Rev: Saturday, May 30, 2009 Reformatted Site
to Compress Topics
President –P. J. Smith (2008-2009)
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Master
Link to Genealogy Information From the State and County Genealogical
Association Members
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The Yellowstone Genealogy Forum, “a Tax Exempt Organization” under the Federal
Income Tax Code Section 501 c (3), and donations are deductible under Section
170. The YGF is the master Genealogical
Resource Center
for the History of Persons, Places and Past Events in Montana's
Largest Populated
County (Yellowstone
County), headquartered in Billings, Montana.
After territorial re-alignment in the 1880's, Yellowstone
County originally in 1895 embraced
outlying towns of Roundup, Big Horn, Lavina, Shawmut, Park
City, Stillwater, and many others that are
currently located in neighboring counties. Much of the resource information
held by the Forum covers these locations as well as the
current location of Yellowstone
County. See links at the
bottom of this page for details on the 1895 Montana Counties. For those interested
in quick searches for messages, family searches, state & county history,
plus general genealogical research, try the Family History Site link. To support this
research, the GenRoom Computer* has been updated and contains the following Family
History Resources of North America (This is a
partial collection from 1631 to 1888, and contains about 4 million names):
Vital
Records Index – Births & Christenings A-Z
Vital Records Index – Marriages A-Cn, Co – G, H – K, L – O,
P – Ss & St – Z
*Open the “Vital Records Resource Viewer” on the NEC Computer to
browse the files.
The Yellowstone Genealogy Forum provides
techniques that can be used in the discovery of your ancestors. Photographs
such as this, taken in Billings,
shows teacher Miss Quinlan, with members of her graduating class; and assist
the researcher looking for parts of their earlier life. [Josephine Erwin was
Principal] Don't delay in starting your search for the past or your classmates
because the information may well be lost forever without your assistance. Help
the Forum preserve history records in Yellowstone County.
The
Forum holds its general meetings at the LDS Church
on 6th Street West
& Avenue D. All meetings are on the fourth
Tuesday of the month starting at 7:00 pm; with general friendship get-together
at 6:30 pm. Membership in the Forum is
open to all persons and guests. The Forum is grateful to the courtesy of
the LDS Church to offer their facilities for our
meetings. The Forum is not affiliated with the LDS Church.
July has a picnic, and meetings are not held in
December. Meetings last until approximately 9:00 pm. Guest speakers provide
insight and guidance in the quest for better and easier methods for conducting
genealogical research, and results of personal investigations. Many members
have extensive knowledge about research techniques and the extensive LDS Family History Center's
holdings in Salt Lake City.
Many skilled and well-versed genealogists in the club present training classes
on the use of the varied record sources at Salt Lake City and other locations throughout
the world. Some members conduct educational classes in genealogy at the local
colleges and hold special forums. The Forum also supports monthly training
classes in computer techniques for the use of genealogy programs and various
related applications (PAF). Business meetings of The Forum are normally
conducted separately from the general meetings. Meetings are open to all
persons and no advance notice is required to attend.
The Forum
fully supports the Yellowstone
County Genealogy Web Site , which is part of the Worldwide Gen-Web Project. Links to
various historical societies, agencies, libraries and other related
organizations and information resources throughout the state are located there. Information about early Billings,
and a complete exclusive listing of the Yellowstone County
towns is included.
The Forum's
Activities
The purpose of The Forum is to instruct members of the
community about effective techniques for conducting genealogical research, and
to assist in the availability and preservation of genealogical and historical
records.
Membership Forum membership is open
to all persons and organizations.
Meetings General meetings are
normally held on the 4th Tuesday of the month at the LDS Church
on 6th Street West
& Avenue D. Enter through the rear door. Prior notice to attend is not
required. Opportunities are available for persons
to assist in several of our fascinating and fun genealogical tasks.
Minutes of prior meetings are posted on the Meeting Archive web page by date. Where
applicable, links to website details are provided.
Research Record research and query
lookup is available from the MT Yellowstone
County GenWeb site. For personalized or special requests involving
looking through the files, historical research books and materials, copying
information and sources, supplying pictures and related details; and we will
respond soon as practical.
On
Line Research Record research services for various types of Vital Records
is collected and summarized in the linked WORD document file listing. There are 22 parent sites noted; and all
offer free on-line services for extracts and copies of original records. The
groupings are extensive and please be patient when loading the first page of
the site. Read the entire site before starting your search. Be sure to follow
the site page’s directions and not the disguised embedded site search boxes
used by advertisers.
Books Genealogical books,
periodicals and related genealogical materials are filed within the Billings Parmly Library
Gen-Room. The
"Montana Room" and the “GenRoom”, both contain thousands of priceless
volumes about Montana
and its citizens.
Newsletter The Forum publishes a quarterly
newsletter called "The Gen-Bug". Copies of previous issues are posted
on the site.
Early Pioneers Information about the
founding fathers of Yellowstone
County and some nearby
counties is identified. Here one can find plat maps, original deeds, wills and
numerous court documents. Reference to the source locations is provided, along
with some plat maps of Billings and Laurel, Montana.
The source files contain information about thousands of early city residents
and homesteaders, plus original land patents of the railroads and their
charters. Current projects include the detailed listing of Smith Funeral Home’s
records. The purpose of these attached files is to “stir” an
interest in in-depth research, and not to provide the full answers, but merely
the pathway.
FAST SEARCH LINK to All of YELLOWSTONE COUNTY
INFORMATION
Go to Main Index Search Table Lists
