The Calhoun County Genealogical Society connected family history researchers across the county and helped preserve local records.
Nick J. Buckley for Black Squirrel News
Historian Brenda Leyndyke stood before a crowd at Willard Library on April 28, sharing stories from her latest work on Fort Custer — one of many efforts over the years to document Calhoun County’s past.
But the gathering also marked something else: the final chapter for the Calhoun County Genealogical Society.
Members voted later that evening to dissolve the organization after nearly four decades. The vote reached the two-thirds majority required under the society’s bylaws.
The decision follows years of declining participation. Society President Jessica Brooks said membership once stood at about 150. This year, it was fewer than 20.
“We simply do not have enough membership, and we do not have enough volunteers to keep going,” Brooks said.
Founded in 1988, the nonprofit organization connected family history researchers across Calhoun County and helped preserve local records, including cemetery transcriptions, publications and family history collections.
“For almost 40 years, the society has been very active in the genealogical community,” Brooks said. “Our volunteers have compiled many publications.”
Some of those publications are available online. Its collected records are now available in the history room at Albion District Library.
The society also hosted monthly programs for much of each year, with topics tied to genealogy, local history and Calhoun County records. Through those programs, Brooks said, the group tried to help people not only find records, but understand the stories behind them.
As the volunteer network became smaller, that work became harder to sustain.
“We just simply didn’t have the volunteer network to sustain that like they did once upon a time,” Brooks said.
While the society is ending, local history and genealogy resources remain available through area libraries and historical organizations.
“We help tell Battle Creek’s story by preserving local history and making it accessible to the community,” said Willard Library Director Matt Willis. “For genealogy, we offer regular programs, and Melissa [McPherson] on our staff is always ready to help people get started or get unstuck in their research.”
McPherson, who is also involved with the society, said she hopes to stay connected with members who have helped answer research questions over the years.
“They’re my contact people,” McPherson said. “If a [library] guest asked me a question and I can’t answer it, I’m calling [genealogist] Jim Jackson or somebody.”
Leyndyke, a past president of the society and longtime volunteer, called the vote “kind of a historical moment.”
“It does take many hands to run it,” Leyndyke said. “They have preserved a lot of history during that time.”
To learn more
- Albion Library: albionlibrary.org
- Marshall Library: yourmdl.org
- Willard Library: willardlibrary.org
- Calhoun County Genealogical Society: migenweb.org/calhoun/ccgs.htm
How we reported this:
This story was reported using information from the Calhoun County Genealogical Society website and interviews conducted at the April 28 program at Willard Library.
Photos by Nick J. Buckley
