Be Part of the Community
By Jim Thornhill
I sometimes think that researching family history for myself or others is a solitary endeavor. After all, I almost always research by myself. Whether it’s at the library searching through a pile of books, or at a repository reading letters that my ancestors wrote, I am usually there by myself.
But the truth is that family history is anything but a solitary endeavor. When I am reading through that index of obituaries, I forget that it is there because a group of people faithfully clipped them out of a newspaper for years, organized them, and published a book. When I go online and do a search, that information is searchable because a group of people was willing to index those records for my benefit.
Genealogy is very much a pay it forward endeavors. Previous generations of family historians have given of their time and talents to provide indexes, county histories, family histories, cemetery surveys, and many other resources so we would have the tools to continue our passion. In the same way, our generation is making resources available for future genealogists. The nationwide effort to digitize the War of 1812 Pension Records and FamilySearch’s effort to digitize the collection at the Family History Library are two current examples. In both of these efforts, people from all across the country have given of their time and resources to make these valuable collections available to people worldwide and for many generations of family historians in the future.
The Dallas Genealogical Society is one of these organizations that pays it forward. Past and present members of DGS have surveyed cemeteries, indexed records, organized and digitized collections, and with their resources have supported organizations like the Portal to Texas History and created the first digitization lab in North Texas available for public use.
Are you looking for a way to pay it forward? Do you want to ensure your grandchild or niece or nephew who will pick up the family history torch will have the tools they need to find their ancestors? Join us at DGS. No matter what you have to offer, we need your help to preserve records for future generations, teach the next generation how to discover their family’s history, and be a community for North Texas’ family historians.
On May 4, members elected its executive officers for the 2019-2020 year. Meet the people who will lead DGS for the next year. Ask them why they want to lead DGS, what DGS will accomplish in the next year, and share your ideas with them. Join us at the 2019 Summer Seminar on August 3 and at our first general meeting of the year on September 7, and join us in providing for the family historians of generations to come.
