Van Buren Regional Genealogical Society

Benefits

 * What are the benefits for becoming a member of the society? Members receive the society's quarterly publication Van Buren ECHOES and they have digital access to all past issues of this publication which has been in continuous print since 1987. Members have voting privileges regarding the business of the society as well as the opportunity to advise and direct the future of the society and its daily affairs through appointment to the board of directors. Members also have the benefit of knowing that their membership dues are used for document preservation and protection as well as education for genealogists of southwest Michigan.
 * What are the benefits the society has to offer for those who are not members? Non members have free access to our website www.vbrgs.org,free monthly programs that are of interest to genealogists and historians and free access to the extensive local genealogy/history collection of the Van Buren District Library in Decatur, Michigan.

History of the society
A group of Decatur, Michigan residents met to establish the VBRGS on April 27, 1987 and finalized its incorporation was July 8, 1987. "A main purpose of our society is to be the catalyst for researching the history of your families." These words were penned by Conrad L. Burton in his first "From the President's Pen" article he wrote for the first society newsletter. The society was to be a group of like-minded individuals that met for meetings to discuss topics related to genealogy with the ultimate goal of developing a genealogy/history collection. Their mission would be to collect materials that pertained to Southwest Michigan family and local history with some attention to broader genealogy resources. After its mission was agreed upon and by-laws were written, collection preservation and access became the focus of the 28 charter members. After many ideas were assessed the best option was to approach the director of the Webster Memorial Library in Decatur. The library already had a moderate Michigan history section, but offered little in the form of genealogical materials. An agreement was made between the library and society and this agreement remains in effect today. The collaboration between the library and society has seen this once small collection increase to one with thousands of books, specialized collections and vital records and is now the best resource for genealogists in Southwest Michigan.

Collections

 * Record collections or papers to which your society has access
 * How these records can help researchers (May link to a Wiki article connected with the location)
 * Where the record is located (online, on site, at nearby repositories)
 * How to access it from a distance (order information, if any)
 * Indexes for records about this area
 * Where the index is located (online, book, or on site)
 * Look ups, and copying records from local repositories, if any (here or in Q &amp; A below)
 * Directions on how your society does this, and sends the information back to the patron

Events

 * (also include society trips to areas of interest here, in workshops, or in training below)

Workshops

 * (also include presentations online, on site, or elsewhere about how to do research in your area)

Frequently Asked Questions

 * Q. What are the directions to the society?
 * A.


 * Q. What are the society's hours of operation?
 * A.


 * May also include such items as: cost to join your society, how members access online records, free look ups, online meetings, newsletter queries, access to publications, or support from other members

Nearby or Alternate Repositories

 * (List each repository, link to it, and briefly describe their collection. Ideally list around 3 to 7 repositories, but this is flexible.)

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