| Monthly Newsletter - August 2009 |
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| Written by Aric Brown | |
| Monday, 24 August 2009 | |
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THE AMARILLO GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER AUGUST 2009
MEETING Monday, September 14, 2009 Meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. Amarillo Public Library, Downtown Meeting room on the Second Floor Visitors are always welcome.
OUR PROGRAM WILL BE “EAT AND MEET” AN OLD FASHIONED COVERED DISH SOCIAL Our traditional program for September will start off our society’s year. Bring something to contribute to a pot-luck dinner. We will feast on good food and catch up on what everyone did this summer.
Please note that we are meeting at the central library downtown.
LAST MEETING The meeting in May was Show and Tell. Many of our members brought photos, keepsakes and family stories to share.
ANNUAL OCTOBER CONFERENCE The Amarillo Genealogical Society’s annual October Conference will be on Saturday, October 10, 2009 at the Ascension Academy, 9301 Ascension Parkway (near 45th and Soncy), Amarillo, Texas. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m., with the program starting at 9:00 a.m. and lasting until about 4:30 p.m. There will be door prizes throughout the day. Bob and Pat Gordon of BOOKS AND THINGS will be on hand with an array of genealogy books and related materials for us to browse and buy. If you have a specific request, their web site is http://www.mygenealogybooks.com , or call 817-293-2739, or fax 817-293-3048 GENEALOGY CLASSES OFFERED AT AMARILLO COLLEGE Two genealogy classes, Beginning and Advanced, are planned for the Spring Semester at Amarillo College through the Continuing Education Department, Leisure Studies program.
Registration began July 31, 2009. You can register on the internet at http://www.actx.edu ; by mail: Amarillo College, Registrar’s Office, PO Box 447, Amarillo, TX 79178; by fax: 806-371-5066; or at any of the Amarillo College campuses. For more information, call 806-371-2920. If you are interested in attending one of these classes, register early, as space is limited. * * * * NARA (National Archives and Records Administration) has added four huge files of passenger data to their internet archives. http://ad.archives.gov
* * * * If you are researching in Virginia, here is a web site http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaead/ that might be of interest: It is a finding aid to archival and manuscript collections in 27 Virginia repositories. I entered one of my Virginia names and learned of two resources and where they are held. When I am ready, I can request them via inter-library loan. * * * * Some time ago we had a program on turning our genealogy records into book format. We learned how to get our books printed and bound. But now there is an alternative method—internet publishing. I attended a writers’ conference this summer where I learned of one site: http://www.lulu.com but I am sure there are others out there just as good. In essence, you upload your book, chose a cover and type of paper and binding, and how much you would like to net on each book. “Lulu” then calculates their cost, adds your profit figure and a 20% commission to get the cost to buy each book. You direct anyone who wants a copy to the web site where the book is printed on demand. The upside is, of course, that you don’t have to order a bunch of books and then have them take up room in your home while you try to sell them. Not to mention you have no money invested. NEWS FROM THE AMARILLO CENTRAL LIBRARY
What do you hear when you enter the second floor of the central library? Nothing. The renovations are finished and the Children and Video Departments have moved downstairs, leaving the reference area quiet and with an atmosphere conducive to serious research. According to a notice from Special Collections, “the genealogy department is ready to receive all searchers. The library is lacking in enough tables, but they should be here by the end of August. The Ancestry Library Edition is not up and running yet. But there are quite a number of new books displayed, that we received during the time we were closed. The Reference Department and the Special Collections Department have been consolidated, but we hope the same service can be given to all patrons. The phone number that was Special Collections before the renovation: 806-378-4211 is now the Reference Office phone. To call the reference desk on the floor, the numbers are 806-378-3049 or 806-378-6022.”
I visited the downtown library briefly the other evening and was pleased to see all the improvements. You won’t recognize the place. The downstairs checkout area is very attractive. Both floors look larger. I don’t know if they have put in a bunch of new lights, but it certainly seems brighter. The genealogy area flows into the reference area, which flows into the non-fiction books—which will make it easier when we are doing research and needing materials that are not considered solely genealogical. The copy machines are off in a little room by themselves. Everything has been done to make the research area quiet and put the materials in our hands efficiently. Rob, Gayle, and the rest of the library staff have certainly worked hard to give us a great place to do our family history.
