Do you have ancestry back in Illinois? Do you like to write? Here’s an opportunity for you. The Illinois Genealogical Society’s Quarterly for Spring 2019 carried a plea from Richard R. Anderson, editor of the Quarterly. “We Need Your Stories!” he begs.
My ancestor, Matthew Potter, was quite the guy, apparently. He served in the Union Army during the Civil War from his home in Illinois. His is a pretty ordinary story until, I found, until I scanned the images from his Civil War Pension File. One last document, filed in 1922 by his last wife (yes, there’s a story) says she “divorced him on account of finding him in a vile act with a chicken.” Hummmm. Think that would make a good story for the Illinois State Genealogical Society’s Quarterly??
David Rencher, currently the Head Honcho of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, was the speaker at the 2015 conference of the Washington State Genealogical Society held that year in Ellensburg. David introduced us to the concept of framing the problem.
David began his presentation by showing three slides of the Golden Gate Bridge and explained, “If you’re driving on the bridge, you see the bridge from that angle. If you’re on a boat on the bay, looking up, you’ll see the bridge from that angle. And if you’re landing in a airplane in San Francisco, looking down,you’ll see the bridge from that angle.”
His point with this illustration was that the way you’re currently viewing your genealogy problem is only one way to view it. Right now that’s all you can see. You must “frame your picture differently” and then from that new angle you might see things that you did not see before.
David went on for an hour explaining how to do that but his words of counsel all boil down to this: LOOK-LEARN-DO.
He ended with his quip: “I know where lots of my ancestors aren’t because I’ve looked there.”
Thought you might like to read an article I wrote back in 1991 for Heritage Quest Magazine:
A short while back I visited my sis-in-law in Kansas City
and we visited the old Union Cemetery. This toppled-stone-not-well-cared-for
place has quite a history.
In the first half of the 1800s, Westport (8 miles from
Kansas City, Missouri) was “quite the metropolis. It was the final “civilized”
stop for those setting out on the Santa Fe Trail or the Oregon Trail.” As the
town grew, churches sprang up and with them, cemeteries. Soon it was apparent
that the church cemeteries would not suffice for burying grounds.
Meanwhile, north of Westport a settlement was growing where
river boats unloaded goods found for Westport. This little town grew and by
1840 the Town of Kansas (later to become Kansas City) had a population of
several hundred.
An event occurred in 1849 that changed both towns forever.
That spring, some 300 settlers arrived on a steamboat from New Orleans. That
steamboat also carried cholera; soon over 200 of the settlers had perished.
Union Cemetery was the answer. In 1857 it was so named from an amiable agreement between Westport and the Town of Kansas, not for anything connected to the Civil War. There are fifteen Confederate soldiers buried there in a mass grave who died as prisoners of war after the Battle of Westport in 1864.
One especially tender moment came when I spotted the grave marker for 8-year-old Little Miss Mata Erath who died in 1885. (I had a photo but dang! It won’t upload for me today. Bad computer!)
(Reference: Recent book compiled and published by the Union
Cemetery Historical Association.)
TIP OF THE WEEK – USING CONTROL F
You
have a powerful function at your disposal when you’re in a web browser
and want to search for a word or phrase. It’s called Control F, and very
often you will see it written and referred to as CTRL+F.
This performs the same way as the search function in many of the applications you use.
While
holding down the Control key (labeled CTRL), hit the F key. A search
box will pop up on your screen. In this search, or find box, enter the
word or phrase you want to locate.
This
function comes in particularly handy when you want to search long web
pages, blogs, or online books for something specific. I find it useful
in searching through family history books that are online at
archive.org.
Here’s
a sample exercise for you to try out. Click on the link at the bottom
of this article to go to an online version of “War and Peace” in text
format.
While
holding down the CTRL key, hit the F key. Now enter the word Nicholas
in the search box that appears, and hit enter. Nicholas occurs 631 times
in “War and Peace”. See the 1/631 in the search box? See the up and
down arrows in the search box? Using the up and down arrows you can rapidly jump through “War and Peace” to each mention of Nicholas.
https://archive.org/stream/warandpeace030164mbp/warandpeace030164mbp_djvu.txt
The
instructions and descriptions above are using the Chrome browser and a
PC. If you have a PC and are using Internet Explorer or another
browser, the find box may look and behave a little differently. If you
have a Mac, not a problem. It’s just Command F, instead of Control F.
Don’t miss our 2019 Spring Seminar, “Next
Steps for Your DNA Test Results”, featuring Diahan Southard. From
beginner to advanced genealogist, Diahan will help you understand and
help you organize your results to find those lost relatives.
Topics for the 4 workshops are:
Let Your DNA Tell Your Story
Me and My 1,000+ DNA 4th Cousins
Making YDNA and mtDNApart of Your Family History
Three Next Steps for Your DNA Test Results
Also look for the Special Workshops on Sunday morning, May 19: “Organizing Your DNA Results”.
