eNews Vol. 1, No. 5
Connecticut Ancestry Society, Inc.
September 2008 eNews Vol. 1 No. 5
Welcome to our next installment of news from Connecticut Ancestry Society, Inc. As announced in our February 2008 journal, this eMail will inform you of upcoming events currently scheduled. We are expecting to send these roughly once a month to help remind you of upcoming plans.
Note: We did take a month off, so there was no August eNews.
Upcoming Meetings:
September 28th, 2008: “Exploring Local Repositories” continues as we visit the Wilton History Room housed at the Wilton Public Library, 137 Old Ridgefield Road, Wilton, CT. At 1:00pm, as the Library opens, curators of the collection, will take the time to introduce us to the unique attributes of this wonderful collection. This presentation is open to the public, but please RSVP to Connecticut Ancestry Society with the expected number of attendees at (203) 778-4794 or via email at rlocke@ralii.com. Following the presentation, members of the public are invited to take advantage of the resources available in the Wilton History Room. Members of Connecticut Ancestry Society are invited to do the same or to join the CAS Board in an adjoining room for our September board meeting.
Our next Board meeting will follow the presentation at the Wilton Library on September 28th, and is projected to begin at 2pm.
Later this Fall, mark your calendars now:
October 26th, 2008: “Fairfield County Loyalist Documents and Ghostly Encounters” with renowned Loyalist expert, Paul J. Bunnell, UE. Beginning at 2:00PM, at the New Canaan Historical Society, 13 Oenoke Ridge, New Canaan, CT, Paul will lecture on the ship, Union, which brought many area loyalists to New Brunswick, and the encounter with his Loyalist ghost.
November 8th, 2008: “Non-Population Schedules” with professional genealogist, Nora Galvin, at the Bridgeport Public Library. Beginning at 10:00AM, Nora will explore the use of these “other” censuses and the types of information that can be used to learn more of your family’s history.
December, 2008: Connecticut Ancestry Society Holiday Party.
Check out http://www.connecticutancestry.org/activities.html for upcoming activities occurring at other locations throughout the area.
News:
The August journal has gone to print and been mailed. If you have not received yours yet, keep an eye on the mailbox, and check out the Table of Contents at http://www.connecticutancestry.org/journal.html
Other News:
This following article is reprinted from UpFront with NGS, the Online Newsletter of National Genealogical Society, Volume 8 Number 7, dated 1 July 2008. by permission.
— Join the Act: Preserving the American Historical Record Act by Jan Alpert, NGS President
For the last several weeks the evening news has been full of pictures of the flooded Midwest. One can only imagine the number of historical records that have been lost just in the month of June. After Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf coast, the State Archivists began to formulate a strategy that would help state and local governments preserve their historical records.
Preserving the American Historical Record Act (PAHR) is the joint effort of three institutions: the Council of State Archivists, The Society of American Archivists, and the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators. U. S. House of Representatives Bill 6056, was introduced in May 2008, sponsored by Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Chris Cannon (R-UT).
HR 6056 is requesting an additional $50 million a year for preservation and use of historical records at the state and local level, including records held by government agencies, historical societies, and libraries. Possible uses of the funds include archival finding aids, indexing, and imaging records online. It also includes money for historical preservation and disaster preparedness and recovery. The bill proposes that the National Archives will distribute the funds, using a population-based formula. There is much more information available about PAHR at http://www.archivists.org/pahr.
As a genealogist, you can help support PAHR in several ways. First, write your Congressional representative and tell him or her that you support PAHR. A sample letter is posted on the web site http://www.archivists.org/pahr as well as a list of all the Congressional Representatives with their mailing addresses and fax numbers. The web site also lists the members of the House who sit on key committees. These are the people who can help push the bill through the legislative process.
If you are an officer or board member of a genealogical society, ask your board to endorse HR 6056 “Preserving the American Historical Record Act.” The web site http://www.archivists.org/pahr includes a “draft resolution” that your genealogical organization can approve. Then have your society president or secretary forward your endorsement to Kathleen Roe, Chair, Joint Task Force on PAHR, kroe@mail.nysed.gov. If you have questions, you can email or call Kathleen Roe at 518 473-4254.
The archivists have initiated this ground-breaking legislation. With the support of the genealogical community, this bill can pass, and we can make a difference.
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If you have any ideas or comments about this “monthly” broadcast, please contact me at: webmaster@connecticutancestry.org