The 90th Annual Report of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania

The 90th Annual Report of The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania 23 March 1982 THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE: It was at a meeting held February 13, 1892 at a private home on Clinton Street that our society was founded. At the first Annual Meeting, held November 30, 1892 the then President Dr. Edward Shippen stated: The object of this Society is to preserve the genealogies of all persons who have lived in these parts as far as we can get at them, no matter whether rich or poor, distinguished or humble, so that they were identified with our Commonwealth. And if we succeed reasonably well in our object, coming generations of thriving people will, we hope, thank us for our efforts which are, at least, not dictated by any selfish motive. Although the geographical area of the coverage has been broadened since that time to include the thirteen original and certain neighboring states, the principles as outlined by Dr. Shippen 90 years ago continue to be followed today. For 1981, I think it can be said our society had another good year. As you know, we operate as an auxiliary to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania placing our emphasis on genealogy and the required source materials. In this way the parent organization has been relieved of some of its responsibilities which it had originally assumed. In return, the Historical Society has shelved and serviced our collections in its library. We continue to be most grateful for this and express our appreciation to the entire staff of the Historical Society and its library staff in particular. Our relationship with the Historical Society, while an unusual one, has worked well over the 90 years of our existence. Although our operations are not immune to the effects of inflation we have managed to keep our heads above water. About one half of our income is derived from endowment funds accumulated over the years, and the balance from dues of our membership. Contributions received from our Annual Giving exceeded $6000 in 1981. These funds are used exclusively to increase and rehabilitate our collections. Tremendous strides in this regard were made over the past year. 277 278 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine Our publication which first appeared in 1895 continues to reach all of our members. It is to be regretted that our Editor Mrs. Philip B. Woodroofe, resigned on January 15, 1982 to assume full time employment in the publication field. We are seeking a new editor. In the interim, Mr. Aubrey Baldwin, Chairman of Publications, will edit the next issue. At the 1981 Annual Meeting the death of Lewis Cook February 9, 1981 was reported. Mr. Cook had served the Society in many capaci-e ties and was one of our Fellows. It is with regret that I now report the recent deaths of two former members of the Board. Georges Carousso ,January 12, 1982 Edwin S. Dunkerley February 12, 1982 Their presence will be sorely missed. Finally, it is the continuing support of our members, our Board and our committees that keeps our society going. I thank you all. Charles B. Barclay, President FELLOWSHIPS During the year 1981 no additions were made by the Fellowships Committee to the list of honorary Fellows of the Society. The death of Lewis D. Cook on 9 February 1981 and the report of the death of Mrs. Courtiand B. Springer reduced the number of our Fellows to nine. Dr. Don Yoder, Chairman FINANCE In 1981 membership dues and income from trust funds covered our operating expenses. Also trusts for publication costs provided for our magazine. Monies for preservation of records and books came from interest and contributions received in 1981 and prior years. Thanks to generous support from members and friends we added modestly to our total assets, however not enough to keep pace with inflation. Due to unusual office expenses, the operating budget for general purposes will be tight in 1982. Trust funds are managed by the Provident National Bank. Members may inspect financial reports—audited by certified accountants—by appointment with the treasurer. Winfield S. Weer, Chairman The 90th Annual Report 279 FUND RAISING A larger number of members than in any previous year participated in Annual Giving in 1981. This response resulted in the achievement of our goal of $6,000. Donald C. Turner, Chairman HEREDITARY AND PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES Your committee has been active throughout the year in an effort to standardize genealogical requirements and proofs of lineage for all hereditary societies. Our Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania was honored in October by the Fellows of the American Society of Genealogists. At their Annual Meeting, your Chairman presented a paper on "Current Genealogical Trends in the Hereditary Societies" in order to rationalize and solve some of the problems between the working genealogist and the recruiting efforts of the hereditary societies. Robert LeConte Halberstadt, Chairman LIBRARY ACCESSIONS During the year 198.1, one hundred fifty-six manuscript genealogies and books were contributed to The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania by individual donors. Under the Records Retrieval Program, the society microfilmed the records of 13 churches from Philadelphia and Southern New jersey along with the records of a Philadelphia cemetery and a New Jersey Funeral Director. Also acquisitioned during 1981 were probate records and deeds from 6 additional Pennsylvania Counties; the Barbour Collection of Connecticut Vital Records; and 16 recently published books of genealogical interest. Under the Conservation and Preservation Program there were 147 volumes of books from both The Historical Society of Pennsylvania and The Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania collections rebound or repaired. Facsimilies of 45 books were purchased to replace books in the HAP Brittle Book Section. In addition microfilm has been purchased to replace the Philadelphia City Directories. Russell Bement, Jr., Chairman LIBRARY CATALOG There have been no changes or additions in the library catalogue procedure during the year 1981. 