Monday, July 26, 2010

NARA: Life in the Past Lane VII, “Electronic Scrapbooking" & More

The Friends of the National Archives – Pittsfield, MA, will present its annual Full-Day Genealogy Conference, Life in the Past Lane VII, on Saturday, September 18, 2010, at the Williams Inn in Williamstown, MA. The day will include lectures by Jean Nudd, Leslie Albrecht-Huber, and Gregory Pomicter. The registration fee includes morning and afternoon refreshments, lunch, and a roundtable question and answer period hosted by a panel of experts. Vendors will be on hand to provide products of interest to genealogists. We will also have our popular free prize raffle. Complete program details and a printable registration form can be found at www.narafriends-pittsfield.org Call 413-236-3600 or email pittsfield.archives@nara.gov for further information or to receive a registration form by mail.
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Sincerely,
Janet M. Rogge, President
Friends of NARA
10 Conte Drive
Pittsfield, MA 01201

413-236-3600 (NARA)
pittsfield.archives@nara.gov
www.narafriends-pittsfield.org
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Program:
8:00 AM Registration and browse the vendor booths; deposit tickets
9:00 AM for our free raffle (Coffee, tea, scones, muffins and danish)


9:00 AM Jan Rogge, Friends’ President
9:15 AM Welcome and conference information


9:15 AM Leslie Albrect Huber
10:15 AM “Get Organized! Take Control of Your Research Projects.”

Whether you’re spending a week at an archives or an afternoon at your computer, you can’t be effective without taking time to get organized – before, during, and after your research session.


10:45AM Gregory Pomicter
11:45 AM “Electronic Scrapbooking."

The lecture will demonstrate one way to collect, organize, and preserve family history documents and pictures in an electronic format. It also discusses the advantages and challenges in disseminating and preserving electronic media.


11:45 AM Luncheon – 3 choices, more details to come
1:00 PM

1:00 PM Leslie Albrect Huber
2:00 PM “Writing a Family History Your Family Will Want to Read.”

Tired of reading family histories that put you to sleep after one page? Learn some research and writing techniques that will make your family history a page-turner – without consigning it to the fiction section.


2:15 PM Jean Nudd, NARA Pittsfield
3:15 PM “Using Footnote.com.”

Footnote.com is digitizing a large number of NARA’s microfilm holdings; find out what’s available and how to utilize the site from home or at the National Archives.


3:30 PM Roundtable
4:30 PM Bring your questions and ask the experts or feel free to
browse the vendor booths.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Samuel Huntington’s Birthday Norwich, CT

July 25, 2010
Join the Norwich Historical Society for the 279th birthday of the first president of the Congress Assembled of the United States. The event begins on the Norwichtown Green and proceeds to historic Norwichtown Cemetery for the laying of the presidential wreath on the Huntington tomb. Please call the Historical Society for additional information at 860.886.1776. Event Begins @ 1:30

Friday, July 23, 2010

All the Comforts of Home: William Gillette’s 1890 Victorian Drawing Room Comedy

Live Theater at the East Haddam Historical Society & Museum and Gillette Castle State Park

Saturday and Sunday afternoons, July 24 through July 31, 2010

1:00pm outdoors at the park, 67 River Road. Free. Bring a blanket or chair if you'd like. 2:00pm indoors AC at the East Haddam Historical Society & Museum 264 Town Street Free with $5 admission to museum

This is the second summer season for the East Haddam Stage Company’s 30-minute production of William Gillette’s 1890 Victorian Drawing Room Comedy, All the Comforts of Home. Adapted and directed by EHSCO’s Artistic Director Kandie Carle.

All the Comforts of Home is a fast-paced comedy set in the London home of well-to-do
banker, Mr. Pettibone, played by Westbrook actor Don Shirer. The merriment begins when he intercepts a letter he thinks is intended for his wife, Rosabelle, played by Farmington actress Virginia Wolf.

Hilarious complications revolve around mistaken identities, miss-communication and one ne’er-do-well nephew, Alfred Hastings played by Hartford actor Kenneth Lundquist Jr. Love triangles, squares and circles ensue with the addition of New Britain actress Rayah Martin in not one or two, but THREE roles as fickle Alfred’s love interest. Throw innthe mysterious Mr. Smythe and you have a raucous good time!

