East Haddam Historical Society & Museum: Open House June 9, 2007

The East Haddam Historical Society & Museum will be open from 10:30am-4pm on Saturday, June 9 without charge to visitors. This is in honor of Connecticut Open House Day sponsored by the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism and includes the Ambassador Program ....

This is the third annual Connecticut Open House Day involving 200 other organizations and attractions throughout the state. The East Haddam Historical Society Museum features an exhibit and 35-minute film on William Gillette and Sherlock Holmes featuring Gillette protege Helen Hayes, created by Peter Loffredo of Connecticut Heritage Productions. Works of such famous local artists as Heinz Warneke and W. Langdon Kihn are a part of the museum's holdings, along with a photographic display of the mills of Moodus, Millington Green Post Office and General Store, Moodus Drum and Fife Corps memorabilia, miniatures of the Goodspeed Opera House and an 18th-century East Haddam dwelling and outbuildings, Indian artifacts dating to 1300 B.C. and an exhibit on the last of the New England whalers, Captain George Comer.

East Haddam is comprised of the areas known as Millington, Hadlyme, North Plains, Leesville, Johnsonville, Moodus, Little Haddam and East Haddam Landing. The EHHS, located on Route 82 (264 Town Street) will soon celebrate the opening of an important new wing presently awaiting a Certificate of Occupancy. Phone 860-873-3944; email ehhistsociety@snet.net.

Connecticut Open House Day: Sat. June 9, 2007

Join the party! On June 9th, art galleries and studios, museums, theaters, historic properties, tourist attractions and lodging facilities across the state will be opening their doors to Connecticut residents. Enjoy free or discounted admission and d other special incentives.

You will find the Connecticut Open House participants are listed at http://ctvisit.com/open_house_properties.htm describing what each property is offering. Search engine found at the CT Heritage site: http://www.ctheritage.org/

For example:
Oliver Ellsworth Homestead
778 Palisado Ave.(Rte. 159)
Windsor, CT
Phone: (860) 688-8717
http://www.ctdar.org
Free admission

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Nathan Hale Homestead
2299 South St.
Coventry, CT
Phone: (860) 742-6917
http://www.ctlandmarks.org/hale.php
Free admission (reg. $7)
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Shaw Mansion
New London County Historical Society
11 Blinman St.
New London, CT
Phone: (860) 443-1209
http://www.newlondonhistory.org
Free Admission

Amasa Day House Memorial Day Family Fest and Open House

Bring a picnic and join us after the East Haddam parade (Monday, May 28, 2007) for a day of family fun on the beautiful Amasa Day House grounds. 11-00-3:00.One of the house’s of the Antiquirian and Landmark Society.

Free admission to the grounds and free tours of the 1816 Federal – style house, home Civil War Veteran Eugene Chafee, Amasa Day's son-in- law. Donations are kindly requested.Civil War Re-enactors! Join the drill and more. Living history at its best!

12:45 performance of the East Haddam stage company’s “They call me Lizzie… from Slavery to the White House.” Best known as dressmaker and confidant to Mary Todd Lincoln.

Purchase refreshments, victorian toys and much more.

Directions:
From Rte 9; Exit 7, Moodus, to Rte 82 East. Pass Goodspeed Opera House to Rte. 149. Museum is north 4.2 miles at the junction of Rtes 149 and 151.
From Rte 2: Exit 16, Moodus, right onto Rte 149 South. Museum is south 8 miles at the intersection of Rtes 149 and 151.

Amasa Day House
Plains Road
On the Green
Moodus, Connecticut 06469
(860) 247-8996 ext. 12
amasa.day@ctlandmarks.org
www.ctlandmarks.org/amasa.php.

109th Reunion of the descendants of Cornelius Davis held in Stafford Springs, CT

The 109th Reunion of the descendants of Cornelius Davis, 2nd will be held on Sunday, August 20, 2006*. The group will meet at noon at the American Legion Hall, 3 Monson Rd. (just north of the intersection of Rtes. 32 and 190), Stafford Springs, Connecticut. ... We'll also have awards for the youngest, the oldest, the family member having come the greatest distance, and the family with the most members present.

We would like to know who will be coming by August 1, 2006, so that we may plan accordingly. ... Distance and other reasons will prevent many members from attending. We would still like to hear from you with vital information, address changes, and addresses of family members who may not be on the mailing list or changes to be made to the Family Tree.

Expenses for the Reunion are financed by a "free will" collection taken during the meeting and by generous donations received by mail.

As always, The Family Tree and the Davis Family Genealogy will be on display. These represent the on-going efforts of family members who continue to update the records of the Davis family.

Come join us as we reunite in historic Stafford, CT, originally settled by Cornelius Davis, 2nd. Davis Family Reunions have been held annually on the 3rd Sunday in August, except for a few years during World War II, starting in the late 1890s.

