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Super scanner Stewart Traiman has completed digitizing the documents contained in the John Ellis Hale files from our Manuscripts Collection. John E. Hale served as CGS President from 1979 to 1982. He was a dedicated family historian/researcher who spent forty years collecting, documenting and writing about his family and ancestors.

John was the son of Peter Morrell Hale and Katherine McRae. He married Ethel McRae Bemis. The collection includes these surnames along with thirty-nine additional surnames. The collection was donated to CGS in 2012 and was first indexed by Georgia Lupinsky. Georgia created a finding aid to the materials included in the ten archival boxes. Stewart has scanned the collection and expanded the index, which can be accessed from our website. To see the digitized images, click on the hyperlink found in the online finding aid.

John’s wife Ethel Bemis

Until now the only way that researchers could view these records was by visiting the library. Now, the digitized documents are accessible to all members on our website. Note: The collection includes additional material for persons still living that may only be viewed in person at the library. There is a total of 741 items in this collection, of which 432 can be viewed online. Many items are multi-page so there is a total of 1,973 viewable images.

The collection is organized by surname and includes family trees, fan charts, pedigree charts, biographies, newspaper articles, DAR documents, diplomas, certificates, and lots of photographs of individuals and of family homes. There is a 20-page personal account of the 1906 Earthquake and Fire San Francisco written by Marion Baldwin Hale in 1975. The collection includes a few personal letters and documents for Thomas McRae, who served as Governor of Arkansas in the 1920s.

Images in the collection are well labeled

This project is one of several efforts undertaken by the CGS Website Content Committee in an effort to expand the society’s offerings of unique resources as a benefit to our members.