Good morning, I, Helen M. Imburgia have recently become Founder/President of The Delaware County Genealogical Society of PA. Please read on to understand what we are about & to see if your are interested in becoming an advisior/member. A few months back, I had a discussion with a few of my friends about starting The Delaware County Genealogical Society of PA. (Ginny DeNenno, Doreen Hannum, Joyce Newlin Turnicky.) Over the years, when I instructed my Genealogy Workshops, or did lectures many of my students had asked me to become the founder of such an organization & to please do something about the county records! (Which, I always had in the back of my mind, to do, for many years.) I have contacted an attorney for instructions on how to set up this type of organization. I do not want to collect due's, so I did not need to incorporate! I do not want to have monthly meetings with by-laws, etc. In other words, I do not want the "old type of genealogy society" -- I would like to see an online Delaware County Genealogical Society of PA. We need to do something with a society that will move us into the "new wave," the future. I do suggest having lectures, in different parts of the county, at different times, on genealogy topics: census records, the Mormons, the Civil War, or any topic that would have anything to do with genealogy. By becoming more active in our communities, we will hopefully bring attention & more interest to genealogy. We dearly need to get back to our Family Roots! Furthermore, we are very concerned about our Genealogy Records at The Delaware County Court House & Fair Acres where the Archival Records are stored. Issues: 1. Archival Records--How they are kept & stored. We need a place to view these records & make them available to the public. Improper use, a docket was being used to prop a door open. There is no temperature control, where they are stored, etc. We have been give (3) reasons why we can't see the records. a.) We have been told there is no room for visitors to do research! b.) They are not insured to have visitors! c.) Someone stole a docket & now no one is allowed in Fair Acres to view the records! 2. Public Records--in general not being available to the public. Divorce Index, Citizenship Papers, Letters of Intent, Immigration Records, Veterans Records in the Recorder of Deeds Office, etc. To get Citizenship Records you have to call are go to the Passport Office, the clerk takes your name & the name your researching, she in turn calls a woman at home who gives her the Book and Page No. Then Fair Acres is called to retrieve the record. We asked why does this woman have the index cards in her basement? We have been given (2) reasons: a.) The woman she calls is/was part of the DAR Historical Society who did a lot of genealogy research over the years. b.) She was a former clerk at the court house & when she retired, she took the index cards with her because she had made them. 3. Missing/lost Public Records--Murder Index Docket; Adoption Docket (1865-1921) (maybe in Chester); Tax Docket; Dela. Co. Court House's Immigrate Wall Records, etc. 4. Clerks & people in charge at the Delaware County Court House--They are very unpleasant, rude; they act like you are bothering them; they do not want to help you & they make it very apparent; they get mad or upset if they have to make copies for you, they will not make a copy while you wait you have to come back next week, etc. (What if you are not from the area.) Note: If anyone ever experienced any difficulties &/or problems getting county records please contact me! My plans are, to have people online who can give advice, guidance, direction & help to anyone doing genealogy research in Delaware Co., PA. Over the years I have enjoyed giving advice but I'm now finding most of my time is spent doing this. Hence, I would like to compile a list of people who would be interested in being a member/advisor of the society by having an area of expertise &/or giving out genealogy advice on research in Delaware Co., PA. I for one, do not know everything there is to know about genealogy &/or Delaware Co. I would like to bring the many genealogist of Delaware County together collectively-- more heads are better than one, especially mine! :) SUBJECT NAME E-MAIL ADDRESS Bethel Twp. Rick Nicholson rick@dca.net Census Records Helen M. Imburgia HMWEBBER@aol.com Chester City Helen M. Imburgia HMWEBBER@aol.com Clifton Heights Tom DiFilippo Tjdif511@cs.com Concord Twp. Ginny DeNenno KRISTIND@erols.com Darby Borough Tom DiFilippo Tjdif511@cs.com Dela. Co. Court House Rec. Gloria Boyd glo777@home.com East Lansdowne Tom DiFilippo Tjdif511@cs.com General Genealogy Info. Helen M. Imburgia HMWEBBER@aol.com Ethel Dougherty EDoughe410@aol.com German Gene. Helen M. Imburgia HMWEBBER@aol.com Immaculate Heart Chr. Helen M. Imburgia HMWEBBER@aol.com Irish Gene. Helen M. Imburgia HMWEBBER@aol.com Italian Gene. Lower Chichester Twp. Helen M. Imburgia HMWEBBER@aol.com Newspapers Upper Darby Tom DiFilippo Tjdif511@cs.com Welsh Gene. Rick Nicholson rick@dca.net Note: When you become a member/advisor you may want to put (DCGS) after your name when answering queries so people know who we are! If you would be interested in signing up as a member/advisor for what ever topic you would feel comfortable giving advice on, please contact me. In no way are we to do the research for these people, only to give them direction & guidance. I have found people, especially from Europe & Australia, who really need help. In fact, anyone from outside the area, are at a loss, when doing genealogy research in an area or country they know nothing about! If you know of anyone who would be interested in becoming a member/advisor of the society, please have them e-mail me or call me at (610) 358-1102. Happy hunting, Helen Helen M. Imburgia 396 Derry Drive Aston, PA 19014 (610) 359-1102 HMWEBBER@aol.com