Editor's Notes, New Understandings

EDITOR’S NOTES NEW UNDERSTANDINGS A s is often the case, the more we read and research, the more we must revise our preconceptions about our ancestors. In the first article in this issue, we are reminded that nineteenth-century physicians could be female. In the second article, we learn that at least one group of immigrants did not plan to settle in America, but came instead to earn money and return to Europe. In the third article, we are forced to revise our mental picture of typical ancestral villages. In the fourth article, we learn that land-inheritance policies greatly influenced migration from one small area of Wurttemberg. It is always well to glance at articles, even if they are not about our specific ancestors, because by so doing, we become more knowledgeable, hence better researchers. In the past, the membership year for the Genealogical Society of Penn¬ sylvania ran from July 1 through June 30, and the first issue of The Penn¬ sylvania Genealogical Magazine for the membership year was Spring/Summer #1 (odd years) or Spring/Summer #3 (even years). Because many memberships were not renewed promptly in recent years, we waited until the end of July to create the mailing list, thereby causing many members to believe that a Spring/Summer issue arriving in August was late, although it was not. This year, it is truly late, due to an accident this summer that caused me to miss almost two months of work. Under the new alliance with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, membership years are based on the month in which payment is received. Your mailing label shows the date on which your membership has or will expire. We don’t want anyone to miss an issue of PGM because of this shift, so we are mailing this issue (volume 45 #1, Spring/Summer 2007) to everyone, including some of you who have not yet sent in your renewal payment. See the back cover for information about membership catego¬ ries and dues. This also provides an opportunity to put PGM on a schedule that better matches the issue date. Volume 45 #2, Fall/Winter 2007 will be mailed at the end of January. Thereafter, Spring/Summer will be mailed the last week of May (arriving in early June) and Fall/Winter will be mailed the last week of November (arriving in early December). Those members with seasonal residences should remember to advise us of those changes by sending an e-mail to membership@hsp.org with “seasonal address change” in the subject line, giving the date of change and both addresses. Patricia Law Hatcher; FASG