Terrebonne Genealogical Society

TGS Newsletter
Vol. 19 No. 7 September 2000

Visit our home page at http://www.rootsweb.com/~laterreb/tgs.htm
Newsletter Editor Ed Hicks, 5306 Hwy.. 1, Raceland, LA 70394-2033
E-mail: edhicks@mobiletel.com                 Phone: (504) 532-3586

Membership and/or address changes:
Please send by mail to TGS, Station 2 Box 295, Houma, LA 70360-0295


NEXT MEETING Saturday, September 30, 2000
North Branch Library, Gray, LA 1:00 p.m.
Unusual weather was the hot topic at the August meeting. The bounty crop of “Love Bugs” this year was attributed to the drought, followed by heavy rain, and said to be the predictor of a bad hurricane season. Who knows about these things? And jelly fish in the bayous? Who ever heard of such a thing in South Louisiana? Mais, jamais!
We received our Summer quarterly thanks to Audrey Westerman and a small but active crew of collators who put it together. We have to thank Nancy Wright, Jess Bergeron, Maxie Champagne, Lou Ostheimer, Phil Chauvin, Jr., Ed Henry, Jim Avet, Dot Smith, Carolyn Daigle, Cecil Eschete, Marilyn Sonnier, and Essie Cavalier. Thanks to one and all.
The September meeting should prove interesting to the real genealogists in the society. We plan to have a Chart Meeting. That is, you are invited to bring your family group sheets, your ancestry charts, descendant charts, or whatever. Handwritten (in pencil, of course, to facilitate changes) typewritten, computer-generated, or whatever. The fancier the better. If you have pictures on yours, great! If not, it will still be great. We can appreciate the work that went into the simplest entry. You may just be surprised at the connections you can make. Even those of us with New England ancestors may find a cousin. We know, of course, that “All Cajuns are cousins,” but you may have a surprise or two waiting for you. And don’t be ashamed of old “Nonc’ Louis” who died of a gunshot wound received in a barroom fight. We want to hear the stories, too. The ancestor you are describing may be one of ours, also. Ran into a brick wall? Tell us about that. See you there!

BIRTH
Members Michael and Jackie (Ford) Thibodeaux are happy to announce the birth of grandson Jayden Joseph Thibodeaux who was born 25 August 2000 at 8:38 a.m., weighing 8 lbs. 13 oz. and measuring 21 inches in length. His parents are Mike and Shantel (Guidry) Thibodeaux, and he has one brother, Peyton Michael Thibodeaux.

DEATH
Member Jackie Ford Thibodeaux lost her uncle, Walter Seghers Sr. who died Friday, 9 June 2000. He is survived by his wife, Mary Louise Corbitt Seghers, a son, Walter Michel Seghers Jr., a daughter, Shelley Denise Hebert, three sisters, Marguerite Ford, Elaine Wingard and Mary Etta Blanche McCasland and two grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, Rene Frank Seghers Sr. and Marie Etta Mollere Seghers; four brothers, Rene F. Seghers Jr, Antoine Seghers, Edwin Seghers and Joseph Nemour Seghers; and four sisters, Pearl Richard, Olga Arnold, Lou Fos and Bernice Geraci. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of the Korean War and an avid genealogist.

LIBRARY SUPPORT
To quote from our by-laws, “The purpose of this organization shall be to encourage the science of genealogy, to help others gather genealogical information, to preserve, and publish material of historical and genealogical nature - all for educational purposes.” To this end, we have taken as one of our goals the support of the Genealogy Department of the Terrebonne Parish Library. We do this by donating exchange quarterlies that we receive from other genealogy societies, donating copies of the society’s books, donating copies of books given to the society by a third party, and directly purchasing genealogical research materials (microfilm and CD’s as well as books). We have also made large purchases that the library is unable or unwilling to commit to, such as the first computer in the library, and the only microfilm reader/copier. Over the last seventeen years the cumulative total of our support is $44,000.00 or more. Your support of the society by your continued membership and purchase of our publications has made this possible. The society thanks you and the library thanks you. You have the satisfaction of knowing that you have not only helped yourself in your search but have helped untold generations in their search for their family roots. Aren’t you glad?

