1/23/12
Book Sale Update
Godfrey Memorial Library continues its sale
of duplicate books. A wide variety of material is being
offered including family genealogies, vital records, town histories and more!
The purchase price includes the cost of shipping & handling. All proceeds
from the sale go to support the library.
View the list of available books below then email Nancy
Thurrott at nthurrott@godfrey.org with your order. Be sure to include the full
title of the book, your name, mailing address, and a daytime telephone number
where you can be reached. Once your order has been received, Nancy will contact you to
confirm availability of the book and to take your credit card payment information. If you
would prefer to pay by check, please note that in your email.
Books will be
reserved for you for 7 business days. If payment has not been received at that time,
the book will return to our sale list.
Current list of books for sale.
Blank order form to mail, fax, or use as worksheet.
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10/25/11
Holiday Closings and Winter Hours
Godfrey
Memorial Library will be closed Saturday, December 24, and will reopen
to the public on Wednesday, January 4, 2012. While we are closed, we
will continue to process new Godfrey Scholar subscriptions and
renewals, but we won't be available for telephone assistance. The
staff, Trustees, and volunteers wish you and your family a joyous
holiday season and a Happy New Year!
Beginning
on Monday, January 2, 2012, the Library will be on Winter Hours. We
will be open to the public on Wednesdays from 12 noon to 8:00 PM,
Thursdays and Fridays from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and on the 1st and 3rd
Saturdays of the month from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. We will be available by
phone and email Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM to offer
assistance, take new subscription and renewal orders, and take requests
for AGBI searches and Full searches.
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07/21/11
The Godfrey Memorial Library on air!
Connecticut NBC Channel 30 featured the Godfrey Memorial Library for three
days—July 18, 19 and 20. The morning crew—Bob Maxon, Yvonne Nava, and Brad Drazen—all had their
genealogies done by Godfrey Memorial Library volunteers and reported on the experience.
They were enthusiastic and shared their personal stories with viewers. Each one learned something
new about their family history. Check out each segment by copying and pasting the links below into your browser:
Bob Maxon's Family Tree
Yvonne Nava's Family Tree
Brad Drazen's Family Tree
The stories are also available on the Godfrey Memorial Library Facebook page.
07/15/11
Channel 30 visits The Godfrey
Check out Connecticut NBC Channel 30 during the week of July 18, 2011. The morning
crew—Bob Maxon, Yvonne Nava, and Brad Drazen—all had their genealogies done by Godfrey Memorial Library volunteers.
Each of the on-air personalities came to the library to meet with the volunteers and learn what they had found-including
some surprises! See pictures on the Godfrey Facebook page (and Friend us if you haven't yet):
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Godfrey-Memorial-Library/98016116476
Once the programs air, (currently they are set to air Mon - Wed, July 18-20 in the 5:30 and 6:30 half hours, probably
around 5:45 am & 6:45 am) they will also be posted on the Channel 30 website:
http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/
06/21/11
Upgrades to Godfrey
Scholar Memberships
New service levels have been added to the Green and Gold Godfrey
Scholar memberships. Both now feature more in-depth access at no increase in cost!
For information on resources and subscription rates, see: http://www.godfrey.org/subscribe.html
Green level Godfrey Scholar subscriptions have been upgraded from the World Vital Records U.S.
Collection to the World Collection. This is one of the largest online genealogical sites including
tens of thousands of sources, many not available on any other Internet site, including genealogies,
local histories, census records, newspapers, vital records, and other primary sources. The World
Collection also now features Newspaper Archives, the largest historic newspaper source online,
containing more than 3,200 titles from the United States and Canada from the 1700s to the 20th Century.
Gold level Godfrey Scholar subscriptions also include the WVR World Collection and Newspaper
Archives, as well as three new databases designed to assist members in their in-depth research. A
description of each follows:
Dictionary of Irish Biography
Published in collaboration with the Royal Irish Academy, the Dictionary of Irish Biography is the most
comprehensive and authoritative biographical reference work available both in print and online for Ireland.
