By MJ Goff
History has become cool, thanks to Ancestry.com, ads for DNA testing that details percentages of ethnic make-up, and reality shows like "Who Do You Think You Are" and "Finding Your Roots."
It's even become popular with in television entertainment like the shows "Sleepy Hollow," or "Legends and Lies."
But did you know that real history lives in a few offices in the Goshen Courthouse where one could find a wealth of historical information about our own Orange County: how it began, who were the first families, and details about the battles fought on its soil. Thanks to the Orange County Genealogical Society much of what is available about our local history has been preserved, catalogued and made available for study.
Linda Burroughs has been with the Orange County Genealogy Society (OCGS) for 24 years. It's in her blood. "I grew up in a family of historians, my mom and grandparents were always keeping track of our family. My mom was the Town of Monroe Historian back in the late 1950's and 60s and we've done our own research through the OCGS."
The OCGS collection includes not only the history of Orange County, but many of the counties of New York State, and the rest of New England. The books have been collected either through purchases by the OCGS, or via donations. The group tries to get all church and cemetery records to add to their collection of centuries-old obits from area newspapers.
The group meets one night a week to go over the letters that have come in with requests for historical information. As Linda notes, "Sometimes it can be 10 to 20 letters, sometimes only 3." After the letters have been divided up, the volunteers go to work. Hopefully the request has included all of the information that has been discovered so the group doesn't duplicate research. Linda advises that those searching for information be as detailed as they can be with dates, names, and places. While the group performs the research for free, the inquirer does get billed for any photocopying and postage, but the historical discoveries are priceless.
The OCGSNY offers programs throughout the year on various historical and genealogical topics. They are free and open to the public. Here's what's coming up:
Saturday October 1, 2016, 10:30 am:
"Files, Folders, or Piles of Papers?"
Goshen United Methodist Church, Fellowship Hall, 115 Main Street, Goshen
Presented by Toni McKeen
This lecture will offer suggestions on how to sort information, the kinds of documents you should include in your research, and provide helpful charts to record your results. Toni McKeen has been teaching several levels of genealogy in hometown of Ridgefield, CT. She has been a popular lecturer at various genealogy societies in the New York, CT, Boston and Long Island areas.
To insure that enough handouts are prepared, send an email to
[email protected]
with your name in the body of the email. Put "Files, Folders, or Piles of Papers" in the subject line. (This is a no-reply email only. For any other questions, write to Anna Calli at
[email protected].)
Saturday, November 5, 2016, 10:30 am:
"November Thanksgiving Month: What are we thankful for?"
Goshen United Methodist Church, Fellowship Hall, 115 Main Street, Goshen
This program will concentrate on the documents, artifacts, and heirlooms and what questions arise once you find them. Bring one or several items with you and share a story about the item and the ancestor. Sharing this information will help others in attendance by offering suggestions on what they might look for, and questions they might ask as this year's Thanksgiving family get-together.
Refreshments to follow.
For information, visit website at ocgsny.org, or contact Anna Calli at
[email protected]
.
If anyone would like to help support the work of the OCGSNY, membership is $15 a year; and if anyone would like to volunteer, they can write to:
Orange County Genealogical Society
Attn: General Research
101 Main Street
Goshen, NY 10924
The OCGS was established in 1973, with a list of "purposes" as stated in their Constitution and Bylaws, including:
- To encourage genealogical research
- To educate the public to the contributions made for the understanding of local and national history by the study of genealogical records.
- To collect and preserve family and genealogical records and papers and to make them available for study.
- To serve as a clearing house (basically by means of a quarterly publication) for genealogical information, particularly that pertaining to past and present inhabitants of OC.
- To attract contributions and loans of appropriate material for the use of those engaged in historical and g research.
- To cooperate with other organizations whose purpose is to advance the cause of history and genealogy in OC.
- To educate the public as to the importance of genealogical research for the preservation of the family, past, present, and future.
For those looking to have they help with a research project, here are the OCGS guidelines:
We have a dedicated group of volunteers that will do research in our room for
your ancestor or family. We do not have the staff to undertake genealogical
research, but we do attempt to answer Clear, Short and To the Point
questions about people who lived in Orange County.
We need clear presentation of your question.
Include as much detail as you can provide regarding other family members,
spouses, dates, Location in Orange County and if possible what church they
would have attended. If you have a family group sheet please include in your
request. This will give us a better opportunity to provide information that you
DO NOT have.
*Official Vital Records in New York commenced in 1881 and are usually kept at the Local Village, Town or City Clerk's office. There were some vital records kept prior to 1881 in some municipalities in Orange County but not all, and the years vary.
*We are using the files of many past genealogists, and they did not indicate the sources where they obtained the information, as it was frequently from the families themselves. Use this information as a guideline for your additional
search.
*We do not have original source information or proofs.
*
We specialize in Orange County, New York area only.
*We are volunteers so have limited time for each question but do try to do a
thorough search of our files.
*Most of ours responses are within a 2 to 4 week period.
*We charge 10 cents a page for photocopies, plus postage.
*Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope.
We are not on line so you must send your request by snail mail to:
OCGS
Attention: Gen research
101 Main Street,
Goshen NY 10924
Visit ocgsny.org for more information.
