About
Our society was founded in 1975 to educate people in genealogical research techniques and to make historical and genealogical material available to the general public. We locate and compile original materials and acquire donations of genealogical books and materials.
The Bay Area Genealogy Society was formed in the Spring of 1975, as an out-growth of a workshop which was held at the Brown County Library in October 1974. The intended of the Society was to assist fellow genealogists in their research.
Founder and first president of the Society was Steve Krauss
By January 1976 there were 80 people who became our Founder and Charter members
21 Founding members’ 60 Charter members
1975-76 45 members
1976-77 87 members
1977-78 107 members
1978-79 140 members
1979-80 165 members
1980-81 173 members
1981-82 186 members
1982-83 202 members
1983-84 245 members
June 1991 196 members
July 1992 251 Members
First Annual Meeting was held March 6, 1976 at the Brown County Library, all members were invited and also to bring a friend.
The program included election of officers, a report of the year’s progress, a speaker, a lunch, then afternoon of idea exchange with fellow members and research work in the library.
The Society Board meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of each month of the year, excluding no meeting to be held in December.
By Laws
November 1981 Article III Section 2 was added
–“The Membership Chairman shall be an ex-officio member of the Board of Directors.”
This gives voting privileges to the Membership chairman and eliminates the possibility of a tie vote on the Board now consisting of nine members.
Bay Area Genealogical Society Inc – April 1989 Incorporated
Bay Area Genealogical Society – Tax Exempt Status June 1993
July 1983—Jean Nicolet project
BAGS Website www.bayareagenealogicalsociety.org created in 2006
BAGS Cemetery and Gravesite Website website up and running in 2007
BAGS Emails created in 2009
February 1976 – Cemetery Project
Cataloging all of the Cemeteries in Brown County, Names and Locations and then copy the information from the gravestones. Project was started by a member Irene Hanson.
There are 72 Cemeteries located in Brown County; the sizes vary from one burial plot to over 35,000 in a single cemetery.
Completed cemetery lists were contributed to the Wisconsin State Old Cemetery Society. Other will be donated as multiple copies become available.
September 1982
Some of our BAGS members have been updating Brown County cemetery lists which were first copied in 1975 and 1976. The list continues to be very heavily used by researchers in our area.
March 1977 – Committee positions and chairmen positions were created:
Historian – was Doris Davis
Publicity
Parliamentarian
Library Consultant
Membership
Welcoming – personal contact with new members or those having questions
Newsletter
1880 Census – Typing and indexing the 1880 census – began in Fall 1977
November 1980 Newsletter exchange
1. National Genealogical Society 1921 Sunderland Place NW Washington DC 20036
2. Stevens Point Area Genealogical Society 5569 Hwy 10 Stevens Point WI 54481
3. Minnesota Genealogical Society PO Box 16069 St Paul MN 55116
4. Flathead Valley Genealogical Society PO Box 584 Kalispell Montana 59901
5. Sequoia Genealogical Society PO Box 3473 Visalia CA 93277
6. Miami Valley Genealogical Society PO Box 1364 Dayton OH 45401
7. Clark County Genealogical Society 1511 Main St Vancouver Washington 98660
8. Northwest Genealogical Society PO Box 6 Alliance Nebraska 69301
9. Colorado Genealogical Society PO Box 9671 Denver CO 80209
All issues of these newsletters are located in the Local History and Genealogy department of the Brown County Library.
March 1981 Additions to Newsletter exchange
1. Genealogical Society of Carlton County PO Box 204 Cloquet, MN 55720
2. Southwest Louisiana Genealogical Society PO Box 5652 Lake Charles Louisiana 70606
3. Chippewa Valley Genealogical Society
c/o Anne Keller Route 7 Box 18 Chippewa Falls WI 54729
4. Manitowoc County Genealogical Society PO Box 342 Manitowoc WI 54220
5. Lombard Suburban Genealogical Society PO Box 133 Lombard IL 60148
September 1981 Additions to Newsletter exchange
1. Fond du Lac County Genealogical Society
September 1982 Additions to Newsletter exchange
1. Fox Valley Genealogical Society of Appleton – Genealogical Gems
PO Box 1592 Appleton WI 54913
1993 Computer Interest Group – CIG
CIG Chairperson: Kathy Hornby CIG Vice Chairman: Yvonne Fercy
CIG Treasurer: Chris Peterson
CIG Secretary: Sr Dolores Wagner
CIG Librarian: Dick Flint
Membership dues: BAGS – $6.00 CIG – $3.00
July 1979—Indexing the birth records of the Brown County Court House 1907-1947. Gary De Byl, Register of Deeds estimates that there may be as many as 50,000 entries in this index. The indexing project will begin 9/1979.
March 1983 – Three years ago our Society, in cooperation with the Register of Deeds, began the project on indexing Brown County birth records from 1907-1927.
1980 GEMS – November December Issue:
In 1860 Brown County had:
8 churches: 4 Catholic, 1 Protestant Episcopal, 1 Presbyterian, 1 Methodist, 1 Baptist.
11 common schools
3 weekly newspapers: The Green Bay Advocate, The Green Bay Day Banner (Democrat) and The Bay City Press (Republican)
By the 1870’s churches in Green Bay and Fort Howard:
East Side Christ Church (Episcopal) Madison & Cherry Street – Green Bay
Presbyterian Adams Street – Green Bay
Methodist Episcopal Martin & School Street – Green Bay
Lutheran Cherry Street – Green Bay
Moravian Moravian Street – Green Bay
French Presbyterian Adams Street – Green Bay
Congregational Fort Howard
Baptist Fort Howard
Kemper Chapel Main & Chestnut Street – Fort Howard
French Catholic – St John the Evangelist Madison & Milwaukee Street – Green Bay
Holland Catholic – St Willebrord Adams & Doty Street – Green Bay
German Catholic – St Francs Xavier Cathedral Monroe & Doty Street – Green Bay
Irish Catholic – St Patrick’s Maple & Hubbard Street – Fort Howard
Jan 1981 – St John the Evangelist Parish in Green Bay celebrated 150th Anniversary. It is the oldest continuous Catholic Parish in the state of Wisconsin. It was founded in 1831 by Father Samuel Mazzuchelli, a Dominican priest, whose missionary post was first at Mackinac Island.
The Post Office opened in Green Bay in November 1822. Robert Irwin Jr was appointed Postmaster. The mail between Green Bay and Chicago arrived about six times a year – by schooners in summer and by men on foot in winter. In 1876 there were 24 Post Offices in Brown County – Bay Settlement, Denmark*, East Wrightstown, Fort Howard, Flintville, Fontenoy, Green Bay*, Greenleaf*, Holland, Ledgerville, Little Rapids, Mill Center, Morrison, New Franken*, Oneida*, Pine Grove, Robinson, Schiller, Suamico*, Velp (Duck Creek), West De Pere, Wrightstown* and Wequiock.
Those marked with an * are Post Offices that existed in 1981.