Privileges
- Newsletter: New for 2022, NCGS members will receive a quarterly e-newsletter delivered via email with the passwords to unlock the protected content on our blog that will include genealogical materials and records relating to Niagara County as well as Society news. Members may also post free queries in the newsletters.
- Lookup Program: NCGS has a lookup service available to members only. Your membership dues entitle you to one 30-minute lookup in the Library’s holdings OR one obit lookup in the Lockport Public Library. Additional lookups are available for a nominal fee. Lookup requests must arrive at our library by December 14.
- Society Meetings: Meetings are open to all and are usually held in the Niagara County Historical Museum meeting room. Topics, which are listed in the quarterly newsletter, generally cover areas like computers & genealogy, ethnic groups, local families, travel, and research hints. Members will receive an email notice approximately one week before each meeting. Please check our calendar for dates and times.
- DUE TO COVID restrictions, many opportunities are available via Zoom.
Membership Dues and Applications
Membership is open to all, and memberships end on December 31 unless renewed. The annual fee is $20.00 USD
To apply or renew membership, you must take two steps: first submit a membership application or renewal online, then pay your yearly membership dues. If you do not want to pay online, mail both your completed membership form and a check in U.S. dollars (payable to Niagara County Genealogical Society) to:
NCGS
215 Niagara St.
Lockport, NY 14094
The Look-Up Program
The lookup program is for members only. Non-members must sign up for a membership and pay dues before requesting a lookup.
With your membership fee, you are entitled to one lookup per year – either an obituary lookup at the Lockport Public Library or a 30-minute lookup in the holdings of the NCGS Library. Additional lookups cost $6 for obits or $10 for a 30-minute lookup. Payments can be made online or by mailing a check to NCGS at 215 Niagara St., Lockport, NY, 14094.
To request a lookup, fill out the form online or download a printable copy.
What resources can I access for the 30-minute look-up?
Only those that are in residence at the NCGS Library. Because this is a volunteer-staffed facility, we felt we needed to put some limits on what we can reasonably search. For now, just the major references like census data, cemetery records, city and county directory information. However, in order to give people wider choices we have also designed a WILDCARD, which allows the Look-Up volunteer to select, based on their own knowledge of the Library’s holdings and the information the member has included in their request. This is at the risk of the member – we may not find anything! We also have a space to choose a specific publication, if known, such as one of those from the Manuscript list for example.
What if my information only takes 15 minutes to find? How can I maximize the 30 minutes?
We have thought a lot about that! Our form asks you to rank the priority of the things we can look up. After we finish what you rank as number one, we will go to your number two, and so on. We will also let you know where we left off in case you want to send another request.
I want to find an obit, but all I have is a month, year and city.
We will search a one-week time frame during any year, but it is up to you to select that week. If you have even less information and still want us to look, you must at least guess at the city, month, year and week. Please understand that we may not come up with anything.
How much information will be sent back to me?
The information will be sent via email.
What happens if I don’t use my free look-up before the year ends?
Lookups do not roll over, so you cannot carry over a lookup from one year to receive two lookups in the next year. Lookup requests must arrive at our library by December 14.