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CGS member Mary Mettler is still on the road. She’s back in Vermont with installment number eight:

Greetings from Dorset, Vermont!

My ancestors from Suffield moved to Dorset and Rupert, Vermont around 1773. Suffield was becoming crowded, and my families seemed to be multiplying rapidly. My principal goal in Dorset is to research Cephas Kent and one of his sons, Cephas Kent, Jr. and their families and the Farnsworth family. Much has been written about Cephas Kent, as his Tavern in Dorset was the site of the first four conventions that ultimately led to the founding of Vermont. Cephas Kent, Jr. is one of my Revolutionary War Patriots and the subject of intriguing Kent family lore.

Cephas Kent Tavern, site of the Dorset Conventions.

All good genealogists should be very skeptical of family stories passed down over the generations. There always seems to be a nugget of truth in them; however, like a snowball rolling down a hill, the story seems to grow bigger as it descends through generations. According to the Kent family tradition, Cephas, Jr. was an Aide de Camp to General Richard Montgomery at the battle of Quebec. General Montgomery supposedly died in his arms. Wow, sounds like a great story, doesn’t it? So powerful was this tradition that Tyler Resch included it in his well-researched book on Dorset! But where was the proof? I had stumbled across a footnote in a book that indicated that Cephas, Jr. had kept a diary during the War. It was in private hands in 1908, so I emailed and wrote many of the libraries and historical societies in New England. After two months of searching, Pat Carmichael, a volunteer at the Dorset Historical Society (DHS), found a copy of the diary in an uncataloged envelope! Again, a generous person has come to my aid! She also opened the DHS Library for me for two days that the Library is usually closed.

Pat Carmichael in front of the Dorset Historical Society.

Alas, the tradition is greatly exaggerated. Cephas volunteered as a “waiter” for Major Samuel Safford, the second in command of Lt. Col. Seth Warner’s Green Mountain Boys for the campaign that participated in the victory at Montreal. General Montgomery was the commanding officer of the New York, New Hampshire and Vermont troops. As a servant to Major Safford, Cephas, Jr. was occasionally around General Montgomery. He did stop his cooking and rush down to the water at Longueuil to fight with the Green Mountain Boys, who thwarted a crossing by the much superior number of English soldiers. This victory led to Montreal’s surrender. However, Seth Warner took the Green Mountain Boys home after Montreal, and they were not at Quebec. In his diary, Cephas, Jr. also reported leaving for home after Montreal fell, so he did not volunteer to stay. If General Montgomery died in anyone’s arms, most likely it was his only surviving Aide de Camp, Aaron Burr. Drat! Another good story turns out to be a fable!

Pat had other good materials ready for my arrival, and I found graves, family color and the usual birth, baptism, marriage, death, probate and land records. Again, I can only stress how generous and helpful the volunteers and genealogists are in the New England libraries and historical societies.

I’m off to West Point.

Your Genealogist on the Road,
Mary

Photographs courtesy of Mary Mettler.

Read the entire series:
Part One: Salt Lake City
Part Two: Indiana
Part Three: Pennsylvania
Part Four: More From Pennsylvania
Part Five: Washington D.C.
Part Six: Suffield, Connecticut
Part Seven: Vermont
Part Eight: Dorset, Vermont
Part Nine: West Point and Back to Pennsylvania
Part Ten: Some Final Thoughts From Home

Elizabeth O’Neal of Little Bytes of Life has honored me with the
I Heart Your Blog award. Thanks so much!

In her post, Sharing the Heart… I Mean, Love, Elizabeth gives the “rules” that accompany the honor:

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog.
2. Link to the person who gave you the award.
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4. Put links to those blogs on yours.
5. Leave a message on the blogs that you’ve nominated.

So many Genea-Bloggers have already received the distinction that I thought I would spread my blog-love to other genealogical and historical society blogs. Here is a sampling from around this country in alphabetical order:

Chula Vista Genealogy Cafe
Some of you may not know that the prolific Randy Seaver is also the president of the Chula Vista (California) Genealogical Society and writes a blog with Gary Brock for the society.

Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Blog
Miriam Robbins Midkiff started this Spokane society blog in July 2007. She is one of a team of writers including Donna, Charles and toppline.

Florida Genealogical Society (Tampa)
In June 2007, George Morgan outlined his board’s decision to establish a society blog and eliminate their “traditional” Web page and printed newsletter.

Grand Traverse Area Genealogy Society
Brenda K. Wolfgram Moore “be-bopped” this Northern Michigan society into the 21st Century in May 2008.

Bob Franks is publications editor of the Itawamba Historical Society and he is responsible for the beautiful photographs and content of this Itawamba County, Mississippi blog.

Moultrie Creek Online Historical Society
Denise Olson of Family Matters: Tech Support for the Family Historian created this “virtual society” blog to serve as a model and “learning center” for societies of all types to learn the “how-to” of bringing technology to an organization.

New Mexico Genealogical Society Blog
Robert Baca is an Alberquerque English teacher who teamed up with P.J. Easterly and created this state society blog in February 2008.

These are just a few of the fifty-eight Association and Society Blogs that Chris Dunham lists on the Genealogy Blog Finder, a fully searchable and up-to-date index of genealogically themed blogs. I’m sure you will find something there to love.

Whether you are interested in researching your family history or not, you have stories, family mementos and photographs in your home, some that have been passed down, generation to generation. This talk will give you an awareness of what you can do to ensure your family treasures are available for your descendants.

This is the description of a lecture that California Genealogical Society President Jane Knowles Lindsey keeps in her back pocket. Well, not literally, but it’s ready when the opportunity presents itself as it did recently when she was having a conversation with a new member. As Janiece Nolan tells it, “I just mentioned I had Rotary meeting right after I met Jane for first time and she asked if she could speak sometime and I said sure.”

Janiece Nolan, Steven Shagrin and Jane Lindsey.

Janiece is a long-time member of The Rotary Club of Rossmoor. The group meets every Wednesday at the Hillside Club House for a social hour, lunch and a speaker. Janiece made the arrangements with Rossmoor Rotary President Steven Shagrin and Jane spoke to them this week on Wednesday, September 10, 2008.

The Rossmoor group is the largest Rotary Club in the area, and among the most active. They have 75 members who are retired, semi-retired or are local business people from the surrounding community. Many in the audience were in the special position of remembering their grandparents and also having children and grandchildren of their own. As Jane pointed out, they possess knowledge of five generations – valuable genealogical information, even if they had never thought of it in those terms.

You may not be interested in genealogical research but you may hold the key to help others unlock family mysteries.

Lindsey told members that even if spending time in a library or at a computer researching their ancestry doesn’t appeal to them, there are simple things they can do to help forward the research of others, and more importantly, to pass down all that precious family information to their descendants.

Jane had several specific things that audience members could do but I won’t disclose them here – you’ll have to schedule her talk for your own group to learn the specifics. What I can give you is Janiece Nolan’s report: “Everyone enjoyed Jane’s talk and there were many questions and comments. People came up to Jane afterward to ask about CGS and express their appreciation.”

Jane Knowles Lindsey, a native of Massachusetts, received her R.N. degree from Boston University and practiced nursing until 1983. She is a past trustee and council member for the New England Historical and Genealogical Society and is president of the California Genealogical Society and serves on its board of directors. Under her capable leadership, CGS membership has grown and its circle of activities has been significantly enlarged. Jane’s specialty is events planning. She has arranged genealogical research cruises to Alaska, Canada and the Caribbean. In addition, she leads annual group research tours to major genealogical libraries in Salt Lake City, Boston and Fort Wayne, Indiana.

If your group is interested in hearing “Genealogy is Not Just for Genealogists” or another talk related to genealogy, please contact the society at 510-663-1358.

Photographs courtesy of Jane Knowles Lindsey.