~by Valerie Ogren, Greene County Genealogical Society
Meeting notice: The next meeting of the Greene County Genealogical Society will be the annual “Christmas In July” on Saturday, July 4, at noon in the Pizza Ranch meeting room. Some members may have other plans during a holiday weekend, but postponing the meeting conflicts with County Fair. Come if you can and invite a friend or neighbor. Please bring an item (or items) for the Action Resource Center.
DNA testing: We had excellent attendance at our last meeting for Elaine Deluhery’s program. If you want more information on this fascinating technology, go to https://familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Hiring_a_DNA_Testing_Company. It will give you a brief explanation of the various kinds of testing. Some test the paternal line and some the maternal line. It will also give you the names of several companies which do the testing and a link to their web sites. If you have thought about it before but thought it was too expensive, you will find the cost is much more affordable now.
Iowa online newspapers: Many are aware that the local newspapers are free online through 2012 via the Jefferson public library. However, this was just posted on Facebook this weekend. http://www.theancestorhunt.com/blog/iowa-online-historical-newspapers-summary-updated-2015#.VZBnLFIXg8B. This web site contains links to many other Iowa newspapers online. If you go to The Ancestor Hunt “Home” page, it appears the blog also lists links to newspapers in other states as well. Happy hunting!
Reference library: If you have an interest in family history but need some help getting started, we have volunteers in our reference room every Wednesday from 1 – 4 pm and Saturday from 9 – noon. We have an online computer and can help you find some free sites. There are many web pages now which will help you in your research, but we still warn that they may not be 100 percent accurate. There is also a copy machine if you find something in the printed material you would like copied. Those who have roots in Greene County will find a wealth of information on the shelves which will never be online since it is copyrighted. Hundreds of family histories with Greene County connections have been donated to our library. They range from a single ancestor chart or family group sheet to 400 page hardbound publications. Come see what we have. If your family has compiled a family history, we would welcome a donated copy for our collection.
Contact us: Our web page is located at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~iagcgs/. Email us at gcgsiowa@hotmail.com or P O Box 133, Jefferson IA 50129-0133.
