February 2014 genealogy meeting wrapup

Tuesday, February 11, the La Porte County Indiana Genealogical Society met at the La Porte City Parks and Recreation Department Headquarters on Pine Lake Avenue in La Porte. Twenty-two members and guests were in attendance.

After a business meeting presided over by President Dorothy Palmer, the group enjoyed a presentation by local videographer Pam Pulice. She noted that most of us tracing our families are trying to find a lot more than the bare facts of births, marriages and deaths. We seek to learn the stories and reasons why behind the facts. She emphasized that everyone has a story; you are the only one who can tell the entire story. She advised everyone to record now what you did and why. Pulice illustrated a fine example of story-telling in her video based on interviews with a lady who married the American GI who she met in North Africa, in a 17-minute video entitled Peggy’s Memoir, Recollections of an English War Bride.

Next month’s meeting, on March 11, will feature Marlene Polster, the president of the North West Indiana Genealogical Society. She will speak about preserving genealogical research. The title of her talk is “What Will Happen to your Genealogical Research when You Die?”

The society meets at 7 pm on the second Tuesday of each month, weather permitting, at the La Porte City Parks and Recreation Department building at 250 Pine Lake Avenue. The public is welcome at all meetings. For more information about the society's activities in awards, research, abstracting, transcribing, indexing, publishing, and records preservation, visit our web site at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inlcigs/.

A decision by the Genealogist of the Year committee was announced at the meeting. Beginning in 2014, the committee will consider nominations for the award which name members of the society or non-members. Details of the criteria for the award and a nomination form can be found at the web site mentioned above.

The society also has a blog at http://lpcgs.blogspot.com/. There you can find summaries of meetings, news items about the society, and a posting of several years of the society’s newsletter.

11 February 2014 meeting

The February meeting of the La Porte County Indiana Genealogical Society is scheduled

for 7 pm on Tuesday, February 11, 2014, at the La Porte City Parks Department building,

250 Pine Lake Avenue. After a social time and a business meeting, the program will

feature a presentation by Pam Pulice, of La Porte. A videographer, Pulice will present a

program entitled “Family History Through the Eyes of a Videographer.”

The society meets at 7 pm the second Tuesday of each month, weather permitting, at the

La Porte City Parks and Recreation Department building at 250 Pine Lake Avenue. The

public is welcome at all meetings. For more information about the society’s activities

in awards, research, abstracting, transcribing, indexing, publishing, and records

preservation, visit our web site at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inlcigs/.

Also at our web site, those who believe they have La Porte County ancestors (and can

prove it!) can find information on how to apply for First Families of La Porte (before

December 1840), Pioneer Families (1841-1860), Settler Families (1861-1880), and

Civil War Families (1861-1865). It is not too early to start documenting your La Porte

County ancestor! The period to accept 2014 applications is July 1 through July 31.

You can also read or search back issues of the society’s newsletter, December 2005

through December 2009, including genealogical and historical information from

members’ research and abstracting work in local records, on our blog at http://

lpcgs.blogspot.com/2010/08/la-porte-county-genealogical-society.html.

January genealogy meeting wrapup by Alan Zeller

Tuesday, January 14, the La Porte County Indiana Genealogical Society honored a person who has unselfishly given help and encouragement to everyone around her. An award was created in 2010, entitled the “Genealogist of the Year”. Each year a committee examines the nominations and selects an outstanding contributor to genealogy in La Porte County. Due to the inclement weather, the award was not presented as scheduled, at the December dinner meeting. More moderate conditions for the January meeting permitted the delayed award to be presented. Gloria Arndt was presented with the award by committee members Dorothy Palmer and Joan McCoy

La Porte County Genealogical Society members enjoyed an exchange of experiences and discoveries. An evening of sharing let us join in newly uncovered insights into the lives our ancestors. From the unexpected visit to a cemetery which ignited one man’s interest in his family history, to sharing the inhumanity that ethnic hatred can encourage, each speaker had something of value to offer. One showed us the tiny shoes and garment worn by her ancestor in the 1850’s. Another told of the newspaper articles which ignited his interest in his immigrant great-uncles. Tales of veterans of the War of 1812 and the Civil War vied with tales of the unimagined troubles that filled the life of a beloved grandparent. One family moved from Kentucky to Indiana because of lingering animosity after the Civil War. A member reported the results that patience can bring when a query posted long ago finally attracts the eye of a distant cousin. Another found the missing facts about her grandfather once she ignored family tradition and found he had lived almost eleven years longer than tradition claimed.

Next month’s meeting, on February 11, will feature local videographer Pam Pulice. She will present Family History Through the Eyes of a Videographer.

The society meets at 7 pm on the second Tuesday of each month, weather permitting, at the La Porte City Parks and Recreation Department building at 250 Pine Lake Avenue. The public is welcome at all meetings. For more information about the society's activities in awards, research, abstracting, transcribing, indexing, publishing, and records preservation, visit our web site at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inlcigs/.

Also at our web site, those who believe they have La Porte County ancestors (and can prove it!) can find information on how to apply for First Families of La Porte (before December 1840), Pioneer Families (1841-1860), Settler Families (1861-1880), and Civil War Families (1861-1865). Completed 2014 applications may be submitted between July 1 and July 31. The next awards will be made at the September 9, 2014 meeting.

You can also read or search back issues of the society's newsletter, December 2005 through December 2009, including genealogical and historical information from members' research and abstracting work in local records, on our blog at http://lpcgs.blogspot.com/2010/08/la-porte-county-genealogical-society.html.

