TROY IRISH GENEALOGY SOCIETY
Troy, New York
The regular monthly meeting of the Troy Irish Genealogy Society
was held on Thursday, January 19, 2006 at Holmes and Watson Restaurant
in Troy, New York. The following individuals were in attendance:
Kris Ayotte
Kay Brearton
Jeanne Keefe
Bill McGrath
Cathy McGrath
Carol Schrom
Lizette Strait
Janice Sullivan
Donna K. Vaughn
The meeting was called to order at 6:50 p.m. by Donna
Vaughn, President, who wished everyone a Happy New Year.
A motion was made by Jeanne Keefe and seconded by
Cathy McGrath to approve the minutes of the December 15, 2005 meeting.
The motion passed. The minutes have been published on the TIGS website.
REPORTS
There was no report from the President. There were
no reports from the Vice President or Secretary.
Rick Shea, Treasurer, was unable to attend the meeting.
He reported to the President that there is $185 in the treasury
and that two new members joined TIGS – Eileen Burton and Terry
Bora.
Jeanne Keefe, Webmaster, reported that the bride and
groom information from the Marriage Index is finished; she is currently
formatting the data and working to get it up on the website. The
Alderman files are finished, integrated and in alphabetical order
and will be up on the website in the near future. The projects page
may need to be redesigned. Jeanne is working on a drop down menu
on the website. Jeanne suggested posting a new photo on the website.
Lizette Strait, List Administrator, reported on the
status of archiving the list. Her request is on the schedule for
the person on Rootsweb who is responsible for setting up archives.
There are currently 143 list members.
The members discussed the privacy of members’
e-mail addresses. A motion was made by Donna Vaughn and seconded
by Jeanne Keefe that as discussed at a previous TIGS meeting and
in accordance with E-mail etiquette, TIGS will not post or provide
individual e-mail addresses to others. The motion was passed unanimously.
OLD BUSINESS
Bill McGrath explained some of the problems he encountered
with the Marriage Index files. In some cases, the individuals responsible
for entering the data entered the date the marriage was reported
instead of the marriage date. Before posting the information on
the website it will be necessary to check it against the original
records to assure accuracy. Each bride and groom entry must agree.
When Jeanne Keefe has integrated the information, Kay Brearton and
other volunteers will take it to the County Clerk’s Office
to check any discrepancies.
Donna Vaughn thanked Bill McGrath for his write-up
regarding the Watervliet Arsenal Tour to accompany the photos published
on the website. “The History of Watervliet” information
provided by Joan Howe will be added to the Resources list on the
website. Once the new Director is settled into her position at the
NYS Library, Jeanne Keefe will discuss with her the possibility
of opening the Research Library for a Saturday tour.
NEW BUSINESS
Sample pages from the publication, “Representative
Young Irish Americans of Troy” were shared by Bill McGrath
with the members. Jeanne Keefe will work with Bill to add this information
to the website.
The members discussed possible tours and speakers
for the coming year. Jeanne Keefe volunteered to conduct a tour
of Washington Park in Troy. It was also suggested that TIGS could
join one of the Stained Glass Tours of Troy which are conducted
by Tom Carroll. Kay Brearton will check to see when the next tour
is scheduled. Another tour called “Secret Places” which
visits hidden gardens in downtown Troy could also be conducted by
Jeanne Keefe. The members discussed extending the tours to non-members
for a modest fee as a fundraiser for the organization.
OPEN GENEALOGY FORUM
Kris Ayotte shared a copy of a recent issue of “Ireland
of the Welcomes”, a publication she subscribes to. Jan Sullivan
shared her success in locating relatives in Ireland. She was able
to locate a cousin in Pennsylvania she never knew and they will
meet for the first time in the near future.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, February
16, 2006 at 6:30 p.m. at Holmes & Watson on Broadway in Troy.
ADJOURNMENT
A motion was made by Cathy McGrath and seconded by
Jeanne Keefe to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved and
the meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. The meeting was temporarily re-opened
to discuss a suggestion by Kris Ayotte that TIGS add a section to
the website offering to help researchers who have “hit a brick
wall” in their efforts. Guidelines would be established for
requests and suggestions and/or offers of help could be made to
the researcher.
Respectfully submitted,
Kathleen Brearton, Secretary
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