|
|
 Bucks County
Genealogical Society
October 2013 Newsletter
|
|
|
|
|
2013 MEETING DATES
| November 2
December 7
2014 MEETING DATES
January 4
February tba
March 1
The meetings will be held at the David Library of the American Revolution, 1201 River Road, Washington Crossing, PA
|
|
|
TEXT TO JOIN
OUR MAILING LIST
| |
| |
Text BUCKSGEN to
22828
|
|
 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Greetings to all BCGS Members and Friends, We've had a busy month! Since the last newsletter, and in addition to our regular October monthly meeting, BCGS participated in the Ancestry Fair in Bensalem and the Mid-Atlantic Family History Conference in Cherry Hill. These regional events are such a great way to get the word out about our Society, and it's especially gratifying when we can help people find information about their ancestors. Our talented Webmaster, Nancy Heath, will soon be making an announcement regarding a new Members Only section of our website, which will replace the Yahoo! group we currently use for communication among members. Nancy has also started posting cemetery information gathered by members. The most exciting news is that we have received transcribed records from various sources, and Nancy is actively working on developing a searchable database for our website. If you have any transcriptions to donate, we are ready! The mission of BCGS includes increasing access to Bucks County records online, so the launch of the database will be a huge milestone. Our thanks and appreciation go out to all of our 152 members for their support of BCGS, enabling us to make a difference in the genealogical community here in Bucks County. I hope you can join us at our November meeting on Saturday, November 2nd, when we will enjoy a potluck brunch, conduct our Annual Meeting, and hear about each other's "Trials and Triumphs". See you then! Warm Regards, Christine Roberts
|
|
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2013
10:00 AM-1:00 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.)
____________________________
ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING
plus
TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS: Member Presentation and Pot-Luck Brunch
Let us know about your trials (brick walls) and get suggestions from other members. Also, we want to hear about your successes - a breakthrough or surprise that helped you with your research.
Come and join us for this fun event and get to know other members o  f BCGS. Bring along your favorite family food item to share at the pot-luck brunch. We will supply tablecloths, paper plates, plastic utensils, and coffee. Please let us know what food item you will bring and if you are interested in sharing a Trial or Triumph. Please send your responses to Cathy Ivins, BCGS Director - Publicity, at [email protected]The meeting is open to the public. No registration required.
Cost: $5 Free to members and guest with potluck item!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
November Annual Business Meeting
and Election of Officers and Directors
Article IV of the BCGS bylaws states that the annual business meeting is to be held in November for the election of officers and directors for next year. Nominations for 2014 officers and directors will be accepted at the November 2nd meeting.
Here are the people who have served BCGS as officers and directors during 2013 and who are nominated for 2014 positions:
|
 | |
Photo by June Portnoy; courtesy of Times Publishing Newspapers
2013 Officers and Directors from left to right: Jeff Sipler, Nancy Heath, Chris Roberts, Marguerite Mogila, Mary Butash, Pat Gessner, Cathy Ivins
_______________________________________
|
|
Chris Roberts is President and one of the founding members of BCGS. She lives in Newtown and when she isn't working on genealogy research, she works as a Real Estate Asset Manager at the NJ Economic Development Authority.
Jeff Sipler is Vice President - Programs and Education and a charter member of BCGS. He lives in Langhorne with his wife and two children. Jeff is a social studies teacher at Council Rock High School North in Newtown and can trace his family roots to 18th century Bucks County.
Pat Gessner is Vice President - Membership. She lives in Doylestown, is happily retired from the business world and volunteers through RSVP (Bucks County Retired and Senior Volunteer Program) at a Bucks County office. Her progeny includes two children and three grandchildren.
Marguerite Mogila is Treasurer of BCGS and a resident of Newtown. Her home is in Tennessee; however she is staying in Newtown, PA. She is descended from farmers and aristocrats, church elders and non-church goers, ancestors who fought on both sides of the Revolutionary War and the War between the States. Her roots go back to Ireland, Scotland, England, Denmark and Germany.
