Heritage Luncheon and 40th Anniversary Celebration 2013 Part I

2013 Lineage Society Recipients
Photo Credits: John Tholking

Saturday, November 9th, HCGS held its annual Heritage Luncheon to honor recipients of the First Families, Settlers and Builders and Century Families awards. This year's event, held at the Clovernook Country Club, also celebrated the 40th Anniversary of HCGS. First Families welcomed Brandy Jo Potts Wheeler, Linda Kay Wheeler, Kathryn Elaine Kipp, Jerald Eugene Robinson, Carol Ann Franz, Betty Ann Wolfe, and Sarah (Keen) Raup Johnson to its ranks. Settlers and Builders recognized Peter Timothy Frame, William Edward Reed, John Patrick Wilshire, and Ellen Ruth Schiereck as new members. Linda Ann Eckert Wilshire added new ancestors through a Supplemental Application. Century Families recognized Jennifer Marie Moorman Davis, Mary Louise Reese Inwood, Jeffrey G. Herbert, Lawrence E. Hamilton, Jr., Ellen Ruth Schiereck. and Jean Ann Overmeier Nathan. Supplemental Applications were also accepted for Joseph "Roger" Poppel, Donna Marie White Mancini, and Gail Marie Burkholz.

Four members were honored for the continuing contributions they made to the chapter over its 40 years in existence. David Pittinger, Chief of Staff of the Hamilton County Recorder's Office, has worked tirelessly to assist genealogists with their research. Deb Cyprych, editor of the chapter's award-winning quarterly The Tracer, also served as the editor of the Ohio Genealogical Society's publication Ohio Genealogical News, for five years. Mary Remler served as the Cemetery Chair and was responsible for the publication of 21 volumes of Hamilton County Burial Records. Also honored, but unable to attend, was Barbara Wegley. Barbara has served as the Corresponding Secretary and on the Board for many years.

David Pittinger 

Deb Cyprych

Mary Remler

Have you ever wanted to become a member of one of the Lineage Societies? If you have a direct ancestor who was born or lived in Hamilton County at least 100 years ago today, you may qualify. Consider submitting an application. The application and rules for submission can be found on the HCGS website.

Submitted by Kathy Reed

Ask the Experts 2013 - Day at the Library

The "Experts" Share Their Expertise

The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County hosted the annual "Ask the Experts" Day at the Main Library. Representatives of more than a dozen local genealogy and history groups were available for anyone hoping to better understand their family's history.

The day began with a talk by Deb Cyprych on how to find available 19th Century orphan records for Hamilton County. Deb has been working on this project for several years and her information is invaluable.  

Patricia Van Skaik Introduces Deb Cyprych

If you are a member of HCGS, you can log on to our website and look up these Tracer articles: 

Deb's talk included additional updates that have become available since these articles were published. She recommended that researchers check the website of the Cincinnati History Library Archives or plan a visit to take advantage of their vast collection.

Marion Crawford Stover discussed her experiences growing up in a northern Kentucky orphanage. She reiterated a point made earlier in the day by Deb Cyprych. Many children who lived in orphanages had one or two parents who were alive, but unable to care for their children. Alcohol was often a contributing factor.

If you've never attended one of these events, I can't recommend them enough. Plan to attend the 2014 Family History Day and check your calendars for the many other events that are scheduled for this month.

Patricia Van Skaik, Marion Crawford Stover and Chris Smith

October Is Family History Month!

It happens every year. The days get shorter, the temperatures get cooler and our genealogical calendars fill up. This year is no exception. If you want to keep up with all of the events, go to the top of this blog and click on the "Calendar" tab. If you display the calendar in the agenda format, it will look like this.

From this you can see that there are many German programs. Kenny Burck will be presenting a program on "Local German Genealogical Resources" Thursday, October 3rd at the Kenton County Library. Kenny Burck and Deb Cyprych will teach a four-week course on "Reading Old German Script" at the Pleasant Ridge Library. Classes start the 14th. Jeff Herbert will discuss "Researching Your German Ancestor using Newspapers at the Otterbein Retirement Community on October 16th. Clicking on the event in the calendar tab (at the top of the blog) will provide you with additional details and a map to the event.

Saturday, October 5th is the Family History Fair at the Main Library. Tours of the Genealogy and History Department will be held between 10:00 AM and Noon. Deb Cyprych will be giving a presentation on the "Records of Children in Hamilton County Institutions" at 11:00 AM. She will discuss strategies for searching elusive historic children's records. From Noon - 2:00 PM, more than twenty experts with wide-ranging expertise will be available to discuss your individual genealogical challenges. At 2:00 PM, Marian Crawford Stover will discuss "Orphans with Parents -- A True Story." She describes her experience growing up in a northern Kentucky Orphanage with nine of her siblings, despite the fact that her parents were alive.

Other October events will be discussed in future posts. However, it may be a good time to get some of these not-to-be missed activities on your calendar now.  Hope to see you at the library.

Submitted by Kathy Reed