Ancestors bring out interest

By Pamela Glason Thornton
Staff Writer
Union County Post

We cannot overlook our history. It will always be part of us. October is Family History Month. The paths of our ancestors are often researched by going to cemeteries, looking at tombstones or talking to others who might have known our relatives. The Union County Genealogical Society, which meets monthly, takes note of history’s path. The last meeting of the society involved searching cemeteries for ancestors. The meeting was held on Sept. 15, 2007. Virginia Smith, society president, introduced the guest speakers – Rebekah Headings and her father Paul Powers - who talked about cemeteries that are located within the county.
The pair shared tips with members of the Union County Genealogical Society that are likely to lead them to persons buried in area cemeteries and help them find relatives of persons that they may have been doing fact-finding research about.
Cemeteries are where history is preserved. Headings’ and Powers’ collections of beautiful pictures prove that cemeteries are sources of serenity and much history. Visiting cemeteries is a way to relax and to connect with our natural surroundings. Headings, who is the webmaster for the genealogy society’s website, www.rootsweb.com, told how her project of visiting and photographing cemeteries started from taking pictures to put on the website and to record better directions to the cemeteries. The two got more involved in the project and have found one cemetery that has not been recorded by the society. She also found three that are not listed on the county engineer’s map.
Headings admitted that she has found references about the Spain Cemetery but has not found the location of the cemetery yet.
According to Headings, trustees in Jerome Township are working to photograph every headstone at the cemeteries and are restoring markers.
In a display of her extensive work, Headings showed photographs from each county township. Some photographs were in good condition and others were not. The pair’s travels from cemetery to cemetery have led them to discover that township trustees are responsible for maintaining the cemeteries unless a church or private party is responsible for the area. Headings stated that she found this information within the revised code.
“ All cemeteries should be fenced and have a sign. They displayed many veteran’s stones, some stones had the family genealogy written on them, some stones were in German and some were homemade,” noted Headings.
Their presentation about area cemeteries was interesting and provided insight for obtaining information and conducting research about family trees.
As part of the meetings, members of the society learn how to become proficient with computer software and to do things such as research and transfer information about family members and ancestors. Recording Secretary Margaret Bouic presented demonstrations of several computer programs designed to enable genealogists to conduct research.
Bouic showed the group Roots Magic, an online program found at www.rootsmagic.com. The easy-to-use program generates spectacular reports and is capable of storing lists of places, sources, birthdays, “To Do” items, and many more items. “As a program for tracing family trees, ‘RootsMagic’ stands out because books with pictures may be published from the program tools,” said Bouic.
Taking pictures of cemeteries is another way to preserve information for family trees. Most people may not think that the subject matter is interesting or worth preserving, but Headings and Powers photographs of cemeteries showed that cemeteries are a wonderful place to take photos. Headings’ father provided most of the pictures for the Genealogy Society’s 2008 calendar.
Looking toward next year, the 2008 Union County Genealogy calendar, which features military history of Union County and veteran-related history as well as lots of pictures, is being prepared for distribution through the website, area veterans’ and senior groups as well as Natural Accents, a local retailer.
At the next Genealogical Society meeting, John Gray will speak on how to write a family history. The next meeting will be on October 20, 9:30 a.m. at the Marysville Public Library. George Johnson will end the year’s meetings and elections will be held at the November meeting on November 17.
President and Treasurer will be voted on at the November meeting.
Members are encouraged to consider serving, since several positions are open. To learn more about the Union County Genealogical Society, call 937-644-8117.
Everyone is welcome and invited to attend.