Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Diseases Our Ancestors Faced and How Those Illnesses Changed Our World

Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Presents: 

“Diseases Our Ancestors Faced and How Those Illnesses Changed Our World” 

Presented by: Dr Gregory Gardner MD, MACP

Date: September 06, 2025   Time: 12:30 PM to 03:00 PM

Location:  IN PERSON at the HIVE 2904 E Sprague, Spokane (Door Code: 985426)

 AND VIA ZOOM (Zoom link will be on the website the day prior to the presentation)

Doors open at 12:30 p.m. for light refreshments and social time, with the program beginning promptly at 1:00 p.m. 

The event is free and open to all who are interested in genealogy, history, or public health. 

Please print your handouts prior to the event. (available on the website 9/5/25)

Dr. Gardner, a respected physician and educator, will explore several of the major diseases that struck fear in past generations—illnesses that shaped family histories, migration patterns, and even global events. Drawing from death records, historical documents, and modern research, this talk will illuminate how our ancestors’ experiences with disease influenced the world we live in today. 

This is part of EWGS’s ongoing mission to provide engaging and educational programs to support family history research. EWGS is proud to be celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2025, continuing a long tradition of connecting people through genealogy.

Raffles   $50/50$   Cookies   Free Table  

Let’s Talk About: This & That

Q: If your house was on fire, or if a wildfire was heading your way, and you only had time to save 5 things, what would they be??? Think about it. It could happen to YOU.

** Parmesan Ice Cream? An unusual flavor of ice cream graced spoons in the 1700s: parmesean. The first-ever recipe for Parmesean cheese ice cream was published in 1789. Would you like it?

**In Japan, various flavors of Kit-Kat candy bars are available. These include cough drop, rum raisin, melon with mascarpone, sake wasabi, matcha, strawberry and melty caramel. Which one would you try?

** In Thailand, folks can buy Oreo-flavored Coco-Cola and Coca-Cola flavored Oreos. Really!

** Petrichor is the word for the smell of rain. How would YOU describe the smell of rain?

** Brontology is not the study of brontosauers but is the study of thunder. File that in your “when-I-go-on-Jeopardy” file. 

** Spokane Daily Chronicle, Monday, April 4, 1949: Documents Indicate Woman Died at 117.  Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. “Sarah E. Moore of Rathdrum died there Saturday and her age was determined to have been 117. Mrs. A.A. Berges (Donna’s note: her stepmother), with whom the widow of a Civil War veteran had lived, said today that papers among her effects showed conclusively that she was born in South Carolina on April 4, 1832. She had lived with Mrs. Berges for 20 years.” Sarah rests in Forest Cemetery in Coeur d’Alene.

Heritage Quest Research Library Educational Classes

Please Join Us for our educational classes to learn more about researching your family roots! (offered online via Zoom and in person at HQRL) Cost per individual: Non-members – $25 Members – $20
September 4, 2025 11am to 12pm PDT Means, Motive & Opportunity: The Sad Saga of George Richards This case study of a man whose choices served to confuse his descendants is reconstructed in this lecture. He was there, then gone, then back—see how a variety of records, unlocked his real story. From England to the US, George’s life was filled with conundrums and poor choices. See how to locate original records (not all online), separate fact from fiction, and assess evidence for accuracy. 
CLICK HERE TO SIGN-UP
Jean Wilcox Hibben; PhD, MA, former So. Cal. college speech professor (MA – Speech Communication; PhD – Folklore), is a national speaker and author. A member of the DAR, she is the former director and current family history consultant for the Corona, CA FamilyHistory Center, has worked on background research for two genealogy television programs, and was a host for podcasts on social history. A former Board-Certified genealogist with over 45 years of research experience, she is a former board member of APG and past president of the Corona Genealogical Society, as well as webmaster for that same organization; and participant on a number of other society boards. Jean writes the “Aunty Jeff” column for the Informer, the newsletter of the Jefferson County NY Genealogical Society. Her website: circlemending.org.
UPCOMING CLASSES! Check them out!
Citing Your Sources: It’s Easier Than You Think!  September 18, 2025 11am to 12pm PDT (in person only at HQRL) LEARN MORE HERE!

