Howard County Genealogical Society

Let Howard the Genie Guide You

Welcome! If you’re new to the site, I’m Howard the Genie (as in Genealogist!), and I’m here to help you find exactly what you’re looking for.

This page is your quick guide to everything the Howard County Genealogical Society web portal has to offer.

Getting Oriented

Here are the main areas of the site and what you’ll find in each:

HINT: The Green Text in the information below are all hotlinks. Click it to go to that area!

Home

Start here for the latest updates, highlights, and quick access to the Main Menu and key features.

If this is your first time on the website, or you just need a refresher, then START HERE!. This is a Site Guide, a roadmap, a list of where to go on this. Look it over for a bit. You just might find what you are looking for. Or maybe Ask Howard - Howard the Genie Guide.

Meet Howard – Hello there! I'm Howard! - Howard the Genie. I'm your Site Guide, Genealogy Guide, Messenger, and Assistant. I'll help you navigate the site. Let's get started, shall we?

About HCGS

Learn more about the Society and how it operates and functions. In this area you will find Membership and Board Meeting Minutes, Financial information, Volunteer Opportunities, How to make Donations, and the Company Store where we sell a number of publications.

Minutes - General Membership Meetings, Board Meetings
Governance - Bylaws, Policy & Procedures, Standing Committees, Protocols
Finance - Treasurer's Reports, Budgets, Reviews & Audits - any financial report
Volunteer Opportunities - How you can participate in and add to the life of the Society
Donations - Can't participate directly, but want to help anyway? Consider a donation to the Society!
Company Store - Paper and digital publications for Sale

Communications

Stay up to date with what's happening.

Ask Howard - Formerly "The Query Desk", Ask Howard opens up a world of information. This is where yo ask questions genealogy, offer insights into family history, or even report a password out of whack. Our members volunteer their time and knowledge to help each other out. We run the website, the Ask Howard desk, the programs, and the research. So, visit Ask Howard and tell us what's on your mind!
News & Announcements - General Announcements, Special Announcements, Emergency Announcements, News which may or may not have also appeared on a group "Blast Email"
Member Articles - Information that we need or want to pass along to members of the Society, A great forum for distributing "The Word" to everyone.
Contact - Many people have just gone looking for a way to send messages of all types to HCGS., Not a specific person, mind you, but somebody, anybody, who needs to see the info. That's what contact is for - an avenue of last resort. Send us the contact email message. Ask your question! I mean, it's not the "Magic Eight Ball" or anything, but we will get back to you.

Visit this section to stay informed, up-to-date, and to participate!

Events & Meetings

The most important thing for us, the member and the other genies (genealogists) of HCGS, is Communications - the back and forth of Genealogy. You ask questions. Your fellow genies give some answers. Everybody learns something. You are inspired to think, to link information, to put two-and-two together. You get questions answered. Information, Announcements, Articles, Stories, News. It's all here in Communications.

Events & Meetings -
Video Links - These are the Standard Links for the General Membership (Monthly) Meetings and the HCGS Board Meetings. Click the proper button to be taken directly to the site. Pro Tip: When you hover over the button, the actual link will appear in the lower left corner. Make sure they match! If not, Ask Howard to let the webmaster know!

Research & Collections

This is where the real treasures are - our research materials, tools, and historical resources!

Newsletters - This is our Newsletter Archives. The most recent Newsletter is at the top of the list!
Knowledge Base - Our List of Educational Materials, mostly links to specific scientific issues, new developments, new tips and techniques in the field of genealogy
Downloadable Files - An ever growing list of helpful files and documents - German Script, fan charts, Relationship Charts,
Links - If a helpful file or article or resource is available on another site, we'll give you the link. There is a Category Index that helps a lot.
Presentation Recordings - You know those presentations we have at the General Membership Meetings each month? Here's where we store the recordings. (Some recordings are temporary and have an expiration).
Surname Research - You may or may not be from around here (Howard County, that is), and the same is true of most of us. But we have a collection of Surnames we are looking for. So, who ya kin to?
Church & Cemetery Records - This is our collection of Church Marriages, Baptisms, and Cemetery Indices. Emory Baptist Church is featured as we have inherited their records.
Records & Publications Store - Paper and digital publications for Sale
Facts - Genealogy facts, tips, definitions, and knowledge useful or helpful for searching. May explain abbreviations or give definitions, usually for uncommon topics.
Library Catalog - Currently, this is a list of books that, as fellow genealogists, we like and recommend, not necessarily ones we have. There are libraries for that!
Galleries - Got Pictures? What genealogist doesn't! If you'd like to share, Ask Howard to reach out to the webmaster and we'll find ways to upload your prize possessions so everyone can enjoy.

Go here when you want to research, explore, discover, or hunt something down.

Join/Renew

Manage your membership status, membership plan, handle your renewal or modify your email settings to select which emails you receive. We originally thought of calling this "Membership Accounts" or "Membership Status" but, well, it was just too long for the menu. So, if you want to join, click here. If you are or ever were a member, then click Renew. If you are unsure, read the message. It will help.

Join or Renew Membership - Should you join or should you renew? Either way, here is where you do this. By the way, if you have ever, ever had an account here before, we know you! RENEW, don't join. Joining twice really messes up your account!
Profile - Change you password here at any time or modify your settings to determine what types of emails you receive - meeting notices, special events, messages from the president. Just read, decide, and click. And while you are here joining or renewing, take some time to look at the email settings - do you want the notifications about meetings? What about special events? And what about ... well, you look at the selections and check boxes and you tell us! Cheers!

Login

Login & Logout - If you are not logged in, this will prompt you. Follow the prompts. Forgot your password? It's still the right place for a password reset.

What Are You Looking For Today?

Let me try to point you in the right direction!

Family History Records or Research Materials
Visit Research & Collections
Past Presentations or Recordings
Go to Presentation Recordings
Information About the Society
Visit About Us
Upcoming Events or Announcements
Check Coming Events
Help with Research or a Question?
Ask Howard the Genie

A Final Word From Howard the Genie

If you are ever unsure where to go, just remember - I'm here to help. And there is the "Ask Howard" Query Desk and Contact, too!