Society Master Template

Society Membership
Memberships are open to anyone with an interest in genealogy!And, who is willing to share with the other members.
Membership dues are $20.00 a year for an indivdual (January to December each year) and includes the quarterly newsletter, Delta Pedigree Press, with free queries. You are encouraged to submit a surname list with your membership.

To become a Society Member, scroll down to the membership form below, copy, paste into an open blank document, print, fill in and mail it to: Delta County Genealogical Society, Box 442, Escanaba, MI 49829-0442

Society Meetings - The public is always welcome!
An annual meeting is held on the fourth Monday of September with regular monthly meetings held on the fourth Monday of each month, except for November and December. Special meetings are called as needed by the President. Programs are designed to assist in genealogical research.

Society Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the most recent meetings of the Society can be found on this page, just scroll down.

Delta County Genealogical Society -Meeting Minutes
Family Search Center - February 26, 2024

Officers Present: R. Reiffers, S. Whitman, K. Freward

1,2. The meeting was called to order by President Richard Reiffers at 6:30 PM. Introduction of new members were made and genealogy research issues were discussed. The agenda was approved with no additions.

3. President’s report: Notices about tonight’s meeting were published on the DCGS FaceBook page and in the local newspapers. For some reason it was not published in the Action Shopper. He stated that he found some old meeting minutes from 2000. Suggestion was to put any older minutes found in the library holdings for DCGS.

4. Vice President/Corresponding Secretary’s report: Received some memberships in the mail. Also received several requests for assistance in research. These were allocated to those members willing to help. Also, it was noted that the Society’s indexes of all births, deaths, cemeteries, etc. have not been updated since 1998 and probably should be brought to date.

5. Secretary/Treasurers Report: At this time the current bank balance for the Society is $205.95. Reminded all that dues for 2024 are due now and encouraged folks to get those in sooner rather than later. Minutes from the January 22nd meeting were reviewed and no changes were suggested. K. Freward made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s report and minutes as written; Fr. Pepin 2nd, all in favor. Passed.

6. Potential Programs & Activities: continued discussion of how to go about updating all the DCGS indexes. A plan is needed to accomplish this successfully, no one person can do this all and we all have to work together. Everyone needs to think on best ways we can do this together, bring ideas to next meeting so we can start writing a plan for this. Fr. Pepin also reminded the group that the Bay Sages had been interested in having our group speak to theirs this year – he will contact them and see if we can get on their 2024 schedule. A reminder was given to all that RootsTech starts this weekend and is a wonderful free research for family historians.

7. Newsletter Development: Discussed the next issue which should go out by the end of March. This is a good time to highlight women of Delta County (since its Woman’s History Month), Irish immigrants, (St. Patrick’s Day), and other springtime events. A request for stories about women ancestors in Delta County was made on the DCGS FB page, but sadly none have been received as yet. All articles need to be S. Whitman by 3/16 so she can complete the newsletter in time.

8. Other Business: We will not be able to use the Family Search Center for future meetings after March 2024. Other venues were discussed, and Bay College seemed like a logical place since it is easily accessible and they do not charge for meeting space. We will have to change meeting times in the summer since the college has shorter hours then. Pres. Reiffers will make the arrangements. It was also agreed that the May meeting be changed to the 20th, since the 27th is Memorial Day.

9. The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 PM (K. Freward motioned, Fr. Pepin 2nd, all approved). The next DCGS meeting is Monday, March 25th, 6:30PM at the Family Search Center.

Delta County Genealogical Society - Meeting Minutes
Family Search Center - January 22, 2024

Officers Present: R. Reiffers, S. Whitman

1,2. The meeting was called to order by President Richard Reiffers at 6:30 PM. Introduction of new members were made and genealogy research issues were discussed. The agenda was approved with no additions.

