WCGS Meeting - October 2011 and Info on November 2011 Meeting

WCGS VP Pat Goebel has this to report on the October 2011 general meeting.

The October meeting of the Williams County Genealogical Society met at the Annex to the Bryan Public Library.  The guest speaker was Janette Calland from Port Clinton.  She enlightened everyone with her stories of some of the women spies during the Civil War, both from the North and South. These women had to be smart, charming, charismatic, strong willed and loyal to their cause.  Among them was Rose Greenhow, a widow, in Washington DC, a southern sympathizer but the Union didn’t know it. Rose “entertained” many Union generals, collected information from them on the troop’s whereabouts and then slipped the information to curriers who delivered the information across the river to Confederate officials.  Elizabeth Van Lew, from the North, began working on behalf of the Union. When Libby Prison was opened in Richmond, Van Lew was allowed to bring food, clothing, writing paper, and other things to the Union soldiers imprisoned there. She aided prisoners in escape attempts, passing them information about safe houses and getting a Union sympathizer appointed to the prison staff. Prisoners gave Van Lew information on Confederate troop levels and movements, which she was able to pass on to Union commanders.

Mary Touvestre, a black woman, helped free slaves by helping them escape to the North by ships.  Last but not least, was data on Harriet Tubman. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves using the network known as the Underground Railroad. These are but a few of the brave women from both the North and the South who believed in their cause during the Civil War.

The next meeting will be Monday, November 14, 2011, at 6:30 pm, in the Harmon Room of the West Annex, Bryan Public Library, Bryan, Ohio.  The guest speaker will be Tanya Brunner, a Navy veteran who is currently working in the Defiance Co. Veterans Administration.  Tanya does research on local veterans, living and deceased, to preserve their history.  She will be speaking on “Prisoners of War”, both the Civil War and the War of 1812.  Anyone interested in the history of these veterans will gain much valuable information from her.  Come and enjoy a night out to socialize with many friends of genealogy. 

The purpose of WCGS is the preservation of county records and family research.  Monthly meetings are held on the second Monday of each month, excluding July and August, in the conference room of the West Annex of the Bryan Public Library. The public is invited to the meetings.

For further information concerning WCGS, visit the Website at www.wcgs-ogs.com or write to WCGS, PO Box 293, Bryan, Ohio 43506.