SNI Newsletter February 2021

IGS Monthly Meetings via Zoom for 2021

We hope this finds everyone well and healthy. We are keeping those that have lost loved ones in our thoughts and send comfort and strength to them. It has been a difficult year.

We have lost some members of our IGS community who supported and contributed to the society. Barbara (Bobbie) Huff attended our meetings and it was always a joy to see her smiling face and hear her memories of people that came before us. Rick Jemison was another fixture at our meetings, offering help whenever or however he could. Norma and Diane Kennedy and Cindy Mohr attended our meetings and were interested in genealogy. They all will be missed! Their memory and good intentions will live on in us and that we find comfort in.

We have decided to do our monthly meetings via Zoom until it becomes safe for everyone to gather again. The zoom meetings will be a learning experience for all of us but we wanted to continue with our monthly meetings of learning genealogy and of course we missed everyone!

Our first IGS Monthly Meeting will be held on March 11, 2021 at 6:30 pm via zoom. The IGS website (www.iroquoisgenealogysociety.org) has been updated with new material. Our first meeting will be an overview of the IGS website showing our new additional records. Wallace Ward  will present this material. He maintains our website and scans many documents to upload to the website. It is a task that takes much hard work and time. We are very grateful to Wally and his hard work for us. Our first meeting will also include a Genealogy 101 presentation by Leatha Jimerson. It will be a ‘how to get started’ in your genealogy research.

We will keep you posted on our upcoming meetings for 2021.

We are also on Facebook: Iroquois Genealogy Society.

Please stay safe and healthy!

Celebrating the Legacy of our Iroquois Ancestors

The first meeting of the Iroquois Genealogy Society for 2019 will occur:

When: March 14, 2019 at 6 pm

Where: Allegany Community Center MPR room on the Allegany Territory.

The meeting will introduce our new website: iroquoisgenealogysociety.org.  The website is a wealth of genealogy resources such as documents, pictures and maps. We will be showing you how to navigate the site so that you can become familiar with it and refer to it when doing your research.

We will also have on hand; books that you can look at that will give you an idea what the book entails, handouts that you can take home to start documenting your family history/genealogy and a few maps. We will get you started in your research and then you can continue by finding out how your ancestors lived, where they went to school, how they dressed.

We hope to spark in you the interest in finding out more about your family history and celebrating their lives. It’s important as a people to learn about our ancestors to give us a sense of identity and to honor them.

Prior to our formal meeting we will have a potluck dinner (6-6:30pm). Please bring a dish to pass. Bring a friend, all are welcome!

Feel free to bring a laptop to follow along however, we will provide some written instructions for you to take home with you.

Please join us as we start another year of excitement with the Iroquois Genealogy Society!

IROQUOIS GENEALOGY SOCIETY – 2018 HIGHLIGHTS AND THE NEW YEAR 2019

IROQUOIS GENEALOGY SOCIETY – 2018 HIGHLIGHTS AND THE NEW YEAR 2019

In December 2018, the IGS held a Christmas luncheon which was well attended by about 40 people. The food was delicious and everyone had a good visit.  The weather cooperated this year so everyone could have a safe drive to the Allegany casino.

We had a door prize raffle of 2 - 1890 framed maps of the Cattaraugus and Allegany Territories. The Cattaraugus map was won by Jenny Logan and the Allegany map was won by Debbi Hoag. Bookmark magnifiers with IROQUOIS GENEALOGY SOCIETY imprinted on them were handed out to those in attendance.

Highlights of the year 2018:

Carlisle Indian School Presentation – June 2018, a team from Carlisle, PA conducted a Community sharing workshop at the Allegany and Cattaraugus territories.  The team helped helped participants research relatives who attended Carlisle Indian School

NYS Archives trip to Albany, NY – Sept 2018, Thomas Indian School research and tour of the NYS Library and special collections.

SNI Council Lunch – A delicious lunch was served to SNI council which was coordinated by Anna Mae Printup.

Creation of the IGS website: iroquoisgenealogysociety.org by Wallace Ward. The website contains many useful resources for genealogy research.

Election of new IGS officers was held and the following are the results:

             President: Marilyn Anderson

             Vice-President: Debbi Hoag

             Treasurer: Arthur Hill

             Secretary: Leatha Jimerson

We are busy planning for 2019 and following are the first few meetings of IGS:

March 14, 2019 at ACC/Allegany Territory – Genealogy 101, how to navigate our website – iroquoisgenealogysociety.org, and we will have different resources on hand.

April 11, 2019 at the Saylor Bldg/Cattaraugus Territory – DNA 101 presented by Rhonda Hoffman,  Librarian 1/Genealogy Specialist, Grosvenor Room, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library.

May 9, 2019 at the ACC/Allegany Territory – Seneca Bands presented by Jack Ericson

All meetings start at 6 pm, bring a dish to pass and bring a friend!

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to any IGS officer or email us at Iroquois.genealogy@gmail.com

Nya-weh!

CORNPLANTER DESCENDANTS MEETING-WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21st, 2018

Cornplanter descendents, the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum is asking for your input on displaying the original Cornplanter Monument. We would like to hear your thoughts and comments on this issue. Please join us at the museum to hear the plans on the display site. We will be meeting in the classroom at 6pm. All Cornplanter heirs are encourage to attend.

Contact the Seneca-Iroquois National Museum with questions. (716) 945-1760

82 West Hetzel
Salamanca, New York 14779

New York State Archives September 26th 2018

Iroquois Genealogy Society

NYS Archives Trip, Albany, NY

On September 27, 2018; about 12 people from the Iroquois Genealogy Society took a trip to the NYS Archives at Albany, NY.

Marilyn Anderson coordinated and planned the trip that consisted of an orientation to the collections, research time for Thomas Indian School records, tour of the NYS library and viewing of private collections of the NYS Museum (our favorite).

Dr. James Folts, head of the Research Services at the NYS Archives, spoke to us about the collections and showed examples of the following:

1)     1800 map of the Holland Land Purchase showing Indian paths and Reservations.

2)     1931 State Annuity Census of Cattaraugus Territory

3)     1915 & 1925 Census of Allegany and Cattaraugus Territories

4)     1845 Census

5)     1830 Buffalo Creek Census

6)     Samples of War of 1812 pension claims

Dr. Folts and his staff were made available to assist us in our research. We submitted names of relatives who attended the Thomas Indian School and these files were made available to us (minus class records and medical history). Dr. Folts provided a list of students who attended TIS from 1855 to 1955 and also list of Senecas who were in the War of 1812 from the Allegany, Cattaraugus and Cornplanter’s Reservation.

Dr. Laurence Hauptman provided lunch for us and gave a presentation on Caroline Hewitt who attended Hampton Institute in Virginia. Caroline’s parents (Harriett (Lay) & Aaron Hewitt) died when she was young and was raised by her aunt Martha (Lay) Jamerson. Caroline came from a very musical family (Lay Band) and that influenced her to attend the Dana Musical Institute in Ohio. She graduated in 1926. Quite an accomplishment for an Indian girl at that time!

In the afternoon, we viewed a private collections of Henry Morgan and Arthur Parker’s which was a real treat! Amazing beadwork of skirts, purses, moccasins and hats, lacrosse sticks, handmade ladles, war clubs etc. The rest of the afternoon was spent researching the various census of different tribes (Seneca, Cayuga, Mohawk, etc).

Everyone enjoyed themselves and of course made new friends. There wasn’t enough time to do all that we wanted so we are sure that we will be back again next year!