The Executive Council, comprised of FRGS officers, is charged with managing the business of the society and developing its policies.
Current Officers
President
The president is responsible for the administration of the society and presides over all regular membership and Executive Council meetings, including setting the meeting gendas.
Paul “Trip” Wiggins
A note from Trip: My grandmother got me interested in genealogy in the late 1960s while I was in Junior High & High School and I’ve been hooked ever since. I was born in Ohio (where most of my Wiggins’ lines go back to the early 1810s) and raised in Nevada (where most of my mother’s lines go) and am a ‘come here’ in Virginia – although I have Virginia roots pre-Revolutionary War. Like many of you, I have roots going back to England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and Germany – that I know of.
I’m a Navy graduate (Retired as an A-6 Intruder Bombardier/Navigator) and as of Jan. 2022 a retired Federal DoD analyst working the last 30 years at Dahlgren. Outside of genealogy, I’m active in the Boy Scouts, Fredericksburg Welsh Society, Rappahannock Colonial Heritage Society including historical interpretation, and my church. Happily married – my wife Myra is a DAR state ‘Genie’ – with our daughter and 4 grandkids in our house.
I have been a member of FRGS since the mid-90s and have held the following offices: Secretary (1998-2000), Pres (2001-2002; 2005-2011), VP (2012-2014), Newsletter Editor (2002-2014), Historian/archivist (since about 2010). I have given over 40 presentations at FRGS meetings.
Goals for FRGS: I would love to see FRGS and its members find and digitize/transcribe/post local genealogy records that are not currently available on the Internet (local wills, probate inventories, obits, marriage records, tax records, church records, cemetery records, etc.). When I do MY family history, I’m thrilled when I find a digitized original record pertaining to one of my ancestors on the Internet from a state far from Virginia. I want to give that thrill to people researching the Fredericksburg-Stafford-Spotsylvania-Caroline-King George area. Let’s help THEM as many of them have helped US! If you are interested in helping with this effort, let us know.
First Vice President
The First Vice President is the Program Chair and is responsible for securing speakers for both the monthly meetings and the Annual Fall Conference.
This position is currently vacant.
Second Vice President
The Second Vice President is in charge of membership and serves as Registrar.
Trish Little Taylor
Trish grew up in New Jersey and moved to Virginia to attend Mary Washington College. After graduation, she earned a Master’s in Librarianship from Western Michigan University and later a Master’s in Humanities from the University of Richmond. Trish worked for years as a school librarian and then worked for the Library of Virginia in the pre-computer days when typing was the desired input method and research meant either microfilm or traveling to the source. The job at the Library of Virginia is responsible for her obsession with research, especially for local history and genealogy. Eventually, Trish moved back to New Jersey and worked for Bell Labs Library group. Trish later worked for the Portsmouth Public Library and after retiring in 2017, she moved to the Fredericksburg area. Her love of genealogy and local history groups (especially Irish history) remains very strong.
Like many of you, Trish didn’t know much about her ancestors. She knew that her Grandmother May Agnes Walters and her father Joseph Warren Walters were born in Virginia. The rest of Trish’s family comes from Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Cornwall, England, and Ireland. She began research in Ireland and was able to obtain her Irish citizenship because William Little, her grandfather, was born there. This research has led her to want to share this love of Ireland and Irish genealogy.
Trish now lives in Ruther Glen with her dog Meeka and cat Bouncy.
Treasurer
The Treasurer is responsible for FRGS finances, including developing and managing current accounts, the annual budget, and tracking and reporting on the society’s financial position.
David Thomen
Recording/Corresponding Secretary
The Secretary is responsible for keeping the minutes of the FRGS regular monthly meetings, special meetings, and Executive Council meetings.
This position is currently vacant.