Sincerely, Holly Ann Thisdale,Davis Reunion Secretary
If you'd like to attend, please contact by August 1st:
Mark K. Davis; 10510 Auburndale Rd. Chagrin Falls, Ohio 44023-2344

Stonington, CT Ultimate Family Reunion 2009

Once In A Lifetime
of the Founding Families of Stonington, Connecticut 1649-2009.
360 years of history

Descendants of FRANCIS BUSHNELL Reunion in Hartford, CT July 2007

Calling all descendants of FRANCIS BUSHNELL, to attend the first-ever, all-lineages reunion July 5-8 in Hartford Connecticut and July 9-18 in England. You can come to just one or both events. The one in Hartford will start with a tour and dedication of a gift to the Bushnell Park, which is also the front yard of the Connecticut state capitol. Following that, we’ll go on to The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts nearby, for lunch and a tour of that stately facility. It was erected in memory of Horace Bushnell, one of the movers and shakers of early Hartford, and, thus, the reason it was chosen to be the site of this reunion. The next day we’ll travel south to Guilford, Conn., the city Francis helped found upon his arrival in New England in 1639, and where there is an original building that we think Francis helped construct. We’ll also visit the Connecticut River Museum in Essex, where there is a replica of David Bushnell’s “Turtle” – a device he invented during the Revolutionary War to “harass the enemy” and which is a forerunner of our modern submarine. On Sunday we’ll visit a church that Daniel Bushnell helped build, and tour nearby cemeteries. While in Connecticut, we’ll lodge at the Rocky Hill Marriott Hotel at a rate of $99.68, including all taxes. Contact http://cwp.marriott.com/bdirh/bushnellreunion for information and registry.


On July 9 we’ll fly to England for the next eight days, visiting and exploring the towns where Francis lived, along with seeing the extraordinary sites to the south and west of London. The last three days we’ll be in London, with free time to do what you want as well as planned tours of the more famous landmarks. Our travel agency, Holidays Unlimited, has given us an estimated cost of $2600; which includes all transportation costs, hotel rates and fees including breakfasts, two dinners and one afternoon tea, and entrance fees to sites on the itinerary. Please pre-register with the coordinator, Kitty Dye, 2855 Sand Road, Port Clinton, OH 43452-2744; 419-734-4588; bushnellreunion@cros.net . Additional information can be found on the family website: bushnell.homestead.com or contact Kitty for print copies.

AVERY Memorial Association Family Reunion in Mystic, CT July 2007

The AVERY Memorial Association Family Reunion will be held on Saturday, July 21, 2007 at Seaman's Inn in Mystic, CT from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A buffet lunch will be served at 12 noon. After meeting entertainment will be a magic show by Joseph Potter, Colonial American Magician.

On Sunday, July 22 at 10 a.m. there will be a church service at the First Church of Christ Congregational Church in Groton, CT. Also a cemetery workshop at the Avery-Morgan Burying Ground in Groton, CT. The Ebenezer Avery House will be open both days. The cost is $40 for adults which includes the buffet and admission to Mystic Seaport. Deadline is June 30, 2007

Geer Family Association Reunion in Ledyard, CT June 2007

2007 Triennial Reunion of GFA To Be Held in Ledyard, Connecticut, June 22, 23, and 24, 2007!

The next General Meeting and Reunion of the Geer Family Association will be held in Ledyard, Connecticut, June 22, 23, and 24, 2007. Members and non-members alike are welcome! On the GFA page is a brief version of the GFA Summer Newsletter with information about this reunion available to download in Acrobat Reader. (To download free Adobe Acrobat Reader, click the button here. ) The reunion agenda, lodging information, and places to see in the Ledyard area are all in a downloadable section of the Newsletter -- go to "The GFA" page (link at left), then scroll down and click on the picture of the newsletter;or click here. A PDF version of the newsletter pages about the reunion will open. To register, click here for a Word version of the registration form, or here for a PDF version of it. We look forward to seeing you there!
New Geer Crest Shirts and Jackets


If you want to look really spiffy at the reunion, you can order new shirts and jackets with the Geer Crest on them. Click here to download the order form, with pictures, descriptions, and prices, in PDF format. (You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open this file.) Print out the order form, fill out your order, make out your check to Rambow, Inc. Important note: Mail your order to Marilyn Geer, 214 Dogwood St. N.E., New London, MN 56273. When Marilyn gets enough orders for one style, she will send them to Rambow. $2 from each order goes to the GFA. If you have questions, please call Maryilyn at 612-273-0296 or email her at mjgeer@tds.net.

American Maritime History Course at Mystic Seaport June 18-July 26, 2007

Mystic Seaport's Munson Institute of American Maritime Studies is currently accepting applications for its summer courses in American maritime history. Early registration shows an interesting mix of students. Some will take the courses for graduate credit, while others will audit classes just for the joy of it.

Enrollment for the June 18 through July 26 Institute is, however, limited. Further information and applications are available by writing Co-Director Glenn S. Gordinier, Ph.D. at Munson Institute, 75 Greenmanville Ave., P.O. Box 6000, Mystic, CT 06355 or via the Internet at munson@mysticseaport.org.

Harvard's Professor Robert Albion founded the Institute in 1955. Since that time, hundreds of students from all walks of life have passed through the program and gone on to complete higher degrees, and publish numerous books and articles. Institute offerings are fully accredited by Trinity College and the University of Connecticut. This summer's offerings include: an American Maritime History Survey, a Maritime Studies Seminar and Independent Research.

The Munson faculty is made up of scholars from across the country. They are leading authorities on topics like ship technology, women and the sea, African-American seafaring, marine archeology, seafaring culture, the history of marine science and the environment. The faculty's most recent collaboration, the critically acclaimed America and the Sea has become a "must read" in the field. Another Institute resource is the newly restructured G.W. Blunt White Library, a major research library in maritime history on the Mystic Seaport grounds. The library houses a large collection of manuscripts and rare books and is available to Munson students.

