Friday, September 28, 2012

How Will You Celebrate Georgia Archives Month?

Warning:  This post contains a lot of personal opinions.  A lot.  
On September 13, 2012, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp issued a press release stating that the Georgia Archives will be closed to the public effective November 1, except by appointment (I'll get to this in a minute).  Five days later, he fired 7 full-time archivists, reducing the archives staff from 10 to 3.

That announcement came only days before Georgia Governor Nathan Deal proclaimed October 2012 Georgia Archives Month.

Congratulations, Georgia!  You are now the only state in the country without a public Archives.

In a recent interview, Secretary Kemp said that the Archives would operate with limited appointments only one day per week (despite the statutory requirement - O.C.G.A. Section 45-13-50 - that the Archives also be open every Saturday with access to those records that are available during regular business hours on weekdays).  

Over 6,000 researchers visited the Georgia Archives in the last fiscal year.  If we allot only 30 minutes per appointment, and don't allow for lunches, the waiting list for those researchers to schedule appointments would be over 8 years long.  And that's only if no government officials have priority appointments.  (Not to mention the fact that you really can't get a lot of research done in 30 minutes, so you'll have to make several appointments at a time or keep going to the end of that 8-year list).

The Georgia Archives is one of the oldest Archives in the country, with historical records dating back to the 1730s.  These records are vital to the history of Georgia AND to ensure the transparency of the government.  Why is this critical resource at the bottom of the list of priorities?  More importantly, why aren't more Georgians upset about it?!

I cannot fathom how the state of Georgia, with its state income tax, ad valorem taxes, and state sales tax cannot figure out how to make their budget work.  Yet they still feel that it's okay to invest $4.5 million in state funds so a millionaire campaign contributor can run his fancy new resort on Lake Lanier.  Because that's more important than the Archives.  Or - better yet - let's throw money at some variable speed limit signs in a laughable attempt to ease congestion on the Perimeter. (Now you know why I don't live in Georgia anymore - and never will again).

But I don't live in Georgia, why does this matter to me?  Well, because if our elected officials don't understand why State Archives are an integral part of both our history and our future, the next state to close its archives could be YOURS!

I urge each and every one of you to sign the Petition to Leave the State Archives Open to the Public.  Over 16,000 people from all over the world have signed the petition.  I'd like to see that number climb to over 20,000.  We absolutely need to let the government know that we will not stand idly by and watch them take away our access to public records.  After you sign the petition, go to the Georgians Against Closing State Archives on Facebook and "like" their page so you can get periodic updates on this uphill battle.

If you can make it, there is also a rally in support of the Georgia Archives and to reinstate the seven archivists who lost their jobs.  The rally will be held at noon on Wednesday, October 3 in the rotunda of the State Capitol.

I will leave you with this quote from Franklin Delano Roosevelt (shared by one of the petition signers from Atlanta):
To bring together the records of the past and to house them in buildings where they will be preserved for the use of men and women in the future, a Nation must believe in three things. It must believe in the past. It must believe in the future. It must, above all, believe in the capacity of its own people so to learn from the past that they can gain in judgment in creating their own future.

I am stepping down off my soapbox now.  Thanks for sticking around!




Do we share any ancestors?
Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com

Saturday, September 22, 2012

St. Columba (South Dakota) Parish Church - Death Register (1881-1927) M through Z Surnames


As part of the Church Registry for St. Columba Parish, South Dakota (includes the Yankton townships of Walshtown, Mayfield, Idylwilde, Jamesville (Sigel)) from 1881 through 1927, a death register was found in the back of the book.  There is additional information than what is shown here, sometimes including cause of death, names of parents/spouse, date of death, etc.  If any of these names belong to you, let me know and I will gladly forward a copy of it to you.


