Friday Serendipity

What do you know about catsup? Or ketchup? Or tomato sauce, as it’s called in some parts of the world?

In New Zealand they call it Tomato Sauce but the bottle and the contents were quite familiar to us and worked dandy fine for dipping french fries.

Bet you didn’t know that (according to Google) our concept of catsup/ketchup comes from a Chinese condiment? The word originally meant fish sauce in a dialect of Fujian province and then people from there immigrated to America they brought their food tastes with them.

Here is a recipe for Tomata (sic) Catsup in 1817:

“Gather a gallon of fine, red and fully ripe tomatas; mash them with one pound of salt; let them rest for three days then press off the juice and to each quart add a quarter pound of anchovies, two ounces of shallots, and an ounce of black pepper; boil up together for half an hour, strain through a sieve and put to it the following spices: quarter ounce of mace, the same of allspice and ginger, half an ounce of nutmeg, a drachm of coriander seed and half a drachm of cochineal; pound all together; let them simmer gently for twenty minutes and strain through a bag; when cold, bottle it,a dding to each bottle a wineglass of brandy. It will keep for seven years.”

A “drachm” is 1/8 of an ounce; cochineal was for red color and came from a certain seashell.

Makes me wonder: what is the list of ingredients for modern-day ketchup or catsup??? No brandy, I’d guess.

Wednesday Nostalgia

Dec5 by Charles Hansen

What’s better than German Chocolate Cake? Nothing much, eh? Did you know it did not originate in Germany?? Nope, not a “German food.”

“German chocolate” was developed by an English/American baker, Samuel German, in 1852. The Baker’s Chocolate Company used Samuel German’s creation of a dark baking chocolate to ultimately develop a recipe for a chocolate-coconut cake. On 3 Jun 1957, a recipe for “German’s Chocolate Cake appeared as the “Recipe of the Day” in The Dallas Morning News. It was created by Mrs. George Clay, a homemaker from Dallas.”

General Foods, which owned the Baker’s brand at the time, took notice and distributed the cake recipe to other newspapers and sales of Baker’s Chocolate are said to have skyrocketed. The possessive form (German’s) was dropped in subsequent publications forming the “German Chocolate Cake” identity and giving the false impression of a German origin.”

(Thanks to both Wikipedia and Der Ahnenforscher, newsletter of the German Genealogy Group (www.TheGGG.org) ……. to which you might want to subscribe iffen you have German roots and not just a love of German Chocolate Cake.0

2019 International German Genealogy Conference

Dec4 by Charles Hansen

6 months to go … 6 gifts to choose from

The 6th of December is celebrated as St. Nicholas Day in many parts of German-speaking Europe. The real Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of children, sailors, students, teachers, and merchants. Since he delivers gifts to children on his feast day, Dec. 6, the saint is often confused with Santa Claus, who came about much later.

While Nicholas doesn’t use reindeer, he does travel with a companion known by different names. Be warned that this is no jolly elf. One alias, Krampus, actually enjoys scaring the children!

So how did we get from St. Nicholas to Santa Claus? Thank Martin Luther, who, in his effort to give Protestants their own Christmas traditions, introduced an angel-like Christ Child (Christkindl) who brought gifts. This religious figure was later replaced by der Weihnachtsmann (Father Christmas) a.k.a. Santa Claus.

Whether you’re shopping for St. Nicholas Day or Christmas, check out these gifts for those attending the International German Genealogy Conference in Sacramento next June.

You could wrap up a tour of San Francisco, the Wine/Gold Country or Lake Tahoe for the non-family researcher accompanying you to the conference.

Or, if you’ve been extra good in doing your research, treat yourself to one (or more) of the free Genealogical and Historic Walking tours in downtown Sacramento.

Krampus with the children. Postcard circa 1920.

Shop for others

Shop for yourself

REGISTER NOW. Take advantage now of the early bird registration rates, which end Jan. 15. With limited seating available, it’s best not to hesitate. If the conference is full, your registration will go on a wait list.

