To all Hilltown and Helderberg area descendants As many of you know we have recently started a new web site, ALBANY HILLTOWNS, that allows family researchers who have ancestors in any of the Hilltowns of Albany County, (Rensselaerville, Berne, Knox and Westerlo), to add biographies, family stories, photos, and genealogies of their Hilltown ancestors and to share in the celebration of them. One of our goals is to produce and publish several books on the history and about the lives of the people who lived there. The first of our book series will be about the men from the Hilltowns who served in the Civil War. We are depending upon descendants of these soldiers to provide a biography on the web site for their Civil War ancestors and to participate in the writing of the story on their ancestors. We also would like to include available photos, copies of letters they wrote home, and other documentation appropriate for the web site and the book. The year 2011 is the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War. To commemorate this anniversary we are planning an Albany Hilltowns Heritage Conference feature a Civil War encampment and possibly a re-enactment and at which we will distribute the books we have put together. We have tentatively chosen the Rensselaerville Institute for the conference. We anticipate that this event will be largely attended and that many people from across the nation will be there. We have the good fortune to have Michael Grant Hait Jr., as the editor for our Civil War book. He is currently in the process of writing his own book on Civil War soldiers so his experience as an author, his access to publishing and to the National Archives, as well as his enthusiasm in being a part of this endeavor is an invaluable asset. We sincerely thank all of you who have already signed up and are participating, and would like to encourage any of you who have not yet joined to visit our sites and do so. Publicity Committee, Albany Hilltowns facebook and historical project Go to our Civil War pages to see what information we have collected so far. ALBANY HILLTOWNS - sharing information on our Berne, Knox, Westerlo, and Rensselaerville ancestors BERNE HISTORICAL PROJECT - now featuring the Hilltowns Genealogy HILLTOWNS FACEBOOK GROUP - discussing history and genealogy of the Hilltowns Betty Fink MY GENEALOGY PAGE www.bettyfink.com Hilltowns Facebook Group-- Berne, Knox, Westerlo, and Rensselaerville http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1609167281&v=feed&story_fbid=42097780582#/group.php?gid=39859776842