Greater Sioux
County Genealogical Society

Newsletter

The Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society News

Temporary address: Sioux Center Public Library
102 S Main AV , Sioux Center, IA 51250

Volume 10- Issue 1 , January 2008

Join our Club! GSCGS yearly membership dues are $7.50 single and $10.00 couple/family. You will receive a membership card with meeting schedule on back, our yearly newsletter and upon request one hour of research. You will then be asked to supply us with your family history for our ever-growing archives.

Meetings: GSCGS meets in Sioux Center Public Library every fourth Monday of the month at 7:00 p.m. (Except May & December). Coffee & refreshments are provided. List of programs from last year are on page 2. The library is located at a temporary location since the fire destroyed it in July of 2003. After many stalemates over decisions and insurance settlements, a new library is now well on it’s way to completion! We hope to move in at the end of the summer of 2008. The GSCGS is grateful for the space designated to genealogy use currently and the plans included for the new library.

Internet Site: Check out our web page! Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society: http://www.iagenweb.org/sioux/ for the county site and http://www.iagenweb.org/sioux/GSCGS/GSCGS.htm for our site. With the help of our Sioux County and GSCGS site coordinator, Linda Ziemann, we have added a lot of new information and will continue to add more in the near future. We want to thank Gayle Harper for her past role as coordinator and all the hard work she put in on our page. Make this one of your favorites.

PROJECTS
Microfilming Newspapers: The past several years Frank Postma was given a big challenge to head the processes of getting the Rock Valley newspapers microfilmed. He has worked with the Rock Valley Library and the Rock Valley Bee newspaper on the steps needed to get grants and get this accomplished. A team of willing workers prepared the papers for microfilming at the Rock Valley Library and then they were brought to Cedar Rapids. The microfilming has been completed and the Sioux Center Library has a full set of the microfilm. A site is available at the Rock Valley and Sioux Center libraries to view the papers on line and can be digitally searched. <
A future project is being studied to have the missing issues of the Sioux Center News not microfilmed in the past microfilmed either in part or the whole. Frank Postma does an excellent job with heading these projects.

Surname Files: In five vertical (four drawer) file cabinets in the Genealogy Room there are about 6,000 separate surname file folders that can be searched for information on your family name. Over the years any genealogical type of information found about a surname has been put in the files. We encourage everyone with Sioux County Area roots to contribute their family history information to be put in these files, a GREAT RESOURCE! An index of the names in the Surname File is posted on our web page, http://www.iagenweb.org/sioux/GSCGS/GSCGS.htm

Meeting Programs for 2007 were:

1. January - "Myths & Facts of the Netherlands"
2. February - "Videos of Past, Present, & Future of Sioux County"
3. March - "Whats in a Name"
4. April - "How to use the Rock Valley Bee Web Page"
5. June -"Information on IA Gen Web and our Web Page"
6. July - "Sharing our searches & finds in the DeSmit family"
7. August - "Field trip & shared meeting at the Sioux County Historical Society"
8. September - "Sharing an old item with a Story"
9. October - "History of the Sioux County Courthouse"
10. November - "Year End Wrap Up"

The public programs are announced thru radio & newspaper media & on an e-mail list.

Census Projects: The entire 1880 Federal Census has been recorded on spreadsheets and sorted alphabetically by surnames. John E. DeZeeuw completed this project. It can be seen on our web page. Gayle Harper has done the 1870 Sioux County Census and also a 1900 census head of household listings by township. The 1885 state census transcription has been started but put on hold for the time being.

Obituary Card File: Obituaries from Sioux County newspapers are clipped and pasted on cards and placed in boxes in the Genealogy Section of the library. There is also a maiden and mother’s name index. This is an on-going project started with the 1980 newspapers and progressing to the current day. Minerva Van Peursem and Irene Schiebout are currently working on the obituary cards. This is a very helpful tool to find family history and current family members of the deceased.

County and Town History Book Indexes:
GSCGS members have indexed most all the Sioux County and town history or centennial type books.

County History Books Indexes:
‘Story of Sioux County’ by Charles Dyke 1942:, ‘Siouxland - History of Sioux County’, by Nelson Nieuwenhuis. Town Books Indexes: Alton, Boyden, Chatsworth, Caliope, Doon, Hosper, Hull, Ireton, Maurice, Orange City (2), Sioux Center (3), Rock Valley.

