Summary of October’s Meeting

Summary of October’s Meeting

Disclaimer: Edited for public viewing.  This summary may not contain all items discussed in the business or public meetings.  Names mentioned are limited to Officers of OCGS.

Wow! What a fast year! The Okmulgee County Genealogical Society held its final meeting of the year on 10/25/2021. We will now take a Hiatus from meetings to enjoy the Holidays and will resume our meetings on January 25, 2022.

Research assistance will continue to be available during this period.

We will kick off 2022 with a very interesting program featuring Ronald (Ron) Graham, who among other things is the President of the Muscogee Creek Freedmen Band. Ron’s expertise is highly regarded in matters pertaining to the genealogy and history of the Freedmen. Our members in other states may be more familiar with the term “Black Indian”. The history and continuing story of the Freedmen is an important part of Oklahoma and what we are today.

After Abraham Lincoln was killed, several different proposals were made to take existing Territories and make a state named “Lincoln”. What is not well known, is one of these plans was to make the area we know as Oklahoma the state of Lincoln, with some unique proposals for its governance. Come learn more. You will not be disappointed.

Old business discussed during the year-end meeting was the confirmation of receipt of the 4 National Genealogical Society books ordered a few months back. These are part of the State Series outlining where to go in each state to obtain genealogy records and information. We purchased the ones for Oklahoma, Missouri, and Arkansas and a special one for researching Indian heritage in Oklahoma.

Everyone was reminded that we made a donation to the Muskogee County Genealogical Society to help defray expenses of their presentation in November featuring Maureen Taylor – The Photo Detective. Please visit the front page of our website to learn more about the presentation. This will be done through Zoom, is a live format which will not be recorded. There are a limited number of spots available so be sure to pre-register on the link provided.

New business consisted of the election of a new President to replace Barbara Cole. We thank Barbara for everything she has done as President for the last 3 years. She intends to remain an active member of the group. The incoming President will be Ralph Biggs. Because of Covid, and the evolving nature of genealogy, we asked Ralph for only a commitment of 1 year to help guide us through the unknown 2022 year. At the end of that time, we will re-evaluate what our society needs and who will be willing to help us move forward from there.

2021 was somewhat of a restructuring year, figuring out how to accommodate the new idea of virtual meetings. Some Societies have seen growth through this medium, some have seen decline. We managed to keep an even keel through the year. When we are able to meet in person again, we plan to come up with a combination which will suit everyone and hope to make our Society even stronger than before the Covid interruption. Our goal is more flexibility, more presentations, and more interaction among our members.
Special thanks, and recognition, was given to all those who have supported our Society in 2021, whether through participation or through monetary donations, or both.

The formal meeting was closed and an informal discussion occurred discussing what to expect in 2022 and what changes could be suggested going forward.

The first topic was whether there is an alternative meeting place for those willing to have meetings in person. No one suggested any place, and of course those present were comfortable in continuing meeting using Zoom. It is those who are not joining us virtually who we would like to better accommodate. If, anyone has any suggestion on where and how we could meet in person, please let us know.

Several projects were put forth as suggestions for discussion. Instead of trying to repeat them here it was decided that a “survey” or “questionnaire” would be assembled and sent out to the membership in order to get a better feel for what the members would like to see done, or things which they would be interested in participating.

We are very interested in hearing from our membership on how best we can approach 2022.

In addition, if you have thought of joining our group but did not, we would like to know what you would like to see in a Genealogy Society to meet your interests. Just drop us a line at ocgs@okmcgs.com

Everyone have a happy Holidays and we hope to see you in 2022!