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 Bucks County
Genealogical Society
April 2014 Newsletter
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2014 MEETING DATES
May 3
June 7
July- no meeting
August 2
September 6
October 4
November 1
December 6
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WE CAN ACCEPT CREDIT CARD PAYMENTS AT OUR MEETINGS!
Our treasurer, Marguerite Mogila, has an attachment for her smart phone which enables us to accept credit card payments at our meetings for membership fees and donations.
Because there is a cost for us to do this, we cannot accept meeting fees through PayPal...just cash or check for the meeting fees. Thank you for your understanding.
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 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Greetings to all BCGS Members and Friends,
A warm welcome to Spring and all the best for Easter Sunday for those who celebrate! Pennsylvania researchers received an exciting spring gift last Friday morning from the Pennsylvania Archives and Ancestry.com - the first batch of Pennsylvania death certificates (1906-1924) has been uploaded! They are digitized, indexed and fully searchable. Read more about this important project in the article below.
I am very pleased to report that our Society now has 183 members, with about 500 on our mailing list. We are getting very close to that next milestone of 200 members!
Our Society was honored to be asked by the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania to co-sponsor the annual Ancestry Fair this year, to be held at the Bucks County Visitors Center in Bensalem on Saturday, September 20th. Among other tasks, BCGS will be responsible for the vendor booths, so Board members will be reaching out to organizations which might want to participate. Vendors will be organizations like ours, or they could also be companies selling items of interest to genealogists. If you know of a potential vendor, please let us know!
If you missed our April "Show and Tell" meeting, it was well attended and at least fifteen of us shared our favorite family treasures. Thanks to everyone who participated!
Our May meeting will be held at the David Library on May 3rd, and will feature Don Petrillo from the Bucks County Register of Wills, speaking on records available there, and plans for digitization. The types of records held at our local courthouse will be similar to those at all Pennsylvania county courthouses, and across the country as well, so even if your ancestors are from other counties, the presentation will be very educational.
Warm Regards,
Christine Roberts
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SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2014
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
at the David Library of the American Revolution
1201 River Road, Washington Crossing, PA
(Park behind the building and use the Conference Center entrance.)____________________________ RESOURCES AT THE BUCKS COUNTY COURTHOUSE Presented by Donald Petrille, Jr. Esq. 
Donald Petrille, Jr. is the elected Register of Wills of Bucks County. Before taking office in January of 2012, Mr. Petrille spent 14 years in the private practice of law. Mr. Petrille's legal practice focused on the needs of small businesses and individuals, focusing on real estate, contracts, estate planning and estate administration. As Register of Wills, Mr. Petrille has instituted several community advisory panels, including those for historians and genealogists, and a well-attended professional advisory panel of accountants and attorneys. The office is currently working on implementing a digitization plan for all of its records, and has cut the office's operating budget while increasing services. To this end, the office has established hours at a Lower Bucks Satellite office for probate and marriage license applications. Mr. Petrille and his staff also serve on and sponsor the Bucks County Elder Abuse Task Force. The Register of Wills helps report financial abuse to the proper authorities. The office is also communicating with the public via Facebook and Twitter. ___________
The meeting is open to the public. Cost for members is $5 and for non-members it is $10.
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PROJECT LEADERS NEEDED!
BCGS has two potential projects which need leaders:
Doylestown Mason's Lodge Records:
We are working with the Doylestown Mason's Lodge to determine the availability of membership applications back to 1850, and then will need to obtain permission from them to digitize and index those records. The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania is currently working with several Lodges in Philadelphia to digitize their applications, so that project can be used as a model for ours.
St. Andrew's Cemetery Records: We have been contacted by the Sexton at St. Andrew's in Yardley regarding a possible collaboration with BCGS to digitize the St. Andrew's Cemetery records. This would be our Society's first digitization project, and would pave the way for many future projects.
If interested, please contact Chris Roberts at [email protected] .
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Free access to Ancestry.com Pennsylvania
became available for Pennsylvania State residents
on April 18, 2014!
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HOW TO OBTAIN PENNSYLVANIA STATE VITAL RECORDS
by Michael McCormick
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was one of the main ports of entry into our nation. Many families in the United States have some ancestors who are connected to Pennsylvania, even if they moved out soon after immigrating. This is why the availability of vital records in eastern states like Pennsylvania is important to the genealogy of the nation.
