Do your children know where your grandparents grew up?  Do you know your father’s favorite childhood memory?  Does your family hail from other parts of the world?  If you or your children don’t know the answers to these questions, October is the perfect time to celebrate Family History Month and explore your family’s past.  By learning more about our heritage, we learn more about ourselves.  Sharing these stories with your family is a remarkable  activity that can help them better understand their roots and shape their own identities.

Millions of Americans are researching the history of their families.  Experts say that in the United States , genealogy is now the second most popular hobby next to gardening.  It is believed that more than 80 million Americans are currently actively searching for more information about their ancestors.

It is only natural that we want to find out more about our ancestors.  What better way to bring families closer together than by discovering more about the story of their own family?  Like it or not, who we are today is in large part a product of our ancestors.

Essentially, we are immigrants to this country.  Our ancestors came from different parts of the globe.  By searching our roots, we come closer together as a human family.

Researching ancestry is a very important component of identity.  It can lead to long sought after family reunions or allow for life saving medical treatments that only genetic links will allow.  For all of those reasons, we encourage people across this nation to find out more about where they came from.

Historical knowledge is important, while historical ignorance can be dangerous. Philosopher George Santayana famously said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

History should be studied because it is essential to individuals and to society, and because it harbors beauty. There are many ways to discuss the real functions of the subject—as there are many different historical talents and many different paths to historical meaning.

The Fayette County Genealogical Society will show many different aspects of genealogy, family and area history on Sat. October 24, at the La Grange Public Library in the conference room from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m.  Refreshments will be served.  This is open to the public and all ages are encouraged to attend.  

Each guest that attends will be entered in a door prize raffle and receive a free ornament for our Christmas Tree of Remembrance.  Some of the booths that will available are the DRT, DAR, SRT, Fayette County Historical Commission, Marie Watts, Christmas Tree of Remembrance, and several others.  The Fayette County Genealogical Society will be having a research booth set up with computers, transcribing, another computer will be available to check out the FCGS website and a scrapbook will be available as well.  Donna Baker, treasurer of the Society will be on hand for those interested in becoming a member or those just seeking more information about the group.  Come and see what makes history fun and exciting.  

For more information please contact the President of the Fayette County Genealogical Society, Connie Sneed at 979-968-4963.

The Fayette County Genealogical Society met at the Texas Heroes Day at Monument Hill in La Grange, Texas.

 Jenny Fagg will be our guest speaker at the Aug. 22 meeting.

Biography of Jenny M. Fagg

Jenny is a member of St. Bartholomew Chapter DRT has served as President. She served the Huguenot Society of Texas as State President and State Registrar.

Mrs. Fagg has served the Texas State Society Daughters of the American Revolution as a State Chairman for the last 20 + years. The past administration she served as Chairman of Revolution Soldiers Buried in Texas committee.

She is a past Regent of Alexander Love Chapter NSDAR, Houston, TX and a volunteer genealogist. Mrs. Fagg is the past President of Col. John Alston Chapter Colonial Dames 17^th Century, Deacon John Tenney Colony New England Women, Campbell Society USA, and life member of the National Genealogical Society.

Jenny M. Fagg has published The Family History of Thomas Martin, Sr., a North Carolinian American Revolutionary Soldier, the Index to Marriages License Carrol County Georgia, Volume I and II, Register Medical Practitioners – Carroll County, Georgia, and co-authored How to Start Tracing Your Family Tree, and for three years co-compiled Genealogical Compendium of Books and Articles in Print.

The Fayette County Genealogical Society met on Sat. May 23 at the La Grange Library in the Conference Room.  The group held the meeting about the future pulication of the cookbook and any updates that were need.  The group looks forward to Fall when the Cookbook should be finally published and ready for sale.

The Fayette County Genealogical Society held a bake/taste sale in the front of the La Grange Library.  The recipes were from the Cookbook that the group has been trying to work on and get re-published by the Fall.  The baked items were quite delicious and everyone who tasted the items seemed to be in agreement that anyone can adapt the recipes that are 100 years old and make them enjoyable for today's time.  The group looks forward to another bake/taste sale.

Using Maps to Explore Your Ancestors’ Lives

 LA GRANGE -- Teri Flack will present "Using Maps to Explore Our Ancestors’ Lives," a program that may lead your genealogical research in a new direction, at the March 28 meeting of the Fayette County Genealogical Society. It will be held from 10-12 noon in the meeting room at the Fayette County Library and Archives in La Grange.

