The Puget Sound Civil War Roundtable is hosting a monument rededication ceremony at Evergreen-Washelli Memorial Park (east side of SR99) on October 20th at 1:00 p.m. The monument is to Hiram Randall Gale, the last Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) national commander and the last living Civil War veteran in Washington State. For more information, visit the Puget Sound Civil War Roundtable website.
Author Archives: Roxanne Lowe
Eastern Washington GS’s Tuesday Gals Awarded 2016 Outstanding Team Award
Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized almost 500 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2016 award recipients and learn why they received a 2016 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.
Today we’re introducing the Tuesday Gals Team who were nominated by the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society (EWGS). Members of this dedicated team include Carol Anderson, Patricia Ayers, Patricia Bayonne-Johnson, Barbara Brazington, Mary Holcomb, Juanita McBride and Dolly Webb.
EWGS’s Tuesday Gals
Started in the 1950s, the “Tuesday Gals” are a longtime tradition of Gene-Helpers in the local library. In addition to helping people with genealogical research, the Tuesday Gals support EWGS’s genealogical holdings that are housed in the downtown branch of the Spokane Public Library by ordering books, binding and/or repairing them and cataloging them. Although they’re usually at the library on Tuesday’s (thus the name), they’re quick to help if needed on a different day.
This group of dedicated volunteers richly deserve being recipients of a 2016 Outstanding Volunteer Team by the Washington State Genealogical Society.
For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Roxanne Lowe, Recognition Chair, at Roxanne@thekeeffes.com.
Ancestry Day — Quite a Day
Over 700 enthusiastic genealogists and family history buffs, new and experienced, packed into the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center recently for Ancestry Day.
People lined up to talk to Crista Cowan at Ancestry Day — we couldn’t get enough of her!
Many of us had attended the previous day’s lectures at the Washington State History Museum (see my 9/24/16 blog post), but Saturday, Sept. 25, was the “main event,” sponsored by genealogy records giant Ancestry.com. After an opening welcome by Secretary of State Kim Wyman and presentation of the colors by the Washington State Color Guard, Sons of the American Revolution (SAR), we launched into “Ancestry 101, a Beginner’s Basics Class” with Crista Cowan, the Barefoot Genealogist. (I’m always amazed at how much new info I can learn in a “beginners” class!) Crista has been employed by Ancestry since 2004, and really knows her stuff. (Check out her YouTube Channel for a plethora of genealogy videos.) Her witty stories and valuable lessons entertained us all day.
After the beginner’s class, Crista guided us through the benefits (and cautions) about shaky leaf hints (that don’t shake anymore), family trees, suggested records and the card catalog (her personal favorite resource). My only wish during the info-packed hour was that there was a handout — nearly got writer’s cramp taking notes as fast as I could!
Meet the Board: Charles Hansen
Do you know who’s running the show at the Washington State Genealogical Society? Did you know we have an Executive Committee, six standing committee chairs and three appointed non-elected officers? Who are all these people? In the coming months, we’ll introduce them to you, so you can say “hi” the next time you see them.
Web Blog Manager Charles Hansen
In our new “Meet the Board” series, we’re introducing you to Charles Hansen from Spokane. Charles is WSGS’s Blog Master, as well as chair of the Resource Guide Project. He is a longtime member of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society where he serves as their Registered Agent, email chair, chief researcher (since 1998), head of library volunteers and one of their bloggers.
We know him as Charles, but he was born Charles Michael Hansen and called “Mike” by his family for as long as he can remember – probably to avoid confusion with his maternal grandfather Charles Rupert Kelly after whom he was named. His middle name honored his paternal grandfather Anton Mikkel Hansen.
Born in Spokane, Charles graduated from Washington State University in Pullman in 1971. For many years, he’s been an “Enrolled Agent,” someone considered by the IRS to be the equivalent of a CPA – able to do examinations, collections and appeals. In case you were wondering, the name Enrolled Agent came about soon after the Civil War when Enrolled Agents were authorized by the government to fill out paperwork for the veterans and families of the veterans for benefits provided by the government.
Charles and his grandfather Charles Kelly, Aunt Mayme McMichael and his grandmother Cleo Kelly
Charles became interested in genealogy back in 1990 after he and his sister Jacque decided to hold a family reunion. They started looking for their Hansen relatives – not an easy task considering that Charles and Jacque have more than 100 second cousins! After corresponding with their Dad’s first cousin Lorraine Erickson, a Family History Center volunteer in Arizona, Lorraine sent them a group sheet — something Charles and Jacque had never seen before! Lorraine suggested they send blank group sheets with the reunion packets. Imagine their surprise when they got 350 family group sheets back! They dutifully typed the information into a program called the “Enhanced Family Tree” and printed a book for everyone that came to the reunion.
That started the ball rolling. Wanting to find out more about their family, they took a beginning genealogical course through the local community college taught by Donna Potter-Phillips, past president of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society — and WSGS Vice President. She encouraged Charles and Jacque to join EWGS and the rest is, well…history.
A tip from Charles: I didn’t record who sent me each group sheet, so for the first 500 names in my genealogical file today most have no sources, but I do have the hard copy group sheets. Also the Enhanced Family Tree program did not have the ability to save data as a GEDCOM so when I switched to a better program, I had to retype all the data I had.
