book describes a collection of 300 trades, industries and occupations followed by women in the 19th and 20th centuries. They were cheap
labor, paid less than the men who worked alongside them. Women workers
did not always admit to working when census enumerators or registrars came
around. Sometimes they did not even admit it to their own families. This book
sheds light on their jobs and how they lived.
Fashionable Folks, Hairstyles 1840-1900, by Maureen A. Taylor. Published
by Picture Perfect Press, USA, 2009.
Everyone encounters old photographs in their family research that they
have trouble identifying. So clues are needed to help out. Hairstyles are very
trendy, and very indicative of the fashion era that created it. They can also
tell us something about the person’s fashion sense and character—for both
men and women. This little guide book will help to identify when those photos
were taken and something about the people themselves.
World War II Memories & Experiences, from June 23, 1942 through
September 14, 1945, by John Beecher Perry II. Published by John Beecher
Perry II, USA, 2000.
This is a self-published memoir of an important event in history as lived
by one of the participants. It is complete with photographs, maps, facsimiles,
describing all that happened from his indoctrination to his discharge. The
many photographs and illustrations make it an exciting tale to read by anyone
researching this moment in time.
Call us 9am to 9pm (Mon. through Sat.) at (860)346-4375
Page 3
The Godfrey Update
The Old Leather Man
By Dan W. Deluca
(Continued from page 1)
now, trying to sort facts from the fiction. Trying to solve some of the
mysteries that have surrounded him for years. What was his
name? Where did he come from? Why did he walk a 365 mile
circuit in 34 days? Who took photos of him, where were they taken,
etc? I have gone through miles of microfilm looking for and finding
one little paragraph here and there, collecting information and photographs of him.
In researching the OLM I was able to prove that he was not
Jules Bourglay. The Ossining Historical Society takes care of the
cemetery, and after contacting the Society about this new information, they agreed that his stone should be changed, and the name
removed. The Old Leather Man has never been identified.
When the name Jules Bourglay was placed in the stone, the
mystery of his identity was thought solved. As researchers stopped
investigating him, the legend of the Old Leather Man began to
slowly disappear. I wanted to have him declared a mystery, an
unknown, so researchers would begin researching him again, and
I wanted to keep his legend alive for our children and grandchildren.
He was most likely born around 1839, was reported to be in
Connecticut & New York about 1856, and would have been about
17 years old at that time. He was about 5 feet 7 inches tall, about
140 lbs, with black hair, a short black beard, and dark blue gray
eyes, had a strong knowledge of Indian lore and was using it to
For a number of years I have been going around Connecticut
survive. He lived in rock caves, huts, and lean to type shelters;
and New York talking to historical societies, schools, and libraries
water was always near by. Where there is one shelter there is anabout the OLM. Wesleyan University Press published my book in
other one near. In the beginning of his travels he was gathering
2008, The Old Leather Man: Historical accounts of a Connecticut
and preserving food, had a number of gardens in different locaand New York Legend. The legend was revived and more and
tions, and was at one time tanning leather. His clothing was
more people started visiting his grave. Teachers
made of soft-tanned calfskin leather from old boot
are talking about him again in classrooms, and are
tops, stitched together with leather lace. His boots
bringing students to his gravesite. His grave has
“His
clothing
was
made
had thick wood soles with leather tops and a cap
become the most visited grave in the Sparta
with a leather visor completed his costume all of
of soft-tanned calfskin
cemetery. The Ossining Historical Society and
his own making. He carried a large leather pack on
others are concerned that because the grave is
his back and a tin staff in his hand. He was known leather from old boot tops, close to the highway there is a danger that someas “The Old Leather Man” or at times “The Leather
stitched together with
one may be hurt or killed. For the safety of the
Man.” He was constantly traveling the country
public his grave will be relocated to a safer resting
leather lace.”
roads and railroad tracks, and would gather toplace within the cemetery. Connecticut state arbacco at railroad stations and hotels along his
chaeologist Nicholas Bellantoni will be heading a
way. From 1856 to 1882 it appears he traveled all
team of experts at the gravesite, and at that time a sample and a
around Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts and Vermont bescan will be taken to learn more about him, his remains will be
tween the Connecticut & Hudson Rivers, and it was reported he
treated with utmost respect. After relocation a proper gravestone
made trips up into the Canada. About 1883 he started traveling his
will be installed without the name Jules Bourglay.
famous clockwise circuit of 365 miles in 34 days until he died. He
The Old Leather Man is entitled and deserves his rightful
never was found to have stolen anything and never begged, moplace
in history, like Johnny Appleseed, The Headless Horseman,
lested or hurt any one. He would at times take what was freely
and Paul Bunyan of American Folklore.
offered him. He would pose for photographs, and there are at least
20 or more different photographs of him.
“Keep his Legend Alive.”
The Leather Man was found dead March 24, 1889, in his shelter in Mt. Pleasant, N.Y., and a coroner’s Inquest was held, and
this is what was established:
▪
Certified Transcript Of Death: Name: “Known by the
Leatherman.” Sex: Male. Date of Death: March 20, 1889.
Age: 50. Manner of Death: He died from blood poisoning,
resulting from cancer. Place of Burial: Sparta Cemetery.
Place of Death: Mt Pleasant, N.Y. Place of Birth: Unknown. Father, Mother: Unknown.
His remains were removed to White & Dorsey’s undertaking
rooms where many curious visitors viewed them. Nearby was the
leather suit, which gave him his name. A pipe sticking out of the
ground marked the location for 64 years. Then in 1953 a stone
marker was placed on the grave. At that time it was thought his
name was Jules Bourglay and this is the name that was engraved
on the stone.
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www.godfrey.org
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Spring 2011
Help Wanted
By Christine Spencer
If someone offered you what amounts to full time employment
with frequent overtime but you knew there would be no salary or
income for your efforts, would you do it?
According to the U. S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor
Statistics, during a
one year period from
September 2009 to
September
2010,
both male and female
volunteers
spent a median of 52
hours of volunteer
activities. Not exactly
full time, is it?
If you’ve been following Godfrey Library’s
Connecticut Cemetery
Preservation
Project you know
Ed Laput with statue in Calvary Cemetery
that it’s been over
two years that Ed
has been working on documenting the photos and data for Connecticut cemeteries as well as a growing number of select cemeteries in other states. One of the first databases he worked on was for
Calvary Cemetery, in Middletown, CT. His wife’s parents and
grandparents are buried there. In one section of this cemetery there
is an interesting statue, one of Ed’s favorites. It is of a small boy
wearing a hat and reading a book sitting on top of a marker with
the surname Taylor. He’s gained a substantial number of volunteers to help him in his effort; we fondly refer to them as Ed’s Army.
“I’d like to get up over 250,” Ed replied when asked where he’d
like to see the project go in the next six months. “It’s pretty easy to
take the photos. Once you know what to do, they go fast. The hardest part is the data input.” Ed puts in a 60-70 hour work week for
development. Over time and with trial and error he has discovered
a couple of things that make the process somewhat easier. Manipulating data in large quantities certainly presents its challenges.
Several times he had the need to change or reorganize data in a
cell or rows of data in a spreadsheet and that lead him to search
the internet for specific software that would allow him to do precisely
what he needed and not disrupt the data in any other way.
Using the Hale Collection of Cemetery Inscriptions has been
an immense help to Ed in his work. This collection contains over
2,000 Connecticut Cemeteries, and was published between 1932
and 1935 by Charles R. Hale. Laput uses this collection to evaluate
the cemetery where he is currently working. These records help
him to know every cemetery in each town; at least the ones that
existed at the time Hale published his work. He also asks his volunteers to compare the list to Hale’s list to be sure that if a stone has
disintegrated or disappeared over time, the individual may still be
included in the current cemetery database.
Six months ago Godfrey Library sent out letters to Cemeteries
and Historical Societies suggesting collaboration on data and photo
sharing. The library’s thought was that if a Cemetery Association or
Society had been able to photograph gravestones or record data
from burials in some fashion, why not share the workload and reap
the mutual benefits of such a project? This would eliminate the duplication and save time and volunteer efforts. We recognize that
most towns in Connecticut don’t have the budget to maintain their
older cemeteries as they would like. It takes funding and some paperwork to restore broken, buried or decayed stones. Recently, Ed
Laput, Godfrey Director James Benn, and Board Member Dan
Deluca met with representatives from the Granby Historical Society
to work out an agreement with them on the terms of use for their
data on 4,000 burials contained within eight cemeteries. That
agreement was a success and some of that data has started to
show up on www.godfrey.org. In the coming months you’ll actually
see a couple of the cemeteries from Granby appear on the Search
Free page.
“We are hoping for a bigger response,” said Laput, “What Godfrey is offering to these cemeteries and Historical Societies is so
valuable. It might take years for each of them to accomplish this on
their own. We have the method, the system, the manpower. Hopefully they will want to sit down and talk with us. I hope Godfrey Update readers can help us spread the word!”
•
Donations
By Nancy Thurrott
The Godfrey Memorial Library relies heavily on donations for so many parts of its operation. Most of the books we receive have been donated from libraries, friends, patrons, and even authors. A lot of our donations are in the form of really old or well‐loved books. As might be expected, many are in a fragile condition. Since our funding is limited, we do not have the luxury of expensive archival resources for maintaining the books in pristine conditions. We often have to repair them as best we can, with tape, glue and prayer. We some‐
times will rebind some with a comb binder we have, which at least keeps the books available for use, even if not kept in the museum condition that they deserve. GML
We are fortunate that the Friends of Godfrey Memorial Library have given us a cash donation that we can use specifically for rebind‐
ing some of our most in‐need books. Professional rebinding is quite expensive, particularly for old, out‐of‐print books with torn or fragile pages. (Costs seem to average somewhere around $125 to $150 a book.) We never have far to look for candidates for this process. There is a shelf with critical‐needs‐books that is always full. Our favor‐
ite book binder recently retired from the business, so we are in the process of searching for a new company who can give our books the TLC they deserve. Soon there will be some shiny new volumes on our • shelves, thanks to the Friends of Godfrey . Call us 9am to 9pm (Mon. through Sat.) at (860)346-4375
Page 5
The Godfrey Update
Godfrey Memorial Library Recognizes New Young Essayists Family stories were the order of the day as
Godfrey Memorial Library celebrated the authors in its
Annual Family History Essay Contest, Monday June
8, 2010. It was a full house, as the authors and
families came to celebrate their stories and receive
their rewards.
