NYSCOGO Spring Meeting in Watertown

Here is another interesting genealogy meeting coming up, this one in Watertown. 

 NYSCOGO Meeting Schedule

NYSCOGO Spring 2017 Meeting in Watertown, NY 

Hosted by the Jefferson County NY Genealogical Society (JCNYGS)

Meeting Date:   Saturday April 8, 2017

 Registration: 8:30 - 9:00 A.M.; Business Meeting 9:00 – 12:00 Noon; No cost casual lunch provided (sandwiches, salad, drink, etc) by JCNYGS Noon - 1:00 P.M.

 

Where: We’ll meet at the Historic Paddock Mansion in downtown Watertown; also known as the Jefferson County Historical Society, 228 Washington Street, Watertown, New York 13601. There is limited curb-side parking available on Washington Street; however, ample parking is available in the Public Parking Lot directly behind the Museum.

Speaker: As part of the business portion, locally known speaker Don Whitney will share comments on the history of Jefferson County. Don served as a reading teacher and school administrator for over 40 years.  Presently he serves as the President and Trustee of the Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation in Rochester. Don resides in Adams Center (Jefferson County) with his wife Linda.

Paddock Mansion Tour: Director of JCHS, Jordan Walker, will provide attendees a tour of the Paddock Mansion and Museum. There is also a “Marietta Holley and 100 Years” display tentatively scheduled to be shown at JCHS from March – June 2017

Research: At this time we very much expect there will be genealogical research opportunities across the street at the Flower Memorial Library. See Note.

Early attendees welcomed: If you wish to arrive a day prior (Friday, 7 April), there will be research opportunities at the Flower Memorial Library from 12 Noon to 4:00 PM (See Note). As a group, we will also plan a pay as you go evening meal at the Historic Crystal Restaurant on Public Square.

Note: There is a slight chance the library will close for major repairs. Contracts are out to bid and work should not start until late April or May. However, if closed, we will make arrangements to have research time at the Historical Association of South Jefferson. JCNYGS is monitoring closely.

Lodging/Local Information: Please visit the Watertown Chamber of Commerce site for lodging and/or our local events calendar: http://www.watertownny.com/

 

The registration sheet is below:  Same day registration is welcomed however early registration,

by 25 March 2017, is appreciated. This will help in planning purposes for NYSCOGO and JCNYGS leadership.

 

 

The POC at JCNYGS is Vice President Tom LaClair at tomlaclair624@yahoo.com. If you have questions about the visiting Jefferson County the weekend of the conference, please reply directly to him.

 

Cut the following and send with your registration:

********************************************************************************************

Meeting Registration:

Name:____________________________________________Tele:__________________

Address:________________________________________________________________

E-Mail Address:___________________________________________________________

Send: NYSCOGO meeting registration & check payable to NYSCOGO in amount of $10.00 to: NYSCOGO  P.O. Box 2593  Syracuse, New York 13220-2593

Palmyra Meeting

Today was the semi-annual NYSCOGO (New York State Council ofGenealogical Organizations) meeting in Palmyra, New York.  Eleven people gathered for a meeting and to tour Historic Palmyra, Inc.  Historic Palmyra is a group of historic buildings and museums in downtown Palmyra with a rich history of the area. I will be writing more about these places in the days to come, but for now here are a few tidbits of information that were heard at the meeting that will be of interest to people researching here and the surrounding areas:

The Seneca County Historical Society in the Waterloo Library no longer has information and historic records of the area. This is now housed  at the Memorial Day Museum in the village.

The Wayne County Historian’s Office has database for everyone who has ever been mentioned in the county. It is called the Surname Database and is located on the left hand side of their database. <http://web.co.wayne.ny.us/office-of-the-county-historian/>

All thirteen Wayne County libraries have access to Ancestry.com and many are starting to have genealogy clubs in these libraries. They are part of the Pioneer Library System that covers much of the Finger Lakes area.

Palmyra library has a good local history collection as does Newark and Geneva libraries. I haven't had a chance to visit any of these libraries, but they are on my list of places to get to!

Time Spent- Saturday Challenge

This Saturday’s challenge seemed complicated with a lot of hours of calculation and really how do I separate my genealogy from other things related? It wants me to account for all my genealogy time during a given week. So, instead I’m doing an old challenge from last summer that has some similar questions that don’t require me to calculate every single minute of my day!

1)  Answer these questions in my survey about your genealogy resources and usage:

a)  Which genealogy software programs for your computer do you use (e.g., Family Tree Maker, Reunion, GRAMPS, etc.)?

I use Reunion. It is a Mac based program only. Sorry Windows users! This program is easy to use and has a lot of different report creating capabilities as well as a good display for information.

b)  Which online family trees have information submitted by you - in either a separate online tree (e.g., Ancestry Member Tree) or a universal (collaborative) online tree (e.g., WikiTree)?

