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MEETINGS THAT WE'VE HELD in 2010:

November 17, 2010 –  Guest Speaker: Sue Irvine, member of the Michigan Genealogical Society , "Branches - Do They Snap or Bend?"

October 20, 2010 – Guest Speaker: Karen Krugman, "Researching There While You're Here".  Karen will give us tips for researching locations you cannot visit.  These tips will be useful to locate records when you are unable to physically travel to the site of the records.  This presentation will teach you the methods and resources for filling out your family tree when its roots are far flung.  It will also offer hints and ideas for using the Internet to track down relatives that always throw a monkey wrench into your family research.

September 15, 2010  - Guest Speaker: Caryn Adler ,  "So Many Ancestors, So Little Time" – We will learn how to organize and prioritize our research to make the most of our time.  This topic is one that is often requested and we have the opportunity of having Caryn speak to us on this topic.

Cancelled: September 15, 2010 – Guest Speaker: Shirley Hodges (Unexpected Emergency Surgery - hope she recovers soon!) 
The class: "Researching your Ohio Ancestors" will be rescheduled in 2011. 

August 25, 2010 – Pioneer Ice Cream Social (Rescheduled from June) – location, time and Guest Speaker to be determined.  This event is to recognize those who have completed the requirements for Pioneer Certificates and a ceremony to present the certificates.  One of the fun things that we are planning on doing this year is to get everyone to participate in the Ice Cream Social.  All that you need to do is bring with you a 5 Generation Pedigree Chart filled out as best you can.  If you have your information on the chart completed you will receive a dish and spoon.  If you have your parents information filled out on the chart you will receive Ice Cream.  If you have your Grandparents filled out on the chart you will receive toppings.  If you have your Great Grand Parents filled out you will receive Whipped Cream and if you have your Great Great Grandparents filled out you will receive a banana and a cherry to put on it.    Because we will need to know ahead of time how many people to plan for, we will request an RSVP with a report of how many generations are completed on your chart.  The Pedigree charts will be on display for everyone to view - and perhaps discover a common ancestor!  Be sure to make plans to come and join us for this fun event.

July 21, 2010 – Guest Speaker: Harold Henderson, "Hortense vs. the rest of the world – or, What to do when you don’t have Perry Mason on your team". – Based on some research Harold is just finishing up, from Kane County, Illinois in the 1840’s.  Many of us will recall how every episode of the old TV show "Perry Mason" ended with a dramatic tearful confession that explained the whole mystery. Even as a kid Harold began to suspect the world didn't always work that way! What do we do when we as researchers don't find a record that provides all that -- or worse yet, we find conflicting "confessions"? The case of Hortense Goodrich illustrates an approach using indirect evidence. Bonus: Within Hortense's tragic story there's an extra 169-year-old mystery of a new kind that Harold has not been able to solve, and audience members may have some ideas about possible explanations.  

June 2010  meeting cancelled because of tornado warning.

May 22,  2010 – Morton Hill Cemetery Clean-up.  This is our annual cleanup of the cemetery.  We meet in the morning about 9:00 and prepare the cemetery for Memorial Day.  Morton Hill is one of the original Cemeteries in the area with many of the founding fathers of Benton Harbor buried there.  Bring your rakes, leaf blowers, edge trimmers, gloves etc and help us clean and manicure this historical site.  For those interested there will be instruction on how to clean headstones.  Invite your friends and neighbors to help with this community service.  The cemetery is located in downtown Benton Harbor.

April 21, 2010 – Guest Speaker: Caryn Adler – "So Many Ancestors, So Little Time" – We will learn how to organize and prioritize our research to make the most of our time.  This topic is one that is often requested and we have the opportunity of having Caryn speak to us on this topic.

March 17, 2010 – Guest Speaker: Paul Fletcher, "Navigating through the BCGS Members Only website and Blog".  We will also discuss using Facebook, Twitter, Mailing Lists, and Message Boards.  Paul has been instrumental in upgrading this website with the PayPal capabilities and is responsible for creating the "Members Only" page on our website.

January 20, 2010 – Guest Speaker: Carol Bainbridge – "Early Berrien County Settlers:  Where did they come from?  What did they do?"  This program will present information on the men and women who first settled Berrien County, Michigan and were responsible for its agricultural, industrial and commercial development.  Over the years hundreds of people from many foreign lands and other parts of this country have settled in this area.  We will examine where they came from, what the factors were that influenced them to come to this area, and what their occupations were once they got here.