"Maps can illuminate our ancestors’ lives by providing clues to the land on which they lived, the likely routes they traveled, their neighbors and neighborhoods, and the geographic obstacles they faced," Teri notes. "Maps can help us ‘fix’ an ancestor in a specific place, thereby enabling us to narrow our search and eliminate alternatives. Maps also can show us whether we’re looking in the right place. They can reveal the identity and location of things we care about, such as churches and cemeteries."

A sixth generation Texan, Teri has been researching her family history for over 25 years. She is the treasurer for the Austin Genealogical Society and a member of the society’s teaching faculty. Teri also serves on the Board of the Texas State Genealogical Society as the District 13 Representative and chair of the Records Preservation and Access Committee (RPAC). She is the Texas state liaison to the national RPAC. She has completed the Advanced Methodology Course at the National Institute for Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University and the National Institute of Genealogical Research at the National Archives in Washington, DC. She also is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the Genealogical Speaker’s Guild.

Teri retired in May, 2007 after a 26-year career with the State of Texas - most recently as Senior Advisor to the Commissioner of Higher Education and Deputy Commissioner of Higher Education. Previously, she was Director of Governmental Relations and Public Information for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and Chief Investigator for the Texas Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. She holds a B. S. in Education with History major, an MBA, and a graduate Paralegal Certificate from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University-San Marcos).

For more information about the Fayette County Genealogical Society, email President Connie Sneed at lggensoc@yahoo.com or visit the website at www.faycogensoc.webs.com.

The Fayette County Genealogical Society will hold its Annual Christmas Party on Saturday December 6, 2008.  It will be held at the Fayette Public Library in the conference room from 10 am until noon.  Everyone is asked to bring a dish to share for our brunch.(bring your recipe to share)  Tea and coffee will be furnished.  Please bring a favorite Christmas Story of yourself, your family or even your grandparents.  You may also bring a favorite Christmas Recipe to share.  Plan of lots of fun and good food.

LA GRANGE – With the holiday season right around the corner, saving and preserving family stories is a timely topic for the next meeting of the Fayette County Genealogical Society scheduled for Saturday, November 22 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Fayette County Library and Archives meeting room in La Grange.

La Grange area business writer and personal historian Elaine Thomas invites those attending to each bring a keepsake or memento that they treasure. The program will appeal to those researching their family trees and anyone who has an interest in safeguarding their family stories, personal histories, photos, memorabilia and cultural traditions so they don’t vanish in years to come.

"Every single person on our family tree has a story and if we’re lucky, some of those wonderful life stories get passed down. When we know more about an ancestor than the basic birth, marriage and death dates, that person becomes someone we can relate to and that’s exciting," Elaine says. "All too often, though, the stories fade with each passing generation and, sadly, over time are forgotten and lost forever. What we end up with is a pedigree chart with names in the slots of the different generations. It may be 100% accurate but, for some of us, that’s not enough. We want to know what made them tick!

"Whether your dream is to compile a complete history or take the first steps in becoming the guardian of your family’s life stories and customs, we’ll explore ideas on how to get started and discuss ideas on next steps. There’s no better time than the holiday season to start thinking about this," she adds.

Elaine has enjoyed considerable success in discovering fascinating traces of her ancestors’ lives in Canada, England and Ireland. Starting with a box of miscellaneous letters, documents and photos that her grandmother introduced her to when she was a small child in Canada, she has compiled a family tree on her mother’s side dating back to 1490 but more importantly, she has discovered letters, diaries, books, newspaper clippings and websites that have brought some of her ancestors to life. She is bringing some of those treasures to the meeting.

During her research, she has met distant cousins from around the world over the Web and is thrilled to have reunited the members of three different branches of her family tree.

Elaine and her husband, Emil, live between Ammannsville and Holman in Fayette County. She has more than 30 years experience as a business writer and in public relations. Her articles on family history have appeared in publications in Canada, the United States and Great Britain. She also has researched and written histories for Freyburg United Methodist Church, Fayette Electric Cooperative and Houston’s oldest and largest social service agency, as well as for individuals and families, including her own. For more information, visit her website: www.callacommunications.com.

Remember! Bring an item to the Fayette County Genealogical Society November meeting to share a sentimental journey with others who have a similar interest in family history. There is no charge to attend the meeting. For more information, contact Fayette County Genealogical President Connie Sneed at 979-968-4963.

