April Program and Election News

Dr. "Mike" Davis

Saturday at the library was a great day for the Hamilton County Genealogical Society.  Our Program Chair, Linda Dietrich, introduced Dr. Frank "Mike" Davis who shared his research techniques.  For anyone who has ever wondered how to begin researching a family member, Dr. Davis provided us with a step-by-step method. Theresa Heglin was the focus of his research.  He was able to trace both her maternal and paternal lines back several generations and described how he dealt with a "brick wall" he encountered while tracing her family.

Theresa Heglin, Linda Dietrich and Chapter Members

One of the best parts of the program was when he asked if anyone recognized any of the names he was discussing in a Census document.  A member of the audience volunteered that one of the family members was her grandmother.  Dr. Davis was able to introduce Theresa to a first cousin once removed.  (He had arranged for this introduction and Theresa's "newly-identified" cousin brought pictures to compare). It was a nice surprise to all in attendance.

Kenny Burck leads Chapter Meeting

Following the talk, Chapter President Kenny Burck, transitioned to a Chapter Meeting.  One of the first items of business was to introduce Director-at-Large Jim Dempsey and Chapter Treasurer Liz Stratton.  Both Jim and Liz had headed up separate indexing projects during this past year.  Both were a tremendous success with volunteers agreeing to index records remotely.  Several indexers were chapter members who live out-of-state.  In recognition of their efforts "Certificates of Appreciation" were distributed.  Names of recipients will be in The Tracer.  


Barbara Gargiulo, Publications Director, was presented with an award in absentia for her many years of work this the Chapter.  Kathy Reed also received a Certificate of Appreciation for her work with the Chapter Blog.

Jeff Herbert

Jeff Herbert discussed the National Geographic (NatGeo) program The Decrypters:  Body Snatchers episode.  He had assisted in some genealogical research in an effort to identify bodies uncovered in the Washington Park renovation. One of our other members, Dr. Peter Frame, University of Cincinnati Professor of Medicine, was also featured on the program.  He discussed the impact on Cincinnati as we lived through repeated cholera epidemics. As part of the program, local historian Dan Hurley showed how a map of the rivers could be superimposed directly over a map identifying cholera outbreaks. The rivers, with their untreated water, served as superhighways for transmission.  If you haven't yet seen this episode, it is scheduled on cable's NatGeo station for Thursday, April 26th at 4:00 PM.

The next Order of Business was the election of Officers and Directors.  Margie Mohr, Chair of the Nominating Committee, introduced a proposed slate:

• President - Jeff Herbert
• Vice-President - Jean Morrison
• Recording Secretary - Kathy Reed
• Corresponding Secretary - Barbara Wegley
• Treasurer - Liz Stratton
• Director-at-Large - Jim Dempsey
• Education - Karen Everett
• Lineage Director - Gail Burkholz
• Membership - Eileen Muccino
• Program - Linda Dietrich
• Publication - Barbara Gargiulo
• Research and Preservation - Ann Hambrecht

President Kenny Burck called for additional nominees from the floor.  In the absence of any volunteers, Linda Dietrich moved that the entire slate be accepted by acclamation. The motion was seconded and the motion passed.

The membership acknowledged the long-term contributions of Kenny Burck as he takes his place on the Board as Past-President.  The meeting was adjourned.