HISTORY OF THE MONROE COUNTY CHAPTER

OF THE OHIO GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

When Juanita Rosenlieb attended an Ohio Genealogical Society mini-convention at Salt Fork State Park in 1984, officers of the OGS asked her for help. They expressed their desire to see an OGS chapter in Monroe County. Juanita helped organize a meeting in Antioch in August 1984. In accordance with the wishes of some at the meeting, the chapter was made a department of the Monroe County Historical Society. In September 1984, the first meeting of the Monroe County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society was held. Juanita Rosenlieb served as the first president. Other officers included: Vice President Gloria Whittaker, Secretary Mildred Mellott, Newsletter Editor Karen Romick, Query Editor Shirley Neiswonger, Book Purchasing Chairman Norris Whittaker. The Historical Society s newsletter was expanded to a quarterly newsletter called The Heritage.

By 1988 members of the Monroe Chapter agreed that in order for the chapter to realize its fullest potential, it would be necessary to become an independent organization. At a meeting held May 1, 1988, it was decided to separate from the Historical Society. The formation of the independent group was sanctioned by the state organization, the Ohio Genealogical Society.

With the support of its members, the Monroe Chapter has grown steadily and strongly since that time. Working toward its goal of promoting and preserving genealogical data, the chapter has worked diligently at publishing materials and building the resources of the Research Room.

A 24-page quarterly newsletter, The Navigator, is published in January, April, July and October. An annual index is published in December. The Navigator has been honored for excellence by the OGS in its annual newsletter competition.

The chapter has also published books to make local genealogical records available to researchers. In 1992, the chapter published Monroe County, Ohio Families. This volume was a biographical history of Monroe County. It was the first and only one of its kind ever done on Monroe County.

The chapter also maintains the Research Room for Local History and Genealogy at the Monroe County District Library. The chapter has purchased books, periodicals, microfilm, microfiche and CD-ROMs for the room. In addition, the chapter has received many donations (most notably of family histories) from its members. The chapter has also implemented a long-term project to hard bind all the items in the room. With the donations of members, the chapter has accomplished much of this goal.

The chapter is involved in several long-term projects. One project is the publication of the works of Catharine F. Fedorchak. Mrs. Fedorchak was the foremost genealogist in Monroe County. For over 40 years, she collected genealogical data throughout Monroe County. Following her death, the Monroe Chapter was given exclusive permission to reprint her works. Although she published a newspaper column for a Monroe County paper, the bulk of her work has never been published and has not been available to the general public until now.

Another project is the copying of cemetery inscriptions in Monroe County. Hoping to eventually publish all cemeteries in Monroe County, the chapter is working at this valuable and difficult task.

The Monroe Chapter will continue to work toward the accomplishment of their goals and welcomes you to join their effort to preserve the genealogical history of Monroe County.

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