During the six weeks of study, the 17 acres of Mystic Seaport serve as a unique campus where the nuances of maritime life are in evidence in scores of historic settings including the whaleship Charles W. Morgan. Additionally, Munson students participate in field trips to Newport and the old whaling ports of New London and Stonington, CT. They are also offered unique opportunities such as rowing or sailing period watercraft on the Mystic River and cruising aboard SABINO, America's last coal-fired passenger vessel.

Mystic Seaport works to preserve and exhibit the maritime heritage of America and to tell the story of America and the sea. The staff includes 350 professionals from a wide range of disciplines.
____________________________________________

Glenn S. Gordinier, Ph.D.
Robert G. Albion Historian
Co-Director, Munson Institute
860 572 0711 ext. 5089

Resources Available at the National Archives including under-utilized resources ...

Saturday, May 19, 2007: Connecticut Genealogist Society

SPEAKER: Walter Hickey,"Resources Available at the National Archives including under-utilized resources such as CT citenship papers in Waltham, MA and Boston Passenger Lists." CSG Members' Business Meeting, Election of Officers and Governors at Large, Literary Awards Presentation

Advanced Reservations are required. PLEASE NO WALK-INS. Your Reservation must be received in the CSG Office by May 16, 2007 by 3:00pm.

TIME: Registration: 8:30am, Business Meeting, etc.: 9:30am, Lunch: Noon,
Speaker: 1:15pm

LUNCH: Meal Choices are: Chicken Marsala, Broiled Sea Scallops, or Roast Loin of Pork (vegetarian dishes available). Please include your meal choice on the memo portion of your check. Thank you.
COST: $25.00, Speaker only: $20.00

THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
QUESTIONS? Call the CSG Office at 860-569-0002

Location of Event:
Hawthorne Inn, 2346 Wilbur Cross Hwy, Berlin, CT

Association for the Study of Connecticut History

Annual Meeting of the Association
for the Study of Connecticut History will be held on Saturday,
April 28, 2007, at the Connecticut River Museum, Essex, CT.
The meeting theme, "A River Runs through It: Putting the
Connecticut in Connecticut's History" will be addressed by
three speakers:

Brenda Milkofsky, Senior Curator, Connecticut River Museum,
Launching Liberty: The Connecticut Valley in The American
Revolution: Off the Walls and onto the Web.

Joseph Avitable, University of Rochester, Connecting Colonial
Connecticut to the Atlantic World Economy, 1690-1776.

Steve Grant, The Hartford Courant, The Connecticut River:
An Environmental History.

After the program, there will be a short annual business meeting
of the ASCH membership with election of officers. This will be
followed by a guided tour of the Connecticut River and lunch
aboard the RiverQuest. A copy of the entire program with registration information is available at the ASCH website: http://asch.ccsu.edu
For further information, please call or e-mail:
Patricia Bodak Stark
ASCH Secretary
860-434-0112
starkbpw@aol.com

Connecticut Historical Society Library blog

New and exciting additions to the collection at the Connecticut Historical Society Library.

We will be reporting new additions to our collections, mostly manuscript, but some printed material and media as well. We are constantly adding new manuscript and discovering one's already in the collection. Information about these items/collections will appear at the CHS blog before they show up in their online catalog.

Please visit the CHS blog, and if you want to keep updated, please subscribe to the RSS feed. www.manuscripts.wordpress.com
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About CHS:

From award-winning, interactive exhibits to exciting special events and programs, plus a nationally significant library, the Connecticut Historical Society Museum presents family-friendly, educational offerings that explore Connecticut’s diverse, dynamic and changing history. Ongoing exhibits include Tours and Detours Through Early Connecticut exploring rustic life in CT over 200 years ago. Amistad– A True Story of Freedom travels through the Africans’ struggle for freedom following their 1839 revolt aboard the Amistad. Group Tours are available for both children and adults. Located at One Elizabeth Street in Hartford’s historic West End, make the CHS Museum your must-see destination along CT’s Cultural Tourism Trail, easily accessible from I-84, Exit # 46, Sisson Avenue. Exhibition hours: Tuesday - Saturday, Noon to 5 p.m. Library hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (last admission: 4:15 p.m.). Admission is $6 (adults), $3 (seniors, students, and youths 6 - 17), FREE for children under six and CHS Museum/Old State House members and FREE the first Saturday of every month. Open year round. Closed major holidays. FREE and ample parking. Web site: www.chs.org. For information call: 860-236-5621.

"Working the Land: The Story of Connecticut Agriculture"

"Working the Land: The Story of Connecticut Agriculture"

Premieres Friday, April 13th at 9 p.m. on CPTV

Past, present and future of state farming are subject of new documentary Moodus, Conn. (April 4, 2007) - Since its earliest days, Connecticut farmers and the farming way of life helped to build the state, givesustenance to millions and provide residents with a special sense ofplace. Today, farming in Connecticut is at a crossroads as lifestyle changes and development pressures threaten its future. The past, present and future of state farming are explored in Working the Land: The Story of Connecticut Agriculture, a 90-minute documentary that premieres Friday, April 13, at 9 p.m. on Connecticut Public Television (CPTV). State resident Ken Simon produced, wrote and directed the documentary, his 21st program on Connecticut history, culture or public policy. Connecticut resident Sam Waterston narrates the program.

