The Dallas Journal, Volume 51, 2005 Page: 2

Dallas Genealogical Society Turns Fifty

related to Dallas County, retained the same
format until December 1995 when it became the
annual Dallas Journal. Members were promised
a new format that would improve the quality of
published materials. The Journal would consist
of about 152 pages of Dallas County records
and instead of having abstracts of records
"chopped' into bits to fit the old quarterly
format, members would now receive their
information on full-size pages in easier-to-read
print, fully indexed.
A most important contribution to the
genealogical community has been the society's
monetary support of the genealogy section of
the Dallas Public Library. The DGS has made
large donations for materials, expansion of the
section, and even the purchase of furniture. To
celebrate its 50th anniversary, the society is
conducting a campaign to increase the number
of books in this section from 96,000 in January
2005 to 100,000 at the end of year.
True to its statement of purpose, the society
has copied, indexed, and published Dallas
County records. In addition to its periodicals,
the society has published such books and
microforms as Marriages in Dallas County,
Early to 1850; six volumes of Dallas County
Marriage Books; Abstracts of Dallas County
Divorces, 1846-1905; Dallas County Probate
Packets from 1846-1900; five volumes of data
from early cemeteries; newspaper abstracts for
the Texas Methodist, Texas Presbyterian, Texas
Baptist, and Southwestern Presbyterian; an
index to witnesses in Dallas County Court Civil

case papers from 1846-1900; a historical list of
Dallas County Justices of the Peace; and, to
celebrate the Dallas Public Library's 100t
anniversary in 2001, a book listing all the Dallas
County records of interest to the genealogist at
the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library. These
projects were accomplished through the work
and dedication of society volunteers including
Helen Mason Lu, Adrienne Bird Jamieson,
Gwen Newmann, Margaret Smith, Dr. Alan
Miller, Jim Monaghan, and Shirley Sloat.
Society members have been instrumental in
acquiring supplemental funding by identifying
and obtaining grant monies for special
acquisitions such as the City Directories
collection. And member Mike Basham ushered
the Genealogy Section into the computer age.
Attendance at the Computer Special Interest
Group meetings now rivals that at the society's
general monthly meetings. Hundreds of
volunteers have staffed the 8d floor sign-in desk
and welcomed and gently steered new
researchers into genealogy.
As the Dallas Genealogical Society continues
to build on its heritage, may its members keep in
mind those who will follow in the next fifty and
the next fifty years. To this end, may the Society
live long and prosper!
Sources: 1. Local History & Genealogical Society
Newsletters and Quarterlies, Dallas Public Library;
R929.10973 L 811L
2. Interview with Lloyd Bockstruck, Dallas
Public Library, 30 September 2005, Margret H. Pearce

2 Dallas Journal 2005