In level two—grades 6 through 8—the top winner
was Taylor Muncy of the East Hampton Middle
School in East Hampton. Second prize went to Kylie
Flanagan of the RHAM Middle School in Hebron.
Annie MacLachlan of the RHAM Middle School of
Hebron won third prize. Their stories appear in this
issue of The Godfrey Update.
The top winner in the first level—grades 4 and
5—was Caroline J. Thompson from Gildersleeve
School in Portland. Second prize went to Aubrey
Figoras of The John Lyman School of Durham. John
Herbert Mosley VI from Gildersleeve School in
Portland, won third prize. Their stories were published
in the Fall 2010 issue of The Godfrey Update.
Every essay becomes part of the permanent
collection of the Godfrey Memorial Library. Each is
cataloged and listed in the Godfrey Memorial
Library’s Online catalog as well as the OCLC
WorldCat (which is a listing of the holdings of libraries
all over the world). Anyone wishing to look for what
holdings the library has, can go to www.godfrey.org
and click on the Search tab to find the online catalog,
or call the library at 860-346-4375.
•
All the Attendees: Caroline J. Thompson, John Herbert Mosley VI, Nathan Fecteau, Colby Townsend, Aubrey Figoras, David Halsey Mann, Jr., Michael Olayos, Taylor Muncy, Grace Pelletier, Kylie Flanagan, Annie MacLachlan The Top Six: Aubrey Figoras, Annie MacLachlan, John Herbert Mosley, VI, Kylie Flanagan, Caroline J. Thompson, Taylor Muncy. ~ Keep us in mind ~
A Legacy is a gift you leave for generations to come.
We can scan your projects—make digital copies for you
and the library, as well as provide a place for your hard,
life-long work to be made available for future
researchers. 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.
Page 6
─────── 2010 Family History Essay Contest ─────── ─────── 2010 Family History Essay Contest ─────── 2010 Level 2 Essay Winners: Sharing Family Stories
Are you planning a
Genealogy class or conference?
We love to share our Godfrey Updates
and other brochures! Let us send
you some—No charge!!
Just tell us when you need them and
how many. Don’t forget to give us an
address to which we can send the box.
www.godfrey.org
GML
Spring 2011
My Abuela, Ariadna Beauchamp
By Taylor Muncy
Essay Author Taylor Muncy
My abuela is a very special person to me. Her
name is Ariadna Beauchamp. I call her “Abuela” because it means grandmother in Spanish, and that is her
first language. When my mother, Sherrie Muncy, was a
teenager, her parents got divorced. Her father, Bill
Medeiros, remarried to my Abuela. So, she is actually
my grandmother through marriage. Abuela’s father was
French and her mother is part Spanish and part Native
American. No doubt, Abuela has had an interesting life
so far, as you will see.
Ariadna Beauchamp grew up in Puerto Rico. It is
very hard to believe, but before she moved here, she
was very anti-American. When she was 17, her mother
told her that she was moving to New York City for a
while. That was the last place she wanted to go at the
time. Compared with beautiful Puerto Rico, New York
City was a complete nightmare! She was supposed to
spend the entire summer there, but she begged her
mother to let her go back home. Her mother gave in,
and Ariadna went on to attend college in Puerto Rico.
At college, she met her first husband. He was a
teacher, and he later joined the Army. They had to wait
to get married until she graduated from college. By that
time, my Abuela was 21 years old. Together they had
one child, a daughter named Arlyd Munoz.
Since her husband was in the Army, they lived in
many places. The first place they moved was North
Carolina. They lived there for about one year. Next,
they moved to South Korea. They were there for 18
months. Then they moved all the way to Washington
State. They were only there a short while until again,
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Ariadna Beauchamp
they moved. This time it was to Washington D. C.
where Ariadna’s husband was working in the Pentagon
as an accountant in the military. Finally, they were
moved to Germany.
In all of the places she lived, my Abuela always
worked as a teacher. She said it was always the perfect
job to have, because you could be a teacher anywhere
you go.
Unfortunately, her marriage ended soon after moving to Germany. Arlyd was only 6 years old. Luckily, my
Abuela had a friend who lived in Connecticut. Until this
time, my abuela didn’t even know where Connecticut
was! Once she saw it on a map, she thought it was
very small and was wondering where all the big cities
were. Still, Ariadna and Arlyd took a military flight to
Connecticut. This is where she met my Grandpa Bill.
Since then, they have had one child, my aunt Aiyanna
Medeiros. Aiyanna is now 21 years old and is in her
senior year of college at Eastern Connecticut State University. Even living in Connecticut, my Abuela is still a
teacher, and has been for 31 years, working in the
Hartford school system. Ariadna studied for her bachelor’s degree and postgraduate degree at Washington
State University. At any time she could retire, but she
chooses to still be a Spanish teacher.
─────── 2010 Family History Essay Contest ─────── ─────── 2010 Family History Essay Contest ─────── 2010 Essay Contest: Level Two, First Place Essay My Abuela is an amazing role model. Someday I
hope I can even come close to all she has done in her
life. Ariadna Beauchamp is a great person and I am
lucky to have her as my abuela.
•
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The Godfrey Update
My Cousin Richard
By Kylie Flanagan
manned spaceship to orbit the moon. This mission
proved that manned spacecraft could travel to the
moon and back successfully. This based the way for
future Apollo missions to land on the moon. Richard, as
seen in the picture below waving, was the commander
of the recovery crew. This photograph was in the New
York Times because of its importance; it also can be
viewed from a google.com search by typing Apollo 8
frogmen. This is one of the reasons we are all very
proud of Richard.
Essay Author Kylie Flannigan
Although there are many important people in my
family to interview, I chose my second cousin Richard
Flanagan because of his role in the Apollo Space
Program. Richard is my father’s first cousin, making
him a second cousin to me. My Great Uncle Jack
Flanagan (brother of my Grandpa), is Richard’s father.
After college, Richard served in the Navy as a
Frogman. He later went on to become a Navy SEAL.
My dad, Robert Flanagan, son of Richard
Flanagan, has seven brothers and thirty-two cousins.
Among those thirty-two is the subject of my interview,
Richard who is second in line of that generation.
Basically, my Grandfather’s brother, Jack, (my Great
Uncle) is Richard’s father. This makes Richard my
second cousin. Another interesting fact is that along
with Richard being a Navy SEAL and a Frogman, both
my Grandpa Richard and his older brother Jack were in
the FBI. My Great Uncle Jack is said to have been
carrying Lee Harvey Oswald’s rifle that shot JFK into
the court house while at the same time in the basement
of the court house, Jack Ruby shot Oswald.
Lastly, Richard went on to become a Navy SEAL
Officer. A Navy SEAL is a highly trained commando
specializing in Sea Air and Land warfare. The Navy
SEAL program came into existence in the mid-sixties
and was formed exclusively from Frogmen. This makes
Richard one of the top Frogmen. He went on to serve in
Vietnam and his last mission was as commander (Navy
Captain) of all SEAL forces in the first Gulf War, which
took place in 1991. Almost all of a SEAL’s combat
missions were top secret. It’s ironic that Richard could
never even tell his father Jack about his missions even
though Jack was in the FBI.
In conclusion, my second cousin Richard was a
Frogman and a Captain in the Navy SEAL’s. Richard
was part of the Apollo 8 recovery team, a trained
military commando in the Navy SEALS, and is
someone exceptionally important in the Flanagan
family.
•
Following college in the mid sixties, Richard
became a Frogman for the Navy. A frogman is
someone who is trained to dive or swim in a military
capacity which can include combat. My second cousin,
however had the once in a lifetime opportunity to be a
Frogman on the recovery team for the Apollo 8
spaceship. The Apollo 8 Space mission was the first
Page 8
www.godfrey.org
─────── 2010 Family History Essay Contest ─────── ─────── 2010 Family History Essay Contest ─────── 2010 Essay Contest: Level Two, Second Place Essay Frogman Richard Flanagan on Apollo 8 Recovery
GML
Spring 2011
clusive, his decision could be acted on. The next day,
Uncle Johnny was in contact with one of the three surgeons in the country who had performed a rare and
By Annie MacLachan
radical surgery, most would think unheard of—a total
gastrectomy, the removal of his entire stomach. Only a
handful of people had undergone this extraordinary
2010 Essay Contest: and life-changing operation. And, believe it or not, UnLevel Two, Third Place Essay cle Johnny couldn’t wait to be one of them. He
“cowboy-ed up” and scheduled the surgery at DanaIf you found out you
Farber Cancer Institute. Not all our family members
had an 80% chance of
believed that the risk involved was worth it, but Johnny
dying in the next ten
was steadfast. This was his only option. He chose not
years, what life decito live in daily fear of cancer, but rather had the coursions
would
you
age to take that risk. He told us that he felt as a father,
make? In the summer
as a teacher, and as a coach, he couldn’t just “talk the
of 2006, my uncle,
talk’ about good choices and healthy living, he had to
John Tarbox, a RHAM
“walk the walk”.
graduate, found out
Within the month, John’s affairs were in order, his
that there was a pospre-operative
procedures were finished, and incredibly
sibility he may have a
he was gratefully being prepped for a nine hour surdefective gene that
gery. The doctors were impressed with Johnny’s
would cause him to
physical condition and fitness level, and were confiundetectable
Essay Author Annie MacLachlan get
dent they would help him through the surgery and restomach cancer—a
covery. It was not until after the surgery and in the retype of cancer that by the time it reared its ugly head,
covery room that everyone realized the severity of the
only allowed you few months to live with no treatment
procedure. Uncle Johnny would never eat as he once
available. The first decision Uncle Johnny made that
had, and no longer could he exercise at the strenuous
long hot summer was whether or
level he once had. This was a
not to be tested. Do you want to
true sacrifice, as physical exerknow how you are going to die?
cise is what he loved. NonetheOr, do you keep your head in
less, he awoke from surgery,
the sand, not knowing if the canconnected to many tubes,
cer is growing? Being tested
drains, and monitors, and was
meant that you had the possibilactually thankful. He was grateity of making decisions, but it
ful for the opportunity to beat
also represented an incredible
cancer at its own game. He moburden.
tioned for my dad to lean over
After watching two close
his bedside, and referenced Lou
family members die a horrific
Gehrig’s famous address at
death and simultaneously
Yankee Stadium. Johnny bewatching his three young chilMy uncle John Tarbox; Antoan Richardson from the
lieved he was actually “the luckidren grow, my uncle made the
Connecticut Defenders; and John’s son Jake.
est man on the face of the
courageous decision not to put
earth.” The following days in the
his head in the sand, but to be proactive. The next
hospital were a testament to human strength. My uneight weeks were torture. Watching him wait for the
cle baffled the doctors and nurses with his determinaresults was excruciating. The discovery that Hereditary
tion. He fought pain and infection. He brought cones to
Diffuse Gastric Cancer had a genetic link was new,
the hospital and walked sooner than anyone could
and thus the testing required could only be done in
imagine. Stomach-less, he left the hospital in a mere
Vancouver, and it was painstaking!
seven days!
