NYGBS Wins Two Awards for Excellence from the National Genealogical Society

The following press release was sent to Olive Tree Genealogy from The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society  (NYGBS)

New York, NY, May 6, 2016. The National Genealogical Society (NGS) presented the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society (NYG&B) with two distinguished prizes at the NGS Family History Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

The NYG&B’s groundbreaking book, the New York Family History Research Guide and Gazetteer, is the recipient of the 2016 NGS Award for Excellence: Methods and Sources Book. And the NYG&B’s quarterly magazine, the New York Researcher, has been recognized as the best Major Genealogical or Historical Society Newsletter for 2016.

Since its highly anticipated release in 2015 the New York Family History Research Guide and Gazetteer has received numerous accolades and become the de facto textbook for New York genealogical research. Hailed as “. . . the biggest and best ever guide to New York research.” (NGS Quarterly, September 2015), the book was previously recognized by the Federation of Genealogical Societies with its Award of Merit.

The New York Researcher has been published quarterly since spring 1990 when it began life as the NYG&B Newsletter. Each issue features articles on genealogical research techniques and resources, profiles of repositories and genealogical societies across New York State, and news about the rapidly changing field of genealogy. The New York Researcher is edited by Susan Miller, Director of Education at the NYG&B. 

The full run of the New York Researcher is accessible in the NYG&B’s eLibrary, and more than 100 articles—many of which have been updated by the original authors—have been collected as Research Aids on the NYG&B website.

D. Joshua Taylor, NYG&B President, said, “As the newest member of the NYG&B team it is very gratifying to accept not one but two awards from the NGS. Recognition from one’s peers is especially sweet. From the launch of The Record in 1870 and the New York Researcher in 1990 to the publication of the Research Guide and Gazetteer in 2015, the NYG&B has been a pioneering contributor to the scholarship on New York families and resources for New York research.”

Following the success of the Research Guide and Gazetteer, the NYG&B began working on an entire volume devoted to the vast holdings of the New York City Municipal Archives, many of which have never been described in published form. That work, The New York City Municipal Archives: An Authorized Guide for Family Historians is now available for pre-sale and will be officially released in the summer of 2016.

The Diaries Of John E. Lewis 1880-1956

John E. Lewis was a New York resident who wrote in his diaries every day for seventy-seven years and captured life in New York during the era. 

Mr. Lewis began writing his diaries on January 1, 1880, as a nineteen-year old young man, and continued to write until his eyesight was too poor to continue, at age 96. [New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Blog]

Continue reading The Diaries Of John E. Lewis 1880-1956 

You may also be interested in reading old letters on Past Voices

Congratulations D. Joshua Taylor, new President of NYGBS

D. Joshua Taylor, the prominent genealogist, author, and lecturer, has been appointed President of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, effective February 1, 2016. He succeeds McKelden Smith, who is retiring after serving as its highly-regarded President of seven years.
           
Jeanne Sloane, chairman of the board of trustees of the NYG&B, said, “We are thrilled that Josh has accepted this position. He brings to the NYG&B dynamic energy and his well-known passion for the mission of genealogical societies in general. He has broad experience as an advanced researcher and riveting lecturer. Plus he has the expertise we require in the innovative use of technology in our field.”
            
Ms. Sloane also said that Mr. Taylor already knows the NYG&B unusually well. “Most recently,” she said, “Mr. Taylor was Director of Family History at Findmypast.com. While he was in this position he coordinated the integration of the NYG&B’s eLibrary with the Findmypast platform.

Read more about Josh and his new position at D. Joshua Taylor Appointed President of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society

Image credit: New York Genealogical and Biographical Society

Emigrant City: Help Transcribe 19th & 20th Century Documents

Just spotted this note on  The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society's Facebook post

The New York Public Library presents EMIGRANT CITY

Join us in transcribing 19th and early 20th century real estate records from the Emigrant Savings Bank. These unique documents reveal the lives and dreams of immigrants who helped create modern New York. Help unlock a vital piece of history!

Emigrant Bank was founded in 1850 by members of the Irish Emigrant society to serve the needs of the Irish immigrant community in New York.  The goal of the Emigrant City transcription initiative is to produce structured, building-level records for approximately 6,400 digitized mortgages.