This nine-volume set is an invaluable tool for all who study Irish literature and history. This resource
outlines the careers of prominent men and women born in Ireland and the noteworthy Irish careers of those
born outside of Ireland. Distinctive features of the Dictionary:
- Contains over 9,000 entries covering 9,700 lives, with each entry providing helpful cross-references to other subjects
- Biographical subjects include artists, scientists, lawyers, actors, musicians, writers, politicians, criminals and saints
- Includes biographies of outstanding women who have been previously overlooked.
Social Explorer
Social Explorer is an online research tool designed to provide access to modern and historical census data
and demographic information.
Social Explorer's easy-to-use web interface lets users create maps and reports
to help visually analyze and understand demography and social change throughout history. The site currently
includes data from the entire US Census from 1790 to 2000, all annual updates from the American Community
Survey to 2008, original Census tract-level estimates for 2006 and 2007, the Religious Congregations and Membership
Study from 1980 to 2000. Reports can be created at all geographic levels including the state, county, census tract,
block group, zip code, and census places.
Illustrated Civil War Newspapers and Magazines
Illustrated Civil War Newspapers and Magazines: Important and Rare Periodicals from Confederate, Union, Abolitionist,
and British Presses—the definitive online Civil War media resource.
The
database contains 65,000 pages drawn from 49 periodicals, including 15
campaign newspapers, most of them illustrated—3,720 issues published
from 1860 to 1865. Originally printed in 16 different cities, many of
the publications are now rare and hard to find, with an item sometimes
extant only in a single archive. Carefully sought out and compiled from
17 different museum, library, and private collections, including those
of the American Antiquarian Society and the Chicago Historical Society,
these resources are now available to modern scholars in electronic form
for the first time.
The 49
publications that comprise Illustrated Civil War Newspapers and
Magazines present four viewpoints—Union, Confederate, Abolitionist, and
British. Every page has been scanned at high resolution and the content
re-keyed, making the issues fully searchable, either individually or in
any combination. Search by year, group of years, or topic, or browse
each publication from issue to issue through the years, as did readers
of the time. The database also contains a sample selection of 600
letters from Alexander Street's The American Civil War Letters and Diaries—300 Union and 300 Confederate.
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06/20/11
Census of Old Buildings
in Connecticut
In 1934, a small group of people began visiting every town in
Connecticut to survey its "old buildings." A Work Projects Administration (WPA) project,
the staff of the Census of Old Buildings in Connecticut completed forms with information
about the buildings, and often also took photographs of the buildings. Most are houses,
but some schools, churches, factories, and libraries are included. The survey forms and
photographs were originally deposited in the State Archives. Names of owners are
included on the forms.
The Connecticut State Library has transcribed the forms,
digitized the photographs, and is presenting them online as part of the CSL Digital
Collections. The WPA Architectural Survey Census of Old Buildings can be viewed at
http://cslib.cdmhost.com/custom/wpaarchsurv.php
As of June 2011, this information
is online for Andover through Morris. This is a work in progress and the information for
other towns is being added as time allows. Most of the buildings have no name, and locations
are rarely addresses, for example, "East side, facing west on Conn. 93, at southeast corner
of Green."ť Construction dates and the original owners are as written on the survey forms,
even though more recent research may provide different information. Current owners are also
listed, but those are the people current as of the 1930s.
The State Library encourages
viewers to use the "Tell Us More"ť field in each building's descriptive metadata (information
about an item) to email us with more information about each building, its history, its address,
current status, and any other relevant data.
Any questions can be directed to Carol
Ganz, Reference Librarian, Connecticut State Library, cganz@cslib.org, 860-757-6587.
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06/15/11
Godfrey Board Member
Wins Historic Preservation Award
The Society Daughters of Colonial Wars in Connecticut has presented
Godfrey Board member Ed Laput with the Society's regional award for Historical Research
and Preservation. Connecticut DCW President made the presentation at the library board
meeting on June 14, 2011.
The award was based on the Connecticut chapter's nomination of Ed Laput for his work on
preserving Connecticut cemetery information. Ed and other volunteers who assist him work
to photograph each gravestone in a cemetery and record the information contained in each
inscription. He then inputs that data into a database available through the Godfrey
Memorial Library. There are currently over 300 state cemeteries in the database, which
is growing every month.
