TIGS Monthly Meeting Notes

April, 2005

The Troy Irish Genealogy Society did meet on Thursday, April 21, 2005, at Troy City Hall. Attending the meeting were Cathy and Bill McGrath, Marialice Mangan, Donna Vaughn, Lizette Strait, Jeanne Keefe, Ed Dyer, Kristin Ayotte and Kay Brearton.

The meeting was brought to order by Co-Chair, Lizette Strait. Lizette had prepared an agenda for the meeting.

Lizette had also painstakingly put together a presentation for the group, “On This Day in Troy, NY – April 21, 1905”. The presentation consisted of articles copied from both the Daily Times and Troy Daily Press, both local papers at the time. Did you know that 100 years ago on 4/21/05 Catholics were observing Good Friday? Lizette had copied about 10-15 items that appeared in the papers that day, everything from millinery sale ads to employment ads and much more. The group found it very entertaining and enjoyable and it was a perfect introduction to the business meeting.

Minutes from last months meeting were approved and are posted to the TIGS website.

 

OLD BUSINESS

Reports

List Administer – Donna Vaughn tells us we have 88 members currently.

Web Site – Jeanne Keefe reported that the Burden Death Record Project is complete and she is in the process of organizing and putting on line.

Burden Death Records - There are 6031 entries in total, at the time of the meeting she had completed the “A’s”. Bill McGrath reported that 26 volunteers worked on the project from 7 different states. Bill is notifying 16 mailing lists of the project and is anticipating an increase in TIGS membership as a result. Jeanne has put a banner on the website that this is a “Work in Progress”; the pages will be navy blue type on a yellow background with the names in green. The duplications were left as there are minor differences noted in many of them. The records cover 1890 – 1895 and they will also be burned to a disc for safekeeping.

Proposed New Project – Donna Vaughn is contacting Pat Connors concerning Pat’s proposal on list concerning photographs of tombstones that indicate an Ireland place of birth. There was some discussion among the attending members and all agree we need some further clarification from Pat as to what the goal is and how it will be used or displayed. Donna will report back at the next meeting.

Project Discussion – Kay Brearton has been working with David Bonitatibus transcribing church records for the American Canadian Genealogy Society. They are currently working on Holy Trinity and St. Lawrence records at St. Josephs. The Group, in response to list inquiries, suggested that the books produced by the ACGS could be purchased by TIGS and therefore be available for lookup for non-local members.

Nominations and voting for officers – Donna Vaughn reported that nominations for the following offices were accepted by the following people; President – Donna Vaughn, Vice President – Kristin Ayotte, Secretary – Kay Brearton, Treasurer – Rich Shea, Webmaster – Jeanne Keefe and List Administrator – Lizette Strait. There were other nominations but the person nominated did not accept. The end result is one person nominated and accepted for each office. The list will be notified, an opportunity given to vote for the slate put in place and officers elected at the next meeting. Donna Vaughn will notify the list and Jeanne Keefe will put an e-mail address up for voting, TIGSvote@aol.com. Meeting Room Discussion – We are now able to say that the meetings will be held on the 3 rd Thursday of each month at Troy City Hall. Our sincere thanks to Ed Dyer for making the contacts and securing the location.

 

NEW BUSINESS

Dues - The dues will be $5.00 for a year running from 7/1 to 6/30 of each year. The dues will be used to purchase reference books, mailings and any photocopying needed for projects.

Speakers – Lizette Strait has once again brought to the table the topic of speakers for the meetings. She mentioned several names as good prospects and is recommending we allocate approximately ½ hour of the meeting for a speaker. The group was receptive to the idea and will aim for August or September. Several names were discussed and members agreed to contact those people to see if there is interest and what topic they would present to tie in with the TIGS meetings.

Transcription Projects – Bill McGrath believes that we will be able to avail ourselves of more records at the RCHS for transcription. Bill also spoke of the Marriage Index located in the Rensselaer County Clerk's Office and the death records in the City Directories. The group discussed the fact that there is no County Historian and perhaps there is state grant money available to hire one. This is a subject that could garner further conversation.

It was decided that we would approach the Office of the City Clerk, Frank Merola, and offer to assist in any way we could to make records more accessible. A committee consisting of Ed Dyer, Jeanne Keefe and Bill McGrath will work on this. A letter of introduction for the group will be sent to Mr. Merola suggesting that they meet. He will be invited to look at our website and see what we have accomplished by working with the RCHS and also be invited to attend one of our meetings. The goal is to form a relationship that could result in more projects for the group furthering our mission to share our Irish heritage.

Press Release – Kristin Ayotte suggested that perhaps now is the time for the group to get some publicity for TIGS by way of a press release introducing TIGS through the local papers. The end result could be increased membership and participation.

The meeting was adjourned and several members of the group traveled to Fresnos for a light meal and conversation. Donna Vaughn will chair the next meeting on Thursday, May 19 th at 6:30 at Troy City Hall. Directions and information will be posted to our website.

Kris Cooney-Ayotte