by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
Genealogy, the study of researching one’s ancestors, has become one of America’s most popular hobbies. A Web search will reveal close to 100 million sites devoted to the topic. All over the country, people have formed clubs and non-profit organizations to find out who their fore bearers were and help others do the same.
One of Jacksonville’s groups, the Southern Genealogist’s Exchange Society, Inc., (SGES) is 48 years old and growing, said its President, Betty Poag Reed, who has been a member of the society since 1998.
The group meets each week at its headquarters library near Blanding Blvd. on the Westside to study the subject. The members also conduct classes for people who wish to begin their own quest for their family tree.
Members of the SGES also spend quite a bit of time in the Genealogy Collection at the Main Library. The society maintains a collection of more than 6,000 research documents, also called “holdings,” at its headquarters. On a slightly larger scale, the inventory of resources including census data, birth and death records, marriage certificates and other documents at the Main Library tops 10,000 items. The collection is constantly growing and even going high-tech.
“We are currently digitizing the 1945 Florida census for Duval County,” said Senior Librarian Laura Minor. “The collection also includes City Directories as far back as 1870, but the collection is not limited to Duval County or even Florida. We also have data from Alabama, Georgia and other Southern states. Some of the records go back as far as the early 1800s.”
Genealogy appeals to many people because it can satisfy their curiosity about ancestors they never knew. That’s how SGES member Jon Ferguson got hooked on the subject 10 years ago.
“I’ve been interested in genealogy since I was a kid and the day my mother rattled off the names of her 16 brothers and sisters,” he said. “So far I’ve been able to trace my family back to the year 767. Once you get stared, you can’t stop.”
Reed said her interest began, “When my mother passed away in 1994. I invited all my brothers to dinner and we realized we had never heard our grandfather’s first name. We only knew his surname. That’s what started my quest. I think most people get interested in genealogy because they want to know more about their own families.” (She eventually was able to discover through marriage and birth records that her grandfather’s name was Benjamin Martin Poag.)
“Everybody has a story and a history,” commented SGES Vice President Bud Reed. “We all have a family tree with lots of roots and branches. Even among our SGES group we have found common relations.”
While discovering their own family history is a big part of the enjoyment SGES members get out of their hobby, sharing it with others is also important. While assistance is available for people who would like someone else to research their family history, the SGES also has an educational mission.
“It’s the same idea as if you give a person a fish, you have fed them for one day, but if you teach them how to fish, you have fed them for life,” said Elizabeth Reed.
“Almost every day people interested in genealogy come to the library to use our resources. We also have many resources on our Web site, but the most valuable resource we have is the expertise of our staff here at the Main Library,” said Minor.
Sometimes finding out about long-gone ancestors can include surprises. Elizabeth Reed said that’s what happened to her while she was filling in the branches on her family tree.
“I’m a good Southern girl. It was quite a shock when I found out my great-grandfather who lived in Martinsburg, Va. served in the Union Army.”
Skip Brown has been a member of SGES for five years and said in addition to learning more about his ancestors, genealogy has taught him things about life in America’s early days. The travails of life long ago can affect what type and how many records people left behind for today’s genealogists.
“It’s interesting to see how a family can change in a single generation,” he said. “Most of the people who emigrated to America in the 19th century were pretty well off and educated. After they came here, they headed for the frontier and their children never learned to read and write, so there often isn’t much written history. It makes me think what a fascinating time that must have been to live. Survival was their priority.”
The Main Library’s collection of resources for genealogists is located on the 4th floor and that’s where the hard-copy materials stay. They cannot be borrowed or sent to other branches. It has become one of the most popular reference departments in the library.
“People want to find out who they are and where they came from. People who have no sense of family history come here to discover their roots. It can be very emotional and touching,” said Minor.
The SGES is hosting a day-long conference Saturday at the Main Library titled, “Celebrating Family History,” part of The Jacksonville Public Library’s “Family History Month.” Topics will include “Where might my family be in the courthouse?” “Quirks of the Florida census,” “War and its hardship: using social history to understand the impact of the Civil war on a Florida family,” and “Documentation: proving the old family stories.”
For more information about Saturday’s seminars, call 778-1000 or visit www.sges.com.
356-2466