In the last half of the 20th century, Connecticut, like other states, had experienced a steady decline in farming. In 1944, there were 22,000 farms in the state. Today, there are 4,200. To the dismay of many concerned with state agriculture, farmland loss has intensified inrecent years. From 1997 to 2002, Connecticut led all other states in the rate of loss -- 12 percent of existing farmland, with no signs of slowing down since then. Yet, agriculture continues to be an important part of Connecticut's economy, food system and culture. Some trends are downright encouraging, such as increasing demand for locally grown food, more direct marketing from farm to consumer, and the growing business of agricultural-based tourism. Working the Land features 26 farmers who help to tell the story of state agriculture. Farmers in the program range from multi-generation farm families to first-generation farmers, from part-timers to multi-million-dollar operators. They grow, harvest, make and sell a diverse array of farm products -- from decorative plants to organic produce, gourmet vegetables, wine, cheese, grass-fed lamb and beef, and a wide range of added-value products.

An extended-edition DVD of the program is available at retail outletsstatewide and at the project website www.WorkingTheLand.com. The website contains interview transcripts, exclusive articles and video footage, links to state farmsand farm products, an archival photographic database, and interactive features. Working the Land is a co-production of Simon Pure Productions and Connecticut Humanities Council. It is the latest program in The Connecticut Experience, a collaborative series of the Humanities Council and Connecticut Public Television. Lead underwriting for the project was provided by Connecticut Farmland Trust, with major underwriting from Connecticut Farm Bureau, Connecticut Department of Agriculture and the 1772 Foundation. PRODUCTION CREDITS Producer, Writer, Director: Kenneth A. Simon Executive Producers: Kenneth A. Simon (SimonPure Productions), Bruce Fraser (Connecticut Humanities Council) Narrator: Sam Waterston, Original Score: Steve Evans, Contact: Ken Simon, mailto:ksimon@simonpure.com , www.workingtheland.com

Special Hours for Early Birds to the New England Regional Genealogical

Special Hours for Early Birds to the New England Regional Genealogical Conference!

For those coming to Hartford early for the New England Regional Genealogical Conference (April 26 – 29 at the Connecticut Convention Center and the Marriott Hartford Downtown). www.nergc.org, and others wanting extra research time, the State Library’s History and Genealogy Unit will remain open until 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 25. There will be an extra retrieval of archival and special collections materials at 6:00 p.m. And to sustain researchers in their endeavors, light refreshments will be served from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall of theMuseum of Connecticut History. For those not familiar with the History and Genealogy Unit, orientation tours will be held on the same day at 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 and 5:30 p.m. The Library will be open regular hours Thursday and Friday, April 26 and 27 from 9:00 until 5:00 and on Saturday, April 28 from 9:00 until 2:00. For more information about the History and Genealogy Unit's resources and services, see the History and Genealogy Web page http://www.cslib.org/handg.htm and the State Library's Research Resources page, http://www.cslib.org/handg.htm

Richard C. RobertsUnit Head, History & Genealogy

Connecticut State Library

231 Capitol Ave. Hartford, CT 06106-1537
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

We are happy to inform you that Godfrey Memorial Library will also have extended hours for researchers! We will be open from 9am to 8pm on April 25, 26, and 27 and April 28 from 9 am to 1 pm. Please stop by and see visit us!

Sincerely,Christine LeFoll, Godfrey Memorial Library

134 Newfield Street Middletown, CT 06457

chris@godfrey.org www.godfrey.org

Connecticut Gravestone Network Symposium 2007

Saturday - March 31

9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

South Senior Center

70 Canterbury St.

East Hartford, CT

Hosted by The Friends of Center Cemetery, Inc. East Hartford, CT Historic Cemetery Preservation is our goal. Displays & exhibits from various historic groups. Vendors with books, T-Shirts, mourning jewelry, and othercemetery novelties. We will even have a stone carver working on site if you'd like to try your hand at it.

Lecture Topics:

Welcome for First Time visitors

"Introduction to Old Burial Ground Basics"9:30 am - Ruth Shapleigh-Brown

"Joseph Sikes and other 18th & 19th century Carvers"10: 45 - Robert Drinkwater

"West Springfield area Cemeteries and Carvers"1:15 pm.- Rusty Clark

"Slide Tour and History of Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven, CT."2:30 pm. - Pat Illingworth

Lunch, snacks & beverages will be available

Admission: Pay at the door $10 to public $5 for CGN members

Directions: South Senior Center, East Hartford, CT

From route 2 east - exit 5c, Maple Ave. turn left, (underhwy), turn left at stop sign onto Handel Rd. 2nd right will be Canterbury St., road is a cul-de-sac with school/now seniorcenter at end.

Going west on Rt.2 or Int. 91 use exit forRoute 3/Main St. Glastonbury, then head north to Maple St.,which will be a right turn at the first intersection after the plaza. Follow signs for Symposium.

For details contact Ruth Brown at 860-643-5652 orshapbrown@cox.netCGN web site http://www.ctgravestones.com

New England CONNECTions: New England Regional Genealogical Conference, April 26-29 2007

New England CONNECTions
Ninth New England Regional Genealogical Conference
April 26-29 2007
Connecticut Convention Center
and Hartford Marriott Downtown
www.nergc.org

New England CONNECTions will be held April 26-29, 2007, in Hartford, Connecticut. As the ninth New England Regional Genealogical Conference, it promises to build on NERGC’s tradition of excellence in providing genealogical lectures, seminars and workshops; the Ancestors Road Show; a Society Fair; as well as banquets and luncheons, for new and established genealogists alike, at minimal cost.

