President Susan McMahon and Archivist Steve Boerner visited the offices of the New York Genealogical & Biological Society.
NYG&B Visit
Steve and I visited the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society (NYG&B) in NYC at the invitation of President D. Joshua Taylor. I had sent him a copy of the Underhill Society of America November 2023 Bulletin in which we paid tribute to Harry Macy Jr. He wrote me a letter to thank me for sending it and said he hoped we could visit the NYG&B soon as he would like to talk about their activities and hear about our activities, provide lunch and give us a tour of their offices. Yesterday was the day! LIRR to Penn Station and walked to W. 44th St. Lengthy overview below that includes some photos. I wanted to cover as much of visit as possible but am sure I'm leaving something out! Steve may have other info or photos to share.
The NYG&B is located at 36 W. 44th St. on the 7th floor in a beautiful, old building called the Bar Building that was built in 1922. I think it had belonged to the NY Bar Association at one time. We were scheduled to be there at noon and we made it on time! Mitchell Toolan, the Office Coordinator, greeted us and as we got situated in one of their meeting rooms, we looked at books on the shelves and paintings/prints on the walls. There on the bookshelf were the volumes of Underhill Genealogy!
As we ate lunch, we discussed the possibility of Joshua coming out to the archives in Oyster Bay, and Steve offered his tour of the area. Joshua said he would like that very much! Joshua said he is originally from Idaho and had visited areas of NY, but it sounded like he still had a lot to see! Steve can correct or add to my description of the visit. We mentioned how last July 4th, we collaborated with the Masonic Lodge Historical Society and others for the First Annual Independence Day celebration and the plan is to have the Second Annual Independence Day Celebration this year. Lots of discussion about the history of Long Island, our work on compiling/editing the future Underhill Genealogy, our recent purchase of founder David Harris Underhill's 1935/1936 diaries, our Facebook Page, our website and our webmaster who is putting our website on a new platform. I also mentioned the work we've done to assist the Yorktown NY Historic Preservation Commission on their effort to landmark the Underhill Farm historic house on Underhill Avenue. Joshua seemed to be aware of the topic. Joshua mentioned their NYG&B Heritage Tour to the Netherlands this year and that they go to the Netherlands about every 2 to 3 years. Maybe next time!!
Then it was time for a quick tour of the office. Joshua mentioned that a majority of their collection was given to the New York Public Library but digitized and accessible. We had started in the large meeting room where they have Board meetings and so forth. We saw the room where they do smaller Zoom meetings or training sessions which had soundproof foam panels here and there on the wall and a soundproof ceiling. Another room was where we met Kalyn Loewer, the Digital Collections Manager, who was digitizing documents as we spoke. We saw their scanner, etc. We then moved on to the office area where we met Jennifer Davis, the VP, of Advancement and Membership and I mentioned our FB Page and website and how we are trying to use social media to increase membership. In the corner of that area were the boxes of Harry's documents awaiting digitization. Steve mentioned that if they had any questions about any of it, to feel free to ask us!
Many may remember Joshua Taylor as the host of the PBS show, Genealogy Roadshow! I had mentioned to him in a letter that I seemed to remember he had mentioned on one of the shows, years ago, that he had a connection to the "Underhills".
He said he was connected because his ancestry includes the Bownes, Thornes and Jones (Jones Beach). I asked him if he was related to Kristin Thorne, the ABC7 reporter and he said "yes". She is an 11th Generation Underhill! He hasn't found a direct link to the Underhills as of yet but I think by marriage is a good link!
All in all, based on conversation, we will definitely be keeping in touch with and sharing information with Joshua and staff. I mentioned after we took some photos that I was going to be the "guest speaker" at my local Glen Cove Library Genealogy Club next Monday and asked if they had any brochures I could take to help promote them. He said they were actually having new ones printed but offered me several copies of their Winter 2023 The New York Researcher which actually includes mention of Harry in it!
If there are any questions, feel free to let us know. I know Steve and I were happy to finally visit the NYG&B and to represent the Underhill Society of America!
Susan
