President’s Message

15 Sep 2025

Hello and welcome back to the start of the second half of the 2025 Bay County (FL) Genealogical Society (BCGS) presentations! We have some interesting topics in the next four meetings, so I hope you will make a point to join us!

I trust everyone had a fun summer! I visited Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown during a reunion for the Meriwether family. It was interesting visiting these locations — Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, Williamsburg, which became the colonial capital after Jamestown, and Yorktown, where the American and French forces finally defeated the British and secured the future of the United States. Next year is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and there will be many planned activities to commemorate the momentous events that led to the founding of our country as an independent nation. If possible, plan to attend some of them!

One important item for our Society is the activation over the summer of our new website, bcgsfl.org. Webmaster Sandra Scott, with help from past webmaster Caroline Windham, has rebuilt the site and added lots of excellent information and links. Please visit now to see what is available. Also remember to check the BCGS Facebook page for breaking news.

In addition to the monthly meetings of BCGS, the Historical Society of Bay County also offers monthly programs, held in the Library on the 4th Monday of each month. The topic for the 22 Sep 2025 meeting is Old Town St. Andrews and early settler Dr. David Blood.

I hope to see all of you this Saturday at 1:00 P.M. for our meeting where Caroline Windham will discuss using the new AI and Ancestry Pro services to enhance your research capabilities.

Joe M. Oglesby

President, Bay County (FL) Genealogical Society https://bcgsfl.org