Be Sure to Visit my new 1900 Galveston Storm Website at: http://freepages.genealogy.rootseb.com/~barnette 

GENEALOGY IN FEDERAL LEGISLATION

Family History Month and Hispanic Heritage Month are two recent bills being legislated on the Federal level in Washington, D.C.

The United States Senate has unanimously passed Senator Orrin G. Hatch's legislation designating October as Family History Month. Hatch's bill, S.R. 160, was co-sponsored by 84 other senators. The bill is expected to be signed into law by President George W. Bush.

In other legislation, President Bush has signed a proclamation designating September 15 through October 15 as Hispanic Heritage Month.

NEW HISPANIC WEBSITE

A new website that will interest those with ancestry in Northern Mexico is La Sociedad Genealogica del Norte de Mexico at http://www.ancestros.com.mx .

Written in Spanish this website offers information and links to other websites of interested in Hispanic and Mexican research.

MEXICAN WAR DESCENDANTS MEET

The annual meeting of the Descendants of Mexican War Veterans is being held today at the La Quinta, 1105 Highway 146 South in La Porte. Anyone unable to attend this meeting and interested in membership should visit the DMWV website at http://www.dmwv.org/

GENEALOGICAL CLASS

Paula Perkins Parke will teach a Beginning Genealogy Class at Grace Presbyterian Church, 10221 Ella Lee near Sam Houston Tollway in West Houston. This three part class will be held on Tuesday and Thursday October 16 and 18 from 2 P.M. to 5 P.M. The third class will be held the following week and will consist of a tour and hands-on census work at Clayton Library.

To enroll or to learn more about this class, contact the Becky Morris at the Grace Presbyterian Church Adult Education office at 713-267-5091.

SURFING THE INTERNET

Mic Barnette will lead a Surfing the Internet for Genealogy class at Houston Community College's 1681 Cartwright Missouri City campus. This class is a live three hour virtual tour of some of the best genealogical websites on the Internet. It will be held Wednesday October 17 from 1 to 4 P.M. For more information and to register, contact HCC at 281-835-5539.

MAKING SENSE OF THE CENSUS

Paula Perkins Parke will offer a class describing and explaining the genealogically rewarding information found in censuses and how to use it. Making Sense of the Census: Tips, Types and Repositories will discuss the normally used population schedules and the underused special schedules of the Federal censuses plus state, territorial and other censuses.

The class will be offered at Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church, 11612 Memorial Drive from 2 to 5 P.M. Wednesday October 17. For more information and to register contact the MDPC Adult Education office at 713-782-1710 extension 194 or 301.

BOCKSTRUCK SPEAKS ON TENNESSEE

Researchers interested in Tennessee research will want to attend the Dallas Genealogical Society's Fall Lecture on Saturday October 20. Lloyd Bockstruck, Genealogical Librarian of the Dallas Public Library, will be the featured speaker. His topics will include land, probate, census, military, tax, vital, civil and church records.

For more information email info@dallasgenealogy.org or visit the DGS website at http://www.dallasgenealogy.org

ALABAMA ROADS TOPIC AT AGS

The Alabama Genealogical Society will meet Saturday October 20 in Montgomery at the Alabama State Capitol Auditorium. Dr. Craig Mann, Mark Dauber, Jeff Benton, and James Walker will speak on the Federal and the Huntsville Roads their routes and the pitfalls of travel in those earliest days. For more information email Jyl Hardy at jylhardy@bellsouth.net .

NEWS FROM THE BOOKSHELF

With over 6,000 family associations listed it is simple to locate a family group researching one's own line. Elizabeth Petty Bentley and Deborah Ann Carl have completed their updated Directory of Family History Associations. The fourth edition of this popular directory is available for $38.45, postpaid, from the Genealogical Publishing Company, 1001 North Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD 21202.

Listed alphabetically by surname each family association entry features: addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, website URLs, contact persons, membership information, newsletter or journal publication information. It also tells if an association is for a specific family group or everyone of a particular surname.

The directory is based on information received in response to questionnaires sent to each society. Entries are sometimes supplemented by information found on the World Wide Web and other sources.