We are encouraging general access to the collection by making high resolution images of these materials available via the NYPL Digital Collections website. This is not the first time the collection has garnered attention from crowdsourcing efforts. An Ancestry.com project has successfully digitized and indexed the collection's Index Book, Test Books, Deposit-Account Ledger, and Transfer, Signature, and Test Books. 

It's a cool crowdsourcing venture. You can Mark, Transcribe or Verify records so it's easy to pick a task that is of most interest to you. I'm off to verify a few! Won't you join in too?

Don't Miss a Research Trip to Albany New York October 2014

Olive Tree Genealogy received the following information from  The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society's research trip to Albany New York

The NY&GB's research trip to Albany, New York, is scheduled for October 29-November 1, 2014. 

 Both the Library and the Archives are rich in material available nowhere else that pertains to people who have lived throughout New York State. The Library's extensive collections include family genealogies, local histories, DAR records, church records, census records, early newspapers on film, and city directories, as well as archives and manuscripts. The holdings of the Archives include State records relating to military service (War of 1812 through World War I); land records (mostly transactions involving the Colony or State of New York); court records (including colonial wills and early 19th-century civil cases); records of some correctional and custodial institutions; and indexes to vital records (excluding New York City). 

REGISTRATION: Register via our online store or call 212-755-8532, ext. 211. The program fee is $275 for members and $350 for non-members. 

 ACCOMMODATIONS: We have arranged a special room rate at the Albany Hilton of $126 per night, single or double. To make a reservation, please call the hotel directly at 866-691-1183 and mention conference code 1NYGBS to get this rate.

First New York State Family History Conference on September 20 and 21, 2013

The Central New York Genealogical Society and the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Announce the First New York State Family History Conference on September 20 and 21, 2013.

NEW YORK, NY, March 19, 2013 -- The Central New York Genealogical Society and the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society are cosponsoring the first-ever statewide genealogical conference in New York.  The two-day conference will be held on September 20 and 21 at the Holiday Inn & Conference Center Liverpool, just outside Syracuse, New York.  Preconference research activities will be available on September 19.  Attendees will have an opportunity to advance their skills in researching New York families and to build general skills through 20 lectures in two parallel tracks; two luncheons and a dinner, all with riveting speakers; and exhibits by vendors and societies. The Conference Program and exhibitor information may be found on the Conference website, www.NYSFHC.org.

New York State poses numerous challenges for even the most experienced family history researcher.  The New York State Family History Conference will break down research barriers and provide a forum that brings people together to share their research knowledge and problem-solving experiences and to collaborate on key research issues. Future conferences will be scheduled at regular intervals.The early-bird registration fee for the two-day Conference (excluding meals and printed syllabus) is $115 until July 1, after which it will be $140; members of the CNYGS or the NYG&B receive a $25 discount. Purchase tickets in the online store at www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org.  

Conference speakers include the top names in New York genealogy:  Blaine Bettinger, The Journal of Genetic Genealogy;  Ruth Carr, New York Public Library (retired);  Sachiko Clayton, New York Public Library;  Laura Murphy DeGrazia, CG, NYG&B Record; Stefani Evans, CG, National Genealogical Society; James D. Folts, New York State Archives;  Karen Mauer Green, CG, NYG&B Record;  Eric Grundset, Library of the Daughters of the American Revolution;  Terry Koch-Bostic, National Genealogical Society;  Michael Leclerc, Mocavo; Joseph Lieby, Palatines to America German Genealogical Society;  Maira Liriano, New York Public Library;  Kathleen Roe, New York State Archives;  Paula Stuart-Warren, CG; and  D. Joshua Taylor, findmypast.com.

Sponsors of the conference include: findmypast.com, Mocavo, the National Genealogical Society, the New York Public Library, the Office of Cultural Education/New York State Education Department, and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.

About the CNYGS

The Central New York Genealogical Society was formed in 1961 for the purpose of preserving, publishing and sharing genealogical information and resources.  Towards that end, it has published Tree Talks, a highly respected quarterly which contains abstracts of significant records from upstate New York counties and is fully indexed, annually. The CNYGS holds six meetings yearly, and members engage in record preservation projects to preserve and report information for the future.  Its official website is located at rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nycnygs. 

