The Detroit Society for Genealogical Research was organized on 20 September 1936, by a group of thirty-three interested persons, which grew to one hundred eight members within the year. Its primary objective was to be a non-profit organization for the preservation and perpetuation of the records of ancestors and families of the commonwealth, and to be of assistance to the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library. Its affairs were to be administered by an elected Board of Directors consisting of a President, Vice President, Recording Secretary, Corresponding Secretary, and Treasurer.

Alert: RPAC on Identity Theft Legisln

The U.S. House of Representatives has been holding hearings recently about closing public access to the Social Security Death Index (SSDI) because of concerns that the Social Security numbers of deceased individuals could be used to commit fraud. The hearings included emotional testimony from parents whose deceased child's Social Security number had been used to get a tax refund.

It is heartbreaking and maddening that grieving families should have this burden added to them, but closing access to the SSDI will not address the growing problem of identity theft. Just this week, some Hoosiers' financial records were discovered in a dumpster, and a report showed how children's credit histories are being stolen.

The Records and Preservation Committee (RPAC) - an international coalition of genealogy societies - has launched a campaign, Stop ID Theft NOW!, to keep the SSDI open to all who use it - not just genealogists, but forensic specialists, law offices, banks and insurance companies.

RPAC has created an online petition at WhiteHouse.gov that calls on government agencies (such as the IRS) to use the Social Security Death Index for what it was actually created for - to COMBAT fraud - by checking the Social Security numbers listed in it against the documents they're receiving (such as tax returns).

25,000 signatures are needed on the petition before March 8th. Please share this information with anyone else who may be affected by this records closure.

NOTE: In order to sign the petition, you must first create an account. RPAC has instructions at http://fgs.org/pdf/rpac_petition.pdf about how to create an account and sign the petition. If you have difficulty creating an account or signing in, you may want to try using a different web browser or checking back in a few minutes.

For more information about this campaign, please visit the Federation of Genealogical Societies' blog. For background information on the Congressional hearings, please visit the RPAC site.

Winter 2012 DSGR Magazine On-line

The new issue (Winter 2012) of the Detroit Society for Genealogical Reseach Magazine Volume 75, No 2, has been mailed (January 16, 2012). For our individual members, you can see the digital version in the Members Only area of this site. Sorry, institutional members will have to wait for the USPS. To get an idea of what you might be missing, click here to see the table of contents.