Please go to “The Legal Genealogist” blog and read the article below:

http://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/2012/01/29/ssdi-call-to-action/

Consider contacting your representatives in Congress by e-mail or telephone. This does not bode well for genealogists.

Topic: Book Discussion – Choosing Sides (selections from America’s War anthology)

Date: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 – 7 pm

Location: Theatre level meeting rooms, Hoover Public Library

Scholar: John Mayfield PhD, Department of History, Samford University

Registration is required. Call 444-7840 to register.

The series continues through April. See the Hoover Public Library website for upcoming event details.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/01/specially_trained_dogs_help_sn.html

Next meeting: Saturday, February 11, 2012, 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Program Theme: Discovering our African American Heritage:  The Alabama Connection

Guest Speakers:  Mrs. Carol McKinstry, 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing Survivor, and Dr. Robert Davis, Director of Genealogy Department, Wallace State Community College

Additional Information: Wanda Looney, Tel: 205-317-7557 / e-mail  or Chester Summerville, Tel:  205-821-3358 / email

The Expo is FREE and open to the public.  Come join us for food, fun and family history!

Genealogy Blog

One that will be of interest of most viewing this blog are the “Alabama, County Estate Records…” — not every county is represented at this time, but there are enough to allow you to spend days downloading and viewing estate records. The records in this collection seem to be from the microfilm of the “Loose Records Project” completed in all counties just a few years ago.  The records are not fully searchable, but are organized by County and Last Name.  I have noticed in more than one county that the papers imaged under a particular name, may not always be for that individual.  Of course, there are the “mixing” of same names, but I have also seen a Robinson estate mixed in with the estate of a Williams.  Additionally, check for records filmed under the name of the administrator/executor or even under the heirs.

Alabama, County Estate Records

Good luck and happy searching!

Next meeting: Saturday, January 28th at 2 p.m.; Board Meeting at 1:30 p.m.

Meeting Room: Youth Department (Story Castle), 2nd Floor, Main Library building

Speaker:  Connie Grund

Program Topic: Today’s DAR Including Research Resources and Membership Information

Come join us and learn about the Daughter’s of the American Revolution (DAR) lineage society.  Connie will share resources available to both member and non-members of DAR and provide information on how to join the society.  She will be available after her program to discuss membership information one-on-one.

About the Speaker:  Connie Haynsworth Grund was born in Birmingham, baptized at the Cathedral Church of the Advent and spent most of her growing up years in Westchester County, New York.

Connie is a full time volunteer serving currently as the Vice Regent of the Alabama Society Daughters of the American Revolution and Vice Chairman of the KDS DAR School, Board of Trustees in Grant, AL. Connie serves the National Society DAR as National Chairman of Constitution Week. She is also a member of 18 other lineage groups and serves on the board of several.

Connie’s ancestor David Owen brought his family down the Tennessee River on a flatboat, disembarked in Guntersville and went by wagon to Jefferson County. That was back in 1816 and makes Connie the 8th generation of her family to live in Jefferson County. The Owen farm house, built in 1833 is still in Jefferson County owned by the West Jefferson County Historical Society and Connie serves on the Board of Director’s.

Connie has six other family lines that were in Alabama before statehood including Jefferson County pioneers Mortimer Jordan, John Smith and William Rose Sadler, Needham Lee of Shelby County and William Patton and John Brahan of Huntsville. William Patton’s son Robert went on to become the 20th governor of Alabama.

NOTE:  Please note the location change from our “regular” meeting room in the Arrington Auditorium to the meeting room located in the Youth Department.  We will resume meeting in the Arrington Auditorium in February.

Next meeting: Sunday, December 11, 2011, 3 p.m.

Program Topic: Annual Holiday Social

Details: Josephine Martin (205-901-6387) or contact us via e-mail

Come join us as we celebrate the last class for the year.  This is also your chance to renew your membership. Please bring a dish, beverages, dessert, cups, napkins, or plastic ware. Just let us know what you are bringing by calling Eloise Wormely – 205.923.5551 or Josephine Martin – 205.901.6387.

If you have not had a chance to do so, please remember to take our survey for the Beyond the Basics of Genealogy 2012.

Thank you and have a wonderful holiday season.

Southern History Department
Birmingham Public Library

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We had a great first year with our Beyond the Basics of Genealogy series of workshops.  We’re looking at developing our classes for next year, and we need your input.  Please take a few minutes of your time to fill out our survey, and be sure to be on the lookout for our classes in 2012.
Thanks!

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/btbsurvey

November 14, 2011

I M M E D I A T E  R E L E A S E

contact person
Pat Ryan
Jefferson County Library Cooperative
pryan@bham.lib.al.us
(205)226-3615 W
(205)226-3617 F

Jefferson County Library Cooperative Sustains Deep Funding Cuts

Birmingham, Alabama — The Jefferson County Library Cooperative is the non-profit umbrella organization that serves as the link for all 40 public libraries countywide. Local library buildings, staffing, and operations are funded at the local level. However, the services that links all city public libraries together are coordinated and funded by the Jefferson County Library Cooperative (JCLC). JCLC has been funded by the Jefferson County Commission, state aid to public libraries through the Alabama legislature, and local libraries for thirty-three (33) years, since 1978. JCLC funding was recently eliminated from the Jefferson County FY2012 budget.

The library cooperative of 40 municipal libraries last year checked out 5,524,049 books, eBooks, audiobooks, DVDs, and music. The 4,674,941 citizens who visit annually, or use online resources, have proven that the public libraries of Jefferson County are not a luxury, but a necessity.

The services funded by JCLC that benefit 40 Jefferson County public libraries include:

• Daily delivery service that transports materials from library to library guaranteeing ease of access of all library materials to citizens countywide;
• Popular online materials reservation system and online catalog;
• Access to 2 million items including new and popular materials hot off the presses;
• Internet access for 40 libraries;
• Popular databases – JCLC has already discontinued the database News Library which provided full-text articles from The Birmingham News free of charge to all county citizens. This went into effect September 1, 2011. When other database subscriptions, such as the popular genealogy database Heritage Quest, and business database Reference USA, are up for renewal in 2012, funds will not be available to continue providing these resources.

JCLC began accepting donations in 2009 when the first cuts were initiated by Jefferson County. Your help is needed as public libraries attempt to forge ahead with drastic funding cuts this year. We invite you to donate today. To donate go to www.jclc.org, or inquire at one of the 40 local Jefferson County libraries. All donations are tax exempt. For more information contact the Jefferson County Library Cooperative, 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL 35203.

The Jefferson County Library Cooperative (JCLC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization composed of the 40 public libraries throughout Jefferson County. These include the 21 municipal libraries, including the 19 locations of the Birmingham Public Library System, as well as The Library at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. The mission of JCLC is to link our member libraries to provide better, more efficient centralized services for all county residents. For more information, go to our website www.jclc.org.