National Grigsby Family Society Grigsby Gazette Fall/Winter 2019 / Vol. 34 / No. 2 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE By Matt Beard 2019 President, NGFS/NGPF Hello Everyone, As we approach the end of 2019, I hope that all of you have enjoyable holiday experiences and memories that you can share with family and friends for years to come. The NGFS Board of Directors and volunteer staff met on October 26, 2019, in Las Vegas, Nevada, to determine where the organization is going and to plan for the upcoming year. One of the NGFS Website big events to come is the 2020 Triennial Reunion to be held in www.grigsby.org Santa Claus, Indiana – from Thursday, August 13, through NGPF Website Sunday, August 16, 2020. www.grigsbyfoundation.org Plans for the reunion are well underway (see articles starting on Facebook Page 5), and the Triennial Committee needs to know how many NatGrigsbyFamilySociety people to expect at the event. Be sure to attend; bring as many of NGFS Annual Dues your immediate families as you can. Contact René Chadick to let Single: $35 her know how many people to accommodate. The location Member & Spouse: $50 selected is near Lincoln State Park in Lincoln City, Indiana, Send membership dues to: (Continued on Page 2) Marcia W. Johnson NGFS Administrator 1627 Pine Drive What's Inside Grove, OK 74344-5503 1 President's Message 12 Editor's Corner 13 Letters Send articles, photos, letters, 3 Administrator's Note 14 Liberty Hill Update ideas for the Gazette to Judy 5 Triennial Reunion 2020 15 Why Y-DNA? Ermold by March 23, 2020 6 Triennial 2020 Itinerary 18 NGFS/NGPF Officers Email: 9 2019 Board Meeting 19 Board Members judyermold@sbcglobal 12 Member Spotlight .net 20 Committees or write: 37 Old Westbury Lane Webster Groves, MO 63119 Gazette 1 President's Message (continued) and many other attractions that involve Abraham Lincoln and the Grigsby family – including George Honig's historic "Abraham Lincoln's Forest College" mural, on display at Rockport Elementary School. I would also like to address the receipt of donations to the National Grigsby Preservation Foundation (NGPF) that have been received in late 2018 and early 2019. These donations are very helpful in continuing the projects that the NGPF is pursuing, which includes DNA testing and research. One specific donation was for $10,000. We are sincerely grateful for this generous sum, which will help define specific markers in the DNA of the various Grigsby lines. Although I would like to share with you the name of this member, we are unsure if he would like it known at this time. To all donors, thank you for your contributions. One of the final acts of the board this year was to elect Sally DeSantis as the upcoming president of the NGFS and NGPF for 2021. In her previous presidency, Sally had started some programs that she would like to take forward in the coming years to change how the society interacts with the membership. I feel that she will make changes that will get more people involved and still be able to share genealogical information to current members. As I made the society aware after the 2018 Board meeting, I am stepping down from my various responsibilities and we are splitting up these duties to others so that they can provide new ideas and direction. I will still be around as the immediate past president, which is an unelected position on the board until the current president steps down. I have told Sally that I will support her with the upcoming changes. Also, if you have ideas of what you would like to see happen, or if you feel you can help out, please let us know. Send a message to any of the NGFS Board members and let them know. The email and physical addresses can be found on the last page of each issue of the Grigsby Gazette. Speaking of which, I would like to thank Judy Ermold for her work in putting together the Gazette and finding articles and information to include in each issue. Having performed the job of the Gazette editor for a number of years in the past, I know how difficult it can be. If you like the work she does, please let her know. The same can be stated for each of the volunteers for this society. It has been operating for 40 years with many volunteers giving their time and money to make sure that the society continues. Sometimes it can be a thankless job, but a few encouraging words can really help keep people going and involved. From me to the rest of you, thank you. Looking forward to seeing each of you at the Grigsby Triennial Reunion next year. Matt Beard President NGFS/NGPF Gazette 2 ADMINISTRATOR'S NOTES By Marcia W. Johnson NFGS Administrator 2019 It will take quite a while, if ever, for me to perform this role as well