A group of researchers interested in their ancestors from the Hilltowns of western Albany County have just started a new group<http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=3985977684>on facebook.com. Its purpose is to explore the history of the Hilltowns of western Albany County and the families that lived there (the Towns of Berne, Knox, Westerlo, and Rensselaerville). http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb#/group.php?gid=39859776842 We already have proposals for some very exciting projects: - We propose to write a series of books on the history of the Hilltowns and the families that settled there. The first in the series will be a book on the history of Berne and Knox. There will be a chapter on each of the German and Dutcth familes that lived in the area before 1787. The second book, perhaps written concurrently, will be on the history of Berne and Knox and each of the families that lived there from 1788 until the formation of Knox in 1822. The series will then include separate books on Knox and Berne up to 1866. Books are also envisioned on the history of Westerlo and Rensselaerville for the same time periods. The chapters on each family would be written by family researchers. We will need volunteer to edit each book, and family researchers to volunteer to write on their own families. - The second big project is to write the history of each Hilltown farm. It is proposed that it be online in wiki format. That means that anyone can update the history of each farm based on their knowledge and research. The farms will be indexed to the grid created by the Van Rensselaer Patroon who once owned all of the land in the Hilltowns. - A third project would be the history of each house on Beers 1866 map of the various Hilltowns. It too would be online in wiki format so that anyone can add to and edit what is written. These ambitious projects will require the collaborative effort of hundreds of people. Please join our Hilltown group and tell us how you would like to help. Harold Miller Berne Historical Project www.Bernehistory.org <http://www.Bernehistory.org>