In keeping with the Conference theme, Patricia Law Hatcher, Cyndi Howells, Hank Jones, and over 45 other speakers will help genealogists “connect” to:
~ Ancestors who immigrated to and migrated out of New England (including settlement and migration patterns)
~ The wealth of information available in New England’s archives, libraries, and historical societies
~ Specific types of source materials (church, cemetery, vital, and military records; newspapers; city directories)
~ Advances in genealogical technology

In addition, over 45 national, regional, and society-sponsored speakers are on the program to bring you the very best in genealogy today. The Hartford conference program has over 45 speakers, 9 tracks, 75 lectures and workshops, lunch and dinner events, plus several additional offerings like Librarian's Day, the Ancestors Roadshow, Special Interest Groups, Society Fair, and the Exhibit Hall. Complete program and brochure is here: http://www.nergc.org/2007/program2007.htm

The conference takes place at the new Connecticut Convention Center, located at 100 Columbus Boulevard. Some events will also take place in meeting rooms at the interconnected Hartford Marriott Downtown, the official conference hotel, at 200 Columbus Boulevard.

Beyond the conference itself, Hartford is a genealogical and historical haven, home of the Connecticut State Library and Connecticut Historical Society Museum and historic sites such as the homes of Mark Twain and Harriet Beecher Stowe. The Godfrey Library in Middletown and Connecticut Society of Genealogists library in East Hartford are not far away.

It's a genealogy event you won't want to miss!

ADMISSION: $125 for Full Registration. $85 per day for Daily Registration.
MEALS AND WORKSHOPS REQUIRE ADVANCE REGISTRATION AND ADDITIONAL FEE. SOME WORKSHOPS REQUIRE SPECIAL EQUIPMENT. SEE THE FULL BROCHURE AT www.NERGC.org

Wondering about the DAR Application Process or Need Assistance?

DAR Applications and Supplemental Workshop -- Free
Saturday, March 31, 2007, 10 am -2 pm
Freelove Baldwin Stow Chapter House
55 Prospect Street
Milford, CT

Jolene Mullen, CT DAR Volunteer Genealogy Chair, will present this workshop designed to help Prospectives DAR Members as well as Chapter Regents and Registrars. There will be a review of applications and the documentation needed. Bring your own bag lunch.

Call Jolene at 860-355-3294 or JoleneM@aol.com

Also see the National DAR website for information about joining or the DAR Library: http://www.dar.org/

CHS Collections: Research 101

Thursday, March 22 – 2 to 4 p.m.

Sharon Steinberg, Reference and Research Librarian at the CHS Museum, guides you to the many resource treasures available in special collections libraries – including those abounding at the CHS Museum. Rare books, diaries, and letters; broadsides, maps, vintage newspapers, vital records, scrapbooks, and more are at the ready to make you a historical research whiz. Admission: $3-$6. Reservations: (860) 236-5621, x238.

One Elizabeth Street at Asylum AvenueHartford, CT 06105

Tel: (860) 236-5621

Email: ask_us@chs.org

FREE GENEALOGY WORKSHOP SERIES PRESENTED BY THE CT IRISH AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY

Date: March 24, 2007
"Getting Started: US Sources"
Speaker: Paul Keroack
Time: 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

"Looking in Ireland (Part 1)"
Speaker: Janet Pestey
Time: 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

For more information call 203-877-9618 or 203-269-0166
Location of Event:Irish American Community Center,
9 Venice Place, East Haven, CT

DIRECTIONS

From I-95, take exit 48 to I91-From I91 Northbound, take exit 8, Middletown Ave. Bear right at end of ramp onto Route 80/Foxon Blvd. Take right at 3rd traffic light onto Eastern St., proceed 1 mile to Venice Place (right turn). Club is at end of road.


From I-91 South, take exit 8, Middletown Ave. Bear left at end of ramp onto Route 80/Foxon Blvd. Take right at 4th traffic light on to Eastern St., proceed 1 mile to Venice Place (right turn). Club is at end of road.

PAN-SLAVIC GENEALOGY SEMINAR

ANNOUNCING THE 1ST ANNUAL PAN-SLAVIC GENEALOGY SEMINAR

Housatonic Community College 900 Lafayette Blvd., Bridgeport, CT

Saturday, April 14, 2007 1:00 P.M. – 4:00 P.M.

Free – All are welcome!

Registration highly recommended

Free parking and light refreshments!

Come learn how to trace your Eastern European roots from leading experts: Jonathan D. Shea, Professor of Foreign Languages at Housatonic Community College and Central Connecticut State University, Matthew Bielawa, Associate Registrar at Central Connecticut State University, and Lisa A. Alzo, author, instructor, lecturer, and researcher specializing in Slovak genealogy and immigration history. Lectures will cover research in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia, Carpatho-Rus, and other areas of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Topics will include: Utilizing key U.S. resources (census, church, citizenship, immigration and vital records) Historical geography (working with maps, atlases, and gazetteers) Top Eastern European Web sites Archival sources in Eastern Europe Networking with fellow researchers and much more!


To register for this seminar, please call 203-332-5279 or send an e-mail to: pgsctne@yahoo.com.

Добро пожаловать! We hope to see you there! Zapraszamy!

Scottish Patterns of Migration to the United States

Friends of Godfrey Library Spring

Speaker : Betty Oderwald, DAR and Member of St Andrew’s Society of CT

Saturday, March 17th at 1:30 PM

Ms. Oderwald will talk about the Highlanders, the Lowlanders, and the Scots-Irish and how these groups differed and came at different times. She will discuss the reasons why people leave and why they choose the places to which they go. One specific example will be the deportation of soldiers after the Battle of Dunbar through the 19th century. Betty will also bring a display of books that are useful in anyone looking at Scottish immigration, hand-outs of suggested research sources and will be happy to answer questions. Ms Oderwald is a member of the DAR through her mother’s family and her father was born in Scotland. She is currently the registrar of her DAR and C.A.R. chapters and has co-chaired all day Scottish genealogy workshops for 5 years in addition to attending many local and national genealogical conferences.