For
more than 15 years, dedicated SGS volunteers have staffed a table at
the Irish Festival each March. This well-attended festival brings people
from all around Puget Sound to the Seattle Center to learn and
celebrate Irish culture, history, and music. SGS volunteers answered
questions about Irish genealogy to a steady stream of visitors. Some
stayed for long, in-depth conversations about their family histories and
roadblocks. Visitors to the SGS booth also learned about our library
and upcoming events including the Spring Seminar, “Next Steps for Your
DNA Results” with Diahan Southard on May 18th and 19th. Jean Roth’s
lectures on Saturday and Sunday, “Introduction to Irish Genealogy”, were
well attended.
A
big thank you to our Irish Festival volunteers: Jean Roth, Jim Ryan,
Donna Judd, Vern Judd, Ida McCormick, Jack Donahue, George Kulstad,
Annette Dwyer and Karen Portzer.
THE SPRING RAFFLE IS RAMPING UP!
We
are now accepting donations of goods or services for the Spring
Workshop raffle (May 18). In the past, we have gratefully received items
such as DNA kits, genealogy books, jewelry, ballet tickets, quilts, and
genealogy tools. Use your imagination. Proceeds from the raffle support
the SGS library, and donations are tax deductible. Donated items can
be sent or brought to the SGS library. Please also send an email message
to volunteers@seattlegenealogicalsociety.org telling us of your donation prior to mailing or delivering the item so we will be on the alert for its delivery. MEMBER MILESTONE
Karin Borgersen, member and friend of SGS, recently started a new position as
the program manager for the Genetic Counseling Graduate Program at
University of Washington. She’s excited to be working with a great team
to launch a program that she feels is going to be really fantastic. A
professional genealogist, Karin says she still will be taking clients at
her business, Borgersen Research, albeit on a reduced schedule.
SAVE THE DATE
Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State, “Breaking Down Brick Walls” with Mary Kathryn Kozy, LDS Factoria Church Building, 4200 124th Ave SE Bellevue, WA 98006 Monday, April 8, 2019
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Come early to network with other attendees. Presentation starts promptly at 7:15 p.m. Free WIFI, admission, and refreshmentsS
SGS CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Unless
otherwise indicated all programs will be at the SGS Library, 6200 Sand
Point Way NE, Seattle. Check the SGS Web Site for additions, changes,
and corrections. Programs may be canceled or postponed because of
inclement weather.
APRIL
Family Tree Interest Group,10:15 am – 12:15 pm,
Saturday, April 6, Lou Daly is leader of this special interest group exploring all the features of the tool Family Tree on FamilySearch.org Come learn about the proposed changes coming to Family Search and Family Tree.
Sunday, April 7, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, DNA Workshop, with Cary Bright. Q&A first hour, while focus second hour in on Genome Mate Pro.
Saturday, April 13, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, Second Saturday Speakers Series – “Using the Collections of NARA Seattle” with Trish Hackett Nicola
Sunday, April 14, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, Scandinavian Special Interest Group, with Karen Knudson
Some ancestors left a scant amount of
information about their life. How can you take that meager data and
write about it so it is interesting? Mary Roddy, a professional
genealogist, will share her ideas for writing a story so your family
will enjoy reading about that ancestor.
Jefferson County Genealogical Society
welcomes back Mary Roddy who earned a certificate from the Genealogy
and Family History program at the University of Washington. She is an
active member of Seattle Genealogical Society, a contributor to
“YourGenealogyToday” and “Internet Genealogy” magazines and a
webinar presenter with Legacy Family Tree Webinars. She speaks
frequently in the Seattle area.
Meeting is free and open to the public.
More information:
www.wajcgs.org ; phone 360-385-9495
Saturday, April 20th, 9:30
a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Tri-Area Community Center
10 West Valley Rd.
Chimacum, Washington
Contact for this release: Judy Tough
360-385-3065 or tough@olympus.net
Only three days left! Friday, March 29th – Sunday, Mar. 31st
Wow! Just wow! We’re blown away by how many people are coming to the annual GFO Open House this week! Irish Day kicked things off last weekend with our classroom jammed with enthusiastic genealogists. We thought attendance might drop during the week, but we were wrong! By the half way point more people had joined us than in all 9 days last year. By
the time this email goes out, we still have 3 more days of classes
left. Friday, March 29 will include classes on Citing Sources, Mexican
Ancestry, & Ohio River Area Research. Closing weekend, March 30
& 31 features DNA Days. Please come down! All of the classes are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
Ingredients for a successful Open House: ▪ Great Speakers ▪ Free Access to Library ▪ Drool-inducing treats! Meet our Coffee Queen! Judith Leppert comes every morning to our Open House this week to make fresh coffee and share her latest home-baked treats! Come see what she brings during the rest of this week through Sunday, March 31. Thank you, Judith!
Another Brick Wall Comes Tumbling Down! United States and Irish Record Research…
Military
documents reported Patrick Powers as a native of Ireland who came to
the US and then became a US citizen in 1892 by virtue of his US military
service. His descendants knew nothing of his Irish roots or his family
connections as his early death resulted in almost no verbal history for
him. April’s
Genealogy Problem Solvers presentation will demonstrate the use of a
wide range of records in both the US and Ireland, including detailed
examination of Catholic Parish records, Valuation Renewal Books, and
Civil records. Utilizing these records, we will pinpoint Patrick’s
birthplace, and identify some of his ancestors as well as additional
kin. We will focus on how detailed examination of many records, the use
of spreadsheets, a timeline, and even a distant DNA connection can
contribute to finding the story of an elusive ancestor. Join
us Saturday, April 20th, at 9:30 a.m. to learn how this technique can
help you in organizing your research. For more information contact Katie
Daly at GPS@gfo.org.
