To all BCGS members and friends:

Cousins, we have cousins, if we are lucky. In recent months I have been in touch with cousins. In 2000 I lost both parents four months apart. All of their siblings pre-deceased them save my Aunt Honey who joined them in 2006. At the time of my parents' death, I was very aware that most of the persons who shared my history were gone. Boy, did I have questions I should have asked!

In May of 2011 when I retired, I began doing family history in earnest. I mistakenly thought I had no one to ask about my history and the people that lived it. When I first subscribed to Ancestry.com, I immediately discovered a cousin who I didn't know. He had been doing genealogy for many years and was a real help in finding information. Recently, I found the grandson of my mother's first cousin who posted his tree on Ancestry.com. We have shared information and photos. He was touched by the photos that were sent each Christmas to my Aunt Honey. He was touched that she kept them. Cousins are not easy to find. We don't yet have the census records that list them and much of their information is private.

I am lucky enough to have spent my childhood traveling with my parents to the homes of aunts, uncles and cousins in North Jersey and upstate PA. We played with our cousins on those visits. We tossed a coin to see who would sleep on the mattress and who, the box spring. No one had guest rooms for 3 kids (before sleeping bags.) Those memories are precious and now we are the older generation. We are each other's histories. We share memories. Now my goal is to visit cousins, not exotic faraway places. This is important now.

If you have them, make contact with your cousins. None of us is getting any younger. Reunion can be so sweet.

Mary C. Butash, President

Bucks County Genealogical Society

There are lots of volunteers doing things for Bucks County Genealogical Society behind the scenes. (We have no paid employees.)  Do you know that our former president, Chris Roberts, stills serves on the Board?   As  the Immediate Past President of BCGS, Chris is a non-voting member of the Board, serving in an advisory capacity.  This function is provided in the By-Laws to ensure a smooth transition from one President to the next. 

You may have seen Chris at the BCGS meetings in the past several years, and we thought you would be interested in knowing something about her.

_________________________

Bucksgen joined in the the Juneteenth Celebration at the First Baptist Church in Langhorne, PA on June 18th. 

Juneteenth is the oldest known celebration commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.

So you want to start your family history, and as you speak to family, their eyes glaze over and they direct their attention elsewhere. What to do, what to do?

In 2000 I lost both my parents and I laid claim to all the 35mm slides my amateur photographer father had taken since my birth, with the promise to digitize and share them. Well, recently (16 years later) I bought an Epson Perfection V600 flatbed scanner and began the process of doing what I promised. Seeing each slide on the screen was like opening a Christmas present as well as re-living my life. I came across pictures of cousins who are still alive and it seemed only right that I should share their pictures with them. I was surprised by their reactions. "Thank you so much for doing this for us and saving our past," was one reaction. I didn't realize they all didn't have dads who were always aiming a camera at them. No one was unhappy. For some, these photos were their only chronicles of years gone by. Some supplied addresses of locations and details about the photos. 

Not only this, but I am in touch with cousins I grew up with whom I haven't seen in years. The cousins and I are now the "older generation". We have all lost parents and me, my aunts and uncles. These people are now interested in genealogy because it is THEIR history. I have had requests for prints for those without electronic access and I share history along with the photos. My generation is now closer than ever.  

	Mary Butash

So if you have photos, get them scanned. They can be done professionally but I wouldn't give up the experience of the "next surprise" that I experienced doing this. And SHARE THEM! Sharing will touch lives, give you a backup if you should lose your copy, and bring back happy memories. If you see these relatives, you can sit together and look at photos and tell stories. After all, that is what family history is all about, not just names and dates. Enjoy!!

If you are a BCGS member, take a look at the members-only section of our website. There are some good research tips there. Log in and look under Members-only Files for  Educational Opportunities in Genealogy, Genealogy on Facebook,  and more files.  

The members-only section also has lineage society links, repository research guides, and handouts from our meetings. Check it out!