As it turns out, the waiting was the worst. When
Uncle Johnny’s recovery at home was equally as
finally he was informed he carried the insidious gene,
remarkable. Before long, the hospital bed was gone.
he found strength in the ability to act, rather than just
He was walking to the first and then the second telewait. You see, my Uncle Johnny is an active person.
phone pole beyond the house. Most notably though,
He is Physical Education teacher, a marathon runner,
we all suspected he was in pain, he never once coma baseball player, and coach. He is not a waiter, he is
plained. In fact, he was more positive and upbeat
a doer. And, now he finally had control. I believe the
than most people. Despite all the challenges he
decision as to what he was going to do was made
(Continued on page 11)
prior to genetic testing. Now that the testing was con-
GML
─────── 2010 Family History Essay Contest ─────── ─────── 2010 Family History Essay Contest ─────── No Butterflies
Page 9
The Godfrey Update
Volunteer Night
Photos by Sharon Dahlmeyer‐Giovannitti The Board of Directors put on quite
a special event to celebrate the work of
our marvelous volunteers over the past
year. During that time our volunteers
logged well over 4300 hours of service.
(This does not include the un-logged
time put in by those doing things outside
of the library.) That is nearly 1000 more
hours than last year.
MC and GML Director James R. Benn
Ken Carson, Linda Hathaway & Christina Rodriguez
Al Fiacre and Dan Deluca
Linda Scialabba and Marcia Meyers
Page 10
Our volunteers are involved in many
different projects: Researchers handle
nearly 50 requests a week (that’s about
2600 a year). Docents help visitors from
all over Connecticut and, according to
our guest book, at least 22 other states
and 2 countries. Database Projects:
The Cemetery Project is the biggest,
with Ed’s Army of helpers. But there are
others: The Brooks files transcribing
notes from handwritten cards; Sexton
Reports from the Groton-New London
area were recently completed; Obituary
Pages, being transcribed from our growing newspaper collection. General projects: like book labeling and shelving,
inventory, envelope stuffing, even dusting and yard work are too numerous to
be counted, but are too valuable to be
forgotten.
James R. Benn, director of Godfrey
Memorial Library, acted as Master of
Ceremonies, personally handing out
certificates and gifts to each valuable
volunteer, while detailing all that has
been accomplished.
Board members Barbara Prymas
and Joanne Lukasik did all the planning
and preparation, providing an amazing
spread of goodies and changing the library into a beautiful reception room.
Since the volunteers generally come to
work on specific projects and come at
different times, they do not always get to
meet others and see what else is being
done. This was a nice chance to get together and talk and share their projects.
•
www.godfrey.org
Winston Dunn, KC Cotrone & Jeff DeBlasio
Jason Villani and Ed Laput
Norma Wright
Hostesses Joanne Lukasik & Barbara Prymas
GML
Spring 2011
Notice Anything Different?
By Christine Spencer
You may have noticed a few changes here
on the cover of The Godfrey Update and on the
home page of our website, www.godfrey.org.
We may be looking blue
but we’re feeling great!
It’s the 60th anniversary
of the opening of our
library
and
we’ve
spruced up the place in
a few ways.
faced, despite all the discomfort he experienced, despite all the life style
changes he needed to make, he still
considered himself “lucky”.
Today, three and a half years later,
Johnny continues to live, work, and be a
husband and father to his family. All
who know this story see John as an
inspiration. But more than that, he has
given the next generation, who may
face the same obstacles, an alternative
so that they do not need to face the
cancer life sentence, nor do they have
to live in fear. He is a role model. He
tells us his mantra is “no butterflies.”
•
The changes, like
dominos in a queue,
started after the publicaGodfrey Library’s New Street Sign
tion of the Fall 2010
Update. We were involved in several on putting to fun and interesting use.
big renovation projects; building a
The drop-down menus are a little
handicap accessible sidewalk, replac- different and we’ve added a wonderful
ing a few old, drafty windows and re- Plan a Visit selection there. Its chock
painting the front entry and new auto- full of all the information you need to
matic door. A bold blue was selected know when you come for an overnight,
and Voila! Our new design theme was weekend or week of genealogy reborn.
search.
So, the baton was passed to Jeff
Pimentel, Senior Consultant of Computer Consulting Services of Connecticut and Rhode Island, to implement the
style changes for our new website.
Once we had new photos of the library,
we wanted to put them on the website,
but then our color scheme would have
clashed. Director James Benn
sketched a layout and suggested a few
minor changes and additions to the site
centered on the twin ideas of ease of
use for first-time visitors and an accessible and direct path to searching for
our regulars.
We made use of some whimsical
icons to help act as street signs that
would direct patrons to their desired
destination. We also brought our Library News and Calendar of Events
into the light to make that information
available at a glance. Gone is the
scrolling banner, for better or worse,
and present is a circulating photo
frame for which we have some ideas
GML
2010 Essay Contest
To cap off our anniversary celebration the Board of Directors of the
library designed, approved and purchased a new wooden sign for Godfrey
which was put in place by the side of
the road (Newfield Street) on Thursday, April 14, 2011. It is bigger and
easier to read for passers by. Don’t
worry nostalgia fans, the former sign
(shown here) is being put to good use
near our sometimes difficult to see
driveway.
•
GODFREY MEMORIAL LIBRARY FAMILY HISTORY CENTER SPRING, 2011 Submitted by Barbara Prymas The Family History Center has seen an
upsurge in patron use over the past several
months. Additionally, our collection of “Indefinite
Loan” films has increased, especially in the European drawer. Our new patron list is growing and it
is becoming very apparent that as patrons find
more data using online sources, they come to the
FHC better prepared for the microfilm experience.
We continue to ask for volunteers to keep
our FHC open for additional hours. If you are a
FHC patron or have volunteered in the past at a
FHC, we welcome your interest in helping us.
HOURS OF OPERATION Monday 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM Tuesday 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM Wednesday 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon and 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Thursday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM Friday 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon Do stop in. Our volunteers are
waiting to assist you.
Page 11
The Godfrey Update
The Directory of Genealogists:
A Global Network of Professional Genealogists
By Stephanie Hoover
Back in the Spring of 2009 when Ancestry first introduced its ExpertConnect program many professional
genealogists celebrated. The exposure offered by this
giant in the family history industry instantaneously kickstarted new genealogy careers while growing many part
-time ventures into fulltime incomes. At the same time,
family historians looking for professional assistance
could choose from hundreds of EC providers offering a
myriad of specialties and levels of expertise.
But less than two years after Ancestry started ExpertConnect, it announced the program was ending.
Many EC researchers (some who had gone so far as to
quit their day jobs) were left confused and frightened.
And, research clients had lost this unique “one stop
shop” convenience.
Pennsylvania genealogist Stephanie Hoover, owner
of PennsylvaniaResearch.com, was an established professional researcher prior to joining ExpertConnect.
While the program’s closure had minimal effect on her
business, she knew many of her colleagues had come
to rely on EC to provide a major portion of their income.
Using her own time and resources, Hoover has created
a tool to help fill the large marketing and networking void
left by EC’s departure. Her answer is a simple concept,
but one she believes can be effective.
“I decided to create a world wide directory of genealogists,” Hoover says. “I was pleasantly surprised to
learn that the URL “DirectoryOfGenealogists.com” was
available, so I snapped it up. Within a week of receiving
the notice about EC, the site was live and genealogists
were signing up.”
It is important to Hoover that inclusion in the directory be free of charge. As such, she created basic listings which include the physical location of the genealogist, the individual or company name, the researcher’s
area of specialty, and an email link. “I did not want to
create another situation where genealogists had to pay
a percentage of their research earnings, or create a
mandatory annual membership fee. There are other
groups and businesses that already do that. I wanted to
create an environment where genealogists have some
control over their own business.”
The directory offers clients far more control as well.
Those seeking to hire a genealogist can request proposals directly from the researcher of their choosing. Once
an agreement is made, clients can work one-on-one
with the genealogists without intervention of a middle
man or the constraints of anonymous communication.
Page 12
A special discussion board called “The D.o.G.
Pound” is a password-protected forum restricted to genealogists listed in the directory. It is here that genealogists can share information, create partnerships on projects of a larger or international scope, and discuss the
unique challenges of making a living by doing family
history research.
Hoover absorbs all costs to design and host the site,
gather researcher profiles, and database this information. “I have had generous offers from participants asking if they can volunteer their time or skills,” she says,
“but at this point it would be difficult to delegate tasks.”
Hoover has also taken on the role of social media coordinator using services like Twitter and LinkedIn to publicize the directory.
Should genealogists choose to upgrade their free
listing to an enhanced or premium listing, those options
are available for $25 or $50 per year respectively. A few
researchers have paid to upgrade their listings, money
that was directly applied to advertising. Hoover has had
inquiries regarding acceptance of non-genealogist advertising on DirectoryOfGenealogists.com. “I would consider commercial advertising if the product is genealogical in nature, and if it benefits visitors to the site who are
looking for expert advice and information,” she says.