After a bad experience a number of years ago with someone taking my information and changing it after a distant cousin had given them a copy of the tree we had been working on, I do not put information into online trees. The short version of the problem is that sources were completely removed, information garbled- siblings are married to each other among other things- and he claims that he’s the only one to have done work on the family, and that this tree is gospel.

I do add information to Find A Grave, but not complete trees or all of the research.

c)  For which subscription genealogy record providers (e.g., Ancestry) do you have a subscription?

I have subscriptions to Ancestry and AmericanAncestors (New England Historical Genealogical Society). My husband has access to the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society databases as well through his membership.

d)  Which FREE genealogy record providers (e.g., FamilySearch) do you use regularly?

I regularly use Family Search, Find A Grave and rootsweb/genweb sites. Also, several newspaper and obituary websites: Fulton Postcards, New York State Historical Newspapers, and Legacy for the recent obituaries.

e)  How much time do you spend each week doing actual genealogy research online?  [Note:  not reading, or social networking, but actual searching in a record provider].  Estimate an average number of hours per week.

I’m probably online about 5 hours a week usually, more if I have a chunk of time to do some research. A lot of it is on Find A Grave as I want to get as many of my families stones and those of local cemeteries photographed as possible before the stones disappear. I wish I had more of a chance to get out and photograph the stones than I currently have, but request the ones I can’t get to.

f)  How much time do you spend each week doing actual genealogy research in a repository (e.g., library, archive, courthouse, etc.)?  Estimate an average number of hours per month over, say, a one-year period.

About once or twice a month I get a chance to go to an actual repository to do research. I usually am able to devote about 6-8 hours to researching when I do. Other times it might be a quick trip to get a certain record or a short visit to find out about that repository.

g)  How much time do you spend each week adding information to your genealogy software program (either on your computer or online)?  Estimate an average number of hours per week over, say, a one-month period.

Often, I try to enter information as I go along. However, that is not always possible if there is analysis to do or if I am quickly copying pages to get the information. On an average week, I probably spend an hour or two catching up with this. Right now I have a backlog of pages of various records that I photographed while at the New York State Library in Albany.

h)  How much time do you spend each month at a genealogical society meeting, program or event (not a seminar or conference)?  Estimate an average number of hours per month over, say, a one-year period.

I’m not going to average this all out as most meetings are clumped together into the spring/fall season. I average about 4 hours probably at the Central New York Genealogical Meetings- there are 5 per year, 2 all-day and 3 half-day meetings and I attend most of them. Half shire Society is about 3 hours per meeting and I attend about 3 during the spring to fall season. I have also started attending NYSCOGO meetings that are twice a year and vary widely in the time. This spring’s meeting was about 2 hours, but involved a day and a half of research with the group as well.

i)  How much time do you spend each month on genealogy education (e.g., reading books and periodicals, attending seminars, conferences, workshops, webinars, etc.)?   Estimate an average number of hours per month over, say, a one-year period.

I try to listen to at least one webinar each week, which can be an hour to an hour and a half usually. Also an hour-long podcast or two each month. Conferences and institutes are one or two times a year and are from 3 to 5 days long. I have no idea how much time I spend reading, that varies widely, but as an avid reader, I devote whatever time I can to it.

j)  How much time do you spend each week reading, writing and commenting on genealogy blogs, websites, and social media?   Estimate an average number of hours per week over, say, a one-month period.

This falls into the above of I’m not sure how much time I spend reading. As I read both print and online, I don’t differentiate in my mind.

Whew! That’s a lot of guesses in various categories. And the amounts vary widely week to week and from season to season. You can probably see why I took a look at a challenge that asked for hours spent in a week over large categories of things and said, no I could never calculate that; or if I did I would be wasting a lot of time. My time fluctuates day to day, week to week and season to season way too much to be able to figure out an average or typical week.

7 Tips for a Reseach Trip

The lavender will soon be blooming again

The weather is getting better and many of us are thinking of taking trips to further our research. I know I am looking forward to various trips. NYSCOGO, New York State Council of Genealogical Organizations is combining their spring meeting with a trip to the New York State Archives and Library in a couple weeks. I am working on completing my plans for this trip right now. Whether it is to a library, an archive, a historical society or someplace else, here are seven tips that are helpful to make your trip successful.

1-    Check hours of repository

First things first! Check and make sure the repository is open when you’re planning on going. What days are they open and what are the hours? Do they close for certain holidays? Even obscure ones you’re never heard of are possibilities as they are important to the local area. Is there a renovation going on that has them unexpectedly closed? Do you need an appointment to research there?