3. President’s report: Notices about tonight’s meeting were published on the DCGS FaceBook page and in the local newspapers. Discussed a FB contributor who seemed to flood the FB page with memes and it was felt the important items posted on the page tended to get lost because of all of these memes. Pres. Reiffers indicated he would try to address this as tactfully as possible in the coming days.

4. Vice President/Corresponding Secretary’s report: No report due to VP Freward’s absence. Fr. Pepin made a move to approve the minutes from the October meeting that she recorded, once a typo was corrected. K. Sagataw seconded – all approved.

5. Secretary/Treasurers Report: At this time the current bank balance for the Society is $105.95. The USPS P.O. box rental was paid on 11/15/23 for 6 months, at a cost of $105. Reminded all that dues for 2024 are due now and encouraged folks to get those in sooner rather than later. Also reminded all that anyone can post genealogical info on the DCGS FB page to help researchers who are following us and to keep interest in the page. At this time, very few people are posting anything and we need to keep interest alive. Those in attendance did have ideas and will post what they can.

6. Potential Programs & Activities: Discussed the upcoming Rootsweb Conference at the end of February, which when attended virtually is free to anyone who registers. Fr. Pepin also mentioned the Genealogy TV YouTube channel which can be very helpful with research. Agreed that those items needed to be shared on the DCGS Facebook page. Also, everyone should think about ways we can do more outreach to the community to promote the society and garner more members.

7. Website Updates: Nothing to report at this time.

8. Newsletter Development: Discussed the next issue which should go out by the end of March. A recommendation was made to refresh and republish articles in older newsletters, but the problem is that the older issues are missing from the library and there are very few available from attending members. K. Sagataw feels there may be some old editions in the files here at the Family Search Center and she will look.

9. Other Business: None at this time – Pres. Reiffers mentioned he has some upcoming procedures that have to be taken care of and he is not sure how available he will be for the next month or so. He’ll keep everyone posted.

10. There being no other business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:20 PM (Fr. Pepin motioned, K. Sagataw 2nd, all approved). The next DCGS meeting is Monday, February 26th, 6:30PM at the Family Search Center.

Delta County Genealogical Society - Annual Meeting Minutes
Family Search Center - September 25, 2023

1. The meeting was called to order by President Richard Reiffers at 8:05 PM. The agenda was approved with no additions. Discussion was held about the success of the Open House just completed prior to the meeting, with over 20 folks attending. Unfortunately, no new members are attending the business meeting.

2. President’s report: Pres. Reiffers was on the radio the morning of Sep. 14th at 8:30 AM through Radio Results Network to promote the DCGS and our Open House. He stated that information for the meeting was also printed in the Escanaba Daily Press and the Action Shopper. He also displayed posters in a couple of areas and feels that everything everyone did to promote the event made it successful.

3. Vice President/Corresponding Secretary’s report: Nothing new to report at this time.

4. Secretary/Treasurers Report: K. Freward made a motion to accept the minutes from August 28th as written, 2nd by K. Sagataw; unanimously approved. Sec. Whitman disseminated a spreadsheet showing receivables and payments made by the society for the past year.At this time the current bank balance for the Society is $210.65. She stated that in order to fulfill the requirements of the annual audit, she would have the bank review the records at the end of the year. There should be no charge for this and should suffice as an accountant would cost a lot of money that the Society just doesn’t have. Also reminded folks that membership dues are due in January.

5. Website Updates: Fr. Pepin is continuing to update the meeting notices/minutes etc. as needed.

6. DCGS By-laws Review/Revisions: After review of the by-laws, it was determined by all that there was no need to revise anything at this time.

7. Nominations of Committee Chairs: Since no new members were present and it was determined after review of the by-laws that any member could chair a committee (including officers), K. Freward offered to chair the Library Committee and S. Whitman offered to chair the Newsletter Committee. All were in favor; it was agreed that we would table the Membership Committee chair until a later date.

