Former SAR President Robert Sapp will walk us though a case study using the Genealogical Proof Standard during our May COGS meeting. Join us to learn more about this important research skill. Check the meetings page for more information.

Follow the link to see photos of members and guests as they participate in COGS activities.

Meetings last updated April 28, 2012.

1940 Census Available

The National Archives partnered with Archives.com for its first online U.S. census release www.1940census.archives.gov which took place on April 2, 2012, at 9 a.m. (EST). You can access this website free of charge.

Until indexes are available, you can search for your family by browsing the enumeration district in which they lived. For tips on how to begin searching go to How to Start Your 1940 Census Research.

Clarke County Enumeration Districts

Athens Enumeration Districts

Oconee County Enumeration Districts

1940 Census Form

1940 Fillable Census Form

COGS Member Honored
for His "Outstanding Contribution
to the Field of Genealogy"

Long time COGS member Greg Crane was recently honored by the Georgia Genealogical Society for his 2011 "Outstanding Contribution to the Field of Genealogy." The award was given in recognition of his creation of the "Ask Granny"© genealogical outreach program which provides free instructional materials for those who want to make sure that the family memories of our senior citizens are not lost.

Greg has been actively involved in genealogy for 34 years. Since coming to Athens in 1995 he has served as Membership V.P. and Publications Officer in COGS. He has also taught the very popular "From Known to Unknown" classes in genealogy for Learning in Retirement / Osher Lifelong Learning Foundation (OLLI) and chaired the Genealogy Interest Group in LIR.

Greg and his "Ask Granny" co-author, Judy Russell, met at a COGS meeting and their conversation about finding a way to capture irreplaceable family details concerning names, dates, and locations led to their creation of the materials and spreading the idea by means of the internet.

Since the creation of "Ask Granny"© in 2009, Greg and Judy have visited 32 senior citizen groups in South Carolina and north Georgia and helped over 600 men and women fill in a enhanced ancestral chart titled "A Genealogical Gift to My Family." Each participant gets a free red folder in which to place the chart and other important family details in the hopes that the material will become part of a family legacy.

The "Ask Granny"© program has also been distributed at no cost to genealogical and historical societies, genealogical libraries, and family reunion groups world-wide by means of free emailed pdf files. The materias have been sent to 46 states and 4 foreign countries. There are also very active "Ask Granny"© chapters in Australia and Canada.

Greg is currently setting up 2012 sessions for local and north Georgia senior citizen groups. Let him know (ask.granny.us@gmail.com) if you'd like to get involved in the outreach to senior citizens. "Granny" sessions take about an hour and are guaranteed to bring some surprises, fun, and great satisfaction.

Handout on
Resources for Genealogical and Historical Resources

Laura Carter graciously agreed to share the wonderful handout she created for the April COGS meeting. Even if you attended the April meeting, you should download the pdf version, so you can click the web addresses!

If you haven't been to the FamilySearch.org website recently be sure to check it out. After pointing out that some microfilm images have already been uploaded to the LDS website, the COGS webmaster found several valuable probate court documents that she has wanted to see in Tennessee! (I followed Laura's advice to click on Catalog and then searched by the location I was interested in.)

COGS Featured on FGS Radio - My Society

COGS was featured in the Society Spotlight segment of a recent episode of FGS (Federation of Genealogical Societies) Radio - My Society http://www.blogtalkradio.com/mysociety.

Listen to the Saturday, February 25, 2012 archived program. The theme was Society Leadership- President's Day. After a 53 minute chat with guests, they spotlighted our society and talked with COGS Officer Mary Anne Abbe. Click on the link to listen to this episode or use the player below..

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

A new PBS series premiered on March 25th that explores the roots of 24 well known Americans. The series is hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Each episode features two celebrities that somehow share a similarity. GPTV has been broadcasting the show on Sunday evenings at 8:00 pm. The staff of The New England Historic Genealogical Society and John Cemy, co-author of The Source: Guidebook for American Genealogy, contributed research for this project.

Who Do You Think You Are

The new season of "Who Do You Think You Are" on NBC premiered Feb. 3 from 8 to 9 pm. If you miss an episode, you can watch archived copies online http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/

This years celebrities include: Martin Sheen, Marisa Tomei, Blair Underwood, Reba McEntire, Rob Lowe, Helen Hunt, Rita Wilson, Edie Falco, Rashida Jones, Jerome Bettis, Jason Sudeikis and Paula Deen.

Support COGS! For an annual membership fee of just $15 you will receive a quarterly newsletter and notification about all of our programs. Your dues are also used to help pay honorariums for speakers, purchase resources for local libraries, and offset costs for special events and preservation of historical data. COGS membership provides a wonderful opportunity to talk with and learn from others who share your interest.

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last update Monday, 30-Apr-2012 16:28:07 MDT