A little history from our Chapter President.

Below is a summary of the chapter's history & the president's info...

Paulding County Chapter OGS
By Terri Gorney

In the mid 1980s, a group of Paulding County residents held a meeting about forming a genealogy society.  Paulding County was one of the last counties in Ohio to form a genealogy chapter associated with the Ohio Genealogy Society.  Most of that original group is now gone.  Marilyn Smith and Sue LaFountain are charter members and are officers in the society today.

The first project the new society undertook was the original Paulding County Cemetery book which came out in 1986.  Ray Keck was the compiler and editor.  A number of people contributed to it.  It was a major undertaking for a beginning project – to index every known cemetery in the county.

On 18 September 1987, the genealogy society received its charter from the Ohio Genealogical Society.  Shortly after that the First Families of Paulding County was created.  It honors all ancestors who were in the county by 31 December 1880.  Every year, a banquet is held on the
fourth Sunday of October.  The twenty-fifth anniversary of this society was celebrated in 2013.  Ray Keck was Chairman of this honorary society until his death earlier this year. Marilyn Smith has graciously agreed to step into this position. 

Ray Keck donated over 36,000 hours indexing vital records of the county and working on applications for the First Families.  Ray’s indexing projects became books that the society sells.  Many others have donated their time and talents over the years, including; Glenna Doster, Gloria Fast, Marilyn Smith, Sue LaFountain, Dave Betts, Karen Sanders, Kay Stoller, Diana Coy and our new Media Chair Rhonda Feasby.  It has been my pleasure to know and work with this group.

In 2012, Century Families of Paulding County was founded.  The date changes every year.  All those that have ancestors in the county by 31 December 1916 are eligible for membership. Karen Sanders is Chairman of this society.

I attended my first meeting in the fall of 1992 and joined the chapter and First Families of Paulding County.  My mother, Barbara Pio Gorney, and I were made to feel welcome.  I have five generations with roots in the county.  Vice President Dave Betts started coming a couple years after myself.

In the fall of 1994, I became president of the organization.  I have been president ever since this time.

Over the years, we have had a good relationship with the Paulding Carnegie Library.  Our collection is housed there and we hold most of our meetings there.

Rhonda Feasby is bringing the society into the digital age. It started with typewriters, then floppy discs, then discs and CD, and now flash drives.  We are looking forward to a new website, the new facebook page; Paulding County History and Genealogy & where the future takes us...

Thank you

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