BY DARRELL HALEN

In the comfort of your home, sitting in front of your computer, you can access a variety of historical and genealogical information related to Pelham.

It’s contained in an online library whose collection, its founders expect, will grow over time.

Although the Hayes-Genoter History and Genealogy On Line Library is relatively new, the research members of the Pelham Historical Society have access to more than 35,000 pages of material.    

“Our goal is to have the most comprehensive local history library,” said William “Spike” Hayes, who teamed up with fellow resident Karen Genoter to create the library.

They plan to add 10,000 pages of material annually as time and funding permit.

Membership in the Pelham Historical Society is available to anyone who is interested in Pelham history and genealogy. A regular membership costs $5 annually, while a research membership is $20 per year.

Every new member who joins enables 300 additional pages of material to be added.

Among the information currently available in the library are town clerk vital records from 1743 to 1865; census lists; town report vital records from 1888 to 1951; lists of Pelham soldiers, going as far back as the French and Indian Wars; Congregational Church records from 1751 to 1885; maps, family histories and other materials.

Hayes has a list of materials to be added in the future.

“We try to get up what may be of most interest to the most people ... We have lots and lots of information,” he said.

Hayes brings to the project a long-held interest in history and a collection of thousands of pages of materials that he wants to make available to society members through its Web site. Genoter, the society’s director of computer services, created the library’s Web site.

They are working to get information from the town’s early years that was stored in microfilm converted to digital format. After being converted, it will be added to the library.

Financial support for the nonprofit library has come from John Hardy and Judge J. Albert Lynch.

Hardy, of Long Island, N.Y., is funding the Family History Program. He and his wife both have Pelham family connections dating back to Colonial times.

Lynch, one of the historical society’s founding members, is funding the town records preservation project.

Additional benefactors are expected to support the library as it grows, according to Hayes.

People can learn more about the library by clicking on a link on the society’s Web site, pelhamnhhistory.org.

There, they can see a list of materials that are currently available and those that are expected to be added in the future. They can also become a member or make a donation.