About the NYG&B

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society was founded in 1869 and is the largest and only statewide genealogical society in New York State. The NYG&B publishes two quarterlies, The Record and The New York Researcher; offers a robust schedule of educational programs; partners with organizations across the state through the New York Family History School; and maintains a website, www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org, with a growing elibrary of unique research resources, including the full run (since 1870) of The Record, which preserves the histories of New York families.  The NYG&B will soon publish the New York Family History Research Guide and Gazetteer, the first guide to genealogy resources across the entire state and the first statewide gazetteer since 1872. 

Image credit: "Conference Room" by Pixomar at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Genealogical Research Death Index for New York 1957-1962

The New York State Department of Health has some death records online from 1957 to 1962.

In the drop down menu in the “category” box, choose “Genealogical Research.” There are instructions for downloading the data. 

The Genealogical Research Death Index assists individuals with locating New York State (NYS) death records that fall within defined genealogy years, exclusive of New York City recorded death records. 

The Index contains information on decedents, parents, date of death, gender, age at death and NYS file number that will allow the public to search for individuals on a variety of genealogy criteria; if on file for at least 50 years.  

Thanks to The New York Genealogical & Biographical Society for the heads-up about this online database

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Announces Its New Website

The following Announcement was sent to Olive Tree Genealogy by the NYGBS:

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society Announces Its New Website

Members enjoy access to important new digital resources for research on New York families and families with New York connections

NEW YORK, NY, November 1, 2011 -- The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society is pleased to announce that it has replaced its website with a brand new one that is easier to use and enriched with expanded content.  The address www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org has not changed but visitors will find many new features. 

All collections in the eLibrary may now be viewed in a browsable format, which allows the reader to easily scroll through documents and print multiple pages.  Numerous unique records and digital publications have been added to the eLibrary.  Example:  The complete run of The New York Researcher and its predecessor publication The NYG&B Newsletter, which was first published in 1990.  New guides to using newspapers, maps, and other resources have been created.  Dozens of Research Aid articles have been brought up to date by the original authors.  Individual guides to genealogical research in New York counties are in production; thirteen of a projected 62 guides are now online. 

Additions to the eLibrary include:

• The family records contained in the American Bible Society Collection and an index to more than 8,000 names
• The complete set of over 500 NYG&B Member Biographies from the early 20^th century
• 32 digitized books, including many volumes originally published as part of the series Collections of The NYG&B Society and several entries in the WPA’s Public Archives Inventory, Church Archives Inventory, and Guide to Vital Statistics series for New York City.
• Book two of the 1855 New York State Census for Manhattan's Ward 17.

The cornerstone of the eLibrary is the full run of The NYG&B Record, which has been published quarterly since 1870 and forms the largest single collection of published material on families that lived in New York State.  The collection is every-word searchable and is accompanied by a search engine based on an index to more than 1,000,000 names from the pages of The Record. 

While access to the full digital resources of the website is available only to NYG&B members, there are several features available to both members and non-members:

• News You Can Use is updated frequently and references new resources and information pertinent to New York research. 
• There are free guides on the following subjects: Getting Started on Your Family History; Finding New York Vital Records; Genealogical and Historical Societies in the New York Region; Heraldry; Heritage and Lineage Societies; and Hiring Professional Genealogical Researchers. 
• The Genealogical Exchange allows anyone to submit a specific query about a genealogical question related to New York. 
• Information about upcoming programs offered by the NYG&B and the New York Family History School is also available; tickets may be purchased through the website. 

About the NYG&B

The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society has been the authoritative source for research on New York families and families with New York connections since 1869.  By offering educational programs, scholarly and informational publications, and online resources, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society helps people of all backgrounds build connections with their families and their communities, ­ especially those linked to New York City, State, and region ­ and to appreciate their families’ experience in the broader context of American history.  The NYG&B maintains an eLibrary of digital material, including the entire run of its quarterly scholarly journal The NYG&B Record, for its members at www.newyorkfamilyhistory.org.