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The LCGS is a registered charity. Only donations to the LCGS beyond the annual membership fees are tax deductable. Receipts will be issued automatically for donations $25.00 and over; receipts for amounts between $10.00 and $24.99 will be sent only on request.

A newsletter is sent out to our members approximately 9 times per year. These newsletters include articles submitted by our members, and queries from our members requesting information on families and places within Lanark County. (Most of the past surname queries on this web site have been taken from previous LCGS newsletters). Submissions to the newsletter (ie family histories, articles, surname queries) are always welcome. Please submit your items no later than the 15th of each month.

Surname/research queries may be placed in the newsletter only by non-members upon payment of (Can.) $5.00. In this case, please mail your cheque and query to our postal address.

To update a Query on this Site:

Please send an email to the Query Chairperson: Michael Jaques lanarkquery(at)sympatico.ca or the Query Assistant: Gary Byron gjbyron@magma.ca indicating which page you would like to update (it's in the address bar of your browser), your name, membership #, and updated text.

The LCGS is the major sponsor of  the Lanark County Archives. This new group is expected to eventually have its own board of directors and become a separate group from the LCGS, but in the meantime, the LCGS is soliciting donations for the Archives. These donations are also tax-deductable. Please indicate whether your donation is for the LCGS or the Lanark County Archives.

The LCGS is not affiliated with the Ontario Genealogical Society, so our individual and family membership annual fee is only $15.00. Membership includes a postal subscription to the LCGS newsletter (9 issues per year) and the placement of your family research interests in the newsletter.

Memberships run from January to December only. Those joining after January also receive the back issues of the current year's newsletters. The one exception is for those joining in November -- their membership is extended for the next year. So please remember, memberships are due in January of each year.

Please make cheques or money orders payable to: Lanark County Genealogical Society, and mail to our postal address. Sorry, but we do not have the facility to process credit cards.

 

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About Us: Answering Queries by Postal Mail

If you respond to a query which gives a postal address, you must enclose a self-addressed envelope and payment of postage in your letter. It is amazing how many people don't realize that the postage stamps of their country can't be used to mail a letter from another country. If you live in Canada, for example, and are writing to someone in the USA, either put US postage stamps on the enclosed self-addressed envelope (that's the one that you put your own address on) or enclose a US $1.00 bill.

Likewise, Canadian stamps must be used to mail letters from Canada to another country, so if you are writing from outside Canada to a Canadian address, either put Canadian stamps on the enclosed self-addressed envelope or enclose a US $1.00 bill.

International Reply Coupons may be purchased at your local post office. They used to be a reasonable and secure way to pre-pay postage between any two countries, but they are now far too expensive to use. For example, Canadian post offices charge at least $3.50 for an IRC which in the US can be redeemed at a post office for one 46-cent stamp to pay the postage to Canada! So it's obviously much cheaper to include a US $1.00 bill in your out-of-country query.

Another convenient option is to order your postage stamps by telephone. Here is a partial transcript of a discussion taken from the internet. Thanks to Gary McLean for providing the following information:

"The U.S. Postal Service advised me that you could order US Postage Stamps by telephone by calling 1-800-782-6724.

"When I called this number, the postal clerk advised me that yes I could purchase stamps by mail.  The cost would be the cost of the stamps in US dollars plus a $1.00 service fee (US$)  for each order, no matter how large.   They also indicated that the 800 telephone number could be accessed in Ontario.

"With respect to purchasing Canadian postage stamps, I have purchased them by telephone from Canada Post Corporation, Philatelic Service.  The telephone number which I called from Maryland is 1-800-565-4362.  The cost was the cost of the postage stamps in Canadian dollars.  There was no service charge and I received the postage stamps in about a week." [Ed. Note: Orders sent to Canadian addresses will be charged GST].

"With respect to the UK, I found a web site for the Royal Mail (www.royalmail.co.uk) which provided information on ordering postage stamps by mail, telephone or fax."

Ed. Note: A query to a contact on the above website produced the following information: Stamps can be ordered directly from the British Philatelic Bureau by e-mail provided you are paying by either Visa or Mastercard. Their e-mail address is British.Philatelic.Bureau@dial.pipex.com.

Alternatively you can send your orders by post to:
British Philatelic Bureau,
20 Brandon Street,
EDINBURGH,
EH3 5TT,
SCOTLAND,
UK

Payment can be made by personal cheque drawn in dollars if you do not have one of the above credit cards.

August 8, 1998 -- This helpful comment from Margaret Bradford:

"I have discovered a way of obtaining British stamps very easily.  (Go to any) coin and stamp shop and by requesting mint stamps, it is possible to buy enough stamps to put on an envelope for a very reasonable amount.  For example, I recently bought a complete set of an old issue of mint stamps, 79p value in total, for 80 cents (Canadian).  The set was on sale for a dollar, but there was a 20% sale on too!! I expect that it is possible to obtain U.S. and other European stamps in the same way."

Ed note: Better stock up now before they discover that they're selling these stamps at about 1/3 their value in Canadian currency at today's exchange rates!

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