Godfrey Memorial Library

134 Newfield Street

Middletown, CT 06457-2534

Phone: 860-346-4375

http://www.godfrey.org/direction.htmLibrary@Godfrey.org

Library is Open

Monday 9am to 8pm

Tuesday thru Friday 9am to 4pm
Saturday 9 am to 1 pm

Directions:
Exit 15 onto Route 66 West (also Washington Street). At fifth traffic light turn right onto Route 3 North (also Newfield Street). The Library is approximately 1/4 mile on the right.

From the North on I-95, take Exit 69 onto Route 9 North. Take Exit 15 and follow above directions.

From the South on I-95, take the I-91 North exit to exit 18 (Route 66 East),
follow Route 66 east to Route 3 North (also Newfield Street).
Turn left on Route 3. The Library is approximately 1/4 mile on the right.

"A Slave's Story": BBC Documentary about Venture Smith of East Haddam and Haddam Neck, CT

By Paul Murphy and Joe Bilton. World Premier Screening.

Sunday, March 18, 2007

This year's program is part of the Beecher House Center for the Study of Equal Rights, the Wilberforce Institute for the study of Slavery and Emancipation, in hull England, and the University of Connecticut’s ongoing Project – Documenting Venture Smith. A Slave’s Story was filmed in Connecticut in 2006 during the Project’s excavation of Venture’s family gravesite in East Haddam and the development of an extraordinary DNA map of the family.

Venture Smith was born in West Africa (as Broteer Furro) c. 1727-29 and sold into slavery in 1739. After being transshipped to New England and after years of terrible struggle, Venture purchased freedom for himself his family and several other enslaved people. He then developed a far-flung trading enterprise and became a major landholder in Haddam Neck where he died a free man in 1805.

As he outlined in his 1798 Narrative, Venture’s was an epic saga of emancipation and achievement spanning two centuries and affirming the power of the human spirit.

Program and Buffet Brunch-Luncheon at the Torrington Country Club in Goshen, CT
$45. Checks payable to Beecher House Society, Inc.

Information or reservations: 860-489-1774 or beechers@optonline.net.
Beecher House Society, PO Box 124 Torrington, CT 06790
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Related Links about Venture Smith:
Story and photos: http://www.flogris.org/exhibitions/2006/06Venture.html
Click of Listen: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6096911
Tourism: http://www.visitconnecticut.com/freedom.htm
Town Library: http://www.rathbun.lioninc.org/collection.htm#family

Schooling the Heart: Emotion at the Litchfield Female Academy

Join Martha Tomhave Blauvelt, Professor of History and Director of the Gender and Women's Studies Program at the College of St. Benedict / St. John's University for Schooling the Heart: Emotion at the Litchfield Female Academy. The lecture, based on her new book The Work of the Heart: Young Women and Emotion, 1780-1830, will take place on March 9th at 5:30 p.m. at the Litchfield History Museum. A book signing reception will immediately follow. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the museum shop for $39.50.

Blauvelt will present her case that, while the Litchfield Female Academyis considered notable for its contributions to women's intellectual development, it also taught women how to feel. She claims that its lessons in emotion were at odds with its intellectual purpose. Blauvelt examined journals, diaries, and museum objects created by the students of Sarah Pierce's Litchfield Female Academy for the publication, and used a number of images from the Historical Society's collection as illustrations.

In addition to this book, Blauvelt has published in scholarly journals such as Journal of Women's History, New York History, and Journal of Social History, and also in books of scholarly essays such as volumes 1 and 2 of Women and Religion in America (edited by Rosemary Radford Ruether, Harper and Row), and in Anxious Power: Reading, Writing, and Ambivalence in Narrative by Women, which was part of the SUNY Series in Feminist Criticism and Theory. Blauvelt earned a Ph.D. from Princeton University. She has been a Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellow and a Fellow for the National Historical Publication Records Commission Institute for the Editing of Historical Documents. In addition to St. John's, she has taught in the history departments of the University of California, Berkeley, and Northwestern University. She is currently starting a project on single women between 1780 and 1880, which will center on the sixty two year diary of Susan Heath of Brookline, Mass., and the diaries of her mother and foursisters.

Please call 860-567-4501 or e-mail cbarbacci@litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org to reserve a seat for the lecture. If you have any questions about the event, please call or visit our Web site, http://www.litchfieldhistoricalsociety.org.

Sawyer or Lawyer? Using the 1841-1901 British Census

Thursday, March 1, 2007 at 10:00 -12:00 PM
Speaker: Kathryn Black, Professional reseacher and CPGC Member-at-Large.

All are invited! Connecticut Professional Genealogist Council, Inc. meetings are usually held on the first Thursday of the month at 10 AM unless otherwise stated. Lecture is usually 45 minutes to an hour in length. The second hour is reserved for CPGC business.

Meet at the Emanuel Lutheran Church, 311 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT. Some parking in church lot and on street. Tel: 860-525-0894 (Very near the CT State Library)

Questions about meetings or joining CPGC?

