I think most every county in Washington has a genealogical society; some have more than one. Each one of these groups was established for two reasons: to help members with finding their family history, and to keep a library or collection of local resources with which to offer that help.  Do not overlook what can be found locally in a smaller, local society. 

Burlington, in Skagit County, Washington, began as a logging camp in 1882 and was officially incorporated in 1902. That’s a long-time history! The city sits near the Skagit River, which has a history of flooding, but the city bounced back after a terrible flood in 1909 and is a sweet little place to visit today. When I visited with this group, several members told me the stories of how their recent ancestors had moved there from the midwest, lured by lumbering jobs. 

The Skagit Valley Genealogical Society was established in 1987 “to promote and preserve family history,” especially in their area. SVGS maintains an extensive collection of genealogy reference books in the Burlington Public Library. Are you needing research help in Skagit County? Do contact the Skagit Valley Genealogical Society. As a bonus, Burlington is just a tad north of the Skagit Valley tulip explosion; time your trip to enjoy the blooms and visit Burlington and other nearby places in Skagit County. 

After my time with the SVGS group, I took the ferry to Port Angeles to visit family. Thinking of small places as I drove west,  I saw two place-name signs I’d never seen before. One directed folks to turn left for the town of Big….. could find nothing for that town but Big Lake is a designated place in Skagit County. Big, Washington; interesting designation.

Beaver is an unincorporated community in Clallam County on the Olympic Peninsula, settled in the early 1900s. Wikipedia designated it as “one of the wettest places in the contiguous U.S. with an annual rainfall of 121 inches.” Yikes.  Anybody’s ancestor from Beaver, Washington?? I wonder why they left? (smile)
I’ve been to Joyce, in Clallam County. This townlet was founded in 1913 by Joseph Joyce and is 16 miles west of Port Angeles. The historic general store there opened n 1911 and is still offering refreshments to travelers today. Interesting trivia: as there is only one road into town, residents are very aware of  the possibility of a catastrophic earthquake happening (the town sits on the Cascadia subducton zone) and have extensive emergency and survival planning in place. Good for them! 

 The historic wooden-hulled, three-masted frigate, was built in Boston and launched in 1797. Did you know it is still a commissioned vessel of the modern U.S. Navy? 

Named by President George Washington, the Constitution is most famour for her actions against the British Navy during the War of 1812. She earned the nickname “Old Ironsides” in an engagement with the HMS Guerriere when her thick, oak hull sustained relatively minor damage from the Guerrier’s  cannon balls. 

You can read six pages of history on this great old ship on www.historylink.org (our Washington State history site). 

“On May 31, 1933, the historic frigate USS Constitution arrived at the Port of Seattle. After making a grand circuit of Elliott Bay, “Old Ironsides” was moored at Pier 41 in Smith Cove. This was part of a three-year tour around the United States, a public “thank you” to everyone who, from 1925 to 1930, helped raise almost $1 million ($18 billion today) to completely restore the deteriorating vessel.” Some 84,000 people toured the ship in Seattle.
She then made her way up the Washington coast, stopping in Bremerton, Tacoma, Everett, Bellingham, Anacortes, Port Angeles and Port Townsend before heading south for stops along the California coast. She wintered in San Diego before heading back to Boston where she now is permanently moored. As a still-commissioned vessel, she floats IN the bay, not stuck in a concrete bay. 

Don’t we just love our Washington State history tidbits???

Some short time back I was given three big boxes of the basic reference/resource books for New England research. Here in Spokane I’ve tried to find way for anybody interested to have access to these books and I have failed. Could lengthen the story but bottom line I have all these wonderful books that need a home. I’m posting here hoping that some one of you, dear readers, belongs to a genealogical society who has interest (and space!) to have these books available to your members. (EWGS no longer has a genealogy library; too long and too sad a story to share here.) For postage, or UPS charges, I’d be happy to ship these boxes to you………. just say the word. Here is the short history and the list of those books:

I have two “Xerox-size” boxes of books pertaining to early New England research. These books were discards from the Yakima Valley Genealogical Society library.  These are basic books for New England research. That’s not to say everything in each volume is correct; but the volumes do provide clues.

1.  Compendium of American Genealogy, First Families of America by Virkus, published 1926-1942; there are Volumes 2 – 3 – 4 – 6 – 7.
2. New England Marriages Prior to 1700, by Torrey, and Supplement
3. The Great Migration Begins, Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633, by Anderson; 3 volumes,  A-F,  C-F,  G-H. (yes looks like a typed mistake but tiz not), published 1995. Likely there are more volumes to this series but my two boxes don’t contain them. J
4. The Great Migration, by Anderson, published between 1999 and 2011, 7 volumes, A-Z.
5. Genealogical Dictionary of First Settlers of New England, Three Generations prior to May 1692, by Savage; 4 volumes covering A-Z, originally published 1860-1862.
6. Digest of Early Connecticut Probate Records, by Manwaring, Vols 1-3 cover Hartford, 1635-1750.
7. Families of Ancient New Haven, by Jacobus, there are 3 compiled volumes only,  1-3, 4-6, and 7-8, first published 1922-1932
8. New England Historic Genealogical Society Register:
   1. 15 volumes from Fall 2019 to Winter 2022
   1. Bunch of old ones, Volumes 1-6,  15-26,  31-34, published between 1847 and 1881.

Email me directly, please: Donna243@gmail.com…. and ONLY if you’re interested in having the books. Please don’t just say “sorry we cannot.”