“But I will be very choosy in these decisions because the
quality of the site’s content, including advertisers, is very
important to me.”
Fourteen countries are already represented in DirectoryOfGenealogists.com. Researchers wishing to be
considered for inclusion in the directory can complete a
simple form found at: http://tiny.cc/qxgen
Comments or questions about the directory can be
emailed to Stephanie Hoover at: [email protected]
A Twitter account has also been established: twitter.com/DirOfGens
Stephanie Hoover
P. O. Box 4921
Harrisburg, PA 17111
[email protected]
www.DirectoryOfGenealogists.com
www.godfrey.org
•
GML
Spring 2011
Visitors Welcome!
Analytics Update
We are often asked about visiting the library, and if it costs anything. People see the information about the costs of our online databases, and think they need to pay to visit. We are open to the public 6 days a week and there is no cost to come. Since the last issue of the Update, nearly 50,000 new names have been added to our online catalog by our analyti‐
cal cataloguers, from at least 20 books. (See list below.) There are names of adventurers, pioneers, statesmen, baseball ath‐
letes, soldiers, authors, and businessmen of all kinds. One book, Notable New Yorkers, is a picture book of all the promi‐
nent men of 1899 New York. There are listings of obituaries from New York and England papers. New England, Minnesota, Missouri, Ireland, Michigan, Iowa all have people in our cata‐
log. We even entered in some Indian names of Worcester, MA. Many of the entries are of biographies that include pic‐
tures. One book of the 1890s is about New England busi‐
nesses, and includes some of their advertisements. There are entries on paragraphs about ordinary people and their fami‐
lies who founded communities, as well as longer biographies of civic leaders who founded industries and hospitals. The resources that are physically on our shelves are differ‐
ent from those databases we offer on line. Many of our visitors are old hands at research and need little help, but we usually have people available to help newcomers find things. However, if a group plans to come arrangements should probably be made in advance. In the past 6 months folks have come here from: Laurel, MD; Frederick, PA; Sellersville, PA; Phillipston, MA; Liberty, PA; Middleburgh, NY; Auburn, MA; Novato, CA; Kingston, Ontario; Bedford, NH; Clarksville, MD; Brigantine, NJ; Big Lake, MN; St. Paul, MN; Millbury, MA; Alexandria, VA; Marysville, OH; Hewitt, NY; Deurttville, NY; LaSalle, CO; Longview,TX; Littleton, CO; C.Creek, TX; Cherry Hill, NJ; Bridport, VT; Lithia FL; Naples, F L/ Kilug, HI; Cobleskil, NY; Phila, PA; Pensacola, FL; Skaneatelis, NY; Leesburg , F L Graystoke, IL; as well as from all over the state of Connecticut. Available Now—
and signed by the Author!
Learn the true story behind the mysterious man
who made the caves of Connecticut his home in the 1880s.
$25.00 (tax included) Make your check payable to the Godfrey Memorial Library GML
Books Completed Webb's New England Railway and Manufacturers' Sta‐
tistical Gazetteer – small paragraphs of businesses oper‐
ating in the 1890s in New England and some of the men involved English adventurers and emigrants; Minnesota and its People (1924) – biographies with photographs including the Mayo Brothers and their associates with the Mayo Clinic Centennial History of Missouri Deluxe Supplement – bios of prominent citizens Prominent Iowans; Connecticut History Makers, vol. 1 & 2; includes founders of CT Manufacturers like Pratt, Whit‐
ney, Rogers, Wallace, Stanley Indian names of Worcester, MA; Baseball necrology; Lord Mayor’s Court of London – Depositions relating to Americans 1641‐1736 Longford Authors – over 200 names of authors, poets, journalists, etc. from the county of Longford, Ireland The History of Brick School District No 4 1841‐1958 (Bainbridge, Michigan) Brown County (New Ulm) Minnesota pioneers and their families American Ancestry, vol. 1, Albany City; American Migra‐
tions 1765‐1799 Revolutionary Soldiers buried in Missouri Notable New Yorkers 1899 Men of Mark in Connecticut Obituaries on file vol. 2 Obituaries from the Times (England) Family Register of the inhabitants of the town of Shrewsbury, Mass. Call us 9am to 9pm (Mon. through Sat.) at (860)346-4375
Page 13
The Godfrey Update
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, visit us on
Facebook, or call in for an AGBI or Quick Search request.
Thank you! I thought I had to be a patron to use your AGBI. I certainly don’t mind paying for the lookups, as it is a cost to Godfrey
and while you may have some volunteers, I suspect that most of
the staff are paid.
Also, I did always read your newsletters during the several years I
subscribed. Very informative and helpful. I’ll check out the online
catalogue. All together, this might be exactly what I need. I really
appreciate your help. Thank you so very much.
Janice M.—Avid amateur genealogist (for 30 years)
—————————————————————————————
I received my information and was surprised at the amount of new
data I had on the Hartford Family. Have sent in my check today.
Thank you so much.
Virginia
—————————————————————————————
Thank you for your prompt, friendly and excellent service. Albeit
frustrating, I had to chuckle when I read over what you sent me
from the Boston Transcript dated 21 Feb 1921. The person who
submitted that request was looking for the same information that I
am looking for 90 years later!
Peter and Ann C.
—————————————————————————————
Subscription databases often seem like an “it” because we don’t
see each other face to face. I’d like you to know how much I’ve
enjoyed my Godfrey Library membership & what a valuable resource you are. I’ve had to call the library a few times & the folks
who answer the phone are unfailingly friendly & knowledgeable—
very willing to assist. Your databases have been invaluable to me
as I research my interesting ancestors who can be pretty aloof! I
look forward to using the Godfrey Passport & thank you for that
perk. I look forward to a continued relationship & really do thank
all of you for everything you do.
Diane, Indianapolis
—————————————————————————————
Dear Godfrey Library, What an experience! Thank you for being
there when I needed to fulfill a request by my son, Phil, to “have
something for his boys.” Well, big thanks to Sharon who helped
me find our roots. I’m broadcasting about all of you to my family
and friends and neighbors and the moon about the wonders of
finding “where I came from.”
Ron and I want you to know how much we appreciated all you did
for us when we visited the library. Your energy and enthusiasm was
contagious. We hope the library Board realizes what an asset you
are. The wealth of information we came home with was more than
we had hoped for; it gives us an incredible basis from which to
build our further research. You were a joy to work with and we
thank you for all your efforts on our behalf. Our trip to Middletown
was wonderful—thanks to folks like you.
Ron and Kathy
—————————————————————————————
I have thoroughly enjoyed my Godfrey membership! Many of the
nuggets of family gold I have discovered this past year would not
have been possible without you! In our day of over-the-top costs,
your affordable price is greatly appreciated.
Anonymous
—————————————————————————————
Thank you very much. It is my first year subscription and didn't
really understand the differences in each level. I am a big fan of
Godfrey and always tell people to go there. My step-daughter was
visiting from Germany this past summer and we went to the Connecticut State Library in Hartford to look things up. It was not a
good experience. We found nothing, we were very confused
(having never done this before), and we didn't get much help or
advice. I suggested we stop in Middletown at Godfrey on our way
home and it was a much different experience. Everyone was helpful
and we found a lot of info. I went home that night and joined up
via the internet. Now this experience just proves how great Godfrey is. You will always have my support and backing. I also have
several family Bibles I need to get to you for copying. Thank you.
Marcy F.
—————————————————————————————
Thank you for all your help. I did get in but kept getting kicked out,
redirected and told someone else was using my login. After some
frustration I called the local family history center, they have a subscription but their connection is so slow I've never been able to
search effectively. Anyway, I asked them for help and they helped
me navigate the site (nice group of people I hang out with regularly in my research). I explored the site as best my sub would let
me and never got a single hit on one of my surnames. I think I'll
postpone subscribing at this time but am writing this just to say
what great and, I do mean great—really impressive customer service you've given me! You are a credit to the library. Hope you
have many occasions to smile today!
Nina
—————————————————————————————
Love and Peace, Donna
—————————————————————————————
Page 14
www.godfrey.org
GML
Spring 2011
Our Patrons and Scholars Write
I wanted to take a moment to extend my appreciation to you and
the staff at Godfrey Memorial Library for your diligence and responsiveness in helping me complete my research of a distant
ancestor. After years of searching, I discovered the only repository
for the information I needed was Godfrey Memorial. My experience
is that your library has a number of unique and valuable resources
that are of great interest to ancestry researchers. I would encourage anyone researching ancestors to begin their studies with the
Godfrey Memorial collection. I shared the Godfrey information
packets you sent to me with our local DAR regents and the SAR
registrar as well. I encourage you to contact the Florida and national SAR and DAR offices to be sure other genealogy researchers
can take advantage of all the resources the Godfrey Memorial collection has to offer. Thanks again for your assistance.
From Our Facebook Page
Sandra F.
Congratulations to Ed Laput who was just featured in the Jan/Feb
issue of Family Chronicle about his research project of photographing cemeteries and posting them online on the Godfrey
website. Way to go Ed!
————————————————————————————
Suzanne U.
Charles R. Butler
Are you having another Sunday "How to use our resources"
workshop any time soon? I got there too late to find a parking
space last month. Thanks!
—————————————————————————————
Hello! Your jammed-packed boxes, two, arrived today on my doorstep. Thank you for the materials, 2 bags and 2 Red memberships.
I'll see the brochures and newsletters are in everyone's packet.
Very nice. The 2 bags and memberships make terrific door prizes
or raffle items. Thank you so much for Godfrey Library's ongoing
generosity that contributes greatly to the success of our conferences. Each year, attendees look forward to our conference. People
from our area and those who travel a distance to attend always
comment how helpful the prizes are and how much they look forward to them each year. With your donations, VBGS gives back to
the community and well beyond. Genealogy, the gift that keeps
giving. Wishing you all the best of research and success,
See the Godfrey website for upcoming events, and check back
here in the near future.
