On 8/13/03, Jean Payton wrote..... "Subj: Re: a call for support for Barb Date: 8/13/03 11:51:32 AM Eastern Daylight Time From: <A HREF="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</A> Putting all records online and charging a membership fee to access these records just as the NEHGS does in Boston. We genealogists already know that in order to keep these records available that we will have to pay for services. I am agreeable to pay for this service. I told them also that I pay out over 500.00 a year in membership for online access and one more isn't going to break the bank. Just think how much money they can haul in by doing this and Barbara would also keep her job. I even suggested that she head this department also. Well I will await the results of tomorrow and hopefully we will prevail in keeping her as Historian. Jean Payton" ************** Genealogy is a very expensive hobby, but PLEASE don't make it any worse. In NY State, the cost for Genealogy copies of Birth, Death & Marriage records have now doubled to $22 a piece, as of August 1st. Then add the $1.67 a gallon I just saw in Fulton for a gallon of gas, 65 cents a page to photocopy records in County Offices, the $40 a year to join the Onondaga Historical Association, the $ for membership to the Oswego Genealogy Society, the $35 an hour to get an hours worth of information on burials at Catholic Cemeteries (St. Agnes & St. Mary's) in Syracuse.....shall I go on???? That's all locally, want to discuss out of the area searches, out of state & county researching???? I do many lookups for free for people around the Internet. I have gone to Albany (over 2 hrs. away) to hand deliver the requests for Vital Statistics Records from NY State. This has gotten records back in a few weeks compared to many months. I have done lookups at the National Archives in Pittsfield, MA, also. I frequently do searches in the libraries in Central, NY & drop by cemeteries, court Houses, etc., for others also. I have not had very good paying jobs for quite a while & have also been laid off and was out of work for over a year. The economy here is very poor. Please don't cause the cost of this hobby to increase by suggesting a way to charge for things that have been free or extremely inexpensive. This hobby at least is a comfortable way that people can help others, socialize, and have fun. Please don't suggest ways that people have to stop enjoying it by making it more expensive than it already is. Budget cuts can be made elsewhere & they will figure out other ways of generating income, just please don't give them any ideas toward our Genealogy hobby direction. Thanks Anne

Yes I realize that Genealogy is an expensive hobby. But we all must face the facts here. In order to keep thoses records available we as genealogists are going to have to start paying up to keep the records available. I live on a limited income so I know that it is sometimes hard to pay but I also know that if I want to keep doing this hobby I am going have to pay also. I do look ups also and I travel quite a bit to do the look ups for free too. I have driven a lot of miles just to take a picture of a cemetery stone for someone who lives out of state and will never get here either. But we are going to have to pay somewhere down the road and yes it is becoming a major thing today. As I said I pay quite a bit for memberships but I also use those memberships to help others who can't afford them. I am willing to do look ups for anyone who doesn't have a membership to any one of the the ones I have. I also volunteer to put records online also. We all can do that from right at home with our computers. Although there are many who don't have microfilm/microfiche readers at home I do know of people who put info online by simply taking the info to their local library and using their readers to write or copy images and then bring them home to put online. I spend a couple hours each day transcribing microfilm for another state. The state sent me the film to transcribe and I do it. Genealogy is expensive in every state not just New York. So is the gasoline. But if Oswego County decides to do something like charging, I am willing to pay. Illionois was giving away free birth, death and marriage records and went broke doing it. They had to put a halt to it this year so people on the Cook Co. List told Illinois Secretary of State what we all thought would be a good fee to pay. People offered their services to help get the info online and so they decided that paying 10.00 a record was fair enough and now you can access the site free but in order to get a copy they charge ten dollars for that copy. Michigan is not cheap either on their vital records. They won't even do a look up without charging a 3.00 search fee and then they charge you for the record which is 17.00 per copy. So we need to encourage the Counties and States to put this info online and then let them know that if they charge a small fee to access the records they will not lose like Illinois did. Jean Payton ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2003 6:37 AM Subject: This hobby is expensive enough, don't give the legislature any ideas > On 8/13/03, Jean Payton wrote..... > > "Subj: Re: a call for support for Barb > Date: 8/13/03 11:51:32 AM Eastern Daylight Time > From: <A HREF="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</A> > Putting all records online and charging a membership fee to access these > records just as the NEHGS does in Boston. We genealogists already know that > in order to keep these records available that we will have to pay for > services. I am agreeable to pay for this service. I told them also that I > pay out over 500.00 a year in membership for online access and one more > isn't going to break the bank. Just think how much money they can haul in by > doing this and Barbara would also keep her job. I even suggested that she > head this department also. > > Well I will await the results of tomorrow and hopefully we will prevail in > keeping her as Historian. > Jean Payton" > ************** > Genealogy is a very expensive hobby, but PLEASE don't make it any worse. > > In NY State, the cost for Genealogy copies of Birth, Death & Marriage records > have now doubled to $22 a piece, as of August 1st. Then add the $1.67 a > gallon I just saw in Fulton for a gallon of gas, 65 cents a page to photocopy > records in County Offices, the $40 a year to join the Onondaga Historical > Association, the $ for membership to the Oswego Genealogy Society, the $35 an hour to > get an hours worth of information on burials at Catholic Cemeteries (St. Agnes & > St. Mary's) in Syracuse.....shall I go on???? That's all locally, want to > discuss out of the area searches, out of state & county researching???? > > I do many lookups for free for people around the Internet. I have gone to > Albany (over 2 hrs. away) to hand deliver the requests for Vital Statistics > Records from NY State. This has gotten records back in a few weeks compared to many > months. I have done lookups at the National Archives in Pittsfield, MA, also. > I frequently do searches in the libraries in Central, NY & drop by > cemeteries, court Houses, etc., for others also. > > I have not had very good paying jobs for quite a while & have also been laid > off and was out of work for over a year. The economy here is very poor. Please > don't cause the cost of this hobby to increase by suggesting a way to charge > for things that have been free or extremely inexpensive. This hobby at least > is a comfortable way that people can help others, socialize, and have fun. > Please don't suggest ways that people have to stop enjoying it by making it more > expensive than it already is. > > Budget cuts can be made elsewhere & they will figure out other ways of > generating income, just please don't give them any ideas toward our Genealogy hobby > direction. > > Thanks > > Anne > > > ==== NYOSWEGO Mailing List ==== > New York GenExchange > http://www.genexchange.com/state.cfm?state=ny > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > >