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The Ellen Payne Odom Genealogy Library Family Tree
Coastal Georgia Genealogical Society
News Update November 2003


COASTAL GEORGIA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY NEWS & REVIEW (NOVEMBER 2003)

16 NOVEMBER 2003--Our first day trip this year!  We will be touring our new library facilities located at 208 Gloucester Street in historic downtown Brunswick at 2 p.m., our usual meeting time.

21 SEPTEMBER 2003--Met at the College Place United Methodist Church on Altama Avenue, and basically had a show and tell, and talked about various genealogy software that are available.  Amy Hedrick, our editor, brought in her lap top and gave a demonstration on how to use Family Tree Maker.

FYI

The November issue of our newsletter was sent out a little earlier this month, due to your editor being out of commission during the last week of October and the first week of November.

Of course, this shouldn't cause any problems, other than a lack of the calendar of events section.

Unfortunately, due to this hiatus and the holidays, there will not be a December issue.

Hope all is well with our group, happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas to all!

-Amy Hedrick, editor


LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN

One of our email recipients of our wonderful newsletter, suggested that we might want to start a letter writing campaign in support of our friend, Beth Gay, whose genealogy column recently was cancelled by the Florida Times Union.

Although I have not read an FTU paper, I am a staunch supporter of genealogy learning aides such as Beth's column.

To me, researching family history, is not only a way to learn about your heritage, but for young and old alike, it is also a way of learning and maintaining job skills.

For instance, you learn how to organize files, research documents, typing skills may be increased, reading and comprehension skills boosted, social skills enhanced by interacting with strangers of different age levels.  Not to mention your technological skills in using a computer and maintaining your files therewith.

Having columns such as this in newspapers are a boon to local community awareness, especially when you include articles about area research.  Newspapers are here to inform their readers, and genealogy has become one of the top hobbies in America today.

Many companies are focusing on selling software, resource books, forms, archival tools, and more.  This is a growing industry and when someone offers help for under $2.00 [like a newspaper] who can resist buying that newspaper?

So if you want to help save Beth Gay's column, write your letter to the editor immediately, to express your concerns about it's cancellation.

There is always a place for you, Beth, in our little rag!  Feel free to send any articles of yours for publication within our small newsletter, people like yourself are an asset not to be wasted in the genealogical world of research!


RECENT TRIP TO THE LDS CHURCH

Your editor finally got a weekday off from her job, and decided to visit members Jerry and Norah Martin at the local Church of Latter Day Saints to get a brief tour of the facilities, and do some quick lookups.

If you are not familiar with what the church provides in the way of genealogy services, check out their web site at:  <http://www.familysearch.org/>

From their website, you can do surname searches in their family files, which are files that have been submitted by members of the church, or you can search the 1880 U.S. Census, the social security death index, and much more.

Also online is a "card catalogue" of the LDS holdings in Salt Lake City, Utah.  While at the church, Jerry briefed me on how to use the computers to search for surnames, and localities.  I didn't have much luck on the surnames, but I was curious about looking up microfilm for my home town of Marion, Grant Co., Indiana.

I knew that the church has many court records on microfilm, as I have purchased Glynn County records from them already.  My interest was in a will book located in Indiana, that may have more info on my Hedrick line.  Since writing to the courthouse about a will transcription that I have in my possession and the courthouse saying that the will did not exist, I got very frustrated.

Usually when you send requests for records, the person doing the lookup doesn't really care about your research, and does just a basic search, and if nothing is found within 10 minutes or so, then it isn't there.  Well, I have this type written will, that gives me the book and page number, it has to be there, right?

So, I do a locality search, and viola!  There is the will book on microfilm, I order it immediately.  Now not only can I search for my Hedricks, but I can search for all of my surnames on this roll and not have to worry about an overworked courthouse employee not finding the info I need or want.

Had I done the search for this particular microfilm on the LDS website, I would not have found it, I did a quick search while typing this article, and the subject of probate records was not listed.  Which tells you that you can not trust the information on the internet to be complete.

After ordering my film, Jerry, under direction of Norah, pulled out some microfiche of people doing research on surnames.  I scan through, and to my surprise, someone is interested in my second great grandfather Jacob J.Hedrick and his first wife Mary Bane.  Not only does it give this person's name, but an address and phone number!  I have yet to call this number, read my brick wall article below and you will see why.