Who gets whom in the end? And just where does Mr. Bender stand with Miss Fifi Oritanski? Come join in the fun and see for yourself!

This production is presented by the East Haddam Historical Society & Museum with funding support from the CT Humanities Council. For more information, please visit www.EHSCO.org

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Blog for Connecticut Ancestor Connections: Historical and Genealogical Research: The Life and Times of Nathan Hale

Blog for Connecticut Ancestor Connections: Historical and Genealogical Research: The Life and Times of Nathan Hale

The Life and Times of Nathan Hale


Hale's Birthplace, Coventry. Lithograph, E.C. Kellogg

Join us for the Nathan Hale SymposiumThe Life and Times of Nathan Hale Saturday, August 7th, 10:00 am - 4:30 pm
Connecticut Landmarks will present a symposium on the life and times of Connecticut State Hero, Nathan Hale. Walter Woodward, Connecticut State Historian, will be the keynote speaker of the symposium which will include presentations by Richard E. Mooney, Kevin M. Sweeney and M. William Phelps. Bruce M. Stave will moderate a panel discussion. The event will conclude with a reception and special tour of the Nathan Hale Homestead, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and evokes a sense of Connecticut's legendary patriotic and agrarian heritage. The house, built in 1776, belonged to the parents and family of Nathan Hale and is located on the only site he ever called home.

Symposium Location
First Congregational Church of Coventry
1171 Main Street
Coventry, CT 06238

Tour and Reception
Nathan Hale Homestead
2299 South Street
Coventry, CT 06238

Call today for reservations! 860.247.8996 x 23
The registration fee is $50 each, or $40 for CTL members, which includes lunch.
Or, click here for a Symposium Brochure to mail in registration.


Details of Hale statue in bronze and Clay, Bela Lyon Pratt

Schedule
9:30 am - Registration & Coffee
10:00 am - The Hon. Rob Simmons, Welcoming Remarks
10:15 am - Walter W. Woodward Lecture
10:45 am - Richard E. Mooney Lecture
11:15 am - M. William Phelps Lecture
11:45 am - Panel Discussion
12:30 pm - Lunch (included)
1:15 pm - Kevin M. Sweeney Lecture
2:00 pm - Travel to Hale Homestead
2:30 pm - 18th-Century Military & Farming Demonstrations, Tours & Reception
4:30 pm - Symposium Ends

The Lectures:
The Burning Issue About Nathan Hale
by Walter W. Woodward
The Connecticut State Historian will be the keynote speaker of the symposium. Woodward is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Connecticut and author of Prospero's America: John Winthrop, Jr., Alchemy, and the Creation of New England Culture, 1606-1676.

Nathan and Me: What I Learned from Nathan Hale
by Richard E. Mooney
Mooney is the former Executive Editor of the Hartford Courant, correspondent and member of the editorial board of the New York Times and curator of Nathan Hale: Yale, 1773, an exhibition commemorating the 250th anniversary of the hero's birth (www.library.yale.edu/mssa/exhibits/hale/).

Hale, His Life & Legacy: Separating Fact From Fiction
by M. William Phelps
Phelps is an investigative journalist and author of the recent biography, Nathan Hale: The Life and Death of America's First Spy.

The Hales' Homestead: Material Life in Colonial Connecticut
by Kevin M. Sweeney
Sweeney is a Professor of American Studies and History at Amherst College and author of Captors And Captives: The 1704 French And Indian Raid on Deerfield.

Panel Moderator:
Bruce M. Stave is Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History and Director, Oral History, at the University of Connecticut. Stave is a resident of Coventry and author of Mills and Meadows: A Pictorial History of Northeast Connecticut.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Denison-Gallup wedding reenactment, Mystic, CT, August 21, 2010


August 21, 2010: Denison-Gallup wedding reenactment and Denison Society annual meeting. Denison-Gallup wedding reenactment of Mercy Gallup to William Denison and Denison Society Annual Meeting.

10 AM – Business meeting of Denison Society in DPNC building, Noon– Joint Gallup and Denison Societies catered lunch under a tent in our meadow or side lawn. Afternoon– Reenactment of Mercy Gallup marrying William Denison, Tours of Homestead, Reservations will be required to rent enough chairs, tent size, order food etc.

