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The?Genealogical?Society?of?New?Jersey?(GSNJ)?was?founded?in?1921?by?a?group?of?genealogical?scholars?dedicated?to?the?preservation?of?New?Jersey?family?history.?A?common?interest?among?GSNJ's?founders?was?the?transcription?of?ancient?tombstone?information.?Styling?themselves?"tombstones?hounds,"?they?began?the?practice?of?organizing?get-togethers?or?"tombstone?hunts"?at?burying?grounds?around?the?state.?In?1924?the?Society?was?incorporated,?with?its?mission?to?discover,?procure,?preserve?and?publish?information?pertaining?to?families?and?individuals?associated?with?New?Jersey.?
GSNJ's?institutional?history?can?be?seen?as?a?rich?tapestry?of?truly?remarkable?contributions?made?by?scores?of?committed?volunteers.?In?many?cases,?these?men?and?women?have?given?decades?of?service?to?promote?the?Society's?mission?and?attain?its?far-reaching?objectives.?Many?of?the?founders?were?still?active?on?the?board?of?trustees?into?the?1940s-50s,?more?than?twenty?or?thirty?years?after?establishing?the?organization.?Such?long?affiliations?with?the?Society?are?still?common?among?the?trustees.?
In?1925,?the?Society?commenced?publication?of?its?journal,?The?Genealogical?Magazine?of?New?Jersey.?Now?in?its?eightieth?volume,?GMNJ?was?originally?issued?quarterly?but?evolved?into?three?(larger)?numbers?issued?annually.?It?is,?today,?respected?as?a?national?leader?among?genealogical?journals?and?is?recognized?as?the?preeminent?resource?for?transcribed?primary?source?material?from?New?Jersey.?GMNJ's?success?can?be?attributed?to?a?tradition?of?commitment?to?the?journal-personally?by?its?editors?and?organizationally?by?the?board?of?trustees.?Despite?the?fact?that?the?editors?have?never?been?compensated,?in?the?journal's?eighty?year?history?there?have?been?only?six?editorships?or?co-editorships.?Founding?editor?Russell?Bruce?Rankin?served?from?1925?to?1949.?He?was?succeeded?by?Donald?A.?Sinclair,?who?served?as?editor?for?twenty?years?and?as?a?trustee?from?1939?until?his?death?in?2004.?The?late?Kenn?Stryker-Rodda,?for?several?decades?a?trustee?of?the?Society?and?associate?editor?of?the?Magazine,?was?recently?nominated?to?the?National?Genealogy?Hall?of?Fame.?Such?dedication?continues?today?as?thousands?of?hours?are?freely?given?each?year?by?GSNJ's?board?members?and?volunteers.?
As?times?and?research?methodology?have?changed,?the?Society?has?evolved?as?an?organization?and?has?risen?to?face?the?challenges?of?an?electronic?age.?Since?its?founding,?GSNJ?has?collected?manuscripts?and?research?papers.?Its?extensive?archives?are?a?key?resource?for?New?Jersey?genealogy,?complementing?the?holdings?of?public?and?academic?research?institutions.?In?1960,?GSNJ's?manuscript?collections?were?placed?on?deposit?at?Special?Collections?and?University?Archives,?Rutgers?University,?New?Brunswick.?Forty-five?years?later,?this?arrangement?still?serves?both?organizations?and?the?researching?public?quite?well.?
In?1976,?GSNJ?began?its?Newsletter?as?a?forum?for?reviews?of?published?works,?queries?and?other?genealogical?news.?This?publication?has?itself?evolved?over?the?decades,?adding?features?to?educate?genealogists?and?promote?scholarship.?In?the?early?1990s,?GSNJ?began?automating?its?indexes?and?finding?aids,?and?a?few?years?later?established?its?website.?Our?Internet?presence?is?now,?of?course,?a?major?focus?for?the?Society,?as?is?the?creation?of?electronic?resources.?
Throughout?GSNJ's?history,?we?have?also?issued?many?reference?works?and?sponsored?countless?educational?programs.?The?latter?are?frequently?co-presented?with?other?historical?or?genealogical?groups?in-state?and?out-of-state.?GSNJ?regularly?joins?with?other?statewide?organizations?to?promote?New?Jersey?history?and?genealogy,?ever?broadening?our?audience?and?range?of?publishing?and?collecting.?Yet?the?basic?mission?of?the?Society?remains?constant,?and?our?tradition?of?service?through?volunteering?and?the?ideals?of?accuracy?and?scholarship?in?genealogical?research?will?continue?to?guide?us?in?our?future?endeavors.?
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