8. Newsletter Development: S. Whitman will be writing up a story on the Open House tonight for the Fall edition in the next day or so, so it can go out by the end of the week. The rest of the newsletter is completed. She reminded folks of the holiday-type theme we will have for the next newsletter, which should go out a week or so before Christmas. K. Sagataw had offered to write an article on the importance of journaling, Fr. Pepin was going to contribute one about French Canadian holiday customs, and S. Whitman also wanted to write about family traditions. Articles should be submitted no later than mid-November so as not to interfere with the holidays and everyone’s busy-ness during that time.

9. Other Business: Sec. Whitman thanked everyone for their hard work in promoting, setting up, speaking, and everything done to help make tonight a success.

10. There being no other business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:45 PM (K. Freward motioned, Fr. Pepin 2nd, all approved). The next DCGS meeting is scheduled for Monday, October 23rd, 2023 – 6:30PM at the Family Search Center.

Delta County Genealogical Society - Meeting Minutes
Family Search Center - August 28, 2023

Officers Present: R. Reiffers, K. Freward, S. Whitman

1. The meeeting was called to order by President Richard Reiffers at 7:08 PM. The agenda was approved with no additions. K. Freward made a motion to accept the minutes from July 24th as written, 2nd by R. Reiffers; unanimously approved.

2. President's report: Has scheduled a radio interview for Thursday, Sep. 14th at 8:30 AM through Radio Results Network to promote the DCGS and our upcoming Open House. They will also provide several PSAs on their radio stations about the event. He apologized for not getting the notice of this meeting on social media - he thought he had done so and does not know what happened. It did run in the Escanaba Daily Press twice in the last 2 weeks. He stated that Fr. Pepin has had some medical issues/procedures and has not been able to contact the speaker for the Open House. Pres. Reiffers stated he would be happy to talk to the group about the Society and about its history.

3. Vice President/Corresponding Secretary's report: VP Freward is working on a new brochure for the DCGS and will have it done by the Open House. Is also working on a display board for the event.

4. Secretary/Treasurer's Report: At this time, the current bank balance for the Society is $213.32. Did pay the bill for the website domain name - this is a $35 annual fee. Also brougbt up the importance of having ZOOM meetings (or other platforms that are similar) to make it easier for more people to be involved. Sec. Whitman stated she was not an expert at this, but we need to find someone who is able to do this soon so we can grow our membership and include all current members in our meetings. She also suggested that we change the content of our monthly meetings just a bit, to include time for folks to talk about research issues and family history, since new people come in every so often to the meetings wanting to do this. We all also have our own questions and stories to tell. It was thought by all that this was a good idea - we could start earlier (6:30 PM) and take about 45 minutes to discuss research/family history and about 45 minutes to conduct the buismess side of the meeting. We could begin this in the new year.

5. Website Updates: No report.

6. DCGS Annual Meeting: Discussed all the work and items needed to bring together a successful event: content, refreshment, handouts, displays, etc. Everyone is chipping in to help and we will start set up at the Family Search Center at 5:30 on the night of the event.

7. Newsletter Development: We have quite a bit of content that folks suggested/offered in the past month, so we will use those. K. Freward will write about family surnames members are searching, to see if others may have the same connections and can help/work together. She will get that submitted as soon as she can. S. Whitman enouraged others to submit content as well.

8: Other Business: VP Freward stated that the Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians will open enrollment to new tribe members in Feb. 2024, and that many folks want to research their families to see if they can prove their connection to the Tribe in order to be enrolled. This means that the Family Search Center could be very busy, so she will looking into exactly what is needed to prove tribal connections so she is ready for the influx. It was also thought that this effort would be a good news article for the Spring edition of our newsletter, so that folks know what they need and where to go for help.

9. There being no other business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:55 PM (K. Freward motioned, S. Whitman 2nd, all approved) The next meeting is our DCGS Annual Meeting and is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 25th, 2023 - 6:30 PM at the Family Search Center.