as Phyllis Bryant has done. Thank you for any and all correspondence during the first quarter of this year. Many of you have graciously prepared obituaries and memorials honoring our esteemed members. When these materials are submitted, they are published in the "In Memoriam" section of the Gazette, which is dedicated to remembrances. Reminders: Be sure to complete or update the Family Line form so your traditional Grigsby genealogy remains current. This is particularly important for new members: Family Line information enables us to make proper linkage to your Grigsby lineage and to process your full access to the Members Only website. Those who send payment via PayPal often overlook completing the member application and Family Line and mailing/emailing it to the Administrator. If I send you a reminder email notifying you of the needed documentation, please reply quickly so you can take full advantage of the Members Only site. Not doing so may affect your membership status. We appreciate notifications about any deceased members, as well as obituaries and photos. Thank you for notifying your administrator for any changes in personal information. The bracketed date after your name indicates the last time NGFS received your dues. If you see [2019], [L-Life Memberships], or [H-Honor – for those who are 80 years of age or older and have paid dues for at least five years], your membership is current. At this time, only about half our membership is dues-paying, reflecting the sustained support that the other half – those who have attained Life or Honor Membership – have so loyally displayed for NGFS in previous years. Because the future of the organization depends upon our ability to have a paying membership volume that supports the needs of all members, I urge everyone to recruit or pay membership for at least one other new member in 2020 for NGFS. NGFS Membership makes a great gift any time of the year, and particularly at the holidays or for a birthday. Increasing dues-paying memberships is even better than making a donation: As a 501(c)(7) non-profit social organization under the IRS, all but 35 percent of our NGFS income must come from dues. [However, our National Grigsby Preservation Foundation (NGPF) is a separate 501(c)(3) organization, operated for educational and charitable activities, that can accept grants and donations of any amount.] Continued on Page 4 Gazette 3 Administrator's Notes (continued) When making a donation through PayPal or personal check, please make sure you make it out to the appropriate organization: NGFS (National Grigsby Family Society) or NGPF (National Grigsby Preservation Foundation). NGFS is for membership dues and for non-tax-exempt donations intended to defray the operating expense of NGFS. NGPF is for tax-exempt donations to the Grigsby Foundation. If payment for membership is made in error to NGPF, the payment is returned, causing delay in membership processing. If you have any questions, please call or email me (my contact information is listed below). If you pay by check, please be aware that the length of processing varies, depending on timing and transmission factors. I routinely mail all checks received to the Treasurer at the end of every month. Therefore, it may take several weeks before a check clears your bank. If you need to know the status of the check processing, you may always contact me for information. Visit the NGFS website at www.grigsby.org for genealogical, publication, and membership information. To learn about the National Grigsby Preservation Foundation (NGPF), please visit our new, second website: The Grigsby Story: A Snapshot of American History, From The Publications of the National Grigsby Family Society – at www.grigsbyfoundation.org. This new site was developed by Matt Beard, with the assistance of the NGPF Committee. Comments and/or donations for this project are welcome! Comments only to: Donations only to: Sally Grigsby DeSantis, President (2020) NGPF Treasurer [payable to NGPF] 207 Garden Pl. c/o Randy Gentz, Robbinsville, NJ 08691-4161 10978 Willow Heights Dr. (609) 208-9334 landline Las Vegas, NV 89135 (856) 912-6028 cell (702) 499-2204 cell [email protected] [email protected] Dues reminders for 2020 will be sent out soon, but we urge everyone who needs to renew for 2020 to go ahead and do so. Please send membership renewal and payment to the address below or through PayPal – unless you are an Honor or Lifetime Member. Dues remain at the same yearly rate: $35, individual; $50, member and spouse. Currently, automatic dues payment annually is not available on the PayPal website. However, we will be looking into this capability. Marcia W. Johnson, Administrator 1627 Pine Dr.