November 2013 genealogy meeting

On Tuesday, November 12, the La Porte County Genealogical Society program will feature Commander James Stemmler of the Hubner Swanson Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1130, describing services the VFW provides to veterans and their families.

The society meets at 7 pm on the second Tuesday of each month, weather permitting, at the La Porte City Parks and Recreation Department building at 250 Pine Lake Avenue. The public is welcome at all meetings. For more information about the society's activities in awards, research, abstracting, transcribing, indexing, publishing, and records preservation, visit our web site at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inlcigs/.

Also at our web site, those who believe they have La Porte County ancestors (and can prove it!) can find information on how to apply for First Families of La Porte (before December 1840), Pioneer Families (1841-1860), Settler Families (1861-1880), and Civil War Families (1861-1865). Completed 2014 applications may be submitted between July 1 and July 31. The next awards will be made at the September 9, 2014 meeting.

You can also read or search back issues of the society's newsletter, December 2005 through December 2009, including genealogical and historical information from members' research and abstracting work in local records, on our blog at http://lpcgs.blogspot.com/2010/08/la-porte-county-genealogical-society.html.

October 2013 genealogy meeting wrapup

La Porte County Genealogical Society members and friends enjoyed a participatory presentation by Mary Jane Novak October 8 on how and how not to do gravestone rubbings. Sample stones old and new were available for hands-on demonstration and practice, and a link to a video was provided at wikihow.com/Make-a-Gravestone-Rubbing. The November 12 program will feature Commander James Stemmler of the Hubner Swanson Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1130 describing services the VFW provides to veterans and their families.

The society meets at 7 pm on the second Tuesday of each month, weather permitting, at the La Porte City Parks and Recreation Department building at 250 Pine Lake Avenue. The public is welcome at all meetings. For more information about the society's activities in awards, research, abstracting, transcribing, indexing, publishing, and records preservation, visit our web site at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inlcigs/.

Also at our web site, those who believe they have La Porte County ancestors (and can prove it!) can find information on how to apply for First Families of La Porte (before December 1840), Pioneer Families (1841-1860), Settler Families (1861-1880), and Civil War Families (1861-1865). Completed 2014 applications may be submitted between July 1 and July 31. The next awards will be made at the September 9, 2014 meeting.

You can also read or search back issues of the society's newsletter, December 2005 through December 2009, including genealogical and historical information from members' research and abstracting work in local records, on our blog at http://lpcgs.blogspot.com/2010/08/la-porte-county-genealogical-society.html.

October 2013 meeting

The La Porte County Genealogical Society will meet Tuesday, October 8. Mary Jane Novak will give a program on gravestone rubbings.

The society meets at 7 pm on the second Tuesday of each month, weather permitting, at the La Porte City Parks and Recreation Department building at 250 Pine Lake Avenue. The public is welcome at all meetings. For more information about the society's activities in awards, research, abstracting, transcribing, indexing, publishing, and records preservation, visit our web site at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inlcigs/.

Also at our web site, those who believe they have La Porte County ancestors (and can prove it!) can find information on how to apply for First Families of La Porte (before December 1840), Pioneer Families (1841-1860), Settler Families (1861-1880), and Civil War Families (1861-1865). It is not too early to start documenting your La Porte County ancestor! The deadline for completed 2014 applications is July 31. You can also read or search back issues of the society's newsletter, December 2005 through December 2009, including genealogical and historical information from members' research and abstracting work in local records, on our blog at http://lpcgs.blogspot.com/2010/08/la-porte-county-genealogical-society.html.

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September 2013 genealogy meeting wrap-up with Barber pioneer residency certificate

Twenty-seven members and guests enjoyed an evening of genealogy September 10 when the La Porte County Genealogical Society met. Genealogist/historian Fern Eddy Schultz talked about finding records at the County Home to help a caller locate a relative now buried at Pine Lake Cemetery. Past president Pat Harris described a recent research trip to Ontario, Canada, where they called the archives ahead of time and got excellent help as a result. There was also discussion of courthouse rules and procedures regarding electronic equipment for genealogical use.

Highlight of the evening was the awarding of  a Pioneer residency certificate to Michael Lee Barber (pictured right), who documented his ancestry back to Ira Barber, who is on record as residing in La Porte County by 1845. (Note: you do not need to live in La Porte County to obtain this and other certificates -- only your ancestor!) The Residency Committee, consisting of Fern Eddy Schultz, Chair, Gloria Arndt and Dottisue Gansemer, reviewed all materials submitted with the application. Schultz thanked the committee and the honoree for participating in the program and encouraged others to also submit an application with documentation.

The society meets at 7 pm on the second Tuesday of each month, weather permitting, at the La Porte City Parks and Recreation Department building at 250 Pine Lake Avenue. The public is welcome at all meetings. For more information about the society's activities in awards, research, abstracting, transcribing, indexing, publishing, and records preservation, visit our web site at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~inlcigs/.

Also at our web site, those who believe they have La Porte County ancestors (and can prove it!) can find information on how to apply for First Families of La Porte (before December 1840), Pioneer Families (1841-1860), Settler Families (1861-1880), and Civil War Families (1861-1865). The deadline for completed 2014 applications is July 31. The next awards will be made at the September 9, 2014 meeting.

You can also read or search back issues of the society's newsletter, December 2005 through December 2009, including genealogical and historical information from members' research and abstracting work in local records, on our blog at http://lpcgs.blogspot.com/2010/08/la-porte-county-genealogical-society.html.