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The November 2005 meeting of the Lafayette Genealogical Society was held in the Meeting Room of the Main Branch of the Lafayette Public Library on November 17, 2005 at 6:30 P.M. The meeting was called to order by President Earl Gates, who then asked for a moment of silence for our military and victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Pledge of Allegiance was then given. The president announced that the annual banquet would be held at the Petroleum Club on December 1, 2005 at 6:30 P.M. Earl Gates, LGS President, spoke to the general membership about the computer beginning genealogical classes that are being held at the Public Library twice each month for October, November, and December. The library offers free web access to Ancestry Library Edition that anyone can access at any branch library in town. There is a lot more to the web site besides only searching for a name. Immigration files can be accessed and records can be viewed. Dottie Burleigh noted that the description at the bottom of the page could be cut and pasted for the source of information; it is important to site sources immediately rather that returning later to site the source. On trying to locate individuals on censuses one must remember that names were often misspelled or changed by the census taker. Birth, marriage, death records, United Kingdom records are offered. �All data bases� at the bottom of the front page can be narrowed down to an individual state. One source can lead to another requiring time to scout those other sources. Military records, soldiers in the war, etc.---each state has many leads. At www.aapld.org/sources.htm one can access the Library Edition of Ancestry online. Charts and forms can be downloaded from every genealogy site. The forms can be downloaded to Acrobat for later use. All members are encouraged to attend the next class to be held November 23rd from 9 to 11 A.M. in the upstairs computer room at the downtown branch of the library. Earl noted that the society has gained eight new members as a result to the classes. On �Googling � Earl suggested that place names be place in quotations. To access Rootsweb type in �Rootsweb� and put in the individual�s last name only. Many sites are shown. Scroll to the page bottom and insert wife�s name and/or maiden name. When you start you don�t want to put in too much information because you don�t get anything or you can be overwhelmed by what you do get. Heritage Quest costs $35.00/year and is associated with the Godfrey Library. Some information is free but to access census records a bar code is needed. Those having a Baton Rouge library card are able to access Heritage Quest using their library card number. The password is �Godfrey�. Earl offered his access number to try out. Newspaper sources in Louisiana, offered through Heritage Quest, include the Daily Advertiser 1869-1909. Heritage Quest online offers census records; searches can be done using only last names. Some censuses are not indexed, but Ancestry can be used to find page numbers and one can access a census that way. Heritage Quest makes good copies and you can download in Acrobat. Most members know how the access the GenWeb Project by state. It has started charging for some records. Contacts are posted for individuals submitting information. There are several picture sites. Type in a name and something may come up, even if it may only be a picture of a tombstone. The author of the forensic genealogy book is tentatively scheduled to be in Louisiana in April; the genealogy society will try to schedule her to speak. To save sites, they will appear in the toolbar on ones computer and click on �Save As�. A floppy disc can save information, or the information can be placed in �Documents�. Click �File�, then �Save As�. Acrobat can save a census and then it can be enlarged. Familysearch.org is available at the Mormon Church that is staffed by volunteers that change frequently Other suggestions from Earl to be noted: Every genealogy web site has free form. Don�t spend money for subscription web sites; there is so much out there that is free. If you do spend the money and don�t use the web site, or don�t know how to use the program or the web site, you are wasting your money. Treasurer Warren LeBlanc reports that the cost of the banquet will be $17.00; 30 members have paid for the December banquet. Warren Perrin will be the speaker. As Earl reports, �He knows everything and is involved in everything Acadian. He has been to Europe and has induced the Queen to apologize for kicking the Acadians out of Canada. His biography is twenty pages long. And he is founder and curator of the Acadian Museum in Erath.� For the first Saturday genealogy day at the Library, James and Lona Bourque volunteered. President Earl Gates suggested that the beginning computer genealogy classes that he spearheads begin charging $20/month [2 classes] to at least cover membership in the genealogy society. Whether to charge or to hold the classes can be decided for next year. The printed 2005 annual and CD�s for the genealogy society are completed and will be distributed at the banquet. Warren reports that the CD cost was $.16 due to free stuff and/or rebates acquired by Warren, Charles Patterson, and Earl; otherwise it would have run about $2.50 per CD. The printed 2005 annual ran about $10.68 per book for 20 copies. Lona Bourque noted that the genealogy society has a binding machine if anyone would like to print their copy from their CD. A discussion was held concerning publishing one�s family history. President Earl Gates suggested that everyone write a book of his or her family history in 2006. Charles Patterson has published a book on one of his family lines. He states that he began thinking of it about 30 years ago, but that it took about 2 years to complete. The cost is in the publishing; he suggests putting it on a CD. The life of a CD may be 20-25 years. CD�s probably don�t melt but they do degrade. Copies may need to be made periodically. On another note it was mentioned that computer technology is advancing so fast it may be necessary to purchase a new computer periodically, but the technology will be available to transfer all data. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Brenda Fuselier, Secretary January Meeting: Thursday, January 19, 2006 6:30 P.M. UL Library- Louisiana Room (Third Floor) |
