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MARYLAND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY |
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ELLA ROWE 1915-2007
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Ella was not just an officer of this Society. She was not just its longest serving board member and Corresponding Secretary, she was in many ways synonymous with the Society itself. The following was written three years ago when Ella was nominated as outstanding volunteer for the Federation of Genealogical Society's Ruth C. Bishop Award --- |
| Since the inception of the
Maryland Genealogical Society in 1959, Ella H. Rowe has been a member,
a volunteer and she has served in many elected offices. Prior to her term
as president in 1975-1977, Ella served as Recording Secretary, Librarian,
Chair of the Records Committee and several Nomination Committees. Since
her presidency, she has served as our Corresponding Secretary for 27 consecutive
years. "I cannot remember a time when Ella was not working hard for the Society ..." This was one of the many comments returned from current and past officers upon receipt of Ella's name as a nominee for the Ruth C. Bishop Hall of Honor. It sums up in one line what others expressed in detail. Not only has Ella held multiple officially designated positions within the Society but she has filled the role of several other less-than-official positions, namely file clerk, telephone answerer, typist, caterer and "mother hen." She has been "fussing" over the Society's quarterly newsletter for decades, single handedly creating, editing and mailing each issue. In the early days this was accomplished with mimeographed copies, but now she serves as the conduit to our contracted printers. She has in the past two years, despite her protestations, successfully learned the intricacies of word processing and has become adept at communication by e-mail. She now manages an electronic database that caters especially to the Society's over age 70 members and the many institutional MdGenSoc members. Computer or no, Ella's memory is remarkable. Through the years she has accumulated a personal knowledge of our members that enables her to recall where they live and when they joined the Society. She has been instrumental in recruiting many new members and providing assistance in researching their ancestry. During the early decades of the Society, Ella's apartment was the offical venue for Board meetings, all the while, she was employed full time as a nurse instructor at Johns Hopkins Hospital maternal care division. During World War II, she served her country as a medical nursing officer in the Navy. The Maryland Genealogical Society has recognized Miss Rowe's devotion in years past. As early as thirty years ago she earned the Award of Merit and is now recognized as a Fellow of the Society. We have also presented to The H. Furlong Baldwin Library at the Maryland Historical Society, where Miss Rowe can be found on a regular basis, a map case in her honor. As another Board member has stated, "She has been the backbone of the organization and serves as its institutional memory." Ella H. Rowe is known and loved throughout the membership of the Maryland Genealogical Society. |
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