NALF - Genealogist's Report

Archivist's Report

Genealogist's Report

Mission Statement

President's Message

Genealogist's Report

Scholarship Essays

Contact the NALF Board

Thank you for electing me as your new Genealogist at our Reunion annual meeting. With Ray Thomas retiring to concentrate on his personal families, I’ll be hard pressed to fill his shoes. He got our computerized genealogies off the ground, single-handedly typing 9 of our 18 volumes into our computer database, plus parts of the others, and researching and adding member additions along the way. And he always had his laptop computer ready at hand to look up anyone’s questions. Well, I’m not committing myself to typing in the other nine volumes, but I am committing to one at a time, beginning with finishing the first Israel Leavitt book and seeing what I find to add to it, between new research and correspondence on file with Israel descendants over the years. And I’ll continue adding to the other books as I come across new material. And I have much correspondence to catch up on. We have a fine team of genealogists. Steve Dow continues coordinating and compiling additions and documentation for the Nehemiah book (Nehemiah additions should go directly to him). New research team member Genevieve Leavitt from AZ donated a wonderful Josiah Leavitt genealogy of her branch last year, and she has volunteered to coordinate and computerize the rest of the Josiah books. Valerie LaRobardier of NY, in between being web-master, newsletter editor, and researcher, is researching the New Brunswick branch of the Israel line, the unattached Daniel Leavitt line of Clinton Maine, which we believe belongs in the Nehemiah book, and is working on the Samuel Leavitt books.

I also continue my compilation and transcription of Maine vital records, which are available to paid-up members. Marriages 1892-2001, Deaths 1892-2002, and Births 1892-1955, besides what we find before official record keeping began in 1892. That reminds me; some members have expressed concern about having their birth date or living families in our books. Having your family in our books to show how we are all connected is the whole point. Between public state records, births in newspapers over the years, and websites like birthdatabase.com, these dates are already public and not really a security threat if you use good security practices like never using your mother’s maiden name as a bank password. Instead, pick something nobody can guess, like your first pet.

Do you want to help on an occasional basis? Of course the first thing you can do to help is to join and keep your dues current – see your newsletter label. Invite your cousins to join us. We occasionally need plain typing work in Word or Excel. Take digital photos of Leavitt gravestones that you come across. We also want obituaries and marriage notices of Leavitt’s anywhere. Newspapers AND funeral homes have obits, so if you can find any, please email to me with the link. You could also take a chunk of a book and see what you can find for new info, email me first. Thank you.

Do YOU compile your family genealogy on a computer? If you have many Leavitt’s in there, please contact me; maybe you can save us some typing and we can just import what you’ve already typed, especially if you are from one of the books not computerized yet. If not, but you are thinking about it, we can guide you as to the features of various family tree programs. Email me. Thanks.

Roland Rhoades, NALF Genealogist

& Nehemiah & Israel Leavitt Descendant

207-892-0923