The process of obtaining Pennsylvania state vital records is changing. Vital records are the records of birth and death that are recorded at the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Chances are that you have your own birth certificate, and perhaps a death certificate of a recently deceased close relative. These records list date and location of the recorded event, parents names, and several other useful facts of genealogical interest. Imagine if you could have these certificates for all your Pennsylvania ancestors. You may unlock relationships, find out where an ancestor was buried, the causes of death (for family health history), or simply fill in those missing dates on your pedigree. Soon you will be able to do all this more easily.
State vital records (births and deaths) for Pennsylvania begin in 1906. Until recently, the only way to search these records was to ask the staff of the Pennsylvania Department of Health to search the records for you. In early 2012, the state legislature passed a law directing that all deaths filed 50 years ago, and births filed 105 years ago, are now open to the public. For those public years, the health department quickly posted images of the typed indexes online. The first benefit was that you could now search the index yourself. That was an immediate genealogical benefit. For example, you could look for spelling variants, or look for everyone with the last name you are interested in.
Starting this year (2014), Ancestry.com will put digital images and a searchable index of these records online. The first batch of records is anticipated to come this month. These records may include deaths from 1906 through 1924. Details of when specific batches of these records will be released online is subject to change, but they will be coming online soon.
When these records come online they will start to appear in the "Hints" of Ancestry.com member trees, and will also be searchable with various data entry fields like current collections on the Ancestry.com website. This will allow you to find vital records in seconds that you may not have even known existed before. If any of your relatives died in Pennsylvania between 1906 and 1963, this collection is for you. It also will include births from 1906 through 1908, although those may not be uploaded for almost another year. The deaths records will be release in batches first.
If you do not have an Ancestry.com account, please do not despair. There will be several free options to access the Pennsylvania records. You may use the database at the archives, at a Family History Center, or select libraries. You may also have free access from home if you are a Pennsylvania resident. You can already access other Pennsylvania collections for free. Get started today to set up your free account at http://phmc.info/ancestrypa.
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This article was used with the permission of Michael McCormick
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SPIRIT of the JERSEYS State History Fair
Saturday May 10, 2014, 11 a.m. - 5 p.m., rain or shine
Washington Crossing State Park, Titusville, NJ 08560
 Experience five centuries of New Jersey's history all in one place at the SPIRIT of the JERSEYS State History Fair - a historical festival for all ages on Saturday, May 10th at Washington Crossing State Park in Titusville, NJ. This free, award-winning event, which runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., rain or shine, annually draws more than 5,000 visitors. In 2014, we celebrate the Fair's 10th anniversary and New Jersey's 350th! The Fair is a fun-filled adventure into New Jersey's past with living history demonstrations, military reenactors, tours, exhibits, period music and dance, and historical organizations and museums from around the state.
There are plenty of hands-on activities for kids and adults, from learning the art of paper marbling to participating in historical games; to plowing a furrow or participating in a military drill. This year, there will be a free concert by the New Jersey Army National Guard's 63rd Army Band immediately following the fair.Admission is free. Parking is $8 per vehicle.
For more information and a complete list of activities about the Fair, visit www.njhistoryfair.org or call 609-737-0623. Bucks County Genealogical Society will have a table at this event. If you can help staff the table for an hour or two, please contact Cathy Ivins at [email protected]
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ANCESTRY. COM WANTS YOUR FEEDBACK!
Are you frustrated or annoyed with the "new search" on Ancestry.com? Send your feedback to [email protected]
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DATABASE NEWS!
Our BCGS searchable database continues to grow! The most recent additions include obituaries from two area newspapers, the Bucks County Intelligencer (1804-1834) and the Souderton Independent (1890-1932), and marriage notices from the Quakertown Free Press (1902-1932). The next group of records to be added will be obituaries from the Quakertown Free Press (1881-1932). Searchers can now add comments to any record in the database, and anyone viewing that record will see those comments. So if you have information on an ancestor that conflicts with or expands on what the record shows, you can share that information with others searching for the same person. (Adding comments is limited to logged-in members only, for security reasons, but like the search itself, viewing the comments is available to all visitors to www.bucksgen.org.) As of April 19, 2014 the BCGS database contains: - 19,229 birth and baptism records
- 33,112 death and burial records
- 159,744 total searchable names
To begin your search, go to www.bucksgen.org and click on "Search the BCGS Database." Your feedback is welcome! Please email Nancy Heath at [email protected]g with your comments.
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Looking for a speaker?
