Early in the twentieth century, NYG&B members were sent a four-page, ledger-sized questionaire blank and requested to provide information on a number of questions regarding the member's life and family. The stated reason for the request was to use the information " . . . in the preparation of the Biographical Sketches of Members of the Society." Members were asked to provide "full and specific" replies and to use extra pages to complete the information when necessary.
This member requirement was relatively short-lived, from approximately 1920 through 1946 or 47, and, except for the obituaries of select members published in The Record, the worksheets do not seem to have been used to compile biographical sketches. However, those members who dutifully filled out and sent back the forms gave the Society a wonderful resource regarding personal information on them and their families. They weren't hampered by concerns about identity theft and the members very often gave extensive and very detailed replies to the various queries.
The collection was uncovered while browsing the manuscript collection for information on the Browning family. In the file folder was the member information for William Hull Browning, who was a Society trustee in the 1930s and 40s. As Browning is a common name, there was no particular reason to suspect that this third-generation New Yorker would very comfortably fit into the genealogy in progress on this old Rhode Island family. However, the questionaire provided the name and birthdate of a grandfather born in eastern Connecticut. A little research found a connection, one generation earlier, that brought the line back into Rhode Island and an easy match with the data that had previously been compiled.
Going back to the questionaire the then-current information on Mr. Browning, his spouse, and children provided enough clues to allow his branch of the family to be traced and documented into the second half of the twentieth century.
Certainly not all the biographical worksheets will prove to be that valuable: some have only the most cursory detail. Others, however, provide twice or even three-times as much information as requested.
Edward Courtland Gale joined the Society in May 1895. In 1921 he carefully filled out his questionaire; giving his birthdate (28 Oct. 1861), higher education (graduated Rensslaer Polytechnic Institute in 1883), the various businesses he had worked for and the positions he held, and he detailed eighteen organizations to which he belonged, including "seven or eight years as a volunteer fireman, Troy, N.Y." He also included, pasted at the bottom of the page, his bookplate, and, in a tiny, but very neat, hand seven generations of his wife's ancestry (see following page).
Life member John Hendley Barnhart needed to add an extra page to his worksheet to include the fourteen "Scientific societies" and four "Historical societies" he belonged to. He also provided dates for his mother's parents, bringing his genealogical information back into the 18th century.
Several notables were members of the Society during this era and their worksheets are cheek to jowl with those of less illustrious members.
Sara Delano Roosevelt, mother of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, is among those who meticulously included their personal information. Her son is listed matter-of-factly with no indication that he was, at the time, President of the United States.
John Pierpont Morgan, a Fellow of the Society, listed himself simply as "banker." His secretary included a message, "You will note that some of the information is inserted only in pencil, . . . some of the items were written in by Mr. Morgan personally, I thought it best to leave the form in that way . . . "
A past member whose hard work for the NYG&B Society is well known to current members was Josephine Frost. As might be expected from someone who spent many years collecting and indexing genealogical resources, Mrs. Frost's biographical information is quite detailed. She even includes the cause of death for her father, "Murdered – Highway Robbery."
Several of the worksheets include photographs of and newspaper clippings regarding the subjects. Whether they were added after the bios were initially filed is unknown, but they certainly serve to provide a more detailed picture of the individuals.
Approximately 300 worksheets are kept in two archival boxes in the basement vault. As with the Browning example, however, at least some additional worksheets are filed with other family documents in the Manuscript Room. If you seek a specific member check the biography boxes as well as the family manuscript collection.
by Lauren Maehrlein
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