Members
of TIGS did meet
on 6/17/04 at Mahrs
in South Troy. Attending
the meeting were;
Frank Ryan, Kay Brearton,
Donna Vaughn, Lizette
Strait, Marialice
Mangan, Bill McGrath,
Larry Malone, Connie
LaPosta and Kristin
Ayotte.
The
meeting was co-chaired
by Lizette Strait
and Donna Vaughn.
Notes were taken
by Kristin Ayotte.
Minutes from the
last meeting were
approved as edited
by last months attendees
and as posted to
the mailing list.
Old
Business
l.
Records from St.
Peters and their
accessiblility was
tabled due to the
absence of Jeanne
Keefe.
2.
Transcription of
the Records of the
Burials in Mt Ida
has been tabled until
the project is more
workable.
3.
Records from the
Burden Iron Mills
- Lynn Grice, Bill
McGrath and Marialice
Mangan met with Jim
Cosaro, Librarian
at the Rensselaer
County Historical
Society and Kathy
Sheehan, the Registrar
at the Rensselaer
County Historical
Society. Bill and
Marialice did give
a brief description
of the meeting but
since Lynn Grice
is the main contact
person for this project
and was unable to
attend this month's
meeting, I will defer
all comments until
she is able to report
on the meeting so
that an accurate
accounting of the
meeting can be recorded.
4.
Lizette Strait, with further organization
of the group in mind, presented the members
who were present with a copy of a
draft of a "Constitution
and By-Laws" that
she had put together.
The group agreed
to review and comment
at the next meeting.
Lizette was to send
a copy out to the
members not present
that usually attend
including; Jeanne
Keefe, Mike McAlonie
and Lynn Grice.
In the same vein
of conversation the
Mission Statement
of the group was
discussed and the
logo. Both of these
items had been tentatively
approved in the
past but never posted
to the website.
5.
The topic of speakers
was brought up and
the group agreed
again that it will
be tabled until the
October meeting.
6.
The website updates
have been put on
hold due to the unavailability
of Jeanne Keefe for
a few months. We
all agree that this
is a vital piece
of the organization
that needs to be
addressed. The sooner
it is up and really
running the sooner
we can move forward.
Unfortunately we
have had a few set
backs with it and
have few members
with the knowledge
and experience to
manage it.
Our
goal is to update it, have our transcription
goals and completions on it, expand membership
and accomplish our Mission; "The
mission of the Troy
Irish Genealogy Society
is to discover, share
and honor the heritage
of our Troy Irish
families through
informal monthly
meetings, our website
and participation
of our members".
7.
There are a few member projects still hanging
in the wings; Lynn Grice - " Village
of Emly",
Lizette Strait - "Living
On the Edge",
Donna Vaughn -" Green
Island" and
Mike McAlonie " West
Troy" and "Local
Photographers".
An update will be
given at the next
meeting.
8.
Chat Room was discussed
again. Donna will
contact Pat Connors
to inquire into procedure
for setting up, connections,
moderator, etc. We
thought a topic could
be agreed to on the
list and the chat
room might be a good
forum for all list
members to participate.
New
Business
1.
Lizette suggested
that the group take
advantage of advertising
it's existence in
the Troy Record and
local publications
such as the Advertiser.
She will look into
how to go about and
cost and report at
the next meeting.
The group agreed
that we should post
a message on the
Renss County and
NY Irish Mailing
list for increased
interest and membership.
Our mailing list
stands at roughly
50 since the inception
of the list.
2.
Marialice will soon be in the possession
of a new publication "The
History of the Troy
Police Benevolent
Society" by
Don Rittner. She
will review and
see what use it can
be to the group and
the possibility
of sharing the contents.
3.
Since we have put
speakers on hold,
Lizette suggested
that members share
experiences with
the group. This can
include any genealogy
topic; brick walls,
unusual findings
while researching,
where to research,
etc. The group agreed
to give it a trial
run so at the end
of the next meeting
Lizette has volunteered
to be the first speaker.
We will allow 15
minutes at the end
of the meeting for
any member who submits
in advance a request
to be put on the
agenda. One member
per month will have
the opportunity to
have the spotlight
on them.
4.
Lizette brought up
that the group did
enjoy the sharing
of family documents,
pictures, genealogy
related items, etc.
that had been shared
at previous meetings.
We had proposed in
the past to have
a seperate table
for display and will
try to put that in
place at the July
meeting. Although
we want to become
organized and recognized
as a valuable organization
devoted to Troy Irish
Genealogy, we do
also want the members
to enjoy attending
the meetings. It
is the little things
like this that make
some people attend.
5.
Group Tours are always
one of the favorite
topics. The group
was thrilled with
the tour of the Hudson
Mohawk Industrial
Gateway and the excellent
program that was
presented. The likelihood
or a repeat visit
was met with appreciation.
Suggested was a tour
of the Rensselaer
County Historical
Society's building.
It was also suggested
that we could join
other groups for
outings, such as
the AOH. Bill McGrath
mentioned once again
the Watervliet Arsenal
Tour and will look
into that. The RCHS
in July is taking
a Hudson River (by
boat) tour to West
Point and then on
to South Street Seaport.
6.
Donna Vaughn informed
the group that she
had bid on an E-Bay
Auction for Renss
County Circuit Court
Calendars from the
1800's and was successful.
Hopefully she will
receive before the
next meeting and
bring with her to
share with the group.
(This ties right
into item #4 under
New Business).
7.
Frank Ryan conducted
an informal survery
to determine our
computer compatibility
for transcription
projects. Six out
of nine member use
FTM, all have EXCEL,
Internet Explorer
and a PC. Should
be able to work together
without much difficulty.
8.
Bill McGrath informed
the group that there
are marriage records
in the basement of
the Court House on
3rd Street. Each
entry in the books
located there has
a code. The actual
document is in boxes
in the same location
by the code number
found in the book.
The Marriage Index
Books are as follows;
1908-1913, 1913-1918,
1918-1920, 1920-1924,
1924-1927 and 1928-1933.
9.
In keeping with Fathers
Day, Lizette shared
some marvelous pictures
of her father and
family before they
immigrated to the
US. Her fathers family
was from Austria
and she had pictures
of the village he
was born in.
The
meeting was adjourned and it was agreed
to meet next on 7/15 at 6:15 at Mahrs.
This meeting was made much more workable
by simply rearranging the tables to form
a "U" shape.
Much more user friendly and members were
able to interract easily.
Kris
Cooney-Ayotte
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