280 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine The number of items catalogued during the year amounted to one thousand four hundred fifty-four. This number represents primarily new accessions but does include a small amount of items recatalogued in order to improve the description of the material in question. The one thousand four hundred fifty-four items catalogued resulted in a total of three thousand one hundred forty-eight cards filed into the library catalogue file. Mrs. Georges Carousso, Chairman M EMBERSHIP From Januar), through December 1981, your Membership Committee presented 260 new applicants, all of whom were elected to membership by the Society's Board of Directors. Nine members were lost by death, six resigned, while 122 members were dropped for nonpayment of dues. Due to recent changes in mailing procedures, some membership records have had to be rearranged. If you find any error in your membership status, please report it immediately, either to the office or to your Membership Chairman, and it will be rectified. Total membership at year's end was 1912, an increase of 105 over 1980. Our thanks to all of you who have sponsored friends and relatives for membership. Mrs. Georges Carousso, Chairman PROGRAM In this 300th Year of the Founding of Philadelphia, the Program Committee attempted, with some success, a coordinated year-long program consisting of eight meetings, from October to May, and entitled: A Salute to Pennsylvanians. The several national-ethnic groups which made up the bulk of Pennsylvania's colonial population were treated from a genealogical point of view: the Indians, the pre-Penn Dutch and Swedes, the English-Welsh Quakers, the Germans and the Scotch-Irish. in February, however, in commemoration of the 90th Anniversary of the founding of our society, a panel of officers and staff of the G.S.P. presented a salute to the G.S.P. itself, which for the past 90 years has been collecting, preserving and making available to the public, the genealQgical records of these many ethnic groups which made our "Keystone State" an early true melting pot of our future nation. Conrad Wilson, chairman The 90th Annual Report 281 PUBLICATIONS The Society is very grateful to Helen Hutchison Woodroofe for serving as editor of the society's magazine for six years. She has contributed many hours of work. En addition to editing, proof reading and indexing she has presented book reviews and is compiling the guide to source material in Pennsylvania by counties. This series, "A Genealogist's Guide to Pennsylvania Records", will continue although Mrs. lArToodroofe has resigned as editor due to other commitments. We say: "Thank you for a job well done and best wishes for future , success. The Society continues to publish two magazines annually the cost of which is largely underwritten by legacies given us many years ago. More recently income from contributions made in memory of our long-time editor, Hannah Benner Roach, has helped us meet everrising costs. Additions to this fund are received with appreciation. We continue to publish our news letter, Pen In Hand, which is edited by Doris Stansbury and has proven a fine contribution to our Society. This committee would appreciate receiving comments, suggestions, yes, and even criticism, favorable or unfavorable, from our members. Let us know what kind of articles and features you would like. Aubrey H. Baldwin, Chairman PUBLICITY The Publicity Committee has had an active season thisipast year in spite of difficulties with program arrangements so late in the season. Newspaper publicity was mixed, as usual; we seem to have a faithful following among the editors of suburban papers rather than among those in town. This is reflected in the many visitors we have from suburban communities to our lectures. With the demise of the Bulletin, center city publicity is now highly competitive, particularly for space in the Inquirer. The committee feels that if it can explore new and creative ways to handle our news, we should be able to overcome this obstacle. One step the committee has taken to get more for our mailings has been in sending follow-up program announcements and invitations to membership and to non-members who attend the lectures. We look forward to bringing in a number of new members this way. The matter of radio publicity and the placement of newspaper 282 The Pennsylvania Genealogical Magazine articles—both good ideas was put off this winter pending our internal reorganization which should be complete with the Spring elections. William Woys Weaver, Chairman VOLUNTEER PROJECTS The volunteer project of indexing the marriages and deaths recorded in the Philadelphia Public Ledger is now commencing its third year. Volume I, 1836 thru 1843 is completed and will be available in the library shortly. The volunteers are still in the process of extracting the names from the newspaper issues, 1844 thru 1851, which will comprise Vol. II. This valuable material is being made available through the endeavors of Austin B. Brough, Mary M. Crowley, James L. Flanagan, Jr., Marie Kitzmiller, Jane Mamrol, Ruth Mazzeo, Lucy Megrail, Frances Schive Smith and Caroline Sparks. Special mention must be given to Mr. Edwin S. Dunkerley who devoted long hours to this project. With his untimely death on February 12, 1982 the volunteer group lost its most dedicated member. Additional projects on cemetery and church records and a tax list are also in various stages of being indexed and typed by some of the volunteers. Mrs. Rita Schive Mowrer, Co-ordinator