In the Beginning

On September 29, 1999, the Roscommon County Genealogical Society was born. A group doing genealogical research at the Houghton Lake Library meet in the home of Terri and George Syer.  The group elected an executive board, gave out assignments, decided on membership dues, and acquired non-profit status. They sought donations of money, time, and resources and these poured in. The Houghton Lake Senior Center on Townline Road agreed to host their meetings. They held them the second Thursday of each month, 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. George printed flyers and passed them out. The Senior Center even added their meetings to the calendar for the entire year of 2000.

In November of 1999, RCGS applied to the Denton Township Board for permission to use the former Region 7B building. The township had been using it as a storage unit. They hoped to establish a research and education center. This would be a place where they could offer classes, training, and store their growing collection of resources. On December 14, 1999, Denton Township granted them possession of the building and Roscommon County Genealogical Society had a home. Members gathered with brooms, buckets, hammers, and paintbrushes to renovate the building. On August 2, 2000, the Houghton Lake Chamber of Commerce and RCGS members gathered for the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Answer to a Prayer: 

The REC of the Roscommon County Genealogical Society occupied the old Region 7B building for over 20 years. In May of 2022 the township asked them to vacate the premises by December 31, 2022. The group set about seeking new quarters. One hundred fifty-nine buildings in Houghton Lake were investigated. None fit the needs of RCGS. There was not enough space, not up to code, required to much renovation, or overpriced. Eight months of searching produced no results. The executive board made preparations to store the contents of the REC and we began to pack.

At our November meeting we decided to ask God to help us. The group began to pray for a building and an “angel” with the funds needed to pay for it.  One of our founding members, Donald E. House came forward. Don donated the funds required for the lease on our new home and in addition, he gave us a check to cover the rent for five years. Our prayers had been answered.

We moved in on December 2, 2022, with the gracious aid of the Denton Township supervisor and his employees. Our new location is larger and right on main street where everyone can see us. The building had been recently renovated and our landlord gave us a deal on the lease. Our goal is raising the money to buy the property and fulfill our vision of becoming a genealogical and historical research and education center like the Library of Michigan.

We are Unique!

Among genealogical societies the Roscommon County Genealogical Society has four features which make it unique. First, most people who use the resources of the group are not from the local area or even northern Michigan. Second, our resources at the REC (Research & Education Center) go beyond the local area into the surrounding counties, the entire United States, and internationally. Third, the RCGS leases a building and is not dependent on a larger institution for space. Fourth, we are not insular. Our society seeks to network and partner with other organizations in planning activities, seminars, projects, and presentations of related interest.

We provide education, instruction, resources, and assistance in detecting family roots and branches. Encouraging individuals to seek, discover, and record the heritage their ancestors bequeathed to them provides them with an identity. By gathering and preserving historical resources we are helping place individuals in the context of the history which had an impact on their lives. The resources and services we provide help the researcher learn who they are and how they came to be. In Ecclesiastes 1:9 it says, “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”

RCGS seeks to make a positive and significant impact on the local area, but above all, they want to support and improve the genealogical and historical communities in the tip of the mitten. The society provides a safe, organized, and welcoming place where individuals seeking to learn of their heritage and history can gather, learn, and share information. Through its meetings, programs, events, and social gatherings it fosters camaraderie among people with a common interest and involvement in a worthwhile pursuit. Genealogical research provides benefits to individuals and families in addition to forming a bond between the past, present, and future. RCGS, above all is involved in the preservation of documents and artifacts, heritage, history, and traditions which provide us with our identity.