Click here to view photo: Connecticut
Society Daughters of Colonial Wars President Stephanie Lantiere presents Ed Laput with
the Society's award for historic preservation.
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05/18/11
Bible Project Reunites
Family & Long-lost Bible
The Godfrey Memorial Library collects family bibles in order to
record the family names included with them. After cataloging and scanning, we try to
locate the family to see if they would like the bible returned to them. Family bibles
can be lost over time for a variety of reasons, and quite often descendants are quite
pleased to have them returned to the family.
The Leonard family bible is one such story with a happy ending. It was donated to the
Library in 2010 and after cataloging and scanning the family data, a message was posted
on Ancestry.com seeking any family members who might want it back. The bible recorded
the marriage of John P. Leonard and Mary A. Renz in San Franscisco, November 1894. It
went on to record family births and deaths through 1911, when John P. Leonard died.
The Library was recently contacted by John Leonard, who recognized the names as belonging
to his grandfather and grandmother. His nephew, Richard Leonard, happened to be traveling
in Connecticut and visited the Godfrey Memorial Library to pick up the bible and reunite
it with the Leonard family.
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05/11/11
Researching
Civil War Ancestors at The Godfrey
The Friends of the Godfrey Library will present a program
on researching Civil War soldiers, Saturday, June 11 at 1:30 pm at the Godfrey
Memorial Library, Middletown.
Almost three million men took part in the American
Civil War between 1861 and 1865. Was your ancestor one of them? Plan to attend
if you wish to learn about your ancestor's military service and the special
Civil War resources, including regimental histories, held by Godfrey Memorial.
Godfrey Library staff member Sharon Dahlmeyer-Giovannitti will conduct the
presentation, which will begin after a brief business meeting. June 11th is the
annual meeting of the Friends of the Godfrey Library.
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03/22/11
Godfrey
Library and the Civil War Sesquicentennial
Godfrey Library and the Civil War
Sesquicentennial April 12, 2011 marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of
the American Civil War in which some 620,000 Americans lost their lives. When
the war began Connecticut regiments were called to arms by decrees from both
President Abraham Lincoln and Connecticut’s Governor William Buckingham.
Connecticut sent 55,000 men, or 47% of its male population between the ages of
15-50, in the most massive war mobilization in state's history.
The
Godfrey Memorial Library, a private, non-profit library open to the public, has
in-depth resources for those wishing to research Civil War history and
biography in general, and family histories of those who served or were affected
by the Civil War. Among the specialized resources held by The Godfrey is the
American Civil War Research Database, with information on more than four
million soldiers and thousands of battles, along with more than 16,000
photographic images. The Civil War Letters and Diaries Database contains
diaries, letters, and memoirs by more than 2,000 authors who lived during those
climactic events. Additionally, the library has databases containing many 19th
century newspapers with first-hand accounts of politics and battles. These
newspaper resources include seven African-American newspapers 1827to 1902,
offering a seldom-seen perspective on the conflict.
The Godfrey Library
is a unique resource for genealogists and historians. “The Godfrey is one
of the best kept secrets in Connecticut,” said library director James
Benn. “It is a premier research site for family history research, and
perfect for anyone wanting to work on Civil War research during the 150th
anniversary.”
The Godfrey maintains an extensive collection of
essential resources to help in genealogical and historical research. Library
staff is available to help users locate relatives through city and business
directories, vital records, printed census records, state, county, and local
histories as well as numerous family histories, family bible records, and
service and pension records. The library is free and open to the public.
Subscriptions to database resources can be purchased to allow for off-site
research.
As part of the Sesquicentennial, The Godfrey is offering a
Civil War publication at a significant discount. “A Noble and Glorious
Cause: The Life, Times and Civil War Service of Captain Elijah W.
Gibbons”, originally published by The Godfrey Memorial Library in 2005 and
priced at $35.00 is now available for $15.00 at the library. Follow the war
experiences of Captain Gibbons of the Connecticut Volunteer Infantry and his
men from Middletown as they respond to the call to arms and until the battle of
Fredericksburg. Please call the library to order or stop by to pick up your
copy now though April 30th.
For information about Connecticut’s
upcoming observance of the Civil War anniversary events, see:
http://www.ccsu.edu/page.cfm?p=2296
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