William and George were brothers and grandsons of Captain George. William married Mercy Gallup on May 10, 1710. George married Lucy Gallup on June 4, 1717. Mercy and Lucy were sisters. George built the Homestead as a gift for his new wife .

We are located at 120 Pequotsepos Road, Mystic, CT 06355.
Our mailing address is PO Box 42, Mystic, CT 06355.
Phone:1-860-536-9248
Fax:1-860-536-9248
Email:membership@denisonsociety.org

Directions
From I-95, take Exit 90 (the Mystic Seaport and Aquarium exit). Turn north onto Route 27. Go 0.4 miles and turn right onto Jerry Browne Road. Continue 1 mile to the stop sign. Turn Right onto Pequotsepos Road. The museum is half a mile down the road, on the right-hand side. Watch for the brown signs pointing the way to the Denison Homestead.

Parking is available at either the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center lot across the road (on your left before you get to the Museum), or in a lot/field just beyond the Museum on the right.

PLEASE TAKE NOTE: If you are traveling from a distance and will need a hotel, motel, or B&B, you should make reservations well in advance since this area is one of the top ten tourist destinations in the nation. Reasonably priced rooms are at a premium. For information on places to stay in the area please contact the Mystic Chamber of Commerce either at their website or by calling (860) 576-9578.

Pittsfield, MA NARA: Ethnic Heritage Day, Sat., August 28, 2010

The Friends of the National Archives - Pittsfield and the National Archives Northeast Region at Pittsfield present Ethnic Heritage Day, Sat., August 28, 2010 from 9am-2pm.

We will have 5 of our ethnic experts on-hand for 15-minute consultations to help with that difficult to trace ancestor. The experts and ethnicities are: Michelle LeClair: French-Canadian; Peter Sisario: Italian; Lisa Dougherty: Irish; Elsie Saar: German and Alan Horbal: Polish. The Microfilm Reading Room will also be available for researchers' use during the day and volunteers will be available for assistance. Please visit our website http://www.narafriends-pittsfield.org to download the registration form and more information.

--
Sincerely,
Janet M. Rogge, President
Friends of NARA
10 Conte Drive
Pittsfield, MA 01201

413-236-3600 (NARA)
pittsfield.archives@nara.gov

www.narafriends-pittsfield.org

Friday, October 23, 2009

Murder at Darling Hill [Stonington, CT]

November Second Sunday
Murder at Darling Hill

Was Justice Served? You decide.

Sunday 8 November, 2pm
Stoneridge Retirement Community Auditorium
186 Jerry Brown Road, Mystic

Judith duPont has written an historical account that reads like murder-mystery fiction. But the facts are these: in the evening hours of 19 April, 1874, 17 year-old Irvin Langworthy was murdered in his home on Darling Hill in Stonington (near where present Route 1 ascends what is now know as Lord's Hill). An attempt was also made to kill his older brother, Courtland, who was found in his bed in a pool of blood. Suspicion almost immediately fell upon hired farm-hand Bill Libby, but there were some who suspected the Langworthy family.

The brutal murder led to sensational newspaper coverage in the New London Evening Telegram, the Mystic Press and the New York Times. The case was tried in New London County Courthouse and Libby was given a life sentence. But was he guilty? Join us as we look more deeply into this case and we learn more about the community as we see how they reacted to the ongoing saga.

Buy a copy of the book, $15, at the Shaw Mansion, at the Stonington Historical Society, or at Bank Square Books in Mystic; or borrow a copy from your local library and read it before Judith's presentation so you'll be able to judge all of the evidence. (Stoneridge residents can obtain copies of the book from Jack Kurrus.)

Free for members, Stoneridge residents and their guests
$5 for others Free Parking is available.

Founded in 1870, the New London County Historical Society is the oldest historical organization in eastern Connecticut. The Shaw Mansion, located near the intersection of Bank and Tilley Streets in New London, has been our home since 1907.
Edward Baker Executive Director 860.443.1209

CPGC Annual Meeting at the Connecticut State Library, Van Block Building

Connecticut Professional Genealogist Council, Inc.
Tuesday, Nov. 3 10:00 a.m.
Annual Meeting and Luncheon
75 Van Block Avenue, Hartford, CT


Topic: Connecticut State Library Holdings at the Van Block Building

All are welcome including guests! Please bring something for our usual potluck lunch. There is places for folks to eat in a lunch room of sorts, and a microwave.

