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 Bucks County
Genealogical Society
September 2014 Newsletter
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 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Greetings to all BCGS Members and Friends,
Happy Fall to everyone! This month, we hit another record high attendance, with 95 people at our September meeting - thank you all for coming! Our speaker, Sabrina Peterson from Ancestry.com, was terrific.
And, the Eighth Annual Ancestry Fair held last weekend was another outstanding event! Hundreds attended to browse the booths, hear the speakers talk about genealogy research in military records, discuss their brick walls with professionals, and just generally socialize with other genealogists. A special thank you to Jeff Sipler and Cathy Ivins, and of course to the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, for working so hard to make it such a success. The BCGS booth was cheerfully staffed throughout the day - thanks to our terrific team of volunteers, we crossed two milestones that day: our membership is now over 250, and our mailing list over 600!!
Speaking of volunteering, it's a great way to make new friends and learn more about the genealogy community. BCGS is going strong and growing, but we need your help to make our society the best it can be! Please check out the list of volunteers needed below to see where you might be able to help out.
And speaking of working to make BCGS the best it can be, we'd appreciate your input by participating in our membership survey. If you are a member, please see the link below.
We're looking forward to seeing you on October 4th to hear Claire Keenan speak about Research in NJ!
Warm Regards, |
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2014
10:00 AM to 12:00 PM
at the
David Library of the American Revolution,
1201 River Road, Washington Crossing, PA
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RESEARCH IN NEW JERSEY
Presented by Claire E. Keenan
Discover the latest information about what New Jersey records are available for what years and locations, and at what depositories and websites. The presentation will focus on federal and state censuses; birth, marriage, death and related records (e.g., adoption and divorce); religious records; military records; as well as land, estate, and other records.
About the speaker:
After careers in publishing and the law, Claire Keenan came a professional genealogist almost 15 years ago. She has served on the boards of several genealogy societies, and is currently a Vice-President of the Genealogical Society of New Jersey. Claire is also the author of Research in the States: New Jersey, published by the National Genealogical Society. Copies of the book will be available for sale at the talk.
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Do you know about
Historic Fallsington Day
on October 11, 2014?
Historic Fallsington Day is always the second Saturday in October rain or shine with no gate admission. This time-honored event designed to captivate and enchant the entire family will feature a full day of programming and activities beginning at 10:00 a.m. and continuing until 4:30 p.m.!
Crafters, demonstrators, entertainment, and many of the activities will be set up along the streets of Fallsington and on Meetinghouse Square. Therefore, in order to provide safe space for the event as well as the safety of our visitors, Village streets will be closed to vehicular traffic. People arriving by car will be directed to ample parking at the Fallsington Elementary School.
The Historic Fallsington website has lots more information and driving directions. Take a look by clicking here. Come on out and join the fun!
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BCGS will have a table at this event. If you can help staff the BCGS table, please contact Cathy Ivins at [email protected]
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PLEASE HELP US WITH FUTURE PLANS
BY COMPLETING THIS
2-3 MINUTE SURVEY!
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Can you help with Hospitality?
A hospitality volunteer makes coffee, heats tea water, sets out the beverages and refreshments; and then cleans up after the meeting. All supplies costs are paid by BCGS.
To volunteer or for more information,
_________________________________________________________ Can you help with our Database? Website director Nancy Heath is looking for volunteers to help prepare some of our donated documents for addition to our BCGS Database. If you are familiar with Microsoft Excel and would like to help, email her at: [email protected] ________________________________________________________
Can you help with Publicity?
Publicity Director Cathy Ivins would be grateful for any media suggestions to include publicity for our events if they do not appear there currently.
Send suggestions to her by email at: [email protected]
________________________________________ Always wanted to direct traffic? Jeff Sipler, VP Programs, could use help on the first Saturday of each month with directing folks to parking at the David Library. As BCGS is growing, parking has become a challenge and a traffic director is needed. If you can help, please contact Jeff Sipler at [email protected]__________________________________ Comfortable with Excel worksheets? VP Membership, Pat Gessner, is seeking help once a month to update two Excel worksheets: the Program Register and Newsletter Index. It should take less than an hour each month. If you can help, please contact Pat at [email protected]
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DATABASE UPDATE!
The database keeps growing and changes almost daily. Check it out... a BCGS member found her great-grandfather's 1916 obituary on the database!
As of September 19, 2014 the BCGS database contains:
20,675 birth and baptism records
13,105 marriage records
56,770 death and burial records
194,564 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] with your comments.
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YES, WE STILL NEED PHOTOS!!
We want to finish the photo portion of our Cemetery Assessment Project by November 2014. You can have fun on a photo tour...
Call a couple of friends, plan a route, take photos at a few cemeteries, stop for lunch, and then send your photos to
Joann Cosgrove, VP Projects, at [email protected]  | |
Marilyn Cook, Peg Felter, Joann Cosgrove enjoying lunch after a photo tour of eleven Upper Bucks cemeteries on 9/10/14
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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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Do you have a query about a Bucks County ancestor, and don't know where to send it?
If you would like an answer from our Query Coordinator, Tom Myers, please send your query to Tom at [email protected]
If you would like the query published in a BCGS newsletter, please send your query (or comment) to VP Membership, Pat Gessner, at [email protected]
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Membership Fees for One Year Membership
Individual: $20 Dual/Household: $35 Organization: $75
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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More information about us:
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