Mary Butash is Secretary and a charter member of BCGS. Mary lives in Jenkintown (Montgomery County) but joined Bucks County Genealogical Society because she was so impressed by the programs offered. Mary is retired from 45 years as a nurse, nurse practitioner and finally nursing educator at Roxborough Hospital School of Nursing. She is descended from a mechanical engineer and a registered nurse with Polish and Slovak ancestry. Mary has 3 grown children.
Cathy Ivins serves as Director - Publicity. She is a resident of Levittown and works as an Instructional Aide and Student Council Advisor for Bristol Township School District. Cathy has two adult "descendants". She is a coal-miner's granddaughter, with Polish, Italian and Irish roots, practicing genealogy without a license for 11 years!
Nancy Heath is the Director - Website and operates her own software development business, Town Place Associates, out of her home in Thorofare, NJ. Nancy spends her spare time tracking down her ancestors in early Bucks County, as well as Hunterdon and Mercer counties in New Jersey.
__________________
We are pleased to announce that there is also a nominee for the office of Vice President - Projects and Research for 2014.
 The nominee is Joann Cosgrove. She lives in Levittown and is retired after 42 years of nursing. Joann has Pennsylvania Dutch ancestors from Bucks County and Irish and German ancestors from Philadelphia. When not hunting down ancestors, she loves to sing with the Bucks County Women's chorus and garden with Southern Bucks Garden Club.
|
19th CENTURY & EARLY 20th CENTURY GUARDIANSHIP LAWS
DID YOU KNOW?... In 1900 in New York and other states, a man's will had to appoint his wife as his children's guardian because married women did not have automatic right to guardianship of their own children.
A famous instance was that of Franklin Delano Roosevelt who was 18 years old at the death of his father, James. In his will, James appointed his wife, Sara Delano Roosevelt, sole guardian of Franklin. If he had not done so, the court could have appointed a male stranger to direct Franklin's affairs. The male guardian could have charged Sara's estate for his supervision of her child. (However, if Sara had died first, James would have automatically become the sole guardian of Franklin.)
If you are interested in reading about The Mother: Legal Impotence, look at page 4 of this 28 page PDF entitled A Brief History of Child Custody Issued Related to Abuse and Neglect:
http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/26635_Chapter2.pdf
|
A query about an 1810 marriage. Can you help?
From the Bucks County Intelligencer Marriage Notices, 12 Nov 1810: "Joseph Thorn of Wrightstown and Sarah Wilson of Upper Makefield married 1 November 1810 by John Terry, Esq. after a courtship of precisely 10 days, 8 hours and 45 minutes."
Does anyone have any information on this couple? Who are their parents and where did they go after their marriage? Any further information would be greatly appreciated. Please reply to [email protected]
|
A query from Colorado!
I think my 5th great-grandfather was born in Bucks County - some place - and later moved north to Hamilton Township (now Monroe County). His name was Moses van Buskirk who later dropped the van. His father was Andries. Moses was born in 1748 and married in 1787. Does anyone have information? Please contact Toni Prante at [email protected]
|
Looking for a book from the original BCGS.
Can you help?
The volume I have is Volume I, July 1993; I need the Volume II. There is no other year indicated. If you have the book or can help, please contact Gale LaRochelle at [email protected]
|
Are you researching the Purcell family tree?
The Purcell Family of America ( www.pfaroots.org) advises that they have Bucks County roots. You might want to check out their website. Their 2013 quarterly newsletters on PDF are available too.
|
COMPREHENSIVE EVENTS CALENDAR
 Click the link for a listing of upcoming genealogy events for our organization and others in our area:
|
|
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
|
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. 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 this website with a link to the member's email address.
- Yahoo! Group for members serves as a Members Only area. Share files, photos, and information with other members.
- 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.
- Meeting handouts are available to members unable to attend the Society's regular monthly meetings.
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.If you have questions, please contact: [email protected]
|
YOUR QUERY HERE
Would you like your research query posted in our newsletter? Just send your query to [email protected] and we will include it next month.
|
|
More information about us:
Members only...join our Yahoo Group for Bucks County Genealogical Society. Please go to the following link and click "Join this Group":
|
|
|
