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~HE HANCOCK REPORTER	yct^_	1?/^	<^
Genealogical library to locate in Depot
By T.H. "Doc" Toups
The City of Bay St. Louis recently acquired the old train depot and one of its first new tenants will be will be the L.W. Anderson Genealogical Library, according to library founder Anne Anderson. For now, the library is temporarily housed in a white metal building behind the Bay St. Louis Residential Care Center on Dunbar St. It is estimated that the move will occur within six months to two years and the city has already hired an experienced genealogical library worker, Patty Burgess, who is working at the temporary facility.
Representing a major research resource for the city, the library is one of the sixth largest in the South. "The nearest similarly sized genealogical libraries of this size are in Houston, Atlanta or Birmingham," Anderson explained. She also noted that it is expected to draw visitors from throughout the southeastern U.S.
The library is named after Anderson's grandmother, Mrs. Vassar (LuLu Williams) Anderson, who funded the fledgling undertaking in 1982 after Anne used her personal collection to begin the library in a private building. After a few years of growth, it was moved to William Carey College where further expansion made the Bay St. Louis move essential.
Why Bay St. Louis? Anne explained that when the subject of moving came up in a conversation, Hancock Historical Society president Charles Gray said, "It would be so nice if you could move it here!" Taking that as her cue, she quickly enlisted his aid and soon Bay St. Louis Mayor Eddie Favre and other city leaders were helping as well. Then, "The ball was rolling." Anne said.
The library has already achieved favorable notice in the genealogy world. In 1985 it won an award from the National Genealogical Society and in 1988, hosted what was up until then their largest convention. The collection currently consists of reference and research materials valued at over $2,000,000 and is constantly being expanded. Stocking this type of facility is expensive, as the average cost of a single genealogy book is $45.00 and some are considerably more expensive.
Though most people think of genealogy as a hobby, there are important historical, legal and practical applications for the discipline. Genealogy may help clear up questions of heredity and legal heirs and handwriting styles can be accurately dated according to style. This has been used to validate treaties and detect counterfeits!
Interested in learning more? Call the library at 466-4908.
Interesting genealogical facts: Genealogy is now America?s second-largest hobby. One out of ten genealogical line that can be traced from America to Europe lead back to royal blood. After ten
*erand cpenina* scheduled
The temporary library	Hill
celebrate its official grand cpenina with an open house on January 4th, from 3
-	4 p.m.
The public is cordially invited to attend!
generations, a person will have 511 direct ancestors!