Delta County Genealogical Society - Meeting Minutes
Family Search Center - July 24, 2023

Officers Present: R. Reiffers, K. Freward, S. Whitman

1. The meeting was called to order by President Richard Reiffers at 7:04 PM. The agenda was approved with no additions. He also made a motion to accept the minutes from April 24th as written, 2nd by Fr. Pepin; unanimously approved.

2. President’s report: Has been in contact with the radio stations and they are willing to do PSAs free of charge for our annual meeting – Pres. Reiffers stated he has written up something for them to use for this purpose. He is working on contacting the person he needs to schedule a radio interview with, but felt it would be doable in plenty of time to promote the Annual Meeting.

3. Vice President/Corresponding Secretary’s report: We did receive another membership since last month; she has updated the membership list and emailed it to everyone. No other news to report.

4. Secretary/Treasurers Report: At this time the current bank balance for the Society is $228.32. Did receive the bill for our website domain name so will be paying that soon – it is $35/year. Thanked VP Freward for taking minutes at the last meeting.

5. Website Updates: Fr. Pepin has put the meeting notice at the top of the page so it’s easier for all to see. We also discussed what address to use for the Family Search Center, as it potentially has 2 addresses, and it was determined that the 1021 South 14th St. address is the correct one to use He also mentioned that he is working on removing the broken links he is finding on the site, but this is a very laborious process and will take time to find/delete them all.

6. DCGS Annual Meeting: Fr. Pepin has not had a chance to connect with Mr. Anzalone about speaking about a historical family of Delta County yet, but hopes to very soon. S. Whitman will do a short talk about DNA – It’s Value in Research and K. Sagataw will do a presentation on the Family Search Center. It was reiterated that each presenter would take only about 15-20 minutes for each segment. Discussion ensued about marketing of the meeting, refreshments, and potentially having video access to the meeting. K. Freward will put together display boards and will also update the DCGS brochures. S. Whitman encouraged everyone to stay in touch regarding the progress being made via email and texts so that things keep moving.

7. Newsletter Development: It was mentioned that the numbering of the newsletter editions was off just a bit – R. Reiffers had found the records on this and gave that info to be used starting with the next edition. The group then discussed potential articles for the Fall Edition. We will use Fr. Pepin’s article on the importance of talking to family to aid in genealogical research, he also suggested adding cartoons or short ‘quips’ to lighten it up – he’ll see what he can find. S. Whitman stated she would like to do a write-up on the Annual Meeting, which means the newsletter will probably go out a week later than usual, but feels it’s important to include. Some other suggestions were made for resources to be included and it was also suggested the hours the Family Search Center is open would be helpful to add. K. Freward will write about family surnames members are searching, to see if others may have the same connections and can help/work together. Try to get
articles to S. Whitman as soon as possible because she will be out of town quite a bit in the coming weeks.

The group also started discussing the winter newsletter and how we can tie it in with the holidays. K. Sagataw would like to contribute an article on the importance of writing journals to keep family history alive; Fr. Pepin would like to write about French Canadian holiday traditions since there are so many Delta County folks with that background; S. Whitman will write about Holiday traditions in general and the importance of keeping those alive. She asked that writers remember that the newsletter can only take so many words and that articles should be fairly short and to the point.

8. There being no other business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 8:04 PM (K. Freward motioned, K. Sagataw 2nd, all approved). The next DCGS meeting is our DCGS Annual Meeting and is scheduled for Monday, August 28, 2023 - 7:00PM - at the Family Search Center.

Delta County Genealogical Society - Meeting Minutes
Family Search Center - June 26, 2023

Members present: R. Reiffers, Fr. Pepin, K. Sagataw, K. Freward

Copy the form below, then paste the Form into an open blank document, print, fill in and mail it to:
Delta County Genealogical Society, Box 442, Escanaba, MI 49829-0442

Society Membership \ Meetings \ Minutes