Email : ctpgc@hotmail.com

African American & Native American Genealogy Program

A lecture and presentation by Dr. James M. Rose will take place on Saturday, February 17, from 10 am to 3 pm at the library, outlining the general research process followed by individual advice and consultation on a first come basis.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of Cragin and is free and open to all.

Cragin Memorial Library

8 Linwood Avenue - Route 16 Colchester, CT 06415

Phone: 860-537-5752

craginml@yahoo.com

Forgotten Money – Found!

Have you ever been a Connecticut resident (college counts too), did business in Connecticut, have clients with Connecticut connections, or have relatives from Connecticut?

Check-out this database for “unclaimed funds" at Connecticut State Treasury Unclaimed Property Owners List:” http://www.ctbiglist.com

While I tried to find forgotten money for my immediate family, I could not. However, I did find forgotten money for other relatives! Although there are many types of unclaimed funds, most of my relatives had funds coming to them from past jobs. As you would expect some funds were from jobs of long ago, yet some jobs were fairly recent. It appears that the owners had moved without forwarding addresses. One forgotten fund was nearly $700 while another was as a mere $45.

What was my reward for passing along this discovery to family? I received one big Thank You by email. No one offered to pass along a 10% finder’s fee. Well, what is family for anyway if not to help one another out with the skills we enjoy. All were surprised about the money. You or your relatives may be surprised too.

Other tips: try alternate spellings, search only surname, use surname and first initial of given name, use the % key as a wild-card.

Don’t forget to tell them … Deborah Tajmajer sent you!

Not a Connecticut resident? Check your state for similar database.

"Cyber-filing Comes of Age" How it relates to Genealogy

Free tour will be conducted by Joe Camposeo, Manchester Town Clerk.

Thursday, February 1, 2007 at 10:15 am at the Manchester Town Hall
Directions available at the town hall website.

CPGC Members will learn how Connecticut town clerks are utilizing new technologies and how that will assist genealogist with their research. Prospective members and guests are welcome to attend our genealogical programs. The Connecticut Professional Genealogical Council, Inc (CPGC) was formed in 1993 to foster excellence within the profession and provide support to professional genealogist and repositories in Connecticut.

Contact Deborah Tajmajer, Membership Chair, to request a brochure, a current list of professional researchers, an application, or to ask questions: CTPGC@hotmail.com

Are you qualified to Join the Connecticut Professional Genealogists Council, Inc?

The Connecticut Professional Genealogical Council, Inc (CPGC) was formed in 1993 to foster excellence within the profession and provide support to professional genealogist and repositories in Connecticut. CPGC is opened to those who provide genealogical services to others or manage collections of records in Connecticut. This includes; authors, researchers, librarians, lawyers, instructors, lineage society volunteers, translators, and speakers. We place CPGC brochures, with its annually updated membership list, at libraries, town halls, and at genealogical conferences.

Many meetings are held in Hartford. However, we have also hold meetings in repositories around the state such as Fairfield, Mystic, Middletown, Manchester, and Simsbury. Emails are sent to all members to keep them abreast of activities, directions, and to announce last minute happenings. If a member cannot attend a meeting, minutes and program summaries/handouts are mailed to keep them abreast of activities.

As a group, CPGC helps others. The following is only a sampling:
~ CPGC members initiated the Historic Records Preservation Act of 2000 which provides funds to Connecticut towns for the restoration and preservation of original historic records.

~ Members organize Ancestor Road Shows that are hosted by Connecticut town halls and Libraries. This is a free event where resindents can meet one-on-one with a CPGC member to help them with their family tree or research.

~ Raise funds to donate eguipment or books to Connecticut Repositories including the CT State Library, CT Historical Library and Godfrey Memorial Library.

~ This year we are preparing for a large genealogical conference (NERGC 2007) to be held at the new Conference Center in Hartford April 2007. Please visit the CPGC website for more information. http://www.rootsweb.com/~ctpgc/

Contact Deborah Tajmajer, Membership Chair, to request a brochure, an application, or ask questions: AncestorConnect@aol.com or 860-873-3330

"Two New Londons: Frances Caulkins and the New London Ladies’ Seamen’s Friend Society"

(Photo: The Shaw Mansion Historic House Museum)

January 14, 2007, 2 PM - New London Historical Society

Dr. Nancy Steenburg, presenting new research based on our manuscript collection: “Two New Londons: Frances Caulkins and the New London Ladies’ Seamen’s Friend Society".
In the 1840s, women of New London, including historian Frances Manwaring Caulkins, founded a Ladies’ Seamen’s Friend Society to aid indigent and injured sailors. At first glance the Society seemed to have laudable goals in providing a safety net for local seamen. Yet a majority of members were the wives, daughters, or sisters of the men who owned the major whaling and shipping companies in the city. Were the charity efforts of the ladies merely a salve for the consciences of their menfolk, or did the women of New London have their own agenda of reform?

Steenburg is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Connecticut, Avery Point. She received her AB from Harvard, MA from Trinity College, and PhD from the University of Connecticut, all in history. She is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowship grants, and has published widely on Connecticut history subjects. Her 2005 book, Children and the Criminal Law in Connecticut, 1635-1855: Changing Perceptions of Childhood, was recently recognized as the year’s best book on Connecticut history by the Association for the Study of Connecticut History.

Dr. Steenburg is currently working on a biography of Frances Caulkins, a pioneering female historian, whose collected papers are part of our collection. The Society, planning a new edition of Caulkins’ unmatched 1860 work, History of New London, has called upon Steenburg’s expertise to write a new introduction to the republished book. The Second Sunday presentation will share photographs and images that will provide a rare view of 19th-century New London.

