Community members joined Jeanette Kottke, secretary of the Chickasaw County Genealogical Society, Tuesday at the Fredericksburg Public Library for instructions on how to research family trees.
    Kottke is the editor of the “Chickasaw County Genealogical Society Quarterly” and is currently working on records for Rosehill Cemetery in Fredericksburg.
    “I have over 2,500 names with records dating back to 1886,” Kottke said.
    Just before the 1976 Bicentennial, a group of historians began work to record and organize Chickasaw County historical and genealogical statistics.  A short time later, the group officially organized and named themselves. Then, in 1979, the CCGS chartered with the Iowa Genealogical Society in Des Moines.
    The original charter members of CCGS laid the ground work and established the foundation for the society which continues to this day. Their initial work in recording and preserving historical and genealogical records in the county provided the nucleus of today’s CCGS library.
    According to the CCGS Mission Statement, the group wants to:
    * Create and foster an interest in genealogy.
    * Aid individuals in their genealogical research.
    * Gather and preserve genealogical and historical data from many resources, such as newspapers, courthouse records and family histories.
    * Maintain and expand our genealogical library.
    * Promote communication with members and other genealogical organizations via publication of a quarterly newsletter.
    * Work to improve access to public records.
    A number of books have been published and are available for sale. These publications are the end result of several of CCGS project categories. Many volunteers have donated their time, talents and financial resources to nurture and grow our library, projects, services and numerous other resources of the society.
    The CCGS Library is located in the New Hampton Public Library facility. It is a repository of genealogical and historical data pertaining to Chickasaw County as well as neighboring counties. Marriage, death, cemetery, census, atlases and maps, land records, church records, newspapers on microfilm and many other materials and books comprise the collection.
    The CCGS officers are Jannette Hendricks, president and Web master; Carol Bottin, vice president; Kottke, secretary and editor; and Thelma Allen, treasurer and librarian. For more information on CCGS, go online at www.chickasawcoia-geniesoc.org.