————————————————————————————
Second microfilm reader added—plus two new computers! All
waiting to help you do your research. Come on in!
Try Before You Buy!
Explore all the benefits of a Red Level Subscription
Kathleen D.
Virginia Beach Genealogical Society
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/vavbgs
for a day at the low price of $10.00
www.godfrey.org
—————————————————————————————
Before:
I ordered a subscription to the Blue account on Godfrey and I did
not receive any login information. I was wondering if that would be
emailed to me separately or if there is somewhere I have to go to
obtain this information. I hope you can help me resolve this because I am very excited about this subscription and would like to
use it as soon as possible. Thank you for your time in regards to
this question.
1 Day Pass
Try out all that
Godfrey
has to offer online
and pay just $10!
Look for this box on our website
to register and start your trail
of discovery!
Contact GML for restrictions and details.
Godfrey Memorial Library • Phone (860) 346-4375
Melissa R.
After receiving the information she needed, Melissa wrote:
Thank you so much. I really do appreciate how fast the response
was. I definitely plan on keeping a subscription with this. Thank
you again.
Melissa R.
GML
We want to hear from you!
Send us your research adventures, success stories,
comments, suggestions and opinions.
Email us at: [email protected] or
Visit us on Facebook.
Page 15
The Godfrey Update
Inventory Project
Ken Carson:
The New Kid On the
Block He Ain’t
By Sharon Dahlmeyer-Giovannitti
We have a handful of highly motivated and skilled researchers
that faithfully meet at our library to complete “AGBI” look-ups and
“Full” searches that patrons request. Let me introduce you to one
of them.
Ken Carson was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1931.
He lived there for many years until his company Connecticut General transferred him to Granby, CT. He was with the company for
31 years and retired shortly before gracing us with his presence.
His life revolves around his beautiful wife Jean, three children,
and 20 grandchildren. In 2009 he was blessed with three great
grandsons, two being twins.
Norma Wright is our volunteer Inventory librarian. She
is a retired pharmacist currently working on an MLS degree. She should finish by 2012. Currently she is taking a
course on Special Libraries of which Godfrey would be
classified. Her goal is to find a position in a genealogy library or a public library with a history/genealogy section.
She started here continuing our ongoing process of
inventorying the entire library. In this task she has completed our international section, and has started on the
books for the South and southern states.
As part of her studies—and as a special project—she is
also taking on the task of identifying and evaluating all of
our periodicals, with an eye toward determining which ones
are worth renewing or to which we might wish to subscribe.
She is assembling a list of everything she finds we have.
Simple newsletters (which have little actual data in them)
are being separated to establish a browsing section which
will be regularly reviewed to keep only the most current issues. Many periodicals are now being offered online for
free, we hope to set up one computer with links that will
provide easy access to these resources.
•
Ken has been coming to the Godfrey Memorial Library since
2000. He actually did not know about Godfrey until a friend introduced him to the library. “My friend who was into genealogy mentioned a genealogical library in Middletown so off I went. It takes
approximately 30-40 minutes, depending on the weather. I travel
through four towns to get the library.”
New Windows
“When I first arrived at the Godfrey Memorial Library I was
greeted by the Director, Nancy Doane. She was a friendly woman
who seemed to run a tight ship. She could have booted me out of
there but she put up with me and helped me along. She parked
me in front of a fiche machine and guided me every step of the
way. I’ve been volunteering on Thursday for the past eleven
years.”
Before
“The most difficult challenges are when the books are
rearranged so you have to learn where they were moved to. This
library has changed so much. I remember when there was a small
office for the director but that was torn down to makes room for the
movable isles. The movable stacks are a blessing, one sharp turn
of the wheel and you can move the entire stack, they are most
efficient. It has transformed into a beautiful work of art. We have
many wonderful books. My family is from western Pennsylvania,
so I find myself drifting towards the Pennsylvania Archives series.”
Ken performs many look-ups using the microfiche reader,
looking up queries in the Boston Transcript. He also winds his way
through the many stacks looking to answer the questions posed
by patrons.
“I look forward to coming to Godfrey on Thursdays. I find researching for others fascinating as well as challenging.” I’m from
the old school. I love these old books. There’s nothing like opening
up a good book.”
•
Page 16
After
This winter has been a lot more comfortable inside now that many of the 60+ year old single pane windows with their rusted‐
out frames have been replaced by brand new energy‐efficient insulated windows. When the Godfrey Library opened in 1950, the price for a barrel of crude oil was $2.49 (adjusted for inflation to $19.71 in today’s dollars). With the current price hovering around $100, it was time for a change! • www.godfrey.org
GML
Spring 2011
g{x ]ÉâÜÇxç gt~xÜá
t Çxã uÉÉ~ uç
Leslie Albrecht Huber
Besides writing regularly for the Godfrey Update, Leslie Albrecht Huber has published 100 articles in a variety
of publications including Family Chronicle, The History Channel Magazine, Ancestry, Family Tree Magazine,
Internet Genealogy and others. She speaks regularly to groups on family history and
history topics in New England and across the country.
The Godfrey Memorial Library will receive a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each book.
“Leslie Albrecht Huber has the ability to pull us back in history, allowing us to view it through her eyes. The reader will find
it impossible to lay the book aside as Huber shares her experience in a way that envelops, inspires, and motivates.”
Did you ever wonder what it was like for your
European ancestors to leave their homes behind and
set off across the ocean to an unknown future in a
new land? Now you can find out!
–Holly Hansen, Family History Expos President
It Happened In Connecticut
and
Connecticut Coast
A Town-by-Town Illustrated History
uÉÉ~á uç
DIANA ROSS MCCAIN
It Happened In Connecticut contains more than two dozen true
tales from the Nutmeg state’s history, from the first witchcraft trials
in North America to the invention of football.
Connecticut Coast explores the past of 24 towns along the Long
Island Sound waterway, lavishly illustrated with over 200 black and
white images from the collections of the Connecticut Historical
Society.
“Diana Ross McCain’s writing is insightful and engaging.”
Treat yourself or a friend to a generous sampling of Connecticut’s rich past, and at the same time
help support the Godfrey Memorial Library, by purchasing one—or both—of two new books on the state’s
history. Both are by the Connecticut Historical Society’s Head of Research, Diana Ross McCain, who has
written about Connecticut history for magazines and newspapers for more
than 25 years, and has authored several books.
The Godfrey Memorial Library will receive a portion of the proceeds from the sale of each book.
Books can be autographed by the author.
Come to the Godfrey Memorial Library to purchase a book, or call the Library at (860) 346-4375 to charge it on your VISA or MasterCard, or mail the order form
below with either a check (made out to the Godfrey Memorial Library), or credit card information, to:
Godfrey Memorial Library Book Sales
134 Newfield Street
Middletown, CT 06457-2534.
Book
# of Copies
The Journey Takers
Price
$
Extended Price
19.95
It Happened In Connecticut
12.95
Connecticut Coast
29.95
Sub-total:
*Shipping and handling:
$4 for first copy; add $2 for each additional copy in the same package
Books will be shipped media rate. Please allow two to three weeks for delivery.
6% CT Sales Tax:
*Shipping & Handling:
TOTAL:
GML
Page 17
The Godfrey Update
Book Store Now Open!
Come in and check out our new Book Store. We have a large collection of duplicate
books available for sale, thanks to many generous donations from our friends. (We also
have several stacks of periodicals available for free.)
There are also copies of new books published by friends of Godfrey (Journey Takers; The Old Leatherman; It Happened in Connecticut; Connecticut Coast; A Noble
and Glorious Cause; Richard M. Nixon-a Bibliography; Jewish Cemeteries of Western Massachusetts).
If you can’t come in, then keep an eye on our new revised website. There will be a
link to a page where you can find lists of Duplicate books, Duplicate CD-Roms, as well
as the list of new books available through the Library. There will also be instructions for
how to purchase items.
Godfrey Scholars
Have Access To Birth Records
Godfrey Memorial Library is now on:
Become a Friend. So far we have 285! The Godfrey Scholar subscriber’s card entitles the bearer to have access
to birth records that are 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 access 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 Library.
STEPHANIE HOOVER
Full-Time Professional Pennsylvania Genealogist
Check us out! On-Site Research throughout PA, NY, NJ, MD, DE & VA
Watch for interesting news items and provoking questions Tell us where you are from or what your favorite links on our site are. Page 18
German-to-English Genealogy Translation Services
Free Research Proposals ~ Free Translation Quotes
www.godfrey.org
PennsylvaniaResearch.com
(717) 298-0498
GML
Spring 2011
Volunteer Opportunities at Godfrey—
Spring 2011
The Godfrey Memorial Library is always looking for people inter‐
ested in contributing their time and talents to a variety of ongoing pro‐
jects. Some projects require the regular commitment of time, and some projects only occur on an irregular basis. Volunteers can commit to a regular time or day each week, or just pop in spontaneously when time permits. There are always things to do, such as: Docents: We would love to have more volunteers who can help us help pa‐
trons who are new to our library. All this entails is giving tours of the library, or possibly helping patrons log on to the computers. We will train anyone interested. Landscaping: The landscaping around the building of Godfrey Memorial Library is completely done by volunteers. Volunteers are needed who can work independently during the spring, summer, and fall months. Hours are the same as library hours—weekdays 9‐4, and possibly Saturday morn‐
ings. Tasks include, but are not limited to planting, weeding, mulching, etc. Database builders: We are continually building databases that we add to our website, providing unique information for our patrons. There are two large pro‐
jects right now that could use lots of hands. One is transcribing note cards of family information. The other is transcribing obituary notices from local newspapers. Typing skills are necessary and some knowledge of Excel is helpful, but we will train. Cemetery Project: We are looking for people who are serious about devoting time to help us build our database of Connecticut Cemeteries and their inscrip‐
tions. Needed are photographers who can go to the cemeteries to pho‐
tograph the stones and gather the transcriptions. We then need people who can work with Excel files to enter all the transcription information for our database. If you are outside of Connecticut and would like to try this in your state, please feel free to contact us about how to proceed. We would be happy to work with you. Robert Cook Associates
GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH SERVICES
THOMAS F. HEFFERNAN
Managing Principal
By Appointment ♦ (212) 447-1922
P.O. Box 1471 ♦ New York, NY 10276-1471
GML
Family Bibles
Year Books
YEARBOOKS As people downsize their book collections they wonder
what to do with these old keepsakes.
