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The Butler County Historical & Genealogical Society’s officers have voted to cancel BCHGS meetings until further notice due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

President Barbara Middleton said, “We miss seeing our members and welcoming our interesting guest speakers, but feel this decision is in the best interest of everyone.

We sincerely hope the situation improves soon and we can go back to our regularly scheduled meetings and hold previously planned special events.”

The Historical Society is fortunate to have a group of dedicated officers who have all agreed to continue to serve again in 2021: Walter Parmer, 1st Vice President and Program Director; Claudia Lewis, 2nd Vice President for Membership; Larry Stinson, Treasurer; Jean Styles, Recording Secretary; and Judy Taylor, Librarian.

Although 2020 has been one of the most challenging years the organization has faced, the business of the Historical Society has continued uninterrupted with the help of the officers and volunteers who work behind the scenes. Middleton said, “We welcome and encourage anyone who would like to become more involved in our Society as members or volunteers at our research library or in any way that interests them.” Librarian Judy Taylor said, “Volunteers have answered many interesting queries in 2020 from people across the United States who are researching their family history and topics related to Butler County.”

They assisted a New York Times best-selling author researching former Georgiana residents who had moved to Niagara Falls, New York, and worked to relieve conditions associated with the Love Canal disaster.

Volunteers obtained marriage records from the courthouse, combed surname files, found obituaries and pictures, and scanned items from the collection of history books at the Historical Society’s research library.

They helped people find obscure cemeteries, information on a 1931 murder, news clippings about a Greenville man who was a WWII POW captured and held behind enemy lines, and assisted a man trying to prove a connection between Butler County’s early Lee family and Robert E. Lee.

The annual membership fee of $20 sustains the Society and allows it to publish its Quarterly magazine four times a year.

Special contributions help to keep their research library open to the public. Middleton stated, “Each member and friend of the Butler County Historical & Genealogical Society is important to our mission of preserving the history and heritage of Butler County and its people.

Please stay in touch until we can safely meet and socialize together again. I look forward to seeing you in 2021!”