The Society's President, Christine Roberts, has developed a presentation called "Who Are My Peeps: Six Easy Steps to Starting Your Family History Research". The presentation is targeted toward beginners looking for guidance on how to begin their genealogy research, and includes examples from Chris' own research to make it come alive. Chris hopes to present "Who Are My Peeps?" to various organizations to forward the Society's mission of educating the public about genealogy, and to spread the word about our Society.
There is no charge for the presentation, but donations to BCGS are welcome.
If you know of an organization which might be interested in this presentation, please contact Chris at [email protected]
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SATTERTHWAITE INFORMATION AVAILABLE
My name is Bill Taylor. I have my great grandmother's copy of the Satterthwaite Genealogy dated 1910. It starts with William Satterthwaite who settled in Bucks County in 1734 and is written by Amos and Elizabeth Satterthwaite. This may be a book that has multiple copies in the Bucks County area. It has helped me trace some of my Taylor, Wright, Newbolt and Satterthwaite ancestors. I would be happy to send anyone copies of the information in the book if they would find it of interest.
With best wishes,
Bill Taylor Jr., descendent of William Wright Taylor Sr./Joseph Kirkbride Taylor/Mahlon Taylor/Joseph Knight Taylor
Please address any inquires to Bill Taylor at [email protected] and use the Satterthwaite name as the subject of your email.
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TECH TIP
Videos are now available at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) from the March 14 event which preceded the Ancestry Day. HSP is one of the largest family history centers in the country and one of these videos explains the resources which are available at HSP. Here is the link: http://hsp.org/history-online/media-library/videos
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COMMENT CORNER
Thanks to two members for these kind words:
"The BCGS web site is impressive - clear, attractive, and easy to navigate."
"I belong to another genealogical society;they are no where near as perfect as the BCGS society. BCGS is amazing, so very professional for the short time they have been in existence."
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COMPREHENSIVE EVENTS CALENDAR
 Click the link for a listing of upcoming genealogy events for our organization and others in our area:
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Have you looked at our Facebook page?
Cathy Ivins, BCGS Director of Publicity, posts great genealogy information almost every day. Click here and take a look... www.facebook.com/bucksgen
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Membership Fees for One Year Membership
Individual: $20 Dual/Household: $35
Our membership fees help to pay for speakers, facility rental, website costs, insurance and more. Membership in BCGS is on a rolling basis and lasts one year from the month you join. Won't you join and help us continue to grow?
Member Benefits - with more to come: - Discount on Society educational programs and events.
- Members can have their surnames posted on our website with a link to the member's email address.
- Members-Only section of the BCGS website. Participate in discussion forums, share files, photos, and information with other members; see members' favorite genealogical websites and contribute your own.
- Meeting handouts are available to members unable to attend the Society's regular monthly meetings.
- GenealogyBank: 20% ($14) discount - members may subscribe for $55.95 per year.
- Fold3: 37% ($30) discount - members may subscribe for $49.95 per year.
- Saving Memories Forever: 12% discount - members may receive a one-year premium subscription for $35.00.
- Dell Purchase Program: provides discounts on products sold through the Dell website to FGS member societies' members, their families, and their friends. BCGS is a member of FGS (Federation of Genealogical Societies) and the discounts are available to our members.
Join or renew by mail using our membership application/renewal form, on line on the Society's website via PayPal or by paying with cash or check at our next meeting. And, we now have the ability to accept credit card payments at our monthly meetings! If you have questions, please contact: [email protected]
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QUERY ABOUT SAMUEL CLARK'S FAMILY
My name is John Rosenbaum. My maternal grandmother was Hannah May (Clark) Rumford (1876-1949). I am researching her Clark family in Bucks County. It was not too difficult for me to document that Hannah's father was Amos Clark (abt 1842-?), her grandfather was Edward H. Clark (abt 1819-1854), and her great grandfather was a Samuel Clark (abt 1785-1863). Although I found several Samuel Clarks in Bucks County, I know this one is Edward Clark's father because after this Samuel Clark's death, Edward Clark's brother (Amos W. Clark) filed a Petition to Orphans Court that named this Samuel Clark's children and their spouses, including Edward H. Clark and his wife, Mary Ott. But that's where I have hit a brick wall. I have been unable to find this Samuel Clark's father. Could he be yet another Samuel Clark, an assessor in Milford at the time of Fries's Rebellion? Your help will be appreciated.
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QUERY ABOUT CHINA HALL IN CROYDON, PA
 | | Photo from www.AmusementParkNostalgia.net |
Diane Watkins is seeking information (or old photos) about the Bucks County residence located in Croydon which was called China Retreat or China Hall.
If you can help, please contact Diane at [email protected]
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More information about us:
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