DON’T THROW THEM OUT!!
Send them to us!
The names and photos they contain are priceless and make
wonderful additions to our library! Since we started this project we
have received many great books, some filled with memorabilia
saved by the owners. The memorabilia is even more precious than
the books. We create an addendum file, which is kept with the book,
for any materials we find inside. Please consider donating to us.
BIBLES We now have three collections of Bible records online.
We are still building our fourth collection. We need more
records! 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.
If you find someone in one of these databases and would like
a hard copy of the actual pages, call us. While the information
shown online is a simple chart, you can purchase copies of the
original handwritten Bible pages. Each set will include images of all
the pages in that Bible that contain data. You may order the copies
directly from us by mail. The cost for copies is just $12.95 per Bible
ordered. You may order either by credit card online or you may print
a mail-in order form. Each set will include images of all the pages in
that Bible that contain data. You may order the copies directly from
us by mail. The cost for copies is just $12.95 per Bible ordered. You
may order either by credit card online or you may print a mail-in
order form.
Page 19
The Godfrey Update
Writing a Page-Turning (But True) Family History
By Leslie Albrecht Huber
P
erhaps the best way to ensure
had to make many revisions to my origiyour family history research surnal plan. I soon saw I had wanted to invives and is appreciated by others
clude too many families—too many genis by putting it in an easily digested forerations—in my book. I narrowed my
mat. The best option may be a wellscope to allow me to focus on the immiwritten family history. Writing a history
gration experience more fully.
that is both informative and interesting
Gather Information
can be challenging, but it is possible to
I had already collected a lot of informake your family history a page turner,
mation about my family before I started
without consigning it to the fiction secwriting The Journey Takers. However, as
tion. Last summer, I finished a narrative
I wrote, I found myself frenonfiction book entitled
quently returning to my
The Journey Takers that
uses my family to tell the “Look for ‘unconventional’ research to fill in holes or
to expand on certain asstory of the Western
records beyond birth,
pects of the story. Writing
European immigration
marriage,
and
death
your family story is a good
experience. Following
some simple steps records. Local newspapers way to discover where
your research is lacking!
and county histories can
helped me complete this
process more effecoften give you interesting When collecting the retively. Perhaps these
search for your history, of
peeks into your family’s
steps can help you
course it’s important to find
community.”
make your project a rethose family names, dates,
ality too.
and places that we need to
fill
in
our
family
group sheets. But the
Form Your Vision
truth is that names, dates and places
Before you plunge into the writing
alone don’t make a very exciting narraprocess, take some time to form your
tive. Think outside the box as you gather
vision of the project. Decide who you will
information about your family.
be writing about. Do you want to tell the
Look for “unconventional” records
story of one individual or one family? You
beyond birth, marriage, and death recould tell the story of the German portion
cords. Local newspapers and county
of the family, or focus on the ancestors
histories can often give you interesting
or descendants of a particular person.
peeks into your family’s community. FiAlso have in mind a certain length
nancial records, school records, minutes
and format for your history. Remember to
from meetings your ancestors attended,
set reasonable goals. You don’t have to
or employment records are some other
write a 400-page book that includes
possibilities.
every ancestor on your family tree. PerAnother effective way to create an
haps you want to start with a 20-page
interesting story is by using personal
family history that you print on your comaccounts of others—even if your ancesputer and staple together. Remember—
tors didn’t leave personal accounts beit’s better to have a finished small-scale
hind. My immigrant ancestors didn’t
project than to intend to complete a large
leave behind journals, letters, diaries, or
-scale project, but never have time to do
other records that give me insights into
it.
their experiences, but I was able to loAlthough it’s helpful to make some
cate accounts written by others who
plans at the beginning, it’s also important
shared their experiences to glean that
to be flexible. As you begin to write, you
inside look at their circumstances and
may find your vision changing. If this
some of the events that shaped their
happens, pause and re-evaluate, reformlives.
ing your goal before you continue your
Finally, take advantage of social and
project. As I progressed on my project, I
Page 20
www.godfrey.org
local histories. When I first started researching my Swedish immigrant, I read
a book called Sweden: A Nation’s History. I became acquainted with the historical setting so I could fit my ancestor
into her context. Besides reading about
major historical events, I read books that
explained social customs, daily chores,
and family roles, as well as demographic
patterns such as average ages at marriage and life expectancies. Often,
searching the catalogues of major libraries will help you locate sources like
these. Also, take the time to look for local
histories of the places they lived. Sometimes these are published and available
through libraries. Other times, you may
have to contact a parish pastor or local
historical society to find these.
You will probably never “complete”
your research. But at some point, you
must start writing. If you wait until every
loose end is tied up perfectly, you may
never write the family history. Even
though my book is published, I still have
mysteries to solve in the future!
Write (and Re-write) Your History
Many people find sitting down to that
blank screen or piece of paper to be intimidating. Writing is hard work. But there
are some things you can do to make it
easier—and some techniques that can
make your completed history more interesting.
Using a rough outline can help you
structure the story. If you have ideas for
a certain section of the history, write that
first—even if it’s not the first section. I
have written about 100 articles for magazines—and I have never started one at
the beginning and written until the end! I
wrote the chapters of The Journey Takers in a totally different order than they
appear.
Don’t forget to weave the social history and personal accounts of others into
your story. Large-scale trends and emotional accounts from others breathe life
into your ancestor. But, you must make
sure to keep your facts straight. It’s perfectly acceptable to draw conclusion and
make hypotheses—as long as you label
GML
Spring 2011
these. If you claim feelings or actions for your ancestors that
you are only guessing at, you are crossing the line into the fiction arena.
When writing a family history, you also need to think about
documentation. To make your research as valuable as possible
to other family members, it’s important to indicate where you got
your information. You might include the references within the
text or as footnotes. For a history meant for the family, it isn’t
necessary to stress about the placement of every comma in
your sources. Do try to be consistent in your documentation
format, though.
People who have experience writing will know that when
the last word is typed, you haven’t finished—you have just
moved on to the next phase of the project. After I ‘finished’ The
Journey Takers, it still continued to undergo many revisions,
both large and small for quite some time.
In this editing phase, be sure you carefully proofread the
history. If possible, read it out loud or ask someone else to read
it. When we read our own writing, we often substitute missing
words and fix incorrect grammar in our minds without even realizing it.
There are also some simple things you can do that will
make your writing more interesting. Tighten up your sentences.
Try to eliminate unnecessary words. Be clear and concise with
your thoughts. Short and simple sentences make more interesting writing than long, wandering, complex (and often confusing)
sentences. Choose words that most specifically convey to the
reader what you mean. Be careful of passive verbs such as is,
was, am, and are. Instead, rewrite some of these sentences to
include more exciting action verbs.
Do your best writing—but don’t let fear of writing stop you
from composing your family’s history. You don’t need to be a
candidate for the Pulitzer Prize to write a history that will be
valuable to your family.
Godfrey Scholar Program
Free Offer!
When you sign up or renew any subscription package for two years,
you will receive one of our “Genealogy Passports” as our
‘Thank You’ gift to you!
This passport has two (2) free Full Search forms.
A $60.00 value!!
GML
Share Your Masterpiece
You’ve done it now! You’ve created a wonderful family history. But your work still isn’t done yet. For your family to gain
from your hard work, you must make sure they know it exists.
Start by letting your family know about the history. Tell your
cousins, aunts, and uncles. Encourage them to tell others about
it. Include information about it in your Christmas letter, or by
email to family members. Then reach beyond your close family
to let more distant relatives who might be interested know.
Don’t be afraid to charge money for your history—at least
enough to cover your costs to print and distribute it. Writing a
family history shouldn’t put you in debt!
If possible, take advantage of the Internet’s ability to spread
information quickly and cheaply. You might create a simple web
page that either includes the history in its entirety or some of the
history and information to contact you in order to obtain the
complete history. Many family history websites allow you to submit material. Send your family stories here—always including
your contact information.
Let local libraries, genealogy societies, and historical societies that would be interested know about the history. You might
want to send a complimentary copy to a society in the area the
story takes place. This way, when other family members are
looking for information about the family in this locality, they will
find your history too. Consider donating a copy to the Godfrey
Library also! They love to receive family histories whether they
are book length or much shorter.
•
Leslie Albrecht Huber is a genealogical freelance writer and
lecturer based near Amherst, MA. Dozens of her articles have
appeared in over twenty different magazines and journals. Her
website, www.understandingyourancestors.com, provides more
information for people tracing their Western European roots.
Richard M. Nixon:
A Bibliography
By John Robert Greene, PhD,
and Allan Metz
John Robert Greene is one of the nation’s leading
scholars of the American Presidency.
Hardcover: $45.00
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
A Full Search is the name for our
program of answering research requests from our patrons.
Each form is for one name at a time.
Hardcover: $39.00; Paperback: $27.95
Just complete the form and mail or fax it to the
Godfrey Memorial Library.
Our staff and/or volunteers here will complete the search
and send you the results.
