COGenBlog

A new brochure ” The Case for Open Public Records” was released yesterday by the The Records Preservation and Access Committee (RPAC). RPAC is a joint advisory committee of the National Genealogical Society, Federation of Genealogical Societies, Association of Professional Genealogists, Board for Certification of Genealogists, and the International Assocation of Jewish Genealogical Societies.

The new tri-fold brochure addresses the facts, pros, and myths for keeping public records open. It also gives guidelines for the access that we need.

The Committee has posted the brochure on the RPAC Web site and has given permission for local genealogical societies to reproduce it. Copies can also be ordered for 12 cents each plus shipping by contacting Jan Alpert at janalpert@aol.com.

The brochure follows the release of the “The Case for Open Records: A Position Paper” earlier this year by the Association of Professional Genealogists.

Open records has become a major issue for genealogists. Please take the time to educate yourself on the issue and share that information with friends, family, and your legislators.

Julie Miller’s monthly column is in the 15 June 2008 edition of the Broomfield Enterprise. The topic for June is “New Program could open access to wealth of records.” The column discusses the new genealogy program at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

A database listing patients and personnel from the Colorado State Insane Asylum was recently posted to the Pueblo County USGenWeb website.

The database was compiled over the past two years by a dedicated group of volunteers, headed by Jean Griesen as the volunteer coordinator. Karen Mitchell, coordinator of the Pueblo County GenWeb pages, has done a nice job of weaving the history of the Hospital and Legislation with the data.

Historic newspapers, census, interviews, and researcher contributions were used to assemble the more than 11,886 entries. Each entry in the database has the source noted.

Thanks to Karen and all the volunteers for making this outstanding resource available to Colorado researchers.

The site for the Colorado Tombstone Transcription Project is moving from its old address of <http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cemetery/colorado/colorado.html> to its new home at <http://www.usgwtombstones.org/colorado/colorado.html>.

Thanks to Valerie Eichler Lair-Smith for passing on this information. Valerie is in the final phase of preparing updated burial listings for Evergreen Cemetery in Colorado Springs. The Tombstone Transcription Project currently has Evergreen’s listings for 1856 to 1995, and 2001. When complete, the listings from 1996 to 2008 will be included. If you would like to help, contact Valerie at <valsroots @yahoo.com>.

The June 2008 edition of Denver Public Library’s Western History/Genealogy Newsletter is now available at the DPL Web site. Beginning in February this newsletter’s name was changed from “Manuscript Collection News” to reflect its newly expanded coverage.

Some highlights from this issue are:

• New Archive Finding Aids (4 collections: David F. Barry Papers, Mary Murphy Gold Mining Records, Robert Leaman Brown Papers, Ralph G. Norvell collection)
• Hidden Treasures (17 boxes of menus arranged by city and town, as early as 1875; Tom Currigan papers)
• Archives and Photo Donations (5 collections)
• Western History Donations (12 items)
• Conservation Collection Donations (3 items)
• 10th Mountain Division Donations (9 items

The newsletter also has links to past issues and numerous calendar events. If you haven’t looked at this newsletter lately, you’ll be impressed by its expansion. You can receive the newsletter by e-mail by clicking on the “Sign up now” link near the top of the newsletter.