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A few of the books donated to CGS by Marya Myers

CGS has recently received three more donations to our library. The first, and largest, is from Marya Myers of Marin County. Her donation includes about 400 books plus a number of periodicals that will fill out our collections. Among the books are general reference books, books on Colonial America, the United Kingdom, New England particularly Rhode Island and New York, and many more.

Marya C. Myers was a Certified Genealogist and the author of numerous articles published in the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, and The American Genealogist, among other journals.

The Library Committee has just started processing the donation. Volunteers first will identify any books that we do not already hold and add those to our library. We will also retain volumes that are more current editions and those in better condition. Duplicates will be sold either on eBay or made available to our members in exchange for a donation to the library.

Andover, MA map donated by Mary Lou Grunigen

Another recent donation, by Mary Lou Grunigen, is a wonderful historic map of Andover, Essex County, Massachusetts in 1692, the year of the infamous witch trials. A reprint of a 300th-anniversary map compiled by the Historical Societies of Andover and North Andover in 1992, this beautifully hand-drawn map shows individual houses labeled by owner name, such as Wid. Allen, T. Abbot, and W. Lovejoy. It also shows the local burying ground and garrison house, gives the names of creeks and bridges, and indicates which houses were associated with witchcraft at the time. Library Committee member Phillip Hoehn has agreed to catalog the map for our growing collection.

Last week, CGS Board Member Rich Kehoe met me at the library to help schlep about 130 historic phone books and directories into our library. These were donated by Scott Keller, who acquired them several years ago from a man who had used them to track down heirs of unclaimed estates. Scott had intended to continue the work as a way of making extra cash but his full time firefighting job in San Francisco did not allow time to pursue the project. Most of the directories are for San Francisco and other Bay Area cities but some come from other states.

We appreciate the generosity of all of our donors.