Inspiring the Next Generation of Genealogists November 6, 2025 11am to 12pm PDT
LEARN MORE HERE!
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Let’s Talk About: End of the Indian Wars, Part 3


The following article, The End of the Indian Wars, was published in The Cashmere Valley Record, Vol. 30, No. 8, on 20 February 1936. I share it with you because it was of interest to Washington history buffs. Part 3:

 Princess Angeline, Chief Seattle’s daughter.

As to just how the warning reached the white people we do not know. You may have noticed when visiting Lakeview cemetery, Volunteer Park, in Seattle, that the grave of Princess Angeline is in a prominent location. Tradition has it that this girl, who was Seattle’s daughter, was the one that warned the whites of the impending attack. True or not, it is fitting, in view of other valued services to the white settlers on the part of Seattle and his family, that she should thus rest near the Carmack, Libby and Denny plots.

Only one more battle should be mentioned in this campaign. A detachment of soldiers was opening up a road from Puyallup to Muckilshoot Prairie. A group of Indians attacked them but were repulsed, the soldiers suffering only slight losses.

With only a few more skirmishes, the war was given up by the Indians. The whites had held Seattle, had built blockhouses on Whidbey Island, on the White River and at a dozen other places throughout the territory. The Indian cause was lost.

We can close this description of what, had we lived then, would have been a vivid and exciting time, but to read it is only one horror story after another by showing what grew out of the Indian Wars. The most important result was the ratification of Stevens’ Indian treaties which opened the territory to settlement. The department of Oregon Military Affairs was created which would give the settlers greater protection in the future.

Perhaps the greatest interest to us from this period is the series of names that are remembered in Washington geography: Wright, Seattle, Steptoe, Leschi and Klickitat. After all, that is one of the interesting things in any period of the past.

Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society August 2025 Chat

Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society Genealogy Chat Meeting
Tuesday, August 19, 2025, starting at 7:00 PM via Zoom

Please join us and let’s chat!

Discussion starter topic: Member Directed Open Discussion

This is a monthly opportunity to connect with others and talk about anything and everything genealogical. The value of this meeting increases with the participation of each person that attends and contributes to the conversations. This is your chance to celebrate the breaking down of a brick wall in your research, or ask questions of others that can help you find records or relatives. Everyone, members and guests are welcome and encouraged to attend and participate.

Meeting invite with links in file attached below.

Date & Time: Every month on the Third Tue, from 7:00 PM until 8:30 PM Pacific Time

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.

Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZMldOCprTsqGtSoVglOBTElUaBRgTq5IEgI/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGvpjgjG9eVsBmHRpwEGojCXevztmJfjbdukyniDw9xVib6A-NgALVLAY35

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87839130000?pwd=dGdHY2wrZ0d1bDNRTEQ4Uk15OVk0Zz09
Meeting ID: 878 3913 0000
Passcode: 836216

One tap mobile:
+12532050468,,87839130000#,,,,*836216# US
+12532158782,,87839130000#,,,,*836216# US (Tacoma)

Dial by your location:
        +1 253 205 0468 US
        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 878 3913 0000
Passcode: 836216
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdesX0el3t

Let’s Talk About: End of the Indian Wars, Part 2

The following article, The End of the Indian Wars, was published in The Cashmere Valley Record, Vol. 30, No. 8, on 20 February 1936. I share it with you because it was of interest to Washington history buffs. Part 2:

But the sympathetic point of view held by Wright was later proved to be mistaken. No matter how we may feel personally, we must recognize the dangers and trails felt by the settlers and the responsibility placed on the shoulders of the military command. Accordingly, when a band of Palouses entered the Walla Walla Valley on a marauding expedition, the realization came that sympathy was not enough.

In April, 1857, Col. Steptoe notified his superior that a general expedition against the tribes north of Walla Walla seemed advisable. This was the start of the Steptoe-Wright campaign which lasted for the greater part of the two following hears. Only the barest outline of details need concern us here. The battle of Steptoe Butte and the battle of Spokane Plains were the two principle military events. The latter engagement was fought on the land where Fort George Wright had later been built. (Donna’s note: not so; that battle was fought miles west of where the fort was constructed on the western side of Spokane.)

