Montgomery County
Genealogical and
Historical Society, Inc
Newsletter
November/December 2009
Searching Your Genealogy
Here are some websites that are great sources when researching your family tree.
www.familysearch.org
This website provides free genealogy records and resources from around the world. There is also a section with Family Histories and family trees. The website has an advanced search option to
enter in your ancestors name, their spouses, fathers, and/or mothers names. Information can also be found by giving a year range and location in this advanced option.
www.rootsweb.ancestry.com
>From the Roots Web website, The primary purpose and function of RootsWeb.com is to connect people so that they can help each other and share genealogical research. Users can upload their GEDCOM
files to World Connect Project to share their family trees with others. Living persons on your tree are protected in that they are listed as living + surname’s, and no other information is
given.
http://teafor2.com/
This website has user-submitted photos of cemeteries located in many US states. Photos are arranged by State, County, and Cemetery, with larger cemeteries broken down alphabetically. Users may freely download photos for personal use.
To be continued in next newsletter MG
Did you know that:
Montgomery County originally contained parts of several present day counties?
Trivia Question:
Can you name all of the counties?
Answer to last week’s Trivia Question:
Fourth Texas Regiment of Hood's Texas Brigade
and Terry's Texas Rangers
Want to add to the newsletter? Contact:
Our December general meeting will be on Monday, December 7, 2009 at 6:30 PM in the downstairs meeting room.
The program will feature the installation of new officers and society goals.
A Social Hour will precede the meeting, from 6:00 to 6:30 PM. Please bring a favorite snack or dessert.
Queries Are Free
Submit Yours for The Herald
The Herald is exchanged with over 200 other societies and 200 members nationwide. You should get very good coverage. You may submit as many queries as you wish at one time; however, only one per issue will be printed in The Herald unless there is space available. Be specific what do you want to know?
Make sure these items are in your query:
*Surname(s) Being Researched
(Show surname of each Ancestor as shown in Query.)
*What Do You Want To Know? (Be Specific. Be sure to show Who, What, Where, and When in your Query!)
Please email your Queries to:
Karen Hett, Query Editor
kmchett@verizon.net
Next months Newsletter will continue this issues article on genealogy research sources.
February's topic will be about the United States Census Record, how to read it, and how it has changed over the years.
Look for the March issue article Dating Old Photos. Ever find an old box of family photos and have no idea who they were? This article will help to date these old family photos, perhaps narrowing down the time frame as to when the photos were taken helping us figure out who these family members were!
Visit Your Local Library!
The Montgomery County Memorial Library System Genealogy Department has the 4th largest genealogy collection in The State of Texas.
Do you have any ideas for future articles?
Contact Marsha Goodwin:
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Montgomery County Genealogical
And Historical Society, Inc. 2010 - DUES NOTICE
P.O. Box 867
Conroe, TX 77305-0867
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MCG&HS October Newsletter
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Montgomery County Genealogical and Historical Society, Inc Newsletter |
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October 2009 |
Our Famous Ancestors
By Marsha Goodwin
Many of us are related to someone famous. Here is information on a famous Texan ancestor of one of our own:
Pat Spackey, MCG&HS (2nd Vice President), is proud to be the great, great, great granddaughter of Dr. Charles B. Stewart!
Pat descends from Stewart's son, Charles Waters Stewart., and her mother and grandmother always shared stories of the Stewart family when she was growing up in the Dallas area.
A great patriot of Texas, Charles B. Stewart's many accomplishments include serving as first Secretary of State for Texas, first Signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, member of the four Texas Legislatures, and the designer of the Texas Flag and first Seal of Texas.
Dr. Charles B. Stewart married Julia Shepperd in 1836. Julia's father, William W. Shepperd is credited as being the "Founder" of the town of Montgomery and gives Pat another ancestor to praise when she speaks on Texas History to numerous organizations and school children.
Dressed in Period costume, she presents programs on Texas History and shares the Stewart legacy. Pat is often accompanied by Jack Shepherd of Montgomery, who gives a great portrayal of Dr. Charles B. Stewart and bears a remarkable resemblance to her ancestor when in costume!
== Thank you to Pat for her wonderful narrative! Should you want to research this famous Texan further, contact the Heritage Museum in Conroe, Texas. There is a very insightful exhibit about this legend! In fact, when I visited there, I learned that Dr. Stewart was the translator for Sam Houston and Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto. MG
Did you know…
that Montgomery County served a very important role in the Civil War?
Trivia Question: Can you name one of the two military groups that came from here?
Answer to last month’s Trivia Question: The designer of the Texas Flag was Dr. Charles B. Stewart.
Want to know more? See the feature article in this issue.
Want to add to the newsletter? Contact:
Our November general meeting will be on November 9, 2009.
Our program will be Breaking Through Your Brick Walls.
We need "YOU" to attend the November meeting. In order for the
Society to continue, we have to have a quorum of twenty, to be present and "VOTE".
The October workshops by Charles Gardes, "Meet me at the Raccoon Lodge (Researching the International order of Hoo-Hoo and other Fraternal Organizations Records)” & "What did you do in the war, Gr-grandpa?", were quite a success! All those who attended learned much in researching their family histories.
