Newsletter
of the
Friends of the Third Ohio Cavalry
A descendants organization
Vol. 1, No. 1

Hello.... We have been in existence for two years as a friends group. Over that time we have been available to answer questions and generally help people learn more about the unit and the cavalry in general. We have 90 names on are mailing list. Most, but not all are descendants. In the last year we have increased the group by five.

Our best vehicle for distributing information is not even ours. It a web page owned by Dave Frederick. His web page has been our do all and be all. The amount of information and graphics is outstanding. Most inquiries come from there. We support Dave's efforts in anyway we can.

Event
We would like to invite all of you to an event. More of a face to face meeting. A get together. Bill and I have reserved a table at the Ohio Civil War Collectors Show. At the Richland County Fairgrounds in Mansfield Ohio, May 7-8. This year we will have a place to meet anytime during the two days of the show. This will make it more convenient for those interested in meeting other descendants of the 3 OVC.
We hope to have some kind of exhibit at the table. Lists of the unit and its history. We are always looking for information about our ancestors. We are very curious people. Exchanging information and or stories is encouraged. Bring old photos or other memorabilia that you want to share.
So join us at the Civil War show, May 7-8 at the fairgrounds. It will be fun...


Sharing Information
Some other ideas we have are for sharing information. As we get more and more information about the unit and its members we should try to make it available to everyone. The web page is the best repository for written or graphic information. But several other ideas also come to mind. A book, a CD? An exhibit based at some local museum? Some way to share what we know with more people. I believe this is the basic premise of our friends group, sharing.


Here is the survey

To help everyone get as much as possible from this organization, we have decided to poll members to determine what they hoped to gain from membership. Your responses will help us decide how best to communicate, whether to attempt meetings and where, and how to gather and share information on our ancestors. To that end, please complete the following survey and answer a few questions and when most have been received we will share the results. If you have strong feelings about, for example, having a list of members, their interests, addresses and phone numbers distributed to other members, please tell us and explain why. In the context of other responses, we can better serve most of our members.



Thanks for taking a few minutes to respond to these questions. We sincerely want to address your wishes and concerns. Please return to [email protected]



1. Your name:



2. Your mailing address:



3. Your email address:



4. If you have a relative who served in the 3rd. OVC, what was his name and his company?



5. Do you know where he was buried and what type of marker he has there?



6. What did you hope to learn or do through joining the Friends of the 3rd. OVC?



7. Do you have an area of expertise in the history of the 3rd OVC? (History of battles, knowledge of civil war era weapons, battlefield medical treatment, etc.)



8. Do you have or have access to uniforms, letters, diaries, photography, or other documents of significance to the 3rd OVC?



9. What type of materials do you have?



10. Are you willing to share information with other members?



11. Do you have computer access and if a website were available, would you use it to exchange information with other members?



12. What do you feel is the best way for the organization to communicate with members?



13. How necessary do you feel an annual meeting is to accomplish the goals of the organization?



14. How necessary do you feel an annual meeting is to accomplish your personal reasons for joining?



15. How do you think the business/primary purpose of the organization should be and how do you think the organization could best “do business”?



16. Many organizations publish and distribute to their membership the names of members and, if not their addresses, their phone numbers and areas of interest so others can contact them and exchange information. Would you be willing to share your interest or expertise with other interested members?



17. Would you like to have a newsletter type communication via email, and would you be willing to contribute to such an effort?



18. Do you think the organization should try to have a presence at reenactments, parades and other activities in which other Civil War groups participate?



19. Should we actively solicit additional interested people? For example, should we contact other Civil War related groups in Ohio and let them know we exist and would welcome new members with an interest in the 3rd OVC?



20. What other issues should we be considering?