BOOK A ROOM. The conference hotel, The Hyatt Regency, now has limited availability. But you can get a conference rate at the Marriott Residence Inn, just two blocks from the conference hotel.

Tuesday Trivia

Dec4 by Charles Hansen

Did you realize there are 17 different species of penguins in the world? Not counting whatever species Opus belonged to.

We’ve been watching Planet Earth, the Frozen Planet series, and have become quite enamored with these black-and-white flightless birds. Asking Grandma Google for more information, I was introduced to a wonderful website, www.penguinworld.com . There I found descriptions and super photos of all different 17 species and a map of locations where they are found.

They live in Antartica primarily, but South America, New Zealand and the bottom of Africa. Those places may seem widely separated but looking at a map with Antarctica in the center those others places are just “inches” away in reality.

Hope you’ll click to that website and have a fun learning experience for yourself.

And how many flightless birds are there? You’d never be able to list them all and neither would I: 70 is the number!

Tri-City Genealogical Society December Meeting

Dec3 by Charles Hansen

Dear TCGS Members and Guests:

Our December 12th meeting will be at the Benton County PUD Auditorium in Kennewick on the corner of Hwy #395 and 10th Street

The program for this year will be the Show & Tell event and we will not have a Beginning Genealogy Class that evening. The program activity starts at 7:00 p.m., but for those of you who are setting up displays, you can come as early as 6:15 p.m.

Show Off Your Heritage

Members and guests are asked to bring items about your family heritage/history as well as what interests you have.

1. Photographs

2. Documents

3. Family heirlooms, antiques

4. Hobbies, collections or recreation interests

Your legacy will one day be handed down to your children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren and they will want to know what hobbies and collections you had as a child/teenager or as an adult.

You can display your family photographs and documents on a poster or a tri-fold or on the table.

This will be a fun event for everyone to have a glimpse of your family history as well as the antiques/heirlooms, hobbies and collections that you either inherited or have or previously engaged in.

Refreshments:

Please bring homemade or store bought cookies, candies, fudge, muffins, quick breads (banana, zucchini, apple, pumpkin), cake, etc. Beverages, plates, napkins and utensils will be provided.

Thank you for your continued interest in TCGS

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society Genealogy Holiday Fest

Dec3 by Charles Hansen

HOLIDAY GENEALOGY FEST!

The Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society (BIGS) hosts their Annual Genealogy Holiday Fest “Show and Tell” on Friday, December 21, 2018, at 10am to noon at the Bainbridge Island Pubic Library. Bring your Family Treasures, Stories, or Research to share. Light Refreshments will be served. Free to members, a $5.00 donation is suggested for nonmembers. For more information go to https://bigenealogy.org/. BIGS is a 501c(3) non-profit organization. Parking available in the Madison Ave lot and the High School Road lot.

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Thank you,

Sue Elfving

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society

Monday Mystery

Dec3 by Charles Hansen

Reading this article was laughable, mysterious and terrible all at once. The Oct-Nov 2018 History Magazine carried this article: “A Weighty Issue-Mailing Babies,” by David McCormick. Yes, this really happened!!

(Smithsonian image)

McCormick wrote: “Starting in 1913, people legally sent babies and toddlers through the mails. The rate of postage was far less than the price of a train ticket. The U.S. Postal Service initiated its parcel post service on 1 Jan 1913, thus allowing millions of people throughout the country access to any and all manner of goods. An Ohio couple was the first known to have availed themselves of the new Parcel Post to ship their child. James, then eight months old was sent from Glen Este, Ohio, to his grandmother in Batavia, Ohio. James weighed just under the 11-pound maximum requirement at the time. The price of postage for James’s delivery was fifteen cents. And in an off-handed aside, they insured their son for $50.00.

Can you imagine? Did you have an ancestor who was mailed like a package via the U.S. Postal Service?

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

Nov30 by Charles Hansen

TIP OF THE WEEK –
MyHeritage Live 2018 – Online

At the beginning of November, MyHeritage hosted their first ever 3 day user conference in Oslo, Norway. It was a big success. Hundreds of people attended from 28 different countries. Now, for those that were not able to attend, two dozen of the lectures were recorded and are available for viewing online, absolutely free. Thanks to Dick Eastman, one of the presenters at this conference, for this great tip.

