New York Genealogical and Biographical Society names new editors!

I receive many important press releases and love to share the genealogical and historical news. I take special pleasure in posting this press release. It involves two friends. I have known Laura for just a few years and have been impressed with her work ethic and great spirit. I have known Karen for about twenty years and we have spent time at each other's home, have worked together in business and volunteer work, and I admire her dedication. They are already hard at work on the upcoming issues. Congratulations my friends!


NEW YORK -  The New York Genealogical and Biographical Society has selected Laura Murphy DeGrazia, CG, and Karen Mauer Green as the new co-editors of The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, replacing Patricia Law Hatcher who retired after completing the October 2010 issue. The NYG&B Record, issued continuously since 1870, is the second oldest genealogical publication in America and one of the field’s most
important scholarly journals.

Laura Murphy DeGrazia is currently the guest editor of the January issue of the Record. Recently she completed a two-year term as president of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, where she remains a trustee and a member of the Executive Committee.  Her articles and reviews have appeared in the NYG&B Record, the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, the New England Historical and Genealogical Register, and other publications.  She holds a BA from Adelphi University, where she was a Presidential Scholar, and an MA in Computer Science with honors from Hofstra University. Ms. DeGrazia lives on Long Island.

Involved in genealogy since 1977, Karen Mauer Green has written six books, as well as numerous articles, columns, and reviews. In 1982 she founded Frontier Press, a source for genealogical and historical books. She served the Association of Professional Genealogists as board member and regional vice-president, and the Federation of Genealogical Societies as board member, national conference chair, vice-president for administration, and in numerous other capacities. She has a BS in history with honors and an MA in Museum Studies from the State University of New York at Oneonta. Ms. Green lives in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Their selection was the result of a lengthy national search directed by a committee that included former Record editor Harry Macy Jr., FASG, FGBS and three current trustees of the NYG&B: Anita Anderson Lustenberger, CG, FGBS; Elizabeth L. Bradley, Ph.D., Assistant Director for Public Programs and Lifelong Learning at the New York Public Library; and Luke Ives Pontifell, founder and CEO of Thornwillow Press.

McKelden Smith, president of the NYG&B, said, “The search put me in touch with some of the leading genealogists in the country, who were enormously helpful on a very granular level.  I was hugely gratified by the intense interest the leaders of the field have in the future of the Record, and I am certain that Laura and Karen will have their support.”

He said that an important issue for scholars was that the standards of the NYG&B Record be firmly upheld. “Both Laura DeGrazia and Karen Green are fearsome partisans for rigorous scholarship, while at the same time they are congenial, affirmative, and diplomatic. The NYG&B Record is in extraordinarily capable hands.”

Their first issue of the NYG&B Record will be published in April.  Inquiries about publishing in the NYG&B Record should be sent to editor@nygbs.org