The Spencer County Historical Society met on Tuesday, April 7, 2009 in the Rockport Library Genealogy Room.

The meeting was called to order by the president at 6:30 PM with eight members present.

The minutes from the last meeting were read and corrected.

The treasurer’s report was given. 

The president mentioned that they were able to open the file cabinet that contained copies of an index of all items that were in the Lincoln Pioneer Village which had been given to the Society.  They now have to get a different lock made for the cabinet.

The Historian of the Year Banquet was the next topic.  It was mentioned that news releases had been sent to many area papers and TV Community Calendars, but so far, not much has been published.  The president had posted a flyer on the Genealogy Room window and was going to place them in other establishments.  He also read a letter that he was sending to the Journal-Democrat.

It was mentioned that there had been an article on a member and his dowsing in the Evansville Courier & Press in December 2008.

It was also mentioned about the article in Sunday’s Evansville Courier & Press concerning Rockport native Ab Enlow and his skill with the slingshot.

The president read a letter from the Spencer County Clerk concerning local government records that are in the process of being shredded.  The clerk is to notify the Society to see if they want to keep and store any of the records for historical use.  The records did not seem to be of historical importance.  A motion was made and seconded to not ask to keep the records.  The motion carried.

The banquet was discussed again.  It was decided that the secretary would make the certificate and get a frame for the commemorative award.  Placemats would be made using the Lincoln area map of O.V. Brown that we used last year.  A picture of the Rockport Ferry would be added to the bottom of the placemat.

It was decided to decorate for the banquet at 9:00 AM on Saturday, April 25, 2009.

A member read an e-mail from a woman about a Lincoln book.  She was unable to find the title of the book, but had sent a picture of the Lincoln Homestead that had been included in the pages.  The president said that the book might be the book, “Life of Abraham Lincoln” by Joseph H. Barrett.  The original book was published in 1865.

The president said that he would like for the Genealogy Room to start a file about Lincoln called the “Lincoln Inquiry”.  It would include items that have no specific title except they ask or tell tidbits about things concerning Abraham Lincoln.

The president had thumbnail pictures of the items that are on the CD’s given to the Society.  A motion was made and seconded to purchase page protectors and a three-ring binder to preserve the pictures.  The motion carried.  By using the thumbnail pictures, a person could preview and then decide which CD he would want to get from the person in the Genealogy Room.  The CD’s would have to stay in the room and be checked out one at a time.

A member made a donation of books about North Carolina and Virginia to the Society to be placed in the Genealogy Room.

The president had a list of books that the Genealogy Room wanted to purchase.  They were:

· “He Loves a Good Deal of Rum:  Military Desertions During the American Revolution, 1775-1783, Vol. I, (1775 – June 30, 1777)”

· “He Loves a Good Deal of Rum:  Military Desertions During the American Revolution, 1775-1783, Vol. II, (June 30, 1777-1783)”

· “Founding of the Cumberland Settlements – The First Atlas 1779-1804”

A motion was made and seconded to purchase the books.  The motion carried.

A member mentioned several Lincoln exhibits that would be open to the public.  One would be at the Speed Museum in Louisville, Kentucky in June.  Another would be open one day only on Memorial Day at Ft. Knox, Kentucky.

A member mentioned that a relative of the Meeks family was going to be in the area and he was going to take the relative around to different places, especially to the marker about the Meeks Family Massacre near Richland.

A motion was made and seconded to adjourn the meeting.  The motion carried.  The meeting adjourned at 8:05 PM.

The next meeting will be June 2, 2009 at 7:00 PM in the Genealogy Room.