Genealogical Society to discuss `Probate Records'

East Texas Genealogical Society will hold its regular monthly meeting on Saturday, September 8, 2007, at 2:00 p.m. at the Tyler Public Library in the Taylor Auditorium featuring Sammie Townsend Lee. Ms. Lee will present a program called "Probate Records: More Than a Will."

It has been said that a man's dying is more the survivor's affair than his own. This statement is especially true if your ancestor died without leaving a will. If he left no will, but you know he owned property, this could be your lucky break. Most family researchers know to check for a will. Many stop there, whether they find a will or not, and never look for other records created by the probate process. Using a case studies and other examples, this presentation examines the various kinds of probate records -- wills and other estate records -- with special emphasis on what we can learn about our ancestors from these records.

Since 1989 Sammie Townsend Lee has been a staff member (Library Associate) of the Genealogy Section of the Dallas Public Library. She is a genealogical lecturer, educator, editor, writer, and professional genealogical researcher. As a genealogical lecturer, Sammie has spoken at local, state, and national conferences and seminars. As a genealogical instructor, she has taught beginning and intermediate genealogy courses for Richland College and currently teaches these courses at Brookhaven College.

Ms. Lee has been a member and active volunteer of the Dallas Genealogical Society since 1983, serving in numerous offices, including president and editor of the DGS Newsletter. She served as the Local Conference Arrangements Chair for the September 1997 Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference held in Dallas. She was coordinator and instructor of the Intermediate Course for the 1998 DGS Institute of Genealogical Studies. She developed and is a past leader of the DGS Professional Interest Group and a past DGS delegate to the Federation of Genealogical Societies and is a past editor of the FGS Delegate Digest.

In 1996 she received the Award of Merit from the Dallas Genealogical Society. In 1997 she received the Award of Merit from the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the Delegate Award in 1996. Ms. Lee has been involved in genealogical research since 1978. She is a fourth generation Texan and a native of Dallas.

Approximately 30 minutes following the conclusion of the regular program and refreshments, the Computer Interest Group of the East Texas Genealogical Society will meet with Scott Fitzgerald who will present a program on "Indexing and Footnoting in Microsoft Word."

ETGS meetings are free and open to the public. For more information about ETGS, go to our website:www.rootsweb.com/ ~txetgs or contact Scott Fitzgerald, Publicity Director at scottfitzgerald@tyler.net or (903) 597-7865 or (903) 592- 6576.