The Historical Society has lost a good and faithful friend with the passing of George Hendricks. A trustee on the board since 2008, George was always ready to help. He was a prime mover in getting our historic marker program started with the installation of the first one in Highmount, at the boulder that held an 1840s Anti-Rent War flag. He worked tirelessly for two summers with Brian Wheaton and others to restore the Arkville Cemetery, where some of his ancestors are buried.

It’s because of George, and a chance conversation he had with New Kingston Valley Grange members at church one Sunday, that HSM was gifted our home on Cemetery Road. He looked forward to mowing the grass there, and looking out for the place.

George was so very proud of his ancestry, and the fact that his sons are the 9th generation of the Hendricks clan in Middletown. He loved to share his genealogy research with others, always looking for those elusive bits of information that would flesh out the lives of people from the past.

His passion for local history and genealogy was such that even when his illness left him tired and weak, he would not bow out of the Living History Tour of Margaretville Cemetery, in which he portrayed his great-great-grandfather, George Hendricks.

Just a few weeks ago, his body failing but his memory sharp, he provided details on owners of New Kingston barns for our farm documentation project, which captured the interest and enthusiasm of hundreds of visitors at the Cauliflower Festival.