For those of you doing long distance research, the LDS church is a valuable resource, that if not used, could be taken away due to lack of interest.  This is a volunteer endeavor to run these local libraries, and the wealth of information here, just may help you topple your brick walls.


THE BRICK WALL

"My Brick Wall, Slowly Crumbling"

Since discovering my who my third great grandfather was [John Headrick], I have put off my genealogy research for almost a year now.

Just recently I have gotten back into it, and started by sending off for a pension file on a half great grand uncle, grandchild to the above mentioned John Headrick in hopes of it containing further proof of my heritage.

During this break, I haven't even searched the internet for my ancestors.  This morning [3 October 2003], out of curiosity, I decided to search Rootsweb for my Hedrick line.

I typed in Jacob Hedrick married to Mary Bane, and one record showed up.  I didn't get excited, calmly I checked this gedcom for my names, and slowly the excitement rose.

Over the past 5 years of researching my Hedrick line, I have never found any info containing my exact ancestral line.  There are many off shoots of my line starting with my great-great grandfather Jacob, but not a lot of info on him or his ancestors.

Well this gedcom had all the way down to my grandfather!  A first ever, and it was just uploaded on 17 September 2003!  Not only does it have my grandparents, but it has 3 generations back from my third great grandfather!   The waiting paid off.

My assumptions on who my third great was, were correct.  I assumed through an estate record in Indiana, that John Headrick was the father of my second great, Jacob, and due to cemetery records, that a Jacob Hedrick married to a Catherine Meese in Virginia, was the brother to my John Headrick.  According to this gedcom, I was correct in my assumption.

Now the long wait for the compiler to email me and tell me how she came about this info!


UNUSUAL GIVEN NAME HAS ANCIENT HISTORY

By Carl Hommel

I have noted on some mailing lists mention of the given name of Benoni. This is an unusual name, and some people think that it is an Italian family name and the child is named after his or her mother's family and then indicate that they have been unable to find a family with that surname.

Actually Benoni is a Biblical name that means "son of my sorrow."  It was the original name given to the younger son of the patriarch Jacob. Rachel, his mother, in her dying agony named the child Benoni. (Genesis 35:18).

This name was often given in American Colonial times to a child whose mother died in childbirth or whose father died before the child was born. In fact, this is an important clue. When one sees the name Benoni, look to see what sad event might have caused the child to be given that name. It might have been the death of a grandparent, a parent or a sibling.


INTERNET

<http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/daghtml/daghome.html> The Library's daguerreotype collection consists of more than 725 photographs dating from 1839 to 1864. Portrait daguerreotypes produced by the Mathew Brady studio make up the major portion of the collection. The collection also includes early architectural views by John Plumbe, several Philadelphia street scenes, early portraits by pioneering daguerreotypist Robert Cornelius, studio portraits by black photographers James P. Ball and Francis Grice, and copies of painted portraits.


LOOKUP OFFER

Our newsletter not only goes out to our members, but upon request, will be emailed to anyone requesting a copy.  One of our email only recipients has recently dropped out of our mail list, but she has offered to do lookups for anyone needing assistance.

Joyce Van Meter lives in Virginia and has offered to do lookups for anyone needing assistance in the Shenandoah Valley.  If you have ancestors from this area, she may be able to help.

Email the newsletter at:  cggsnews@hotmail.com and your request will be forwarded to Joyce.


PUBLICATIONS

"Elmira, Death Camp of the North" by Michael Horigan [Stackpole books 2002]  Throughout the Civil War, POW camps were inevitable.  This is the story of Elmira, or Hellmira, located in Elmira, New York, that opened on 6 July 1864 and closed 11 July 1865.  During its single year of existence 12,123 Confederates passed through its doors and nearly 3,000 of them died.  Elmira's death rate was the highest of any Northern prison camp during the war.  The prisoners were kept in deplorable conditions, and due to maniacal behavior of officers in charge [namely the war department], were nearly starved due to retaliation for wrongs done to Union soldiers in the south.


MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

Annual membership to the CGGS is only $15 for one person or $18 for a family.  Membership extends from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003.

Remit payment to our treasurer:

Barbara Baethke
119 Bayberry Circle
St. Simons Is. , GA 31522

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