Refreshments will follow the lecture. Admission is free for members of the historical society, $5 for others.

Shaw Mansion is located at 11 Blinman Street, New London, near the intersection of Bank and Tilley Streets.



Second Sunday programs are the regular adult lecture series offered as a benefit of membership in the New London County Historical Society, and are held on the second Sundays of most months. Program admisson is free for members and $5 per person for non-members. For further information, please contact the Society at 860-443-1209. http://www.newlondonhistory.org/events.html

Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor Using Military Records at the National Archives (NARA)

The Friends of Godfrey Memorial Library and The Jewish Genealogical Society of CT are co-sponsoring a program on Sunday, January 7, 2007 at 1:30 at Godfrey Library. The Archivist Jean Nudd of the National Archives in Pittsfield will present a program. Topics include Finding Your Immigrant Ancestor at the National Archives and Using Military Records at the National Archives. There will be a break and refreshments between topics. Please call or email to reserve your place as space is limited (parking that is.)

Contact: Marcia Meyers marciarthur@sbcglobal.net

The Friends of the Godfrey Memorial Library is a non-profit organization which was formed in 1995 to support the Godfrey Memorial Library.

Mission Statement:
"The Friends of the Godfrey Memorial Library, Inc. is an association whose purpose is to foster awareness of the library and its resources, and to strengthen and help preserve this valuable resource for genealogical and historical research for future generations."

For new memberships or renewals, click HERE to open, then print the application form, fill it out and Mail it to:Friends of the Godfrey Memorial Library, Inc.
134 Newfield Street
Middletown, CT 06457-2534

http://godfrey.org/friends.htm

Preserve your Family Heritage with Nathan Hale Memorial DAR

Have you wondered if you are descended from a patriot of the American Revolution, circa 1776? Learn more about your American roots and your family's role in America History. Using modern research tools, volunteers will provide guidance and assistance with this process. Contact us for more info!

Membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) honors and preserves the legacy of your Patriot ancestor. Over two hundred years ago, American Patriots fought and sacrificed for the freedoms we enjoy today. As a member of DAR, through participation in the Society's various programs and activities, you can continue this legacy by actively supporting historic preservation, promotion of education, and patriotic endeavors.

Preserving the American Spirit Other than military service, acceptable service includes: Signers of the Declaration of Independence, civil service, nurses, Oath of Allegiance, those who rendered material aid, such as furnishing supplies, lending money to the Colonies, gunsmiths, and more.

A bit about our chapter

Nathan Hale Memorial Chapter DAR is just one of 3000 chapters in the United States. It was orgainzed in East Haddam, Connecticut on June 6, 1900. Today, our membership comprises 81 women from all over the country with the majority residing within Middlesex and New London counties. We vary our monthly meeting times and locations among the lower Connecticut River towns. Some meetings involve trips to sites across our beautiful State. We honor and remember Connecticut's State Hero, Captain Nathan Hale at our annual Saturday meeting held on or near his birthday, June 6th.

To learn more about our chapter request a brochure or read about a sampling of our programs at our website: http://www.rootsweb.com/~ctnhmdar/programs.htm

Location: Greater Lower CT River Valley

Schoolhouse: Main Street, 06423 google map

Email Chapter Registrar, Deborah Tajmajer: NathanHaleDAR@aol.com

~A CELEBRATION~ Please join us for the 300th presentation of Pvt. William Webb: An African-American Connecticut Civil War Soldier

Portrayed by the State Library’s very own Kevin Johnson. January 11, 2007; 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. Museum of Connecticut History’s Memorial Hall 231 Capitol Avenue ~ Hartford, CT

Remarks by Diane Smith, Host of Positively Connecticut $10 donation at the door is suggested. Donations will support the State Library and Museum of Connecticut History’s Outreach Programs. Light refreshments will be served.

Kevin Johnson is an employee of the State Library’s History and Genealogy Unit. He has been presenting William Webb for eight years and has done 299 presentations.

The Connecticut State Library provides high quality library and information services to state government and the citizens of Connecticut. It also preserves and makes accessible the records of Connecticut's history and heritage. The focus of the Museum and its collections is Connecticut's government, military and industrial history. Permanent and changing exhibits trace the growth of the State and its role in the development of the nation from the Colonial era to the present. Additional information about the State Library and the Museum of Connecticut History can be found on its Web page at http://www.cslib.org/.

REVISITING THE COLONIAL REVIVAL - “A Delightful Form of Madness”: Amer. Textiles & the Colonial Rev

Date: 1/7/2007
Location: Phelps Tavern Museum/Simsbury Historical Society
800 Hopmeadow Street Simsbury, CT 06070
Hours: 2 PM; Admission: $6.00
Contact: (860) 658-2500
Sponsor: Phelps Tavern Museum/Simsbury Historical Society

Joshua Ruff, F. Henry Berlin History Curator at The Long Island Museum of American Art, History & Carriages, will cover the appeal of early American textiles and the contemporary wearing of and the use of colonial patterns in products made from the 1870s to the 1950s. Colonial Revival in the United States was at its height from the Philadelphia Centennial through the Depression as Americans began to romanticize their past to fit a future that included changing gender roles, immigrants, urban living and rapidly advancing technology. As in many New England towns, previously ignored homesteads in Simsbury were purchased and restored architecturally and decoratively as touchstones to an imagined past. It is the strong Colonial Revival presence in Simsbury that inspired this year’s theme.