PROCLAMATION SIGNED  

Fayette County Judge Ed Janecka signs a proclamation naming October as Family History Month in Fayette County. With him are Fayette County Genealogy Society President Connie Sneed, Treasurer Donna Baker and Secretary Susie Jackson. The genealogy group was organized this year to learn more about their family histories. Their goal is to encourage the citizens of Fayette County to gather family lore, customs and tradition of their ancestors and to appreciate the richness of the lives of their ancestors. Members meet on the fourth Saturday of each month at the Fayette Library conference room. The next meeting on Oct. 25 at 10 a.m. with Ella Sheffield of Smithville presenting a program on how to get started doing family research.

Fayette County Genealogical Society Celebrates

Family History Month With Noted Texan Genealogist

LA GRANGE – October is Family History Month and to celebrate, the Fayette County Genealogical Society has invited Ella Evadna Lee Sheffield of Smithville to lead a two-hour session on starting your genealogical research on Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 10 a.m. at the Fayette County Library Meeting Room in La Grange. 

Ella is a noted genealogist who has taught genealogy at College of the Mainland in Texas City, Galveston College in Galveston and Smithville High School. She has served as an Elderhostel genealogy instructor for College of the Mainland and made presentations at workshops and seminars thoughout the United States.

Born in the Watterson community of Bastrop County, Ella and her parents moved to Austin during World War II.  In Austin she met and married Travis Sheffield.

Ella participated in planning the Houston Genealogy Institute for three years and completed the courses presented namely "New Frontiers in Genealogy," "Exploring American Genealogy" and "American Trails." She has also completed the national Genealogical Society genealogy course. Ella has also attended several national Genealogical Society Conferences including those held in Biloxi, Mississippi; Washington, D.C. and Houston, Texas where she was Chairman of the Vendors.

She served as the Texas Gulf Coast Office Manger for Southern Historical Press for more than ten years, where she formatted, compiled, indexed and supervised the typing of genealogy books.

Ella is a member of many historical and lineage societies including Colonial Dames of America, Colonial Dames Seventeenth Century, National Society Daughters of the American Colonists, National Society of the Dames of the Court of Honor, Flagon and Trencher: Descendants of Colonial Tavern Keepers, National Society United States Daughters of 1812, Daughters of the Republic of Texas and National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, Lost Pines Chapter.  Ella has served the Texas State Society NSDAR as an officer twice and has been State Chairman of several Committees. She has been on the National Speakers Staff and the State Speakers Staff for DAR. She is serving as TSDAR Markers Book Chairman.

Ella has compiled several books including Grainger County Tennessee Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions Record Book No. 3 1812-1816 and Grainger County Tennessee Letters of Administration 1842-1854. She is co-editor of the three volumes of 35,000 Tennessee Marriage Records and Bonds 1783-1870 and compiled Port of Galveston Ships Passenger List for the Galveston County Genealogical Society. She is in Who’s Who in Genealogy and Heraldry and her books are available on Amazon.com.

Ella is founder and past President of the Texas City Ancestry Searchers, Galveston County Genealogical Society and helped start the Smithville Genealogy Group.  She has served on the Galveston County Historical Commission, Galveston County Museum Board, Galveston Children’s Home Board and Lay Representative for Moore Memorial Library in Texas City.

Anyone who is interested in starting their pursuing their genealogy is invited to attend this meeting.  Please bring the information you have already collected and questions that you wish to research.

The Fayette County Library and Archives has several computers that offer access to the paid database Ancestry.com.  Demonstrations on how to utilize the wonderful resource will be available.  For more information, please contact Fayette Genealogical Society President Connie Sneed at 979-968-4963, email lggensoc@yahoo.com or visit the website at www.lggensoc.webs.com.

  Here are some interesting thoughts from About.com.

"To understand a nation, one must first understand its history. The history is more than the laws and dates of major events. History lies in the daily life of the people for it is the people who make a nation. To ignore the lives of those who have gone before us is to negate their ideas, dreams and accomplishments. It robs us of the warp in the fabric of our own lives. And, each person's life is a thread woven into the tapestry that is that nation.

“Essentially, we are all immigrants to this country. Our ancestors came from different parts of the globe. By searching for our roots, we come closer together as a human family. Researching ancestry is a very important component of identity. It can lead to long-sought-after family reunions or allow for life saving medical treatments that only genetic links will allow. For all of these reasons, we encourage people across this nation to find out more about where they came from."

