POINTers In Person
Chapter 15
Northern New Jersey
P.O. Box 636
Totowa, New Jersey
P.O. Box 636
Totowa, New Jersey
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May 3, 1997
Albert Marotta (#1018)
Rain serenaded us as we gathered for our third POINTers In Person meeting May 3rd in Garfield, NJ. Twenty-three people attended including POINTers from Connecticut, Long Island, NY, the Bronx, NY and South Jersey. Although New Jersey is geographically small, traveling here and getting around isn't always easy or fast due to many of our roads and the mass of traffic. This is why we give special thanks to those members who came from out of state. Six New Jersey counties were represented.Annita Zalenski (#39) opened the meeting by explaining the purpose of POINT, PIP and PIE. Originally, we decided that the format of our get-togethers would include three business meetings and a luncheon each year. However, a recent poll taken indicated that members now wish to postpone the luncheon and replace it with another business meeting. It seems that many enjoy having speakers, sharing ideas and learning and fear a luncheon might restrict our style.
Also, we decided to have research field trips to supplement our meetings for those members who wish to visit among the wealth of nearby historical research facilities. In april a small group visited the Genealogical Division of the New York Public Library. Our next field trip will be to the Family History Center in West Caldwell and is scheduled for a Saturday in June. Bill Ware of the FHC will give us a special hands-on introduction to the methods of research in and the records available from the LDS, especially pertaining to Italy.
Members introduced themselves and told the regions in Italy which they were researching. This way newcomers were informed.
This was the first meeting in which we had a presentation. Thomas Peters, C.G.R.S., our speaker and local genealogist, gave us a very informative slide presentation entitled, "World War I Draft Registration Records - No Male is Exempt". Tom reminded us of the existence of WW1 Draft applications and told us that these much overlooked records have useful data often found nowhere else. All males born between 1873-1900 whether native born, naturalized citizens or aliens had to register. There were three registrations. The first was for all males born between June 6, 1886 and June 5, 1896. The second registration was for all males born between June 6, 1896 and August 24, 1897. The final registration was for all males born between September 12, 1873 and June 5, 1886 and also August 25, 1897 and September 12, 1900. Among the information that can be gleaned from all registration cards are home address, date of birth, whether citizen or alien and name and address of his employer. The First and Second Registration provice the exact birthplace, while the Second and Third Registrations include the name and address of the registrant's nearest relative. If you know the street address of your relative for 1917/1918, you can consult registration maps and then the draft registration record itself. These can be found at the Family History Centers of the LDS.
We hope to schedule Stephen Conte, a local genealogist specializing in Italian research, and John Celardo, an archivist from the NY branch of the National Archives as two of our future speakers.
June DeLalio (#1181) of the Italian Genealogical Group, located in Dix Hills, NY, told us about her organization. She brought copies of the group's very informative newsletter and various genealogical books and maps related to Italian genealogy.
Albert Marotta (#1018)) told the group that Trafford Cole's (#1176) book, Italian Genealogical Records, is now available from Borders Bookstore in Wayne, NY and can probably be ordered from other Border's stors. He also informed us that the NJ Historical Society is moving to another location in Newark, NJ (52 Park Place). Its library is not closed and is scheduled to re-open January 1998.
Our next PIP meeting is scheduled for Saturday, August 2, 1997 at 10 A.M. We will be meeting at the Housing Authority Community Room in Garfield, NJ.
If you are not on our chapter's mailing list and wish to attend our meetings, please contact Annita Zalenski (#39).
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