Allen Genealogical and Historical Society Launches Website
"allenghs.com" New Internet Address
The Allen Genealogical and Historical Society now has a footprint on the world wide web.
The website (allenghs.com), which first launched onto the web in June, is “a work in progress,” according to webmaster Buck Ford.
“We are excited about the possibilities that exist now that the Society is on the web,” said Ford. “It will enable us to not only share our resources with others throughout the world, but it will also allow us to be an informational hub for genealogical and historical information that can come to us only through the Internet.”
The website already has several pages posted, including pages devoted to online articles, queries, and local websites.
Another page consists of the online posting of every issue of Crossroads, the Society’s newsletter. These fifty-six issues encompass the years 2002 – 2019. Visitors to the page will also find a comprehensive Table of Contents to all the issues.
Still another page, titled “Cemeteries,” links sixty-four Allen Parish cemeteries with their Find a Grave online counterpart.
“The cemeteries project is one that was initiated by the late Don Ladner,” said Ford. “He did the work on pulling that information together.” Ladner, a retired Army colonel, was an active member in the Society, and had a passionate interest in cemeteries. He served as chair of the McRill Cemetery Board, and was the brainchild for McRill’s annual Memorial Day salute to veterans.
Another page titled “Then and Now” consists of pairs of pictures taken in Allen Parish, one picture from the past, alongside its counterpart picture in 2019. The page is administered by Wanda Carole Wrinkle Ford, an award-winning photographer whose family roots go back six generations in Allen Parish.
“Allen Parish has such a rich history, and I want to bring that history to life through my photography,” said Wrinkle-Ford. “We want to build a virtual depository of historical photos of Allen Parish. We are asking anyone who has any old historical photos of the parish to send them to us via the website.”
Webmaster Ford says he sees the website as a living project, one that can grow and adapt as the Society’s needs and interests grow and change over time. He adds that he’s looking at some way to use the website to promote and facilitate future Allen Parish family reunions. “Family reunions are great ways to pull together family resources, and in turn contribute to the genealogical history of Allen Parish,” he said.
Betty Sarver, President of the Society, said, “Along with AGHS staff members Durvyn LaFleur, Fran Clemmons, Steve and Carolyn Fontenot, Mary Cole, Laura Hall, and Buck and Carole Ford, I am so very pleased that we now have a website for our Society. Thanks to the work of our webmaster, Dr. Jon Buck Ford, we can now share the wonderful history of Allen Parish with the world.”
The Allen Genealogy and Historical Society was organized in 1958, and was chartered in 1990. The goal of the Society is to collect and preserve the history of Allen Parish, and to assist those researching their families in Allen Parish.
The Society meets the first Tuesday of each month at 10:00 AM at the Kinder Library Genealogy Room, 833 Fourth Street, in Kinder.