Visit MyHeritage Blog for a list of each of the lectures, as well as a brief description, and a link to each lecture video. You’ll find the MyHeritage Blog here:

https://blog.myheritage.com/2018/11/myheritage-live-2018-lectures-now

Seattle Genealogical Society News

Nov30 by Charles Hansen

WINTER HOLIDAY CELEBRATION
POTLUCK ON DECEMBER 8th

Join us Saturday, December 8, from 1:30 – 3:00 PM at the SGS Library for our Winter Holiday Celebration Potluck. Bring a dish to share – maybe something that reflects your cultural heritage. Share stories, recipes, and holiday memories. See you there!
-REGISTRATION NOW OPEN-

SGS JAPANESE GENEALOGY SEMINAR

with Linda Harms Okazaki

February 2-3, 2019

Seattle Public Library, 1000 4th Ave, Seattle, WA

Join the Seattle Genealogical Society and our partners for a weekend of learning how to research Japanese American ancestry.

Saturday’s all-day program “Exploring Our Nikkei Genealogy” is geared toward entry level family historians who have friends or family with Japanese ancestry. A box lunch ($15.00) may be ordered in advance. Those who attend this session are invited to return Sunday afternoon, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm, for “Ask a Genealogist”.

Sunday morning’s program “Japanese American Research for Genealogists”, is designed for intermediate and advanced researchers. Those who attend this session will volunteer their research skills on Sunday afternoon, helping Saturday’s registrants to get started on their family history journey by talking to an experienced researcher.

Registration is free, but limited to 40 for each day’s program. Seats will be filled in the order registrations are submitted. Registration begins December 1st. Click this link to register online:

The brochure is here: Seminar Brochure

This seminar is funded through the generosity of the Heritage Grant program by 4Culture, the cultural services agency of King County.

* POSTPONED *
DIGGING DEEPER: CIVIL WAR WIDOW’S PENSION

We regret to inform you that the program, “Digging Deeper: Civil War Widow’s Pension”. originally scheduled for Sunday, December 9, has been postponed until further notice. We will post a new date when it is confirmed, probably in the spring of 2019. We hope you will join us then for an opportunity to explore this topic in greater depth.
*** NOTICE ***
SCHEDULE CHANGE FOR THE SCANDINAVIAN SIG

Beginning in 2019, the Scandinavian SIG will meet quarterly instead of monthly. The first meeting of the year will be Sunday, January 13 from 1:00-3:00 pm and the meeting following that will be Sunday, April 14. Researching Scandinavian ancestors? This is the group for you. Led by Karen Knudson.

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. The holiday closure in December will be from December 21, 2018 through January 1, 2019.

DECEMBER

Saturday, December 1, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Canadian SIG, come join David Robert, group leader, for help researching your Canadian ancestors.

Saturday, December 1, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Family Tree Interest Group, Lou Daly is leader of this special interest group exploring all the features of the tool Family Tree on FamilySearch.org
Saturday, December 1, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm, Puget Sound – Association of Professional Genealogists, meeting and Holiday Party. Everyone welcome. Bring a treat to share with the group.

Saturday, December 8, 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm, SGS Winter Holiday Social Gathering, potluck

Friday Serendipity

Nov30 by Charles Hansen

What day is tomorrow??? A most auspicious day!

December 1st is day number 335 of the year (336 in leap year) leaving only 30 days until the end of the current year. And only 24 days until Christmas.

“According to the Zodiac, the astrological sign for December is Sagittarius and such people are said to be brave and full of confidence. They can take on the most difficult challenges in life, much more efficiently than most other signs. And one important reason for their positivity lies in their open-mindedness. They are the ones who believe in moving on and exploring. Indeed, they are great admirers of freedom. However, this want for freedom can sometimes make them impatient and tactless.”

So what, you are saying? You’d rather know that on this day in 1982 Michael Jackson released his Thriller album?

Just sayin…………………….

(Thank you, Wikipedia, for the quote.)