Newspaper (Local News Section) Indexing:
GSCGS is in the process of indexing the local news and correspondence sections of the area newspapers. This is a very tedious task but very helpful to research when no other record exists, also the tidbits of information on ancestors gives some insight into their lives. Plans are to index the years from the beginning of issues of the paper on through about 1930. Those completed are Sioux Center Dutch "Nieuwsblad" 1891 - 1929: Orange City Dutch "Volksvriend" 1874 - 1902; Alton "Review/Democrat" 1883 - 1891; "Hull" Index 1892- Apr 1894. Index copies are in the local library. You can purchase some these indexes from the Iowa Genealogical Society’s Publications catalog. You can find a link to them on our site under "Publications". If you wish to have a name researched and copies made of a particular item contact Wilma J. Vande Berg, query@mtcnet.net

Iowa Gen Web Grave Photo Project Sioux County:
Wilma Vande Berg, Jeanette Van Grootheest, and Gerald Wissink have been photographing cemetery grave stones for the Iowa Grave Photo Project. We have submitted about 25,000 grave stone photos to date. Check this out at the bottom of our Sioux County page by clicking on to http://iowagravestones.org/index.php/cid_84/

Archives and Resources at the Sioux Center Public Library

We have a new state of the art digital imaging system with an integrated computer that has standard MS software programs, CD burner & Family Tree Maker software as well as Internet access. The pass word to use the computer is at the staff desk.
# CDs are available from Family Tree Maker and their Volumes 1 - 128
# CDs of the Federal census through 1930
# Microfilm of the State Census through 1925
# Microfilm of some of the Sioux Center "Nieuwsblad" newspapers. (Incomplete)
# Microfilm of the Hawarden Independent 1878 to 1950. A few rolls of early Hull and Alton issues.
# 1935-1960 So. Co. Capital, Orange City, Volksvriend 1874-1950
# Microfilm of Boyden, Maurice, Ireton and Rock Valley Bee available issues have been purchased in 2006
# Microfilm of the early courthouse vital records from early 1870s to about 1920
# Large Dutch dictionary in the Reference Section.
A list of the genealogy book section contains many genealogy family histories, indexes and how to books. The libraries’ genealogy catalog list can be searched on line at: http://catalog.siouxcenter.lib.ia.us/opac/scpl/ Then type in genealogy for genealogy reference books, type in microfilm for lists of microfilms in archives.

   Books For Sale by Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society
                      102 South Main Ave.  Sioux Center IA 51250   query@mtcnet.net

* Siouxland: A History of Sioux County Iowa, by G. Nelson Nieuwenhuis.
     Currently being reprinted from the 1983 original publication.   
     Prepublication price until May 1 is  $45.00 plus 3.50 shipping = $48.50
       After May 1, 2008 the price will be $50.00 plus $3.50 = $53.50
            (A very good historical account of the history of Sioux County
 with lot of old pictures, large hard cover, over 360 pages, indexes
and bibliography.)

*  The Story of Sioux County, by Charles Dyke originally printed in 1942,
      Reprinted by the GSCGS price is $50.00 plus $3.50 shipping = $53.50
            (A vary good human interest historical account of pioneer
experiences and  pioneer history in Sioux County, over 700 pages,
every name index, and a family photo album in the back.)

The above two books are not repetitious but complement each other very well!

* A Pocket of Civility, by Mike Vanden Bosch
      Currently available at bargain price of  $7.50 plus $3.50 shipping = $11.00
      Sioux Center History 1891-1976, published in 1976
            (A very good historical account of Sioux Center, hard bound, 370
                pages.) 

* Sioux Center’s First 75 years – 1891-1966 by Peter B. Mouw.
       Currently available at bargain price of $7.50 plus $3.00 shipping = $10.50
                (A very good history hard bound book of Sioux Center loaded with lots of
old pictures, 142 pages) 

* Maurice Centennial Book 1891-1991 
        Currently available for the price of $20.00 plus $3.50 shipping = $23.50
            For an every name index add $4.00 totaling = $27.50
            (A very good hard covered book with 603 pages loaded with history,
                pictures and family histories.) 

For your conveninece, an Order Form for the purchasing of books.

Need Research Help?
The GSCGS will do research for you. Because of the bookkeeping work involved we prefer to do the research for a client and help them with as much information as we can find and after we have sent the information to the client, we request only a volunteer donation for the time, materials and postage. We also ask for a copy of the person’s family history for our Surname Files. This process has worked out well for us and the proceeds have helped to add to our Surname Files, archives and resources. We are trying to accumulate a large database and archive resources at the library in Sioux Center so that we have one stop research location for Sioux County. Your help by joining our club and donation for work done is greatly appreciated. Wilma J. Vande Berg, or query@mtcnet.net enjoys helping people with their family history research. Since she and her husband are retired and travel at lot, she asks clients to be patient or asksother members to help with the research when not at home.

 

To Sioux Co. IAGenWeb

Copyright 2008. These electronic pages are posted for the benefit of individuals only who are researching their family histories. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the Sioux County Coordinator with proof of this consent.