July 13, 2011 Speaker: Rob Upson, Caribbean Genealogy Library

On July 13, 2011, we had the pleasure of Rob Upson of the Caribbean Genealogy Libray as our first speaker of the year. The purpose of the CGL is to identify, preserve, and provide access to Caribbean genealogy, history, and cultural heritage information resources for the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean, and to promote and encourage their use for family history documentation, education, and scholarship.

CGL has an extensive Funeral Booklet collection. It also has microfilms of US Virgin Islands church records and historic newspapers. With over 5,000 volumes of rare and historic reference books and periodicals it is aa extremely valuable resource to historians and amatuer researchers alike.

Rob Upson is currently a CPA at Benham and Hodge, PC, public accountants.  Originally from the state of Oregon, Rob first came to the Virgin Islands 11 years ago as an instructor aboard a sail-training ship.  Two years later he returned to St. Thomas to teach math and science at Antilles School.  As coach of the Antilles School sailing team he achieved two national high school championships.

In 2007 he married Rotarian Elisabeth Anderson of Rotary East, the granddaughter of Elisabeth Sharp, who co-founded the Caribbean Genealogy Library.  He has been involved with the library since 2008 as treasurer, and gained the library 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.  Rob is currently serving as President of the library and is here today to give an overview of the resources and activities sponsored by CGL.