Those
attending were;
Bill
(the
Philosopher)
McGrath.
Bill
puts
the
rest of us to shame with what he has accomplished going back generations
with
his family and continually adding to it (eg. Rory the newest).
He
also is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to Troy. Frank (the
Lurker) Ryan, Frank tells
us
that he lurks in the background of lists just listening and observing.
He
claims not to be a participant, but he certainly shared
his
recollections
of Troy at the meeting. Kay (the Historian) Brearton. Kay
is
amazing in that just mention a name to her and she can connect
it
to someone she knew from South Troy growing up. She keeps amassing
knowledge,
recently took class connected to genealogy.
Marialice
(The
Out-Of-Towner)
Mangan.
Now here is a lady that means business, she has
never
even lived in Troy yet she is here digging. She has many roots
here in our fine city, many family that lived here and can't wait
to find more.
And
finally
myself, Kristin (the Organizer) Cooney-Ayotte. The only thing
I can say is that the others kept me enthralled and I wrote some
of it down.
The
meeting was very
informal with lively
conversation on where
the group is headed.
We still really don't
know. We do know
that we would like
a group that can
share information,
enjoy one anothers
company and assist
others in their search
for their people.
We
hope to locate records
of churchs, cemetaries,
addresses and whatever
it takes to find
the people that came
before us. Bill spoke
of some records that
are located in the
Troy Court House
and The Annex Bldg
of the Courthouse
(basement). He will
let us know which
of these are available
to the public and
how to access them.
They include census
records and marriage
records. Frank tells
us that there are
records at the Supreme
Court Library and
he will check on
the location since
there has been construction
work done there.
Kay spoke of records
in the basement of
the County Clerks
office that are totally
disorganized and
the location is not
a fun place to sit
and do research.
Frank also tells
us that he had a
family member who
owned a funeral parlor
and he has some records
he can bring to the
next meeting. We
look forward to them.
(Frank if you are
lurking out there,
this is a reminder).
Perhaps
this is a project
for the group; get
to the right people
and see what we,
as a group, can do
to organize them
and make them available
to the public in
locations that are
amenable to research
and on our website.
Speaking
of websites, Pat
has shared a logo
suggestion from Ginger
and I sent her one.
When she has time
she will post the
second one for review
and we can decide
between the two.
If there is someone
else on the list
who would like to
submit an Uncle Sam
with an Irish Flag
please let us know
soon.
Bill
once again spoke
of a trip to the
Earl Gardner Chapel
at Oakwood. He has
reposted his request
for people interested
in the tour. If you
are interested please
respond so that he
can obtain a date
for us.
We
did arrive at a Mission
Statement and are
open to tweaking
from Charter Members
of the group. Although
we would love to
open it up to the
entire list (40++),
that would be an
endless project,
so we will limit
it to the nine Charter
Members, you know
who you are.
The
Mission of the Troy
Irish Genealogy Society
is to discover, share
and honor our Troy
Irish Heritage through
informal monthly
gatherings, our website
and participation
of our members.
Unless
otherwise noted,
we will meet the
3rd Thursday of each
month at the Irish
Mist at 6:15. Special
meetings at different
locations will be
announced in advance
on our mailing list.
I
can relate to Rick
Shea who says the
meeting is too early.
We do have dinner
while meeting so
that is why it is
early. If people
would prefer to have
dinner and meet at
7:00 I am open to
that. Feed your thougts
to the list.
Well
I hope I have shared
accurately what took
place at the meeting.
I will add that we
enjoyed a few cocktails
before sitting down
to dinner. The atmosphere
was light and friendly,
the conversation
flowed and was truly
enjoyable. I see
this group as one
that will continue
and produce some
results (what we
are not sure yet).
Kristin
Cooney-Ayott
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