By Rabbi Edward Cohen
and Lewis Goldfarb
Jewish Cemeteries of
Western Massachusetts
The definitive index to thousands of Jewish
burials in Western Massachusetts
Hardcover: $35.00
Page 21
The Godfrey Update
Bruce Tyler Receives Fremont Rider Award
On November 9, 2010 at the Volunteers Appreciation Day, the Board of Directors of Godfrey Memorial Library, singled out one of their own for a special award. The Fremont Rider Award, named in honor of the founder of Godfrey Memorial Library, was given out for only the second time, to Bruce Tyler, Chairman of the Board of God‐
frey Memorial Library. When former Director of Godfrey, Richard Black, resigned from the library in 2008, the Board decided not to hire a new director for a while. They thought they would take some time to consider what di‐
rection they would like to take and what options were available. So instead, the directors themselves decided they would all pitch in to cover the management of the library. The thing to remember is that none of the directors are paid for their work. They are all volunteers. That is what makes it so note‐worthy that when the need arose, Bruce Tyler stepped forward and offered to act as Director for as long as was needed. For the next two years, Bruce increased his volunteer hours con‐
siderably, coming in daily to handle all the many issues confronting the library. This included budget planning, negotiations with vendors and other partners of the library, management of the physical build‐
ing, searching out new sources of revenue, as well as directing the staff and handling payroll details. Ned Browning, Fremont Rider Award Recipient Bruce Tyler, Barbara
Prymas, and Augie DeFrance
In the summer of 2010, it was decided that a new director should be hired, and Bruce could once again return to his former status reducing his volunteer hours back to their former level. At the Volunteers Appreciation Day celebration, Board mem‐
bers, Ned Browning and Barbara Prymas stepped up to announce the presentation of the Fremont Rider Award to Bruce Tyler for the extraordinary effort he made in support of the Godfrey Memorial Library. Ned Browning and Barbara Prymas give the presentation.
Arthur Fremont Rider, (May 25, 1885-October 26, 1962), was an American writer, poet,
editor, genealogist, and librarian. He was, for many years, librarian at Wesleyan’s Olin Library.
While in that position, he started putting together the idea for a monumental index that would
help genealogists all over the world in their research. That was the beginning of the American
Genealogical Biographical Index (AGBI) and the Godfrey Memorial Library.
The Fremont Rider Award was established in 2004, as a tool to recognize a life of service
and achievement similar to Freemont Rider’s contributions to the field of genealogy. It is given
to an individual who has a record of noteworthy achievement and vision in the field of genealogy, and who has demonstrated a solid record of accomplishment.
Page 22
www.godfrey.org
GML
Spring 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011, 1:30 PM
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Connecticut will meet at Godfrey Library. Personal
Research Time with Assistance. The program is open to all.
Contact Marcia Indianer Meyers
[email protected]
Saturday, May 28, 2011 to Monday, May 30, 2011
MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND
The Library will be closed for Memorial Day
Saturday, June 4, 2011; 1:30 PM
The Master Genealogist Users Group will
hold its monthly meeting. Anyone using the
software Master Genealogist, or who wishes to
know how to use it is welcome to attend.
Location: Godfrey Memorial Library
Contact: Nancy Thurrott at
[email protected]
Sunday, June 26, 2011, 1:30 PM
The Jewish Genealogical Society of Connecticut will meet at Godfrey Library. Gene
MacMullen, volunteer Conservator at the Whitney Library of New Haven Museum and Historical Society will present a program on
Preserving Family Documents for Future
Generations. The program is open to all.
Contact Marcia Indianer Meyers
[email protected]
Monday, July 4, 2011
INDEPENDENCE DAY
The Library will be closed for July Fourth
Monday, September 5, 2011
LABOR DAY
The Library will be closed for Labor Day
DIRECTORY OF GENEALOGISTS
A Global Network of Professional Genealogists
Wednesday, September 7, to Saturday,
September 10, 2011
2011 FGS / ISGS Conference
Capital Prairie Convention Center,
Springfield, IL. Look for representatives from
the Godfrey Library. For more information:
http://www.fgs.org/2011conference/index.php
Contact: Christine Spencer at
[email protected]
GML
• Post your research project for free.
• Work directly with the genealogists you hire.
www.DirectoryofGenealogists.com
Page 23
The Godfrey Update
Annual Appeal Report 2010-2011
Be an opener of doors for such as come after thee.—Ralph Waldo Emerson Every year Godfrey Library sends out a mailing for our Annual Appeal Campaign. It is by and through this correspondence that the Library is sustained. We, as a non‐profit organization, come to each previous donor and prospective new donor in this way and “knock on their door” to make a plea for their support. From the funds we receive we are able to continue bringing to our patrons the resources they find most helpful in their research. The truth is that many people benefit from their donations. The names that follow are those who let their generosity guide them to the door and who enthusiastically open it to us and invite us in. In this forum we have an opportunity to express our gratitude to them and appreciate their financial benefaction. We, the staff and volunteers at Godfrey, believe the value of their donations both individually and collectively far exceeds the dollar value and we thank you. Supporters
Fuss, Ruth P.
Prymas, Barbara and Stanley
Tyler, Karen and Bruce
Patrons
Beebe, Charles S.
Browning, Edward T.
Donors
Crawford, Vaughn & Denise
Cumming, G. Jeremy
Haughton, Beverly and Kenneth
Laput, Ed
McBride, Donald
Thompson & Peck, Inc.
Associates
Barry, Barbara
DeFrance, August
Dix, Dennis, Jr.
Doane, Nancy
Fennelly, Thomas
Freeman, Joseph and Cynthia
George, Julia
Graves, Richard
Hablitzel, Donna H.
Harvey, Elaine
Hill, Dorian
Hoffman, Tom
Holley, Melvin J.
Jamieson, Lois
Koroghlanian, Carol, M.
Lombardi, Patricia and Guy
Marsh, Mary A.
Martin, Cornwell C.
Meyers, Marcia and Arthur
Nelson, Bryan and Cheryl
Phelps, Sharon S.
Stoddard, Richard and Donna
Taylor, Patricia
Thetford, Norman
Turner, Larry
Weiss, Pamela B.
Page 24
West , Lyle H.
Westphal, Joyce
Contributors
Anderson, Robert
Barnes, Robert
Bauer, Virginia
Berg, Evelyn L.
Bloodgood, John H.
Bradbury, Susan
Brainard, Ellen R.
Brookshier, Joe
Butler, Roger
Caliandri, Mr. & Mrs. Dante
Campbell, Gina
Cardinal, Judith L.
Carlson, Janet
Carson, Ken
Carta, Marie S.
Cole, Janace D.
Cook, Helen G.
Cummiskey, Robert
Cutshall, Patricia
Davignon, Donald
Dean, David
Dimmick, Charles
Dougherty, Robert
Emmons, Marion R.
Fodor, Lynn
Fouraker, Jane L.
Frohn, Henry G.
Frye, Eleanor S.
Glick, Robert
Hoffman, Jacquline J.
Hopfenbeck, Linda
Hughes, Robert C.
Hugo, Catherine
Johnson, Hazel S.
Kennedy, Vondell F.
Kerr, Barbara O.
Leland, Robert K.
Levesque, Jeannine T.
Lewis, Elizabeth Howard
Little, M. Irene
Malcarne, Shirley
Metzler, John
Moneypenny, Sandy
Morrison, Emily S.
Oblak, John
O'Rourke, Barbara
Pearson, Barbara
Perkins, Audrey
Pompano, James
Quigg, Gloria
Rasmussen, Marie
Rau, W. James
Reitt, Barbara B.
Robinson, Donovan
Rosen, Roberta Newton
Sanders, Robert
Shapiro, Stephen Paul
Sheehan, Richard
Smidt, Susan L.
Smith, Doris A.
Stoner, Al
Syron, Virginia A.
Thelen, Judy
Van Winkle, Adelaide
Vance-Abate, Sonja
Williams, Louis
Wilson, Keith
Allies
Anderson, Nina
Anonymous
Austin, Janice
Bancroft, Cathleen L.
Bancroft, Nancy L.
Caudill, Judy L.
Christensen, Sharen R.
Colburn, Mary C.
Collins, Helen J.
Colston, Freddie
Connelly, Joyce L.
Cooney, Jane
Cotter, Jacquelyn A.
Creem, Edward Jr.
Dahl, Judy N.
www.godfrey.org
Donaldson, John
Downer, Ruth Ann
Ebright, Joyce
Eller, Darla
Enos, Elizabeth
Falvey, Janice
Ferguson, Merton W.
Fielding, Marilyn
Fletcher, Patsy M.
Freeman, Susan
Ginter, Lucia and Donald
Gleason, Mary Ellen
Goodson, Rita W.
Gray, Michael
Hale, Julia F.
Hanson, Karl Alfred
Hasbrouck, Julia
Holcombe, Joanne
Jenkins, Margaret S.
Jerman, Todd M.
Katz, Tobie
Kesinger, Jean E.
Kole, Marilyn H.
Krechoweckyj, Kristine
MacLean, Elizabeth A.
Maloney, Rondal
Mankin, Virginia
Marino, Anthony
Massey, Karen
McCain, Diana
McCleary, Margaret
McKiernan, Rose
McVean, Deborah
Meeker, Lin
Meyer, Joan
Miller, Robert C.
Mosier, Aloha
Patch, Olivia
Rigney, Alice
Roberts, Adina D.
Russell, Beverly J.
Schopp, Paul W.
Shannon, Mary E.
GML
Spring 2011
Using Maps To Track Down Your Ancestors
(Continued from Page 1)
sider that in many times and places, people spelled phonetically—
based on how things sounded—without being too concerned
about using a particular spelling. Also, we may find that there are
numerous towns with the same name. Looking at maps helps us
to bring in other information we know to locate the correct town.
For example, we might also know that the town was located in a
certain county or certain state, or next to a particular landmark.
Maps can be important tools in helping us connect with the
correct records. In order to access sources with information about
our families, it is important that we understand the jurisdictions and
boundaries of the places they lived. Some maps specifically show
boundary changes over time. Others show which towns or areas
belonged to certain counties or parishes at that time. A map can
help us figure out which county our ancestor lived in so that we can
consult the records kept at the county level. Similarly, when we
know which parish our ancestor’s hometown belonged to, we can
look in the correct parish records for their names.
Many people also enjoy getting a better understanding of their
ancestors’ world. Maps can help us see how close our ancestor’s
village was to major cities,
waterways, or boundaries of
other states or countries.
Maps might also plot waterways or railroads, helping us
understand how our ancestors may have migrated or
immigrated to a new home.
Detailed maps such as city
maps or landownership
maps might even help us
locate our ancestor’s exact property. Sometimes, these maps even
include the landowners’ names. These maps can confirm our ancestor’s location as well as provide valuable—and fun—insights
into his life.
Finding Maps
Now that you are convinced of the importance of maps, how
do you find them? Major libraries usually have useful map collections. Genealogical and historical societies in the area where your
ancestors lived can also be important resources. If these societies
don’t have maps themselves, they may be able to point you in the
right direction.