MEETINGS THAT WE'VE HELD in 2009:

December 16, 2009  ~ Wednesday ~
Time: 6:30 p.m.

    Bring your favorite food and join us for our Annual Potluck and "Toys for Tots".  Those attending will be requested to bring an
    unwrapped toy to donate to the Toys for Tots.  Enjoy the festive decorations in the Cooley home - you've never seen anything like it!             It's a great way to celebrate the season!

November 7, 2009 ~ Saturday ~

Time: 9:00 a.m.

    Save the date!!!  We are excited to bring Shirley Hodges to the area for this special Saturday seminar.  Shirley will discuss “Preserving Heirlooms and Why” plus “How to Preserve Heirlooms”. The seminar will be held at the Park Inn, 4290 Red Arrow Hwy, Stevensville (Exit 23 on I-94); more details will be available as the date nears.  Check our web site often.

October 21, 2009 ~ Wednesday ~

Time: 7:00 p.m.  (Location Change)

    Following that theme the Berrien County Genealogical Society has an historical display set-up at the Maud Preston Palenske Memorial Library, 500 Market St., St. Joseph.  It is on display all month.  
 
Our monthly meeting will be held at the library as well, upstairs in the Norris Meeting room at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, October 21. Our speaker will be BCGS President, Aloma Custer, who will present "A History of the LDS Microfilm Project" (Granite Mountain) and tell how to order microfilm from local Family History Centers. How the Utah Genealogical Society began their microfilming project and how the LDS church finances the projects so the information is available online for everyone without charge.  She'll also touch on the LDS Indexing project; digitizing of records; and features of the www.familysearch.org website.
 
 

September 16, 2009 ~ Wednesday ~

Time: 7:00 p.m.

     We welcome back speaker, Brian Hancock who will tell stories of those who came through Ellis Island.  He will cover some of the hardships and events involved those who came to America through this national landmark.  In 2007 we were honored to have Brian speak on Immigration to America.  Now we welcome him back to tell us stories of those who came through Ellis Island.  Come and join us for a wonderful evening.

No meeting in August - Enjoy the Youth Fair
 

July 15, 2009 ~ Wednesday ~ “How to Organize Your Family Data”

Time: 7:00 p.m.

    A panel discussion on Organizing your Genealogy will be held at Berrien Springs Community Library at 7:00 p.m.  Bring your ideas and tell us how you keep your family genealogy records in order.  We’ll have ideas to share too.
 

June 23, 2009 ~ Tuesday ~ Pioneer Certificate Presentation & Potluck

Time: 6:00 p.m.
Dust off those Pioneer Certificate Kits and fill them out in time for this annual presentation. We always have kits available, check out our web site. 
Location Niles District Library, 620 E. Main St., Niles, MI.  The evening begins with a potluck at 6:00 p.m.; followed at 6:45 p.m. by a tour of the History Center and presentation of Pioneer Certificates.  Then the owners of “My Biography”, a new Niles genealogist shop, will tell us about their work and products.
 

MAY 23, 2009 9:00 a.m. - Noon  (Saturday Morning)
Location: Morton Hill Cemetery - Benton Harbor Michigan

    A few of the members of the "Friends of Morton House" will portray some of the early settlers of Benton Harbor who are buried there and tell us a little about their lives.  There will be flags to place on the veterans graves and a brief history of Benton Harbor will be told as we enjoy snacks.  Everyone is encouraged to come and help with the cleanup.  All ages are welcome!
Click here for photos of last years cleanup.  Morton Hill 2008

~   Peggy Brughman will speak on “Deciphering Old Handwriting”.  This should be very enlightening if you’ve ever struggled to read beautiful old handwriting.  Bring along some handwriting you’re deciphering and maybe you’ll discover just what it says. 

Handwritten documents can offer us a more personal glimpse into our ancestors lives, yet they can be the most difficult to decipher. Learn about the old alphabet, writing tools, and tips on how to read that seemingly unreadable manuscript.

Peggy is a member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild and has been giving presentations at genealogical meetings and seminars since 2006. Her most popular talk is "Deciphering Old Handwriting." She has been involved in family research for over 30 years with her personal work focusing on colonial Virginia, New York State, Ohio, and Chicago, IL. Peggy is presently working on a Bachelors Degree in Public History at Western Michigan University.  When she is not studying or out gardening she is (still) writing her family history book.