Genealogical Musing with Fran

(Past StLGS president, Fran Behrman, so enjoyed writing her monthly column that we asked her to continue as a guest blogger. A natural storyteller, Fran has graciously agreed, and we know her many fans will be delighted to follow the ongoing saga of her research. Enjoy!)

We have all been there when we find something new but are not sure how it relates to our ancestor. We know it would be good to just bounce our thoughts off someone who could help to think it through face-to-face. Well, that was the simple thought, the seed, the need for Dorothy, and she decided to act! 
 

Dorothy contacted NGS for a list of members in St. Louis. She wrote letters to local institutions and placed ads in the local newspapers letting all know of an intended meeting on 6 October 1966. Now I would like to tell you that hundreds showed up, but that is not the case. There were thirteen, including Dorothy, but you do not always need large numbers to succeed. Enthusiasm and spirit count for much more in this situation. Dorothy and her merry band clicked, and as the saying goes, the rest is history!  The St. Louis Genealogical Society (StLGS) was established.

StLGS is fortunate that in its fifty-year history, volunteers have come forward to do the work that today supports members in all fifty states and six foreign countries. From that original thirteen have come thousands through the years to learn and share in this company of like minds. The mission of StLGS for fifty years has been to collect, preserve, and publish genealogical and historical records and provide educational and research opportunities Quite a lot to think about, right? 

I remember my first class when I was awakened to the wonder of what was possible and how to go about achieving success. I have had the good fortune to meet so many knowledgeable genealogists during the years, but I have never met one who thought they were finished learning. This is a challenging area of research and the information we gather requires discernment. What is that line from The Music Man? “You gotta know the territory.”

Our research will expose us to not only the history of our ancestors but the history of the world they created. How very exciting it is to make these discoveries! I hope that you are having as much fun with this wonderful exploration as I am, and I encourage you to take advantage of the local and national societies that exist to aid you in your success.

Good hunting, 

Fran Behrman

January General Meeting Cancelled

If you have been following the weather maps today, you can see that a very large, powerful ice storm seems to be heading straight for the St. Louis metropolitan area. With that in mind, we have cancelled the January meeting scheduled for Saturday, 14 January, at 10 a.m. at St. Louis County Library Headquarters. We hope everyone will stay home and be safe if the weather becomes treacherous. See you in February!

2017 StLGS Trivia Night Date

Although most of our members receive their News 'n Notes electronically, a few hundred still get a printed edition. If you are one of those people, your newsletters were mailed before we discovered a problem with our scheduled Trivia Night. The Richmond Heights Community Center had a computer outage and lost our reservation. By the time we found out, they had moved another group into the date we had selected, so, we have changed the date for this year's event.

The 2017 StLGS annual Trivia Night is now Friday, 3 March, at the Richmond Heights Community Center, 8001 Dale Avenue, Richmond Heights, Missouri. To better allow people to clear rush hour traffic on a Friday night, we are opening the doors at 6:30 and will start the games at 7:15 p.m.

If you have one of the original Trivia Night flyers, please note the date change! Registration is now open and we hope you will be able to attend. More information, registration, and the flyer are on our website www.stlgs.org/.


ALSO . . . Mother Nature is having a rough winter, and the weather forecast for this weekend is looking a bit dicey. Therefore, before you venture out to our monthly meeting on Saturday, 14 January, please be sure you check our website, or our Facebook page, our Twitter account, or the St. Louis County Library website. Please note: if the library is closed, our meeting is, of course, cancelled, and they may also announce the library closing on local TV stations.