            If you have been curious about your family tree but just aren't sure where to start then you don't have any more excuses. The Fayette County Genealogical Society is a great place to start with resources and simple advice on how to begin researching your family tree both on and off the web.

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Fayette County Genealogical Society Names Officers

The Fayette County Genealogical Society recently named its first slate of officers.  They are (front row, left to right): A. Neale Rabensburg, vice president; Connie Sneed, president; Elaine Thomas, public relations chair; and Susie Jackson, secretary.  (Back row, left to right): Donna Baker, treasurer; Stacy Sneed, webmaster and scrapbook chair; and Judy Matejowsky, historian.  In September, the group will not be meeting at the Fayette County Library and Archives.  Instead, members of the organization will be hosting an information table at Texas Heroes Day at Monument Hill State Park.  For more information about the Fayette County Genealogical Society, please email Connie Sneed at lggensoc@yahoo.com, call her at 979-968-4963 or visit the website at http://www.freewebs.com/lggensoc/inthenews.htm.

Fayette County Historical Commission Speaker

LA GRANGE – Linda Dennis, Chairman of the Fayette County Historical Commission, will be the guest speaker at the Fayette County Genealogy Society on Saturday, August 23, 2008 at the Fayette County Library Conference Room.  A brief business meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. followed by Dennis’ program from 10:30 to 12 noon.

She will be discussing the role of the Fayette County Historical Commission in preserving our local heritage, as well as an overview of current projects. 

Dennis, who moved to Fayetteville in 2004 and renovated an old farmhouse built in 1890, also is heading up the Old Jail Project in La Grange and is active with the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce and the Senior Citizens Group at St. John's in Fayetteville.  The mother of two grown children, she worked in the airline industry for 26 years before taking early retirement.  Before making Fayette County her home, she lived in Euless, Texas. 

Dennis is an enthusiastic volunteer with a penchant for local history. 

Visitors are welcome at the meeting.  For more information about the Fayette County Genealogical Society, please contact Connie Sneed at 979-968-4963. 

Fayette County Genealogical Society

Transcribing Old Newspapers

“Yesterday’s News”

The Fayette County Genealogical Society will meet on Saturday July 26, at the Fayette Public Library Conference Room from 10:00 am until 12:00 pm. At short business meeting will be held the first thirty minutes of the meeting. Afterwards the Society will begin transcribing pages from old historic newspapers for the Library. The articles will be sent to Rox Ann Johnson who is the coordinator for the Fayette County GenWeb project and will be put online at the GenWeb site.

In historical and genealogical research, newspapers play an important role in gathering information. Old newspapers offer the researcher a glimpse of daily life contemporary to the times being studied. Such old newspapers offer so much more than obituaries and the like. They offer a narrative of the happenings of the times and such narratives includes tremendous historical and genealogical information.

Old newspapers are sometimes the major or only source of genealogical information for a given locale at a particular time. Newspapers have played an important role in American life. They also served as important historical sources for scholars of all disciplines, librarians, teachers and students.

Reading these old newspapers is interesting and rewarding. You can learn and laugh in the course of doing transcribing, however it does take time and patience. The preservation of these articles are an important part of the Fayette County history.

You don’t need to be a fast typist or a highly skilled computer person to lend a hand in the project. Those interested in helping in the volunteer opportunity can call Connie Sneed at 979-968-4963.

Fayette County Genealogical Society

For more information, please contact:

Connie Sneed, 979-968-4963

Fayette County Clerk Carolyn Kubos Roberts to be Guest Speaker

at Fayette County Genealogical Society’s June Meeting

LA GRANGE – The Fayette County Genealogical Society will welcome Carolyn Kubos Roberts as its guest speaker on Saturday, June 28 at the Fayette County Library Meeting Room at 10 a.m.  She will be discussing the types of records that are found in the county clerk’s office and how to use them. 

            These official records include deeds; deeds of trust; oil, gas, and mineral leases; probate cases; misdemeanor criminal cases; civil cases; marriages, births and deaths of Fayette County; commissioners’ court minutes; uniform commercial code filings; assumed name records; election records; marks and brands, and naturalization records.

            A native of Fayette County, Carolyn graduated from La Grange High School.  She began working in Fayette County Clerk's office in 1977 as a deputy county clerk.  She was chief deputy county clerk for 13 years before running for the position of Fayette County Clerk in 1994.  She has served in that position since January 1, 1995.  Carolyn is married to Marvin Roberts and they have one daughter, Caitlin, of La Grange.

