The
regular monthly meeting
of the Troy Irish Genealogy
Society was held on Thursday,
June 16, 2005, at Troy
City Hall. The following
individuals were in attendance:
Kristin
Ayotte Cathy
McGrath
Kay
Brearton Mimi
Nicotina
Ed
Dyer Eileen
Shea
Jeanne
Keefe Rick
Shea
Bill
McGrath Lizette
Strait
Donna
K. Vaughn
The
meeting was called
to order at 6:35
p.m. by Donna Vaughn,
President. The minutes
of the May 21, 2005
meeting have been
reviewed by the members
who were present,
approved and posted
to the TIGS website.
REPORTS
Lizette
Strait, List Administrator,
reported that there
are currently 95
individuals subscribed
to the list.
There
were no reports from
the Vice President
or Secretary. Rick
Shea, Treasurer,
reported that four
members had paid
dues and he is looking
for a bank that will
offer free checking
for the organization.
Several members paid
their dues at the
meeting. Jeanne Keefe
suggested that Rick
check with Citizens
Bank which offers
free checking to
another organization
she belongs to.
Donna
Vaughn asked for
ideas to recruit
new members to the
organization. After
some discussion,
it was decided to
send information
about the organization
to The
Advertiser,
the TroyRecord and
to the Times
Union website.
Donna will look into
posting information
on the local Time
Warner Cable station.
The
Emly information,
compiled by Lynn
Grice, will be posted
to the website by
Jeanne Keefe. Donna
pointed out that
many surnames have
been posted to the
website without e-mail
addresses for interested
parties to contact.
She recommended that
everyone add summaries
or details to each
surname in addition
to contact information.
Jeanne will establish
links on the surname
page for any additional
information sent
to her.
OLD
BUSINESS
Bill
McGrath reported on the
meeting he, Jeanne Keefe
and Ed Dyer had with
Frank Merola, Rensselaer
County Clerk. Mr. Merola
was very receptive to
the idea of TIGS members
providing help with preserving
vital records held in
his office. It was decided
that volunteers from TIGS
would copy the marriage
records index which cover
the years 1908 through 1935. Jeanne Keefe will
bring a full page scanner
and a laptop to the Clerk’s
Office and provide
training on their
use to volunteers.
When the pages have
been scanned, the
images will be distributed
via the internet
to volunteers who
will enter the data
on EXCEL spreadsheets.
The information will
be copied to a CD
and given to the
Clerk’s
Office to be
used
for lookups.
Bill
reported that the
Troy City Directory
project is going
well. He has been
contacted by more
individuals who have
offered to help.
Pat Connors has an
1893 city directory
and has offered to
work on that issue.
Bill explained that
the date is entered
on EXCEL spreadsheets
and Jeanne Keefe
will put them together
to post on the TIGS
website.
There
may be additional
Burden records at
the RCHS. When a
new Librarian is
appointed, Bill will
try to determine
what data could be
copied. One interesting
document he is aware
of is the Discharge
Book for the iron
works; it might be
an interesting project
for the TIGS group.
Donna
Vaughn is waiting
for a response from
the Rootsweb Administrator
regarding the steps
to take to archive
TIGS list messages.
NEW
BUSINESS
Lizette
Strait suggested
that the organization
invite speakers to
meetings advertising
their appearances
to attract new members.
Mimi Nicotina will
contact Siena College
to see if any faculty
who teach Irish history
courses would be
willing to speak
to the group. Lizette
also suggested posting
a membership application
with a brief bio
of the TIGS organization
on the website. The
members agreed that
it was a good idea
and Lizette offered
to develop an application
form and the bio.
Application forms
could also be placed
at local libraries.
The
extensive collection
of research tips
compiled by Bill
McGrath are ready
and will be entered
on the website by
Jeanne Keefe.
Donna
Vaughn brought several
books about Cohoes
to the meeting and
invited members to
look through them.
The idea of the group
taking a trip to
Ireland in 2006 was
briefly discussed.
Donna Vaughn suggested
that people should
visit the Irish Heritage
Museum branch in
North Albany. She
said it is small
but has some interesting
books and there is
no admission charge.
Recently, Donna picked
up several brochures
outlining some interesting
local tours, especially
those sponsored by
the Hudson Mohawk
Industrial Gateway.
The Tiffany Windows
of Troy tour is scheduled
for September 24;
registration for
this popular offering
usually fills up
quickly.
The
next meeting of the Troy
Irish Genealogy Society
will be held on Thursday,
July 21, 2005 at 6:30
p.m. in Troy City Hall.
Those who wish to have
dinner prior to the meeting
will meet at the Ilium
Café across
from City Hall at 5:15
p.m.
A
motion was made by
Cathy McGrath and
seconded by Mimi
Nicotina to adjourn
the meeting. The
motion was approved
and the meeting was
adjourned at 7:35
p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
Kathleen
Brearton, Secretary
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