September Focus

I have had a busy summer that included time for some gen. research and learning new things. I am looking forward to meeting again on September 1st to see what you have been up to as well!

It is fun to be able to tell someone a little about their family's past. I did a little research for someone I am working with, and found a painting of the ship his great-great-grandfather served on during the Civil War! A little information like that can stir up enough interest to get someone started on their own research, and another historian is born.

I would like to suggest two primary areas of discussion at our next gathering. I have been in touch with a performer/historian named Abby Paige who does a wonderful one-woman show entitled "When We Were French." She takes on several characters and describes what it means to be of French Canadian descent from their points of view. I have arranged for her to come to Turners in January and perform for us. I convinced The Country Players, whose Board I chair, to sponsor this show, and will need your help publicizing it and filling the seats. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. Check out the details at http://abbypaige.com/current-projects/piecework-when-we-were-french/ I thought it would be appropriate to put together some kind of display on our own local French heritage. What form should that take?

Secondly, I'd like to talk about how we might take on a group project, such as collecting cemetery records. Pat Allen has a good start on the records of Montague Town Cemeteries. Planning a photography project would be good to get underway before the weather turns on us. Here's an example of a really well organized cemetery project: http://westport.loreprojects.com/home.cfm There has been a lot of work done in Nothfield recently, but it has not been published on-line. My goal is figuring out how we can share information effectively.

I'd like to continue to share links of interest in this space. The New England Historical and Genealogical Society (NEHGS) has launched a new web site AmericanAncestors.org that has some information available without subscription, and some for members only. They are co-sponsoring a genealogy day in Boston with Ancestry.com on October 16.

Phil Johnson passed on this link for Finnish Genealogy http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Du-Ha/Finnish-Americans.html
and noticed that the Worcester Public Library will be having an all day session on Sweedish Genealogy on October 2nd.

Tina Peters has had good luck with genealogybank.com for newspaper obits and other info from newspapers. I haven't been impressed with the newspaper search feature at Ancestry.com. Has any one else had better luck?

Sorry that I haven't figured out how to make these links "hot" - you'll just have to cut and paste them. I hope they are useful - send me more!

Mark Your Calendars

Jean Nudd, archivist for the National Archives center in Pittsfield, MA will speak to our group on Monday, August 2 at 6 p.m. Jean will review the holdings of the National Archives which are of interest to genealogists, and will discuss how to access them in person and on the internet.

I have set up another field trip for September. Melinda McIntosh, Reference Librarian, will give us a tour of the genealogical holdings at the Dubois Library at UMass Amherst on Monday, September 20 at 6:30 p.m. She is working on a handbook for research at the library and is very interested in getting the word out. We will explore the microfilm holdings, as well as the extensive local history stacks.

From Tina Peters, via NewEnglandAncestors.org: All 1901 and 1911 Census Records for Ireland Now Available.

The National Archives of Ireland, in conjunction with the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, the National Library of Ireland, Library and Archives Canada, the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, and the Irish Railway Records Society has now completed a project to digitize the 1901 and 1911 censuses. The final records were released recently, and now all thirty-two counties in Ireland are available to search for free at www.census.nationalarchives.ie

If anyone is researching SULLIVAN Irish ancestors, I would appreciate the opportunity to compare notes - heylady@mapinternet.com

Peskeomskut Park Music & Arts Festival

The Shea Theater is sponsoring it's third annual festival on Saturday, July 10, 2010 at the downtown park across the street from the Carnegie Library. Beginning at 10 a.m. there will be music and artisans, as well as a book and bike sale to benefit the Shea Theater. We have been given a space with electricity to promote our genealogy efforts, and will bring a scanner to preserve documents for the walk-up public. Volunteers are needed to be available to give genealogical advice during the day. We will make blank forms available for people to begin organizing their family history.
Please contact rememberingancestors@yahoo.com if you can spend an hour or two at our booth. We also need a tent for shade.
See http://www.peskeparkfest.com/ for more details.

Erving Public Library Program

We will have an opportunity to get valuable information on research at the Massachusetts Archives right here in Franklin County this month. Janis Duffy, Reference Supervisor at the Massachusetts State Archives, will make a presentation at the library in Ervingside.

June 14th – Monday evening @ 6:30 PM

Her topic: “Introduction to the Genealogical records at the Archives” will help you learn how to start your family research with Massachusetts records.

Program Possibilities

Thanks to the Library's offer for sponsorship, we are looking toward a speaker, or series of speakers, later in the summer to help us in our research.

Some of the suggestions under consideration are:

• Jean Nudd from the National Archives in Pittsfield, who can present a variety of topics from the holdings of the Archives, and those available on-line v. in person. http://www.archives.gov/northeast/pittsfield
• The Association for Gravestone Studies, located in Greenfield, could enlighten us on local carvings - www.gravestonestudies.org
• The Mass. State Archives also has many important records of interest.
• Barbara Proko, editor and genealogist, has published data in Arcadia photo books and on her blog http://wilnoworcester.blogspot.com
• The Dubois Library at UMass Amherst is also a rich source of historic information. Reference Librarian, Melinda MacIntosh, has a special interest in the materials of interest to genealogists.
• DNA testing and analysis is a new tool for determining familial connections.

Please feel free to add your comments and suggestions below.

Maps, Maps, Maps

The 1871 Beers Atlas map of Montague includes a town-wide map, as well as detail maps of Turners Falls, Millers Falls, Montague Center and Montague City. In addition to streets and physical boundaries, the maps contain names of property owners and businesses, as well as some special features such as the "Fossil Footprint Quarry."
Our friends at old_maps.com have compiled a fantastic collection of historic maps of the region. I will bring a copy of the "Early Maps of Montague" publication, compiled for the 250th Celebration in 2004. We might want to undertake the task of indexing the names on the maps. Gill has recently done this and it could be a great help to other researchers.
Carnegie Library has acquired a complete set of the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps which show buildings very accurately for several years between 1844 and 1914 in the more built-up areas in town, including Riverside in Gill. They are very useful for visualizing the wide variety of downtown businesses over the years.