GENEALOGY WITH A MISSION Texas State Genealogical Society 2009 Conference Omni Hotel, 9821 Colonnade Boulevard at IH10N, San Antonio, Texas Reservations: 1-800-TheOmni (843-6664)
For details go to: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry. com /~txsgs/tsgs2009conference.htm l
Registration is due by October 19, 2009, for guarantee of luncheon and banquet tickets, and after that date the cost for the conference increases. There is a registration form on the web site or e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 903-539-5572. * * * *
If you find a conference that you cannot attend, try contacting that organization to see if they have a CD or printed materials available. Some of the major seminars have CDs of the speakers for purchase.
* * * * If you wish to receive e-mail reminders for upcoming events, be sure Joe Brown j This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it has your current e-mail address. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Several people told me how much they enjoyed the serialized story by Myrtle Jones last year, but since no one submitted a story, I am starting one of my own. At the end I will tell you three things I learned from this experience.
FINDING? DOLLY by Audrey Cannady Massingill
ADid you see any Cannadys?@ I asked my cousin, Bob Harryman, after he told me he had found some of our missing Harrymans in the I.O.O.F. (International Order of Odd Fellows) Cemetery in rural Washington County, Illinois. In the mid-1800s, five Harryman sisters married five Cannady brothers, so the two families are usually found in the same places. One of those couples, Stephen Cannady and Tabitha Harryman, were my great-great-grandparents. ANo, I didn=t,@ Bob had the grace to look a bit ashamed. ABut then I was so excited to find Milo (Harryman) I didn=t think to look for them.@ Bob gave me a hand-drawn map of the location of Milo’s grave within the cemetery, and I added the I.O.O.F. Cemetery to my list of Asomeday@ clues to work.
Over the next few years, I learned that no inventory of the cemetery=s residents was available. But I did find a young man in Okawville (the nearest town to the graveyard), Rodney Green, who had a list of lot owners. He told me that Wyatt Cannady, brother to my Stephen, had bought a lot in the cemetery. In July of 1999, I finally made a trip to Illinois. I had only two and one-half days to devote to family research before I was due to begin my round of visits to living family and friends. Illinois was in the midst of a heat wave that July and between the temperature and the humidity, the heat index was well over the 100-degree mark. I had carefully planned my time so that I could do my cemetery visits early in the morning and spend the rest of the day in air-conditioned courthouses and libraries in Nashville and Carlyle, Illinois. But, there were hitches: On the day I planned to see Mr. Green, he was called out of town on an emergency. And it took a day and a half at Nashville, instead of one day, to gather the information I needed in Washington County. So it was noon on Wednesday before I could visit with Rodney Green. He showed me his map—the Cannady plot was next to the Harrymans I stopped at McDonalds for a hotdog lunch and then hurried to the cemetery. Time was running out on this trip. It was a short drive on an unpaved country road to the cemetery, and for once I made all of the correct turns and didn=t waste time getting lost. Located on a hill, the burial ground was easy to see from the road. A good omen, I thought. TO BE CONTINUED
******PLEASE NOTE NEW DATE and LOCATION OF THE SEPTEMBER MEETING****** Monday, September 14, 2009 AMARILLO PUBLIC LIBRARY CENTRAL (DOWNTOWN)
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION To join or renew your membership, complete the following information and mail to: THE AMARILLO GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, P.O. Box 2171, Amarillo, TX 79189, Attention: Treasurer. Better yet, bring this form to the next meeting.
NAME ______________________________________________
ADDRESS __________________________________________________________________________
CITY ______________________________ STATE __________________ ZIP _____________________
TELEPHONE ___________________ E-mail Address _______________________________________
Dues are due by January 1st for each calendar year. Date ______________
____ New Membership ____Renewal Membership
____ Individual and Family $15.00 ____ Contributing $25.00
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