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Today’s highlights in history provided

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Overlooked Revolutionary War general celebrated on 275th birthday in R.I.

<p>Researching of births, deaths, marriages and other data from churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton has taken a huge step forward, thanks to a partnership between the Northeast Pennsylvania Genealogical Society and the diocese.</p><p>The society has reached the 200-church mark of its project to scan all the church records going back to the earliest days of the individual churches. No longer will it be necessary for a researcher to visit or contact the individual churches for pre-1948 information or even wonder whether the church has been absorbed by another church.</p><p>Instead, a genealogist can visit the society&#8217;s research library in Hanover Township and view the comprehensive list of churches (both active and inactive) and the records on site.</p><p>There are two limitations. To protect privacy, the society is not putting the records online and is blocking the viewing of records of the past 70 years (currently since 1948). All the viewing has to be done in the research library. Of course, the 70-year marker is moved forward every year, making an additional year&#8217;s records available. For those off-limits records, a researcher would still have to contact the churches.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a wonderful partnership,&#8221; said Roseann Kebles, society president, of the cooperation between the society and Bishop Joseph C. Bambera of the Diocese of Scranton. &#8220;We&#8217;ve had a great response.&#8221;</p><p>With the records scanned in, each church gets its original records back plus a copy of the computer version. The diocese gets a copy of all the records.</p><p>Members of the society enjoy free access to the church records and other materials at the society&#8217;s headquarters, in the caretaker building on the grounds of the Hanover Green Cemetery, Main Road, Hanover Township. Non-members are charged $10 a day. Researchers outside the area should visit the society&#8217;s website at www.nepgs.com or Facebook page for instructions.</p><p>The goal, said society board member Ken Stoddard, is to complete the project by 2018, the 150th anniversary of the diocese and ensure that records will be available to all.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s security in having a digital copy,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There&#8217;s also the danger of constant handling of the old records.&#8221; Those old records have been kept mostly in big ledgers, many of which are crumbling and fading.</p><p>Once nice feature of the church list is the indication of the parishes&#8217; original ethnicities. Many of the churches in the huge, 11-county diocese grew up to serve various ethnic groups over the years. So even if you&#8217;re not certain of the church, you might consider which churches in a given area an ancestor might have attended based on the family&#8217;s ethnic background.</p><p><strong>News Notes:</strong> The Northeast Pennsylvania Genealogical Society will hold its monthly DNA program Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the research library. Visitors can learn all about the popular DNA tests. The society no longer sells the kits, but the visitor may bring one and be guided through its use. The library is open for research this month, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the first and third Thursdays, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on other Thursdays, as well as the second Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.</p><p>Don&#8217;t forget the genealogy workshop scheduled by the Luzerne County Historical Society on Saturday. It&#8217;s set for 10 a.m. to noon at the Bishop Memorial Library, 49 S. Franklin St., in Wilkes-Barre. Participants will learn all about the immense genealogy-related resources the society offers. It&#8217;s $15 for members and $25 for non-members. Email reservations@luzernehistory.org or call 570 823-6244 ext. 3.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Tom Mooney Out on a Limb </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web1_TOM_MOONEY.jpg</photo0><caption0>Tom Mooney Out on a Limb </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Tom Mooney</p><p>Out on a Limb</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Tom Mooney is a Times Leader genealogy columnist. Reach him at tommooney42@gmail.com.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Out on a limb: Genealogical Society consolidates local church records