Perhaps the easiest place to look is online. While of course
not all valuable genealogical maps are online, more are becoming
available all the time. There is not room to list them all, but I did
want to mention a few.
The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection found online at
http://www.davidrumsey.com/ has 26,000 maps, the majority of
which cover North and South America in the eighteenth and nineteenth century. The Library of Congress also has a digitized map
collection available at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml/. It
is divided by topics such as “towns and cities” and “transportation
and communication.”
A great website to spend some time exploring is Digital
Sanborn Maps at http://sanborn.umi.com/ which contains 660,000
maps of over 12,000 US towns and cities. The maps were created
GML
for over a century (1867 to 1970) at a scale of fifty feet to an inch.
Their original purpose was to help fire insurance companies assess risk. Only authorized users at subscribing institutions can
search the digitized maps.
It’s not just US maps you can find online. Many valuable genealogical maps of foreign countries are also online. For example,
you can find a detailed English gazetteer and map through GENUKI’s website at http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/Gazetteer/. If you
have Eastern European ancestors, check out the map room of
FEEFHS (the Federation of Eastern European Family History Societies) at http://www.feefhs.org/maplibrary.html. For Germany, be
sure to visit Atlas des Deutschen Reichs by Ludwig Ravenstein,
put online by the University of Wisconsin at http://
www.library.wisc.edu/etext/ravenstein/home.html.
Some large-scale websites also have useful information. A
great place to start is at FamilySearch’s website found at
www.familysearch.org. Choose the “Learn” tab from the top to
search the genealogy Wikis. Then type in the country and the word
“maps” to find detailed information about what types of maps are
available and how to access them—including links to online collections. Don’t forget that US GenWeb has a variety of useful maps.
Go to your ancestor’s US county to see what you can find. Finally,
for links to more online information, be sure to visit the “Maps, Gazetteers & Geographical Information” section of Cyndi’s List located
at http://www.cyndislist.com/maps.htm.
If you are interested in purchasing old maps, you can find
online stores that allow you to order detailed and specific historical
maps. Jonathan Sheppard Books is just one of these stores with a
large collection of historic US and European maps. You can see
their collection at http://jonathansheppardbooks.com/JSBMaps/
maphome.htm.
Don’t forget to take advantage of The Godfrey Library’s exciting map collection. If you have German ancestors, be sure to
check out the Map Guide to German Parish Registers.
This ongoing series began in 2004 and already contains thirtysix volumes. The purpose is to help people who know their ancestors’ hometowns locate which parishes they attended—a step that
is necessary if you want to access parish records, the most important genealogical source in Germany. The library also has several
maps and atlases available for those interested in tracing Irish ancestors. For more help using maps, try another book found at the
library: Maps Can Help You Trace Your Family Tree: How to Use
Maps in Genealogy. Or another map book, Atlas of Historical
County Boundaries, might be just what you need to solve your
genealogy puzzle. And of course, the library has many more map
resources!
So, log on to your computer or come into the Godfrey Memorial Library and see how maps can make your genealogical research easier.
•
Leslie Albrecht Huber is a genealogical freelance writer
and lecturer based near Amherst, MA. Dozens of her articles
have appeared in over twenty different magazines and journals. Her website, www.understandingyourancestors.com,
provides more information for people tracing their Western
European roots. Her latest book, The Journey Takers, can
be purchased from GML. See the ad on page 17.
Page 25
The Godfrey Update
Second Selection: Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers Sharon’s New Links
Welcome to Chronicling America, en‐
hancing access to America’s historic newspapers. This site allows you to search and view newspaper pages from 1860‐1922 and find information about American newspapers published be‐
tween 1690‐present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National En‐
dowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress as part of the Na‐
tional Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP). Submitted by Sharon Dahlmeyer-Giovannitti
In this issue I hve chosen three sites that I highly recommend to researchers: First Selection: Northern New York Historical Newspapers Northern New York Historical Newspapers are provided by the Northern New York Library Network to enhance access to the region's local history. The online collection currently consists of more than 2,191,000 pages from fifty newspapers. They include: Adirondack Record‐Elizabethtown Post, 1917‐1971 Brushton Facts & Fallacies, 1899‐1954 Canton Commercial Advertiser, 1900‐1952 Cape Vincent Eagle, 1872‐1951 Cardinal Points of SUNY Plattsburgh, 1940‐2006 Chateaugay Journal & Chateaugay Record, 1881‐1995 Clarkson Integrator, 1920‐2007 Elizabethtown Post, 1882‐1920 Essex County Republican, 1844‐1973 Fort Covington Sun, 1887‐1987 Fulton Patriot, 1916‐1954 Gouverneur Tribune‐Press & others, 1864‐2004 Hammond Advertiser, 1886‐1949 Heuvelton Bee, 1912‐1923 Hill News of St. Lawrence University, 1911‐2008 Lake Placid News, 1914‐2008 Lewis County Democrat and Lowville Herald, 1856‐1914 Lowville Black River Democrat and Lowville Leader, 1913‐1954 Lowville Journal & Republican, 1860‐1955 Lowville Times and Lewis County Independent, 1876‐1891 Madrid Herald, 1904‐1918 Malone Farmer, 1900‐1936 Malone Franklin Gazette, 1842‐1899 Malone Palladium, 1849‐1909 Massena Observer 1891‐1989 North Country Catholic, 1946‐2006 Norwood News, 1879‐1941 Ogdensburg Advance & Ogdensburg Advance‐News, 1861‐1962 Ogdensburg Advance‐News, 1963‐1989 Ogdensburg Journal, 1857‐1989 Ogdensburg St. Lawrence Republican, 1827‐1916 Oswegonian of SUNY Oswego, 1935‐2010 Plattsburgh Daily Press, 1894‐1942 (Plattsburgh) Press‐Republican, 1942‐1998 Plattsburgh Republican, 1811‐1930 Plattsburgh Sentinel, 1866‐1931 Potsdam Courier‐Freeman, 1861‐1989 Potsdam Herald‐Recorder, 1906‐1951 Potsdam St. Lawrence Herald, 1879‐1904 Pulaski Democrat, 1834‐1990 Racquette of SUNY Potsdam, 1927‐2009 Rouses Point North Countryman, 1928‐1982 Sandy Creek News, 1871‐1985 Saranac Lake Adirondack Daily Enterprise, 1948‐2007 St. Regis Falls Adirondack News, 1887‐1933 Ticonderoga Sentinel, 1874‐1950 Tupper Lake Free Press and Herald, 1911‐2005 Waddington Recorder, 1894‐1896 Watertown Herald, 1886‐1918 Watertown Re‐Union, 1866‐1918 She Murdered Her Husband!
I find myself stopping to read other articles that are also on the page.
Third Selection: Connecticut History Online (CHO) Connecticut History Online (CHO) is a digital collection of over 15,000 digital primary sources, together with associated inter‐
pretive and educational material. This new initiative builds upon a very successful collaboration of libraries and museums carried out in two IMLS National Leadership grant‐funded phases (1999‐2007) that focused on digital capture of historical artifacts, including photographs, maps, broadsides, manuscripts and oral histories. These document events, people, and places that are part of the fabric of Connecticut and Ameri‐
can social, business, political, educational, cultural, and civic life. This is a fun site. As well as typing in a surname, try a location or even a street name! By simply filling out the last name, I was able to find a picture of my grandfather Frederick Dahlmeyer with his bowling team from SNET, Middletown. What’s so special about this pic‐
ture is that I have so few of them; he died before I was born, so I have no memories of him at all. In the picture, he is the one standing on the far left. This was wonderful find, indeed! Broken Links?
Articles obtained from these pages include obituaries, births, acci‐
dents, wedding announcements, church announcements, etc. There is an abundance of information to be found in these newspapers. Page 26
I have found an enormous amount on information in these papers. One of the nice features about searching in these papers is that the words you are seeking are highlighted, making it easy to find them. Have you ever clicked on a link on our site and found that it no longer did what it
was supposed to do? It is probably a broken link. This occurs when the owner of the
site has made changes that affected the link. There are lots of them. We have so
many links on our site, that it is very difficult to keep up with the changes made to
web sites.
If you find a broken link we very much want to hear about it. Please send us an
email at [email protected] and tell us exactly which link is not working (and where
you found it—which folder). We can then investigate why it broke and get it fixed.
www.godfrey.org
GML
Spring 2011
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of the Revised Godfrey Scholar Program? [Core Databases found in all four categories of membership] ♦ ♦ ♦ •African American Experience (Greenwood) •African American Newspapers (Accessible Archives) •American Civil War Research Database (Alexander Street Press) •American County Histories to 1900 (Accessible Archives) •19th Century Newspapers (Accessible Archives) •American National Biography (Oxford) •Black Thought and Culture (African Americans From Colonial Times To Present) (Alexander Street Press) •British and Irish Women's Letters and Diaries (Alexander Street Press) •Columbia Gazetteer •Early American Newspapers (NewsBank) •In The First Person (An Index To Letters, Diaries, Oral Histories And Personal Narratives) (Alexander Street Press) •Marquis Who's Who •Nineteenth Century US Newspapers (Gale) •North American Immigrant Letters, Diaries and Oral Histories (Alexander Street Press) •North American Women's Letters and Diaries (Alexander Street Press) •OCLC WorldCat •Oral History Online (Alexander Street Press) •Oxford African American Studies Center •Oxford Dictionary of National Biography •Oxford Language Dictionaries Online (OLDO) •The American Civil War: Letters And Diaries (Alexander Street Press) •The London Times Digital Archive (Gale) •Who’s Who and Who Was Who (UK) (Oxford) ♦ ♦ ♦ ALSO PART OF ALL FOUR PAID SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE OUR UNIQUE RESOURCES: 3 Bible Records Databases • Brooks Collection (East Haddam, CT) • Doolittle Funeral Records (Middletown, CT) Connecticut Cemetery Project (Over 200 Cemeteries) • Civil War Soldiers & Leaders Curletti, Italy Records • and So Much More! GML
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Godfrey Update 2011 Issue-final

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