LIBRARY QUERIES
One way the library can thank you is by looking up something in a resource that you may have trouble accessing. If you have a query that you think Dorotha Horvath or one of the other librarians can help you with, and you have access to e-mail, try to put your query into words and dates and send them a message at the following address <north.b1tb@pelican.state.lib.la.us>

CONFERENCES & SUCH
     October is Family History month, and to recognize that fact, the Terrebonne Parish Library is hosting a Beginner’s Genealogy Workshop on October 21 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Dorotha Horvath is doing the planning, so she recruited several of our Board Members to help her make the presentations. As we went to press, details were unclear, but some topics were: Genealogy on the Internet, Handwriting, Courthouse Records, Cemetery and Church Records and Genealogy Software.
     The Founders of Natchitoches, Inc. are kicking off their 20th Annual Conference with a “Dutch treat” dinner at the Ryder Inn restaurant at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, October 6, 2000 to honor their speakers, Drs. Marietta LeBreton and John Price. Registration for the conference will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday, October 7, 2000 at Ryder Inn (formerly Holiday Inn) near the Chinquapin Room. After the morning session a noon buffet will be served until 1 p.m. At that time, a talk will be given on “Louisiana Gravestones.” No deadline for pre-registration was given, but you should contact Mrs. Betty G. Jones, Secretary-Treasurer at 401 St. Maurice Lane, Natchitoches, LA 71457 phone: (318) 352-3774 as soon as possible. Please remit your 2000 dues and the cost of registration and the noon meal -- a total of $30.00 -- plus a small donation toward the expenses of the conference in the next few days. You might even want to plan to come early during the week and tour Historic Natchitoches (1714). If you need to do research in the area, be sure to visit the Natchitoches Genealogy Library on the 2nd floor of the Old Courthouse, then tour the Old Courthouse Museum. Sounds like fun!
     In the New Orleans area, the Irish Special Interest Group of the Jefferson Genealogical Society is sponsoring a Workshop on Irish Genealogical Research on 2 December 2000 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at John Calvin Presbyterian Church, 4201 Transcontinental Drive, Metairie, Louisiana. Featured speaker will be Elizabeth Kelley Kerstens, CGRS, Co-director of the National Genealogy Society Research Trips to Ireland and Editor of Genealogy Computing. Registration is $20.00 until 15 November, $25.00 after that date, on-site registration 8-9. It includes coffee, soft drinks, and free parking, but not lunch, considering how many good restaurants are in the Metairie area. Mail registration and payment to Irish Workshop, 301 Jefferson Heights Ave., Jefferson, LA 70121 soon. Lectures will focus on finding Irish origins in U.S. sources, separating fact from blarney, research strategies and case studies.
     If you are serious about your Spanish heritage, you will want to look into the Historic New Orleans Collection’s sixth annual Williams Research Center Symposium, Bourbon Louisiana: Reflections of the Spanish Enlightenment, which will be held Saturday, 20 January 2001. The full day’s events will be held in the Grand Ballroom of the Omni Royal Orleans. The line-up of speakers includes Dr. Ralph Lee Woodward, Jr.,  Dr. Gilbert C. Din, Dr. Vicente Ribes, Universidad de Valencia, and Dr. Sylvia Hilton, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, who will speak in the morning. Afternoon talks continue until 3:30 p.m. followed by a reception until 6:00 at the Williams Research Center. Contact: Symposium 2001, Williams Research Center, 410 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA 70130; Telephone 504-598-7171, before January 5, 2001. If your calendar is filled up for January 2001, the symposium will be repeated in Spain at the end of March, 2001, at the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, outside of Madrid. No contact name was given, but I’m sure anyone at the Williams Research Center will be willing to answer your questions. Just call 504-598-7171. Advance registration for the symposium (required by 5 January 2001), including refreshment breaks and the late-afternoon reception, is $25.00. On-site registration is $30.00. Student admission is $10.00 with a current ID card. Reduced rate parking will be available near the Omni Royal Orleans for those attending the symposium. Ask for the reservation form when you call.
 

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