As a member of the Wood County Chapter of The Ohio Genealogical Society you will enjoy these benefits:
1. New Member Kit sent to each new member. Each New Member Kit contains current year's Newsletters previously published, a Questionnaire with opportunity to share your background and express your genealogical needs, and Helper pages including "Wood County Courthouse Resources".
2. Chapter Newsletter published six times a year with an index to all names included in the Nov-Dec issue. Newsletters contain queries submitted by members, announcements of local and regional events, acquisitions, stories and extractions from Wood County resources.
3. SURNAME EXCHANGE providing opportunity for each member to "plant" his/her surnames of interest. The SURNAME EXCHANGE is maintained on a card file in the Genealogy Room and published annually in the July-August Newsletter.
4. Membership in First Families of Wood County - a privilege for any member who can document residence of one or more ancestors in Wood County by the end of 1855. $15 application fee. (Click here to download from website)
5. Membership in Settlers & Builders of Wood County - A privilege for any member who can document residence of one or more ancestors in Wood County between 1 Jan 1856 and 31 Dec 1900. $15 application fee. (Click here to download from website.)
6. Service from Genealogy Room volunteers who search indexes of resources, provide photocopies from books and microfilmed documents, and offer suggestions for further research. A Correspondence Research File (CRF) is maintained with cross-indexing to surnames being researched.
7. Group Day Trip to the Ft. Wayne/Allen County Library scheduled each fall for participants to do own research.
EDUCATION AND EXHIBITS
Wood County Chapter Exhibits are held the first week of August at the Wood County Fair.
Living History Day is held each August and involves the re-enactment of former Wood County residents who have died and are buried in Wood County cemeteries.
PROGRAMS
Meetings are held on the 4th Tuesday of September and October, then January through May. The November meeting is held on the 3rd Tuesday; optional meeting in June. Informative programs meet the challenges encountered in family research.
GENEALOGY ROOM
Chapter Resources and Workroom
Courthouse Square, Office Building, 1st floor
9:00 a.m.-Noon, Monday through Friday
The Genealogy Room is open to the public and staffed by member-volunteers. Our business phone - 419-354-9557 - is answered only during open hours.
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Chapter collections include: First Families and Settlers & Builders of Wood County files; one-room schools; churches; Bible records; vertical family files; SURNAME EXCHANGE; pedigree charts; Correspondence Research Files; cemetery & tombstone info; along with basic Wood County research books.
In-house computer databases include: burials, births and deaths, combined census of 1820-1920, and First Families of Wood County.
Chapter publications are available for purchase. (Click here to see list of publications)
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION (Click here for application blank)
CHAPTER GOALS
The purpose of this Chapter shall be to meet the educational needs of its members and the general public interested in genealogical and historical research. Leaders and members shall attempt to:
Assist individuals with interests in genealogy in tracing their ancestors, focusing on time period of Wood County residence.
Encourage the use of scientific methods of research and documentation by its members.
Receive, collect, purchase, and preserve manuscripts, books, records, and family histories and to make them accessible for use in genealogical research.
Publish and make available genealogical materials compiled by the chapter and its members when edited and approved by the Publications Committee.
PROJECTS
Provide opportunity for updating and adding to Collections of Cemetery, Church, Veteran, and other records.
Promote use of Chapter Website, with links to other useful resources - obituaries, Sentinel-Tribune, etc. Databases online 7/2010: First Families Index, Ancestors-on-Parade (5 generation charts), Bible Records, Wood County Cemetery Search (pictures of gravestones), and the Indexes to the 1850, 1870, and 1880 Agricultural Census.
Compile and publish indexes and extractions to, wills and estates, tax records, and other vital court records containing genealogical information.
LIBRARY TRUST FUND
The Chapter has established a Library Trust Fund for the Local History & Genealogical Department of the Wood County District Public Library in Bowling Green to help insure this collection is always maintained and allowed to grow. Â Gifts may be sent to the Chapter marked "for the Library Trust Fund."
Wood County Chapter of The Ohio Genealogical Society
P. O. Box 722
Bowling Green, OH 43402
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