Next month’s Newsletter will be about the United States Census Record, how to read it, and how it has changed over the years.
Our next topic will be about the some websites that are great sources when researching your family tree.
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Montgomery County Genealogical and Historical Society, Inc |
Slate of Officers for 2010 & 2011
Election to be held at the November 9th Meeting ***BE SURE TO ATTEND – WE NEED YOUR VOTE!
President Henry Harris
1st V.P. Barbara Franz/ Courtenay Cross
2nd V.P. Marsha Goodwin
3rd V.P. Sandra Harris
Treasurer Robert Wicker
Secretary Dorothy Wicker
Parliamentarian Surcy Peoples
Librarian Suzanne Reese
Herald Editor To be appointed by President
Directors-at-Large Sherry Henderson
Frances Lane
Robin Montgomery
Frances Peoples
A quorum of 20 is necessary to hold the election.
BE SURE TO ATTEND….. YOUR
VOTE IS NEEDED
Do you have a “Brick Wall” in your family tree? Email or mail us your queries prior to the meeting to assist in your search.
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MCG&HS September Newsletter
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September 2009 |
The History of Conroe High School
My interest in Conroe High School all began when I learned that my grandfather, Dolen Edward Talley, was an alumnist. Everyone knew my grandfather as “Bubba.” I knew that Bubba had been born in 1922, so that gave me a rough idea of when he would have attended the school.
I began my search for Bubba in the yearbooks housed at The Genealogical Room at our local Montgomery County Library. Simply by luck, thumbing through the 1938 Flare Yearbook, there he was! I was even impressed to see that he had been a cheerleader!
My curiousity was piqued further that there was a photo of the school on the title page. Not being a native of Montgomery County, little did I know that the building, although with a different name, still existed. With a little more digging, and that is the key to genealogy research, I found that the campus was located on N. Thompson St., in the heart of Conroe, Texas.
But like any good researcher, I did some reading and researching to go to the roots of where Conroe High and Conroe ISD all started. My first place to begin was the internet, since this is the “information highway.” My findings will be added later in the series on Conroe High.
Let me finish by adding that this article is not to be “informative”, say, like an entry in the encyclopedia. Rather, I would like this to be an article written by our readers. I am hoping that some of our readers went to this school or perhaps knew someone that did and that they will share their experiences. History comes alive when a researcher has contact people who actually existed in a particular experience. So, please share with us your life and education at Conroe High.
The series on Conroe High will continue in future issues…
Stay Tuned!
Did you know…
That the Texas Flag was designed right here in Montgomery County?
Trivia Question:
Who was responsible for the Texas Flag?
Answer to last week’s Trivia Question:
The issue is yet in doubt.
For the latest research addressing all points
of view, see the
feature article in our forthcoming family history.
Want to add to the newsletter? Contact:
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Do you have a “Brick Wall” in your family tree? Remember to email or mail us your queries prior to the meeting. We just may have something you didn’t know! See you then! |
Next week’s Newsletter will feature the article “Our Famous Ancestors”. See the August issue or the website for details.
We would love to know if you are related to a famous person!
Need hands-on help with your family tree?
Visit The Genealogy Room located in the Central Library on the second floor. It contains the fourth largest genealogy collection in the state.
For more information call:
ext. 249
Hours: Mon., Fri., Sat.: 9-5; Tues., Wed., Thur.: 9-9
Do you know of any useful books,
websites, or other sources for
genealogy research?
Submit your findings to
for the December newsletter.
The Herald-
Get your FREE copies of old issues of the Herald at the October meeting!
Our deepest appreciation goes out to all those who participated in the survey! The results are being studied closely and will be highly instrumental in the format of the next Herald.
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MCG&HS August Newsletter
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August 2009 |
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The Montgomery County Genealogical and Historical Society, Inc. met for its regular monthly meeting on August 3, 2009. It was a pleasure seeing familiar faces as well as meeting a few new faces.
The topic for the evening was “Breaking Through Brick Walls.” Those who attended were encouraged to bring their obstacles in their genealogy research. I was personally encouraged that so many at the meeting were so willing to provide additional resources to expand not only what I knew about my family as well as theories of how changes in my tree occurred.
Many others shared their Brick Walls and all in attendance shared their ideas and knowledge of genealogy research. Here are some additional testimonials of “Brick Walls”:
I liked the informal arrangement of this meeting, i.e., the "roundtable" format. Barbara [Franz] really knows her subjects that she speaks on, and I love to hear her.
Enjoyed the August meeting. As genealogy research is a never ending project, there are always things I can use help with. It would be great to see more of this type meeting. Molly Hoke
I thought the meeting was very helpful. A relaxed atmosphere and helpful members made this a productive and interesting time to share "brick walls." Thank you again! Janelle Hoke Murray
We think the Brick Wall meeting benefited everyone who attended. Those with problems, got help. Others received information that will help them with future genealogical searches. All who attended had an opportunity to get to know each other while increasing their skills and knowledge. Suzie and John Reese
Do you have a “Brick Wall” in your family tree? Email or mail us your queries prior to the meeting. We just may have something you didn’t know! See you then!
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