Page
Last Name
First Name
Age
Date of Burial
128
Madsen
Conrad
15-Feb-1924
127
Madsen
little boy
25-Mar-1914
126
Malloy
Margaret
81
23-Mar-1909
121
Maloy
Cornelius
57
18 Jun 1881
121
Marshall
John
4 + 10 mo.
11 Jan 1881
121
Marshall
Robert
43
28 May 1883
121
Marshall
Thomas
15
28 Oct 1883
125
McCabe
John
68
16-May-1904
122
McCabe
Mary
86
16 Jan 1890
129
McGillick
M.
31-Aug-1926
126
McGillick
Mary (Mrs.)
25-Feb-1910
128
McGillick
Pat Sr.
65
Apr. 1916
123
McGillick
Rose
65
27 May 1894
126
McKetchie
M. (Mrs.)
54
7-Dec-1906
125
Meloy
Bernard
78
20-Mar-1902
121
Meloy
Daniel
15
24 Dec 1886
126
Meloy
Daniel Francis
5 mo. 4 days
22-Apr-1907
126
Meloy
Emelie
29
1-Dec-1905
121
Meloy
John
25
19 Feb 1884
124
Meloy
Neil
75
20 Dec 1897
122
Murphy
Michael
52
9 Feb 1889
125
Murray
Christopher
71
14-Feb-1903
125
Nero
Emil Clarence
3 mo.
14-Jan-1905
125
Nero
Mary
71
5 aut 1903
126
Nipp
Emil Clarence
45
6-May-1908
126
Nipp
Francis
33
26-Jun-1906
127
Nipp
Francis
13
4-Oct-1914
121
Nipp
Johanna
55 + 7 mo.
5 Jan 1887
127
Nipp
Louis
84
13-Dec-1910
126
Nolan
Ellen (Mrs.)
73
10-Nov-1907
121
Nolan
John
8
19 Mar 1884
122
Nolan
Thomas
21 Nov 1889
128
Noonan
Bridget (Mrs.)
80
23-May-1919
122
Noonan
James
2 Apr 1892
124
Noonan
John
23
22 Oct 1898
127
Noonan
John Sr.
86
23-Apr-1914
127
Noonan
John Sr.
84
4-May-1916
123
Noonan
Joseph
17
19 May 1894
124
Noonan
Michael
63
12 Jan 1899
123
Noonan
Mrs. James
54
22 Oct 1895
124
Noonan
Patrick
35
14 Mar 1898
128
Noonan
Ph.
40
Oct. 1916
127
Noonan
Rosalie
7 + 9 mo.
28-Mar-1911
121
Noonan
15 Jan 1886
127
Nooney
Hattie (Mrs.)
2-Dec-1912
127
Nooney
Thomas Sr.
76
Oct. 1915
121
Nooney
William
10 + 8 mo.
22 Feb 1884
124
O'Connor
Addie
4
30 May 1897
127
Peterson
Lucy (Mrs.)
10-Jun-1911
127
Rempp
Fred
45
27-Jan-1912
124
Rempp
John
15 mo.
2 Mar 1897
125
Rix
William Joseph
1 mo.
11-May-1900
123
Rothmeier
Christina
48
5 Apr 1894
125
Rudolph
Henrietta
72
10-Jan-1904
125
Rudolph
Julius
73
9-Mar-1904
122
Scherschight
Nicolas
infant
1 Sept 1889
125
Schmeltzer
Francis
30
22-Aug-1904
123
Schram
Mary
24
17 May 1895
123
Schweitzer
Casper
17 Jul 1893
128
Schweitzer
Francis Sr.
61
1-Apr-1920
121
Slowey
Catherine
aged
10 Aug 1884
121
Slowey
Elisabeth Ida
9 mo. 8 days
7 Nov 1885
127
Slowey
Ellen (Mrs.)
42
28-Nov-1911
129
Slowey
James S.
2 days
10-Jun-1927
127
Slowey
Mary
27-May-1911
125
Slowey
Patrick
85
14-Feb-1902
121
Slowey
Patrick Jacob
9 mo.
28 Oct 1885
125
Smith
Catherine
72
28-Sep-1904
122
Smith
Hugh
80
9 Jan 1887
126
Smith
infant
1 mo.
15-Nov-1906
124
Smith
James
32
9 Apr 1898
125
Smith
James
3
20-Oct-1900
127
Smith
James
4 mo.
21-Mar-1914
123
Smith
Mary
26 Mar 1894
127
Smith
P. (Mrs.)
48 + 5 mo.
8-Feb-1913
125
Smith
Patrick
68
10-Nov-1904
121
Smyth
Margaret
12
1 Jun 1881
125
Steckler
Ludwig
9 + 6 mo.
28-May-1900
124
Vogler
Henry Fredrick Jr.
4 + 1/2
20 Mar 1897
124
Vogler
Mary Magdalen
6
20 Mar 1897
122
Wagner
Carolina
4 mo.
128
Wagner
George
65
1-Mar-1917
123
Wagner
Joseph
6 mo.
24 Sept 1892
128
Wagner
Mary
31
17-Dec-1918
126
Walsh
Ed. J.
35
18-Jul-1909
126
Walsh
James
63
11-Apr-1907
123
Walsh
John
45
8 Feb 1894
123
Walsh
Rose
74
9 Apr 1895
126
Weier
Mary Bridget
11 mo.
9-Mar-1908
123
Weier
Peter
23
30 Aug 1893
126
Willitzer
Margaret
66
29-Jul-1907
124
Willitzer
Mathias
63 + 3 mo.
29 Dec 1898
128
Willmann
Julia
15-Feb-1922
125
Wood
Harry Ivory
6
19-Apr-1903
128
Wood
William
27
27-Feb-1920
127
Zittebrger
Mrs.
7-Jun-1912



Do we share any ancestors?
Please email me at lostancestors [at] gmail [dot] com