Charles and Jacque recently returned from a road trip to visit family and the Montana State Genealogical Society conference in Missoula to hear Judy Russell and Amy Crow. Charles has also visited Minnesota where the five original Hansen brothers settled. He’s also got ancestors from Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, New England, Denmark, England, Scotland and Germany.
When Charles isn’t blogging on the WSGS Blog (or his own blog http://charles-mikkelshus.blogspot.com/), researching at the county courthouse, volunteering at EWGS or doing his own genealogy, he’s out in his garden puttering here and there.
More trivia about Charles:
- His favorite color is blue.
- His favorite dessert is ice cream.
- His most used genealogy website is the Washington State Digital Archives – where he’s transcribed over 523,000 records!
- He says the single word that best describes him is “introvert.”
Now you know a little more about one of the WSGS Board members. The next time you see Charles, say hello and thank him for his service to the WSGS.
Wenatchee Area GS Strategic Planning Leadership Duo Awarded 2016 Outstanding Team Award
Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized almost 500 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2016 award recipients and learn why they received a 2016 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.
Today we’re introducing Shirley Allmon Acheson and Barbara Barker Congdon who were nominated by the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS). This dynamic duo made up the WAGS Strategic Planning Leadership Team.
Barbara Barker Congdon
Shirley Allmon Acheson
Sharing insight gained at a Nonprofit Practices Institute seminar in 2012, this incredible pair facilitated a series of strategic planning sessions, greatly increasing the WAGS’s Board of Directors’ efficiency and purpose. Their exemplary teamwork enabled the board to develop and commit to a strategic plan, launching the society into a smoother, more efficient trajectory.
Ms. Acheson, an 18-year member of WAGS, graciously tackles a spectrum of volunteer tasks, giving her time, enthusiasm and considerable talent to website management, the WAGS “no-work fundraiser,” and maintenance of the Civil War Veterans database. She currently serves on the board of directors as a member-at-large.
Ms. Congdon is a career educator and avid researcher. Having grown up in Poulsbo, Washington, she was drawn to WAGS 20 years ago via their Genealogy Library resources and dedicated volunteers. She is a creative non-stop networker and enthusiastic promoter of WAGS. She is a frequent genealogy library volunteer, serves on the nominating committee, and currently is serving her second term as vice-president.
Ms. Acheson and Ms. Congdon are dedicated volunteers and richly deserve being recipients of a 2016 Outstanding Volunteer Team Award by the Washington State Genealogical Society.
For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Roxanne Lowe, Recognition Chair, at Roxanne@thekeeffes.com.
How to Post on the Blog
Do you want to broadcast information about your local society, workshop, genealogical tip, or a research query? Just post to the WSGS Blog! You can reach hundreds of genealogists from around the state. Just email a Word document, text file, PDF or graphic to WSGSBlog@wasgs.org and the blog masters will do the rest.
We’re always looking to publicize local events and workshops, feature stories, updates from your society, and other genealogical information that might be of interest to our many subscribers.
We hope to hear from you soon! And don’t forget to encourage your Society members to subscribe to the Blog for the most up-to-date information from around the state.
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Genealogy Jamboree in The Dalles on Saturday
The Columbia Gorge Genealogical Society is hosting a Genealogy Jamboree on Saturday, October 8, 2016 at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in The Dalles, Oregon. The Jamboree will be a day of exploration and attendees will learn how to discover their family history. For more information, visit the CGGS blog.
NARA Hosts Virtual Genealogy Fair
The National Archives is hosting a two-day, virtual Genealogy Fair via webcast on October 26 and 27, 2016. Viewers will have the opportunity to participate with the presenters and other family historians during the live event on YouTube. Registration is not required. For more information, visit the Virtual Genealogy Fair website.
Related to a Minnesota Medal of Honor Recipient?
The Anoka (Minnesota) Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is publishing a book with biographies of 72 Minnesota Medal of Honor Recipients. The book includes the biography of three veterans with ties to Washington State.
- Jesse T. Barrick was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Civil War. Barrick settled in Suquamish, Kitsap County in 1909 and died in Pasco, Franklin County in 1923. Barrick is buried in Tahoma National Cemetery in Kent, Washington.
- Raymond Erwin Davis joined the U.S. Navy in Puget Sound, Washington. He was awarded a Peace Time Medal of Honor for heroic efforts to rescue comrades when a boiler exploded on the U.S.S. Bennington in San Diego in 1905. He died in Port Orchard, Kitsap County and is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Seattle, King County.
- Leo Thorsness was a Washington State Senator in 1988. Thorsness was a prisoner of war and the only Medal of Honor recipient credited with an aerial victory in the Vietnam War. Colonel Thorsness is one of a few living Medal of Honor recipients.
If you are interested in additional information or want to order a book, please contact:
Marijane Tessman
Member, Anoka Chapter DAR
763-561-2111
minncardinal@gmail.com
International Germanic Genealogy Conference — Mark Your Calendar
German-American Genealogical Partnership
The German-American Genealogical Partnership is sponsoring its first International Germanic Genealogy Conference, July 28 – 30, 2017 in Minneapolis. More than 60 presentations will be held over the three-day conference — everything German. Registration begins in January 2017, but hotel accommodations can be made now. For more information, visit the Germanic Genealogy Society website.