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The Family History Club has provided a valuable service to Morehouse Parish over the past two decades by collecting and preserving historical and genealogical records.
The club’s library of historical books and ancestral records have recently moved into a new, larger genealogical room at the Snyder Museum in Bastrop. Here one can find a treasure trove of information for the purposes of research and human interest.
“We have a vast collection at the museum,” said Fay Bowe, who is a charter member of the club. “To me, history is very important because it is ongoing. Morehouse Parish history is so interesting to delve into.”
Bowe said the idea for the club originated with O.L. Harper, who contacted her and fellow charter members in 1989 with the idea of starting a genealogical group to be affiliated with the Snyder Museum.
The Family History Club held its first meeting on Nov. 18, 1989. Meetings were originally held on the third Saturday of the month in the museum’s Coca Cola Arts Center. Today, meetings are held on the third Friday of the month in the genealogical room.
In addition to the library, the club has held seminars and workshops, cleaned and maintained a forgotten cemetery, visited historical places, presented interesting speakers and published two books of its own.
The first, “Known Burials in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana and South Ashley County, Arkansas” was published in 1994 after an exhaustive effort by club members to visit 79 cemeteries and record data from the headstones. Bowe said club members learned to use shaving cream to help decipher the inscriptions on aged stones.
The club has since published a second volume of burial records, which Bowe said includes some cemeteries in Ouachita Parish. Both volumes are available to the public in the Snyder genealogical room.
Bowe said the club has also been collecting information on all the churches in Morehouse Parish and plans to publish a book on church history in the future.
“We also have hopes to do a total history of Morehouse Parish,” she said. “That’s been a dream of ours.”
Bowe said the Family History Club preserves these records, not just for Morehouse Parish citizens, but also for visitors from out of town who can research their ancestors in the genealogical library.
“History is being made every day,” said Bowe. “It’s important to keep up with it. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
The club will meet at 2 p.m. today at the Snyder Museum. Current president Eloise Means said there will be a presentation on the history of the United Daughters of the Confederacy organization, and visitors are welcome to attend.
The Family History Club has provided a valuable service to Morehouse Parish over the past two decades by collecting and preserving historical and genealogical records.
The club’s library of historical books and ancestral records have recently moved into a new, larger genealogical room at the Snyder Museum in Bastrop. Here one can find a treasure trove of information for the purposes of research and human interest.
“We have a vast collection at the museum,” said Fay Bowe, who is a charter member of the club. “To me, history is very important because it is ongoing. Morehouse Parish history is so interesting to delve into.”
Bowe said the idea for the club originated with O.L. Harper, who contacted her and fellow charter members in 1989 with the idea of starting a genealogical group to be affiliated with the Snyder Museum.
The Family History Club held its first meeting on Nov. 18, 1989. Meetings were originally held on the third Saturday of the month in the museum’s Coca Cola Arts Center. Today, meetings are held on the third Friday of the month in the genealogical room.
In addition to the library, the club has held seminars and workshops, cleaned and maintained a forgotten cemetery, visited historical places, presented interesting speakers and published two books of its own.
The first, “Known Burials in Morehouse Parish, Louisiana and South Ashley County, Arkansas” was published in 1994 after an exhaustive effort by club members to visit 79 cemeteries and record data from the headstones. Bowe said club members learned to use shaving cream to help decipher the inscriptions on aged stones.
The club has since published a second volume of burial records, which Bowe said includes some cemeteries in Ouachita Parish. Both volumes are available to the public in the Snyder genealogical room.
Bowe said the club has also been collecting information on all the churches in Morehouse Parish and plans to publish a book on church history in the future.
“We also have hopes to do a total history of Morehouse Parish,” she said. “That’s been a dream of ours.”
Bowe said the Family History Club preserves these records, not just for Morehouse Parish citizens, but also for visitors from out of town who can research their ancestors in the genealogical library.
“History is being made every day,” said Bowe. “It’s important to keep up with it. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
The club will meet at 2 p.m. today at the Snyder Museum. Current president Eloise Means said there will be a presentation on the history of the United Daughters of the Confederacy organization, and visitors are welcome to attend.
