Greater Sioux County Genealogical Society

G S C G S

N E W S L E T T E R

Sioux Center Public Library

102 So. Main Ave

Sioux Center, Iowa 51250

email query@premieronline.net query@mtcnet.net

Volume 31 Issue 1 April 2020

Visit us at: http://www.iagenweb.org/sioux/ www.iagenweb.org/sioux/GSCGS
Sioux County newspaper sites at: http://siouxcounty.advantage-preservation.com   (no log in – Free)

Books for Sale Sites: https://sxcobooks.wixsite.com/history
What is GSCGS?    A group of dedicated individuals who record and preserve Sioux County Iowa area family and local history.  The society meets on the 3rd  Monday of the 6 months of April, June, ,July, September, October and November at 7:00  p.m. at the Sioux Center Public Library.  A program on a related topic is usually presented.  The public is welcome to attend, coffee and snack provided.  (Meetings depend on status of the Covid -19 situation, a noticed will be sent out.)
The GSCGS is  an affiliate society of the Iowa Genealogical Society. 
GSCGS  Genealogy Department  Located in the Sioux Center Library just to the right of the circulation desk.  The facility has a spacious section allotted to Sioux County genealogy and local history books and archives which includes:

• Book Reference section  - collection of books to use for genealogy purposes
• Surname files –  Seven – four drawer upright files filled with about 8,000 plus  files on local families.
• Microfilm storage cabinet -  includes local newspaper and census microfilm.
• Archival storage room –  includes books for sale, archival books, church records, and misc. archives.
• Computers, printer and digital microfilm retrieval system.
• Two large workshop tables.

GSCGS Officers:  Marje Brunsting– president;   Barbara Top - vice president;  Kaleigh DeVries – recording secretary and facebook manager; Virgil Houtkooper - Treasurer;   Wilma J. Vande Berg - researcher secretary/archivist
Volunteer Research  Family history research will be done by volunteers.   A donation  is requested for services and supplies rendered.  Any amount is deeply appreciated and will be used to enhance our archives.   Contact  Wilma J. Vande Berg  e-mail  query@premieronline.net
How to Join:   Yearly membership dues are $10.00 per person or $15.00 per couple. You will receive our newsletter and are entitled to one hour of free research.

Programs for 2020
The programs will be announced in the media and our Facebook page, as we are unable to predict when our meeting room at the library will be available, pending COVID-19 outcomes.
Potential topics of future programs are:
     Using Websites to Cyber Sleuth your Family Tree
     Military Records and Websites for Research
     Google for Genealogy
     What was Sioux County like 70-75 years ago-conversations with our elder citizens.
     Researching in the Netherlands
     Netherlands videos

Books for sale: Sites -  https://sxcobooks.wixsite.com/history

• The Historical reproduction of the July 31, 1941 50th  Year Jubilee Edition of the Sioux Center News in a 260 page hard bound book form is available.   Even though it is a 50 years history from the incorporation of the town in1891, it has detailed history of Sioux Center from 1870 through 1941.  Book has the 44 pages of new print transcribed in the first 134 pages, lot of pictures, includes reduced copies of the actual newspaper pages with advertisements and every name index.  A great complement to the previously published books.

Price $28.00 plus $6.00 for postage mailed in USA.

• Sioux Center’s 125th year bookazine entitled ‘We Call Sioux Center Home” is available.  This full color 150 plus page magazine type book is a different concept for a town history book, having stories of various persons and businesses from a wide variety of sectors of the town.  It has a time line of events of the last 25 years form 1991-2016.  Also included are many advertisements of current businesses telling their story while operating in Sioux Center.  A fine addition to your collection of local history. 

               Price $15 ea or 2 for $25.  Postage 6.00 for media mail USA and materials. 

• Siouxland A History of Sioux County Iowa – first published in 1983 by author G. Nelson Nieuwenhuis. He was a life long Sioux county resident and history scholar.  Reprinted and  includes quite a few pictures and a name index.  

                 Price $50 plus $6.00 postage.

• Pocket of Civility – by Mike Vanden Bosch 1976, it is a history of Sioux Center. 

                  Price $7.50 plus $4.50 postage.

• Sioux Center’s First 75 years – published in 1966, it has a lot of older pictures.

                  Price  $7.50 plus $4.50 postage.
Maurice Centennial book – It has lots of pictures and family histories. 
                  Price $20.00 plus $6.00 postage

• Family history books published by Wilma J. Vande Berg includes family names VanBeek, Willemsen, Zuiderveld, and Hoekstra.  Wilma J . Vande Berg at  query@premieronline.net

Current Projects:
Wednesday workshops.  A group of members meet from 1-3:00 in the afternoon to work on various on going genealogy projects.  The last half hour is coffee and social time with each other.  Volunteers are welcome to participate.
Note - Workshops have been suspended temporarily due to Covid-19 concerns, but  will resume late this summer hopefully.

Military Project - Another project we are participating in is putting online, through iagenweb, the stories of those who served in World War II from our county.  This is a huge project and being worked on by Jean Brandes (Linda Ziemann is the coordinator).  Servicemen from all wars will eventually be included, but we are currently focusing on World War II.

Obituaries –  This has become a very involved project over the years.  Our goal is to gather and post on line, all the  death notices and obituaries that have been published in the local newspapers and are listed in the Sioux County headstone index of burials.  A group of volunteers post them on line.  
Biographies  -  Kaleigh De Vries is adding Bios of early Sioux County Families on our page.
File current data -  Weekly there is always a lot of current data to be filed in seven four drawer vertical files called our  ‘surname files’ which number well over 8,000 files.
Clean files – When time allows we are constantly cleaning and organizing the surname files.

Reminder – Pay the April 2020-2021  dues. 10.00 single and 15.00 for couple.  You may mail your membership check to the GSCGS at the Sioux Center Library's address in the header of this newsletter, or directly to treasurer - Virgil Houtkooper  3464 Goldfinch Ave.  Hull Iowa 51239

         You are welcome to attend our meetings and workshops as a guest any time!

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