By Ginny Gotlieb
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| Photo courtesy of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation |
First California Company Governor Ginny Gotlieb joined the governors of other Jamestowne Society companies to exchange information and discuss Jamestowne companies’ activities around the country at a meeting in Williamsburg May 13. Jamestowne Society Governor Joe Barlow presided.
Reports included these positive developments:
· The Jamestowne Society’s Wingo Fund supports the preservation of Virginia records. The marriage books of Albemarle County for 1811-1830 have now been restored. The project will continue restoration through the 1853 book. The First California Company at its annual meeting voted to donate $500 to the Wingo Fund.
· The mortgage on the national headquarters building was retired at the end of 2010. The First California Company and others contributed to a matching grant challenge that made this possible.
· The excellent Jamestowne Society website (www.jamestowne.org) now has a “What’s New” section. Items are posted frequently. Check it often for news and meeting information. If you are traveling, you may wish to attend another company’s meeting.
· The newly republished Adventurers of Purse and Person, Vol. 1 now includes women who were previously undocumented and new information on persons not residing in Jamestowne but recorded in the 1624/25 muster. This three-volume compendium is a key resource for researching lineage and is available through the online Jamestowne Society Shoppe. Also available there is the Society’s Register of Qualifying Ancestors, reprinted to include ancestors approved since 2007. The Register’s most current version is online at the Society’s website. Approved Jamestowne Society applications #4040 and above may be referenced in documenting lineage. One’s personal line must still be documented. The First California Company recently purchased the Adventurers of Purse and Person set for use by our Membership Chair.
· The Jamestowne Society will continue to mail the printed newsletter to all members twice a year.
· Growth in membership is encouraged through increasing public awareness and networking with other organizations with members from the Revolutionary War period or earlier.
Your governor’s report noted our active outreach through attendance at several genealogical fairs each year and placement of our newly reprinted brochures in libraries; the online newsletter/blog created last summer; and our excellent programs.