Speaker: Mel Smith will discuss new changes regarding this facility and new materials that are now stored here. Tour is being arranged.

The Van Block Facility is a limited access facility open for events or by appointment only.

See Directions Below at CSL website.

Most meetings are held in Hartford the first Tuesday of the month except for Jan. July & Aug.
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Deborah Tajmajer, CPGC Email List Distributor
AncestorConnect@aol.com

Budget Holdbacks for the CT State Library Databases

Changes to iCONN Databases

Due to recent budget holdbacks, the State Library does not have sufficient funds to support all the iCONN databases that are currently being offered. As a result, effective November 1, we will be discontinuing all ProQuest newspapers except the Hartford Courant and the Historical Hartford Courant. These two newspapers are the most heavily used newspapers in iCONN.

All libraries will continue to have access to the New York Times (1985 – present), Christian Science Monitor (1996 – present), and London Times (7/1985 – present) through Gale. In addition, academic libraries will continue to have access to the Wall Street Journal through ABI Inform. Access to the Boston Globe was previously eliminated due to budget cuts.

On November 1, the Newspaper link on the new iCONN start page will go to a Web page that will present individual links to all newspapers that will continue to be available through iCONN.

We regret having to discontinue access to these resources but the current budget situation makes it necessary.

As of November 1st, Connecticut residents will have access to:

Christian Science Monitor (Gale) (1996 – )*
Hartford Courant (ProQuest) (1992 – )
Hartford Courant Historical (ProQuest) (1764-1922)
London Times (Gale) (1985 – )*
New York Times (Gale) (1985 – )*

* All of this content is also integrated into the federated search.

In addition to the above, academic libraries will continue to have access to the Wall Street Journal because it is part of ABI Inform, which we license separately for academic libraries.

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Source: CSL email.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Connecticut State Library to Twitter lines from Witchcraft Documents

Connecticut State Library to Twitter lines from Witchcraft Documents

Twenty people were accused of witchcraft in Connecticut during the seventeenth century, thirteen in the Hartford witchcraft outbreak of 1662-1663 and seven during the Fairfield outbreak of 1692-1693. Seven of those were tried and four were executed. The Samuel Wyllys Papers at the Connecticut State Library contains documents from these trials. The Matthew Grant Diary established the identity of the first person executed as a witch in New England. During the month of October, the Connecticut State Library will be posting lines from these documents on Twitter. You can follow us at http://twitter.com/LibraryofCt or find us using #CTwitch.

21st Century Core Genealogical Resources

Genealogy Club of Newtown, 7 pm, C.H. Booth Library, a talk by Thomas J. Kemp, director of Genealogy Products for NewsBank, on "21st Century Core Genealogical Resources;" visitors and new members welcome; information, call 270-7887.

Tom will demonstrate the core online resources that we can use to locate detailed information about ancestors and distant relatives. His presentation will cover Internet sources for searching books, documents and microfilm, newspapers, government reports, and family genealogy records.

The Moodus Drum & Fife Corps will host it's 2009 annual Muster

Saturday, October 17, 2009, Moodus, Connecticut
MOODUS MUSTER
The Moodus Drum & Fife Corps will host it's 2009 annual muster on Saturday the 17th of October with a fife and drum parade being held at 12 noon. The Muster will be held at the old Grange Hall on Town Street, East Haddam Ct.(intersection of Rt 151 and East Haddam-Colchester Turnpike). Camping is available, this is a closed muster. If you have any questions. please e-mail us using the contact section of the website.
....................................................................
If you are using a map program for directions please use the following address for the muster field:
499 Town Street, East Haddam Ct 06423 {First Church of Christ Congregational]

For more information please contact:
To be advised
Website: www.moodusdrums.com

Internship opportunities at the Lebanon Historical Society Museum and Visitor Center

Internship opportunities at the Lebanon Historical Society Museum and Visitor Center
The Lebanon Historical Society is a small town not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of all aspects of the history of Lebanon, CT from its earliest inhabitants to the present day, with special emphasis on Lebanon92s role in the American Revolution. The Society owns and operates a modern museum and visitor center with exhibit galleries, collections storage facilities, a genealogical library and archives and education and program space. In addition, the Society maintains and provides access to three historic structures: the William Beaumont birthplace a Broom Shop and a smoke house. In 2010, the library building that Civil War governor, William Buckingham, donated to the Congregation Church will be moved to the historical society property.