Did you see the marvelous story about the GFO in the Oregonian? Tom Hallman, Oregonian’s Pulitzer winning feature writer, wrote about us on Sunday, March 24. Many people coming to the Open House say they learned about the GFO for the first time from this story. You can read it online here.
GFO Hall of Fame Nominations Needed by May 1st
The Hall of Fame Award is our way of honoring GFO members who have performed outstanding service to the Forum. The
award is limited to one person per year, except in the case where a
pair of members has worked together or the Board waives the limitation. A
nomination may be made by any Forum member and the recipient will be
selected from the panel of nominations by a majority vote of the Board
of Directors. The recipient must have a well-documented history of… * Service * Leadership * Accomplishment …in
more than one facet of the Forum over a significant period of time.
Please include examples of how this nominee fulfilled all three
categories. Any current GFO Member may nominate a member for the Hall of Fame. Please send nominations to secretary@gfo.org before May 1st.
Beginning
on Saturday, June 15, 2019, Sacramento will host the second
international conference of the International German Genealogy
Partnership (IGGP). More than 700 people are expected to attend the
conference to focus on the history and genealogy of those with German
ancestry, wherever they live in the world. Regular pricing ends April 15th. Don’t forget to sign up soon!
We Regret the Error… We apologize for a typo in the Financial Report in our most recent Forum Insider. The GFO posted a gain in February of $5,388.24, not a loss.
FRIDAY, March 29th OPEN HOUSE – Citing Sources, Mexican Ancestry, & Ohio River Area Research 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. See the full detailed class list here. SATURDAY & SUNDAY, March 30th & 31st OPEN HOUSE – DNA Days! 9 a.m. – 4:45 p.m. See the full detailed class list here. Two sessions with guest speaker Barbara Rae-Venter are sold out: Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and Sunday at 9 a.m. All others are open on walk-in basis until the room is full. Please also be sure to check our Open House website. MONDAY, April 1st Free First Monday! 9:30 a.m. – 8 p.m. Please note! We’re open late (until 8 p.m.) for this month’s Free First Monday. Stop by after work! Come visit our research library each first Monday of every month and splurge on all GFO’s wonderful resources for FREE. Explore our online databases like Fold3, Ancestry World Library Edition, Newspapers.com, and many more. Our analog and microfilm collections total over 50,000 items. Don’t miss out! WEDNESDAY, April 3rd Library Open Late Until 8 p.m. Learn & Chat 10 a.m. – noon At Learn & Chat some of the learning comes from speakers with particular expertise but most of it comes from the sharing of experiences and knowledge of attendees who have developed methods that work for them. And if you have been doing genealogy for any length time you have likely experienced the wonderful moments of exhilaration, the successes that you then share with others and that drive you to continue researching. Unfortunately those times can be few and far between. Join us to talk about your genealogy questions and help provide support to others. Facilitated by Jeanne Quan. DNA Q&A 1 – 3 p.m. Lisa McCullough will be available to help answer your DNA questions, whether you are new and just getting started or have more involved questions. Questions? Email the facilitators dna_qa@gfo.org.
Here in Spokane, our wonderful newspaper, The Spokesman Review, revived Dorothy Dean and her recipes from the decades ago. Some look yummy, some look weird and none would qualify as fast food. Some I might try; some I never would.
Take this one: Curried Tongue.
1 #3 pound beef tongue; 6 cups water; 2 1/2 tsp salt; 1 medium onion, chopped; 1 cup celery, chopped; 2-4 tsp curry powder; 3 TB flour; 1/3 cup water. Wipe the beef tongue with a damp cloth and place in cooker covered with the water. Add the salt and cook on high heat until steaming and then reduce heat to low and cook for 2 hours. Remove the tongue, skin the tongue and replace in the liquid with vegetables and curry powder. Make a gravy from broth, flour and water.
Do let me know if you’re brave enough (or desperate enough?) to try this.
My great-grandmother had her last daughter, Clara, when she was 46 and for 1886 that was old. So I wondered who was the oldest woman to give birth?
Maria del Carmen Bousada de LaraMaria del Carmen Bousada de Lara is the oldest verified mother; she was aged 67 years 3 days when she gave birth to twins; she was 130 days older than Adriana Iliescu, who gave birth in 2005 to a baby girl. In both cases the children were conceived through IVF with donor eggs. (Thank you Google.)
A nature bit in the Sunday paper piqued my interest. “The world’s oldest known wild bird has become a mother yet again, hatching at the approximate age of 68 what is about her 40th egg. The Laysan albatross known as Wisdom was first banded in 1956 and has regularly nested to hatch her eggs on the remote Midway Atoll in the central Pacific, having returned to the same nesting site since 2006.”
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