Check out as much as you can doing a search of their website and any brochures that you might have. This will give you a good idea if your plan to go on a certain day is feasible. Then contact them. Either email or call and double check that they are open that day and at that time. A bonus to this is that many places will be willing to pull information for you about your research interest ahead of time and save you waiting for them to locate that obscure file. One place I visited last summer was small and crowded with files all over the place, as they didn’t have room to organize anything properly. However, when I arrived, the files I was interested in and a few books were neatly stacked on a research table waiting for me!

Albany skyline from across the Hudson River

2-    Check map/directions

Find out where the place is. Seriously. Don’t assume that just because the historical society is in a small town that you can find it easily or that everybody knows where it is. For those of us that don’t use GPS, also don’t assume that everyone can read a map! We once stopped at a AAA office for help as we had left the map we needed in our hotel room. The young girl behind the desk tried to help us, but she couldn’t even figure out how to find the town we were in on the map. Apparently, that skill is not taught in schools anymore like we were taught.

Have an idea of where you are headed. Either use GPS or have the directions and a map handy in the car. Chances are you will miss at least one turn or there will be a detour along the way that you’ll need to account for.

3-    Check about parking in the area

Where can you park once you get there? How much will it cost? Can you use a credit card or is it cash only or perhaps you need to buy a special card to use in those lots. Smaller places won’t have as many issues. Often in small towns you can pull into their driveway or park along the street. However, in larger cities, especially where the state library and archives are located, parking can be at a premium. Check out your options and have a two or three in mind in case your first choice is full.

4-    What can you bring in there or must leave behind.

Are there restrictions on what you can bring into the repository? Are laptops allowed? Is a notebook of research or must you just bring in a few loose sheets of paper? Pens or pencils only? What about cameras or scanners? Is flash photography allowed-- probably not. Can you bring a bottle of water in if it is in a secure container? Archives usually have the most restrictions followed by libraries. Find out what they are and make sure you don’t bring along anything that isn’t allowed or that you can secure it somewhere while you are visiting. Many places with strict restrictions in place have lockers where you can secure your personal possessions while you’re there. It’s always good to find out ahead of time.

5-    Cost for research

Is there a fee to research? Some places charge for the day or by the hour. If you’re a member it might be cheaper or even free to use the facilities. Find out so you aren’t caught by surprise. Some places might be exact cash only, for example. Sometimes if you’re doing a lot of research in one place, it is less expensive to become a member if only for that year.

6-    Copies and other restrictions.

Along with the restrictions I mentioned above, find out what you can copy and how much each copy will cost. Sometimes you can copy items yourself, other times you’ll need to request copies and wait for staff to make them. In the latter case, you might have to wait awhile for the copies, come back another day, or have them sent to you. Find out ahead of time so that you’re not caught unawares! Along those lines, bring a camera along if you’re able to. Even if they make copies, photocopiers break down, and other things happen that might prevent you from getting those copies. Some places will let you take digital pictures of the items instead. I actually prefer this method as I have less paper to carry and there is no need to scan when you get home. 

7-    List what you’re researching!

You already started this didn’t you? Make a list of what you want to look for at this repository. Which people are you researching that lived in the area that they collect information about? Create a research plan before you go. It doesn’t have to be a formal plan like a professional might create. Just list off the things you are looking for. Check their online catalog or listing of resources. Have the call numbers written down and other information ready to go. This will save you a lot of time while you are there.

Along with this, list off your goals of what you want to accomplish. This will help you stay on track and not go off on tangents where you find a lot of interesting information, but forget to look for that very important fact that you were primarily interested in finding out. Set priorities in case you can’t get to everything that you want to. Alternatively, it’s also good to have ideas of things that you might like to look for, but aren’t really necessary in case you get through your list quickly. Be ready to make the most of the opportunity no matter what you find.

Goodbye Clarissa

On Tuesday the Central New York Genealogical Society among other societies lost a valued member and a good friend. Clarissa Stalknecht will be greatly missed by all who have ever met her.

I have been struggling to figure out just what to write about her. There is so much that can be said about Clarissa. I saw her last as we were leaving last month's meeting. She was talking with others about helping to provide the luncheon for this month's all-day meeting. It was going to be difficult as besides some health issues she was dealing with, it is tax deadline. As a tax preparer, that is, of course, a mega crunch time, but she was working to make sure that a good luncheon will be available at the meeting. For the last ten years, every CNYGS meeting has had a luncheon at the all day meetings and snacks at every meeting, mostly done by Clarissa as Hospitality chair.

Probably every member has a story about a time when she has helped them out. Never seeking the spot-light, she just went on and got everything done. I have heard that there will be a memorial service for her on April 24th from noon to four at the Brewerton Fire Station.

CNYGS Board member and Chair of the New York Family History Conference, Nancy Maliwesky posted a tribute to Clarissa on the CNYGS blog which is far better than anything I could ever write.