TEXAS FIRST FAMILIES LINEAGES
Brenda Kellow
January 22, 2012
The Texas State Genealogical Society (TSGS) will publish volume 3 of the Texas First Families Lineages in September. Volume 3 includes all the applications approved from #5279 through the ones approved to June 30, 2012. Applicants do not have to be members of TSGS, nor residents of Texas. The applications can be completed online and printed, or the complete instructions can be downloaded from the TSGS website at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txsgs/.
The first two volumes of Texas First Families Lineages are in the Plano Genealogy Library.
TSGS was founded in Fort Worth, Texas on November 28, 1960. The purpose of TSGSis to promote, assist, develop, and conserve the genealogical and historical resources of Texas and to cooperate with local, regional, and statewide groups in promoting an awareness of the need to preserve family heritage. It is incorporated under the laws of the State of Texas as an educational and literary corporation. The TSGS is organized and operated as a non-profit tax-exempt Section 501(c) (3) as defined by the Internal Revenue Service and eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions in accordance with Code section 170.
· Other Texas Heritage Certificates available are:
· Texas First Families
· Gone to Texas Pioneer
· West Texas Pioneer
· Descendants of Texas Rangers
WHAT ARE YOUR RESEARCH INTERESTS? Family historians always have particular research interests. The library does not always have acquisitions on these subjects. Now there is a solution to this. The next time you are in the library, inquire about the whereabouts of the box for listing patron interests and add what is of genealogical importance to you. Both the library and Genealogy Friends are interested in your needs. What a great way to further your investigation.
HELP WITH THE 1940 CENSUS: The 1940 census will be released on Monday, April 2 and available to search free on the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) site. The key word here is ‘search.’ The census will be available for ‘searching’ but there will be no index for several months. You will have to know where your people were before you begin exploring the census, so get busy and find those enumeration districts (EDs). In time, there will be an index on some of the subscription sites and hopefully on the free FamilySearch.com site.
A new 1940 Census tool was added to the Census section of the One-Step website http://stevemorse.org/. It's called the Unified 1940 Census ED Finder http://stevemorse.rg/census/unified.html.
NARA’s website, www.archives.gov/research/census/1940, specifically discusses how to find the EDs. They even recommend Steve Morse’s site, http://stevemorse.org/census/. NARA suggests Steve’s site is a useful tool to search the 1940 EDs from addresses or locations as well as to convert a 1930 census ED to a 1940 census ED.
Locally, Barbara Coakley will speak on the 1940 census release at the April 24 Learn N at the library sponsored by Genealogy Friends. She will have helpers there to assist attendees. Mark that date on your calendars and plan to attend.
The purpose of Genealogy Friends is to educate the public and support acquisitions for the library. They do suggest a $10 donation to buy books for the library. The personal help and assistance is far greater than the small fee they suggest you donate. Genealogy Friends is organized and operated as a non-profit tax-exempt Section 501(c) (3) as defined by the Internal Revenue Service and eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions in accordance with Revenue Code.
Brenda Kellow has a bachelor's degree in history, teaches, and lectures on genealogy. Before retiring to publish her family’s histories in 2007, Brenda held certification as a Certified Genealogist and as a Certified Genealogical Instructor. Send reunion announcements, books to review, and genealogy queries to: [email protected].