The office of the county clerk has been in existence in Texas since 1836, superseding the escribano (secretary) of Spanish-Mexican rule.  Today the county clerk serves a four-year term and is the recorder for the county court and the commissioners’ court.  In addition the county clerk records and keeps records pertaining to the county courts, real and personal property, and personal records.   Other responsibilities include recording vital statistics, issuing marriage licenses and administering other miscellaneous licensing and recording
requirements.

The mailing address for the Fayette County Clerk’s office is P.O. Box 59
La Grange, TX  78945 and the physical address is 246 W. Colorado Street, La Grange.  The office phone number is (979) 968-3251.

Get Started Tracing Your Ancestors

LA GRANGE – If you’ve always thought you’d like to trace your ancestors and learn more about your family history but didn’t know where to start, the La Grange Genealogical Society invites you to a special workshop on Saturday, May 17 from 10 a.m. to 12 noon in the meeting room at the Fayette County Library. 

            Please bring as much information on the births, marriages and deaths of your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents because the first rule in tracing your ancestors is always work backwards in time.  You’ll find out how to fill in genealogical charts and keep track of critical information starting with yourself.  We’ll also be sharing tips on computer programs where you can store your data and how to take advantage of the Fayette County Library’s subscription to Ancestry.com.  You can use the database at the library at no charge but if you purchased a personal annual subscription it would cost over $300.

            Bring your questions and brick walls if you’re already well on your way to finding your ancestors!  Please RSVP if you plan to attend to Connie Sneed at 979-968-4963.

Donna Baker will be guest speaker! 

LA GRANGE – Donna Baker of Warrenton will present a program on the societal impact of prohibition and its historical affects at the Fayette County Genealogical Society on April 19 at Fayette Library Conference Room from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

Donna has deep southern roots and her husband, Tommy, is a native Texan. Through her genealogical research, she discovered that a few of her ancestors apparently ran moonshine in Mississippi. She will discuss the roadblocks that she encountered during her genealogical research into this branch of her family tree.

At the March business meeting, the group voted to charge $20 per person or $30 per couple for a one-year membership in the Fayette County Genealogical Society.

The society’s speaker in March was Burnie Cowan of Bastrop who presented a very informative program on YDNA and answered many questions about this scientific approach to determining common ancestors.

For more information about the Fayette County Genealogical Society, please contact Connie Sneed at 979-968-4963.

Fayette County Genealogical Society

News Release

LA GRANGE -- Burnie Cowan, an associate-group administrator of the Cowan yDNA Project, will conduct a program at the Fayette County Genealogy Society on March 15 at Fayette Library Conference Room from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

  Genealogical yDNA tests have become popular due to the ease of testing at home and the tremendous contribution they provide to genealogical research. Genealogical yDNA tests allow for an individual to determine with 99.9% certainty whether a person is related to another person or with 100% certainty that he or she is not related. 

  The most common complaint from yDNA test customers is the failure of the test companies to make results understandable and meaningful. This class will help the genealogist remove the mystery from the numbers and make the test a tool to open closed doors and move the researcher around some genealogical "brick walls."

  Cowan’s ancestors immigrated to the Americas (Virginia) as early as the 1600s. They fought in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and came to Texas as early as 1824 while it was a possession of the Mexican government. In 1846, they fought in Mexican-American War. And, in 1861, they fought in the Civil war with Terry’s Texas Rangers.  Six were Texas Rangers and one was a Deputy US Marshall in the Nueces Strip. 

  Genealogy and history has been a hobby of Cowan since his early youth when his great-grandmother told him stories of her family coming to Texas in a covered wagon and of their frontier life on the old Comanche trail.

  Cowan is a native of the Austin/San Marcos area and has a degree in Computer Science. After 37 years, he retired from BASF Corporation of Freeport, Texas, a company which focused on nylon technology. In 2005, Cowan and his family moved to Bastrop, where, as associate director of the Bastrop ‘Old Town’ Visitor Center, he conducts genealogy classes.

At the Fayette County Genealogy Society’s February meeting, the group decided on a permanent name, Fayette County Genealogy Society, that better reflects the organization’s scope. Also, Connie Sneed was appointed acting president and Elaine Thomas, acting secretary. The group’s February guest speaker was David L. Collins, who presented am excellent program on his ancestors, who once were slaves in Fayette and Lee Counties.

Christmas 2007