But to retrace our steps to the Sound area for a time. The Indians continually invaded the settlements and burned farm homes almost at will. A blockhouse fort was built near where the Totem pole now stands on Yessler Way in Seattle and the settlers prepared themselves for a siege. The warship, Decatur, Capt. Guert Gransevoort commanding, was standing in the harbor ready to assist the settlers.

By some means, more or less in question, word reached the settlers of an intended attack. On January 26, 1856, the attack was made. All day volleys from the howitzer, which stood in front of Dexter Horton’s store, and the rifles and pistols of the men were answered from the woods. But at night the attack was finally repulsed. The town was safe.

(Copied from Wikipedia article on the Decatur: During the early 1850s, hostility grew between the Native peoples and the new settlers in the Puget Sound region. The “Decatur” and several other government ships were moved to the area to protect the settlers. On January 26, 1856, following word of a planned attack on Seattle, troops on the “Decatur” fired howitzers into the forest beyond Third Avenue where a group of Indigenous peoples had gathered. The Native peoples retreated, burning buildings as they went.)

Please stay tuned for Part 3 next time.

Let’s Talk About: End of the Indian Wars, Part 1


The following article, The End of the Indian Wars, was published in The Cashmere Valley Record, Vol. 30, No. 8, on 20 February 1936. I share it with you because it was of interest to Washington history buffs.

The next time you drive from Spokane to Pullman and Lewiston, take particular notice of Steptoe Butte. If you have ever driven over this road you will remember it, for it is a landmark for miles around. It was a guide post for the gold seekers at Colville and Pierce and for missionaries, stockmen and homesteaders.

The hill was named for Lt. Col. Steptoe, one of Col. George Wright’s assistants in the Indian Wars of the ‘50s. During the summer of 1856, and throughout 1857 and 1858, the Indian troubles had continued on about the same three fronts as already noted: the Seattle-Puget Sound country, the Yakima Valley, and the Palouse-Walla Walla area. Col. Wright had wintered at Vancouver and had started upstream in March. Leaving the portage around the rapids in the Columbia, from which the city of The Dalles, Ore., takes its name, guarded by a handful of men, he pushed on, heading for Walla Walla and the upper country.

It was at this portage that the Indians resumed the war on March 26, 1856. An attack was made and several whites killed and scalped. Help arrived from Vancouver under Sheridan just in time to avoid a complete massacre. Thus the first state of the ’56 campaign ended in the whites’ favor. Col. Wright then crossed Simcoe Pass to the Yakima Country. Here Wright, who clung to the idea that the Indians had been wronged, spent several months in parleying for peace.

But the governor remembered well his experiences at the hands of the Nez Perces. They had saved his life…and he well knew it. He therefore determined to place a force at Walla Walla that would insure the fair treatment of his friends.

Col. Wright, avoided going to the “aid” of the Nez Perces, and sent Col. Steptoe instead. The Governor went himself to try and make another peace, but it fared little better than the big peace council formerly held there. The two factions had too many differences…there was too much involved. As a result of this 1856 failure, Gen. Wool, commanding the regular army regiments concerned, ordered the area vacated by all except soldiers and missionaries. And, too, Fort Walla Walla was built…just where the present city stands.

You’re Invited to WSGS’s Annual Meeting

You’re invited to the WSGS’s annual meeting! Thursday, August 21, 6:30 p.m. via Zoom.

In compliance with Washington’s Nonprofit Corporation Act (24.03A), we’re holding our annual meeting.

Here’s the Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87922030270?pwd=KpYEUb8xh12iOviu7Onee0Io27qp2S.1

Meeting ID: 879 2203 0270
Passcode: 438675

Phone: (253) 205-0468,,87922030270#,,,,*438675# US

The agenda will include the announcement of the 2025 Outstanding Volunteer and Team recipients, President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement and the Supportive Grant awards. We’ll also talk about Pioneer Pursuit and America 250, celebrating America’s 250th anniversary.

We hope you join us! If you want more information, email Info@wasgs.org.