Located on the historic Lebanon Green, the Society is part of the Lebanon History Consortium. This affiliation of humanities sites around the Green (Governor Jonathan Trumbull House & Wadsworth Stable [DAR], the War Office [SAR], Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. House [Town of Lebanon], First Congregational
Church, Jonathan Trumbull Public Library, and LHS) work together to develop public programming. The Consortium also works with the town to promote Lebanon’s Revolutionary War past.

The Historical Society has a paid staff of four including a professional museum director, collections manager, administrative assistant and museum assistant. Regular staff also includes a volunteer librarian and volunteer genealogist. A volunteer Board of Trustees and core group of other volunteer
s carry out many important tasks. However, as with most small non-profits there are far more tasks to be accomplished than people to complete them. Therefore, LHS has a well-established tradition of welcoming interns who have, over the years been valued contributors to our research, exhibits and programs.

As the 2009-10 academic year begins, the Lebanon Historical Society hopes to attract a new group of collegiate interns. Students majoring in history,education, general humanities, geography, anthropology or museum studies might find that we offer engaging and challenging opportunities. However, we have also provided successful internships for students in less obvious disciplines including graphic arts and computer science. Interns are generally incorporated into on-going projects that have been identified as institutional priorities. However, if someone has a specific project of personal interest to suggest, LHS staff are happy to discuss how we can work together.

Visit our website site at www.historyofLebanon.org. Interested students can reach us at 860-642-6579 from 9:00 to 5:00 weekdays or email us at museum@historyofLebanon.org

Donna Baron, Director
Lebanon Historical Society Museum located on the Historic Lebanon Green
856 Trumbull Highway, Lebanon, CT 06249

Connecticut at War

Connecticut at War


Friday, November 13, 2009 – Saturday, November 14, 2009

Connecticut State Library

Governor William A. O’Neill State Armory

Manchester Community College


The Association for the Study of Connecticut History, Connecticut Militia Heritage Committee, Connecticut State Library, and Manchester Community College are pleased to present a one and one- half day conference on the experiences of Connecticut people with wars, spanning more than 350 years. The meeting is being held at the Connecticut State Library and Governor William A. O’Neill State Armory on Friday, November 13, 2009 and Manchester Community College on Saturday, November 14, 2009.

The conference will begin on Friday, November 13 with an opening program featuring Tom Callinan, Connecticut’s “1st Official State Troubadour” and Kevin Johnson with his moving portrayal of a former slave, “Jordan Freeman: The Fight to Set a People Free.” It will be followed by tours, a keynote by David Corrigan on the 100th anniversary of the Governor William A. O’Neill State Armory, a plenary session on the Connecticut National Guard in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, and a reception at the Officers’ Club of Connecticut.

Researchers will be discussing a variety of war related topics from the 17th to the 21st centuries on the Saturday portion of the program at Manchester Community College. The presentations will reflect several perspectives, including those of academic scholars, graduate students, historical society personnel, independent historians, and participants. The program features sessions on 17th century warfare, the French and Indian War, the American Revolution, War of 1812, Civil War, World Wars I and II, Vietnam, Cold War, and 21st century conflicts. Some papers are autobiographical or biographical in focus, while others concern home front activities, wartime dissent, citizen soldiers, and veterans.

This conference is far reaching and expands beyond the bounds of anything previously attempted by any of the sponsoring organizations. It contains programs of interest to all Connecticut history enthusiasts and provides a unique opportunity for those interested in any aspect of wartime activity in this State to meet and discuss their common interests.

Conferences of this scope and magnitude are the result of the hard work of many people. Special thanks, however, are due to Connecticut State Librarian Kendall Wiggin, George W. Ripley III, chair of the Connecticut Militia Heritage Committee, and Manchester Community College and MCC President Dr. Gena Glickman for hosting and supporting this conference.

We are also extremely grateful to the Connecticut Humanities Council for its continued support of this and other ASCH programs.
Guocun Yang President, ASCH