Tag Archives: Tri-City Genealogical Society

TriCity Genealogical Society February Meeting Announcement

by Charles Hansen

The TriCity Genealogical Society will meet at 7 pm at Charbonneau located at 8264 W Grandridge Boulevard in Kennewick on February 10, 2016.

Stacia Gunderson will provide a cemetery awakening, but don’t expect zombies at this meeting. Her presentation will enlighten, or awaken, her audience to the importance of symbolism used on OCTphoto_cemeteries2cemetery headstones. She will discuss much more than fraternal symbols placed on headstones. Stories will unravel as she goes into the detail of why certain flowers were used in decorative grave markers and explain the use of certain wording patterns used when providing information about the deceased.

The TriCity Genealogical Society is honored to have Stacia speak at their February meeting. Stacia will tell anyone who asks “history is in my blood,” giving examples of her parents and previous ancestor’s roles in historical preservation. She has a Bachelor’s degree in history, has worked as an interpreter ranger for both national and state parks, and was the resident pre-Hanford historian for the former CREHST museum.

To get to our new meeting location enter the main door at Charbonneau. Continue through the foyer and past the dining room. Our meeting room is the first room on the left.

For more information contact Susan Davis Faulkner at 509-554-1050 or denmother4@hotmail.com

TriCity Genealogical Society January Meeting

by Charles Hansen

TriCity Genealogical Society January Meeting
January 13, 2016 at 7:00 pm at Charbonneau

The TriCity Genealogical Society welcomes you to our first meeting at Charbonneau on
January 13, 2016.
Our meeting will begin at 7:00 pm. After a short business meeting, we will be educated and
entertained by Civil War Army Surgeon Mike Inman. Reenactor Inman was not physically
present at the battle of Wilson’s Creek but he is often called upon to provide information
he has accumulated from years of studying the Civil War from the viewpoint of a Surgeon.
He plans to help you ponder important questions like, “Why didn’t they cover this in
school?” and “Why does Hollywood not portray this aspect of the Civil War?” in his
question and answer interaction with the audience. Plan on hearing about the details,
looking at the statistics, and touching actual instruments that were used during this time
in history.

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For more information email Susan Davis Faulkner at denmother4@hotmail.com or visit the
TriCity Genealogical Society Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TriCityGenealogicalSociety

Margie Beldin Named Outstanding Volunteer in 2015

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized more than 450 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 2015 award recipients and learn why they received the 2015 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Margie Beldin of Richland, Washington, who was nominated by the Tri-City Genealogical Society (TCGS). She was recognized for her dedicated, enthusiastic efforts to educate members of her local Society.

Margie Beldin

Margie Beldin

Ms. Beldin has distinguished herself in untiring support of the TCGS as its Education Chair for many years. In that position, Ms. Beldin has made many classes on a wide variety of subjects available to the membership. Ms. Beldin has not only coordinated setting up classes and programs, she has taught numerous classes herself, as she actively increased her knowledge and capability through attendance at genealogical conferences and classes outside the TCGS. She is always willing to share the knowledge that she gets from these events.

Ms. Beldin is a valued and hard-working member of the TCGS, and illustrates that she richly deserved being a recipient of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

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.

Veronica Anguiano Honored as 2015 Outstanding Volunteer

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized more than 450 outstanding volunteers, 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 2015 award recipients and learn why they received a 2015 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Today we’re introducing Veronica Anguiano of Richland, Washington, who was nominated by the Tri-City Genealogical Society (TCGS). She was recognized for her commitment to researching and sharing information, even outside her local society.

Veronica Anguiano

Veronica Anguiano

Ms. Anguiano has distinguished herself in untiring support of the TCGS as its research chair and helping research Benton and Franklin county histories. Ms. Anguiano has responded willingly and efficiently to numerous requests for information from outside her local society.

Ms. Anguiano has become heavily involved in re-cataloging the TCGS library holdings so the holdings can be searched from the FamilySearch Library Catalog. As the holdings are re-cataloged, the new numbers are uploaded to the FamilySearch system, making them searchable from FamilySearch’s online site.

Ms. Anguiano is a respected and diligent member of the TCGS, and richly deserves being a recipient of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

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.

“Traveling Through Time” Hard to Sit Through

by Charles Hansen

About 65 individuals had a difficult time sitting through the Traveling Through Time seminar with speaker William Dollarhide. Within minutes of his opening remarks there was a desire to leave the room and research.

The first session of the all-day seminar was titled “Dollarhide’s Five Rules – Essentials for Successful Genealogical Research.” Rule number 1 was “Treat the brothers and sisters of your ancestors Lectureras equals.” With this rule Dollarhide encouraged everyone to obtain those important census records, vital records, and various historical documents on all collateral lines. He provided a great case study of locating his own Dollarhide Family Bible by following this rule. Most genealogists, he explained, focus so closely on their ancestral line that they overlook the very important clues that are available by examining records left behind by aunts, uncles, and cousins of every generation. With this he also told everyone that they had an awful lot of work to do. It was a difficult way to begin the day as we knew that we were only beginning to understand how little we had done. Continue reading →

A List of Don’ts Revealed from the TriCity Genealogical Society Archived Document Contest

by Charles Hansen

For the August Archived Document Contest, John Covey shared much more than an amazing document that he acquired off-line. He showed that it is possible to find clues that may take his research back to the 1500s. By reviewing his entry we can determine some “Don’ts” regarding family history research.JCovey

John Covey has arranged the annual fieldtrip for members of the TriCity Genealogical Society to research in Salt Lake’s Family History Library for many years. He knows that the vast amount of holdings have information important to his research. Even though John has made this trip several times, he continues to take the trip each year.

In June 2015 John discovered the baptismal record of his 8th great grandfather which was created in 1664. John did not arrive at the Family History Library expecting to locate this record, but rather found information leading to this record when he visited the basement of the library and researched German records. In this section of records he found a book that not only listed his 8th great grandfather’s information, but information continuing back for about another hundred years. Being a seasoned genealogist, John admits that the clues were a great find but that they were not documented. This gives him ideas, but in and of itself it is not a solid record.

John shared the 1664 baptismal record and his explanation in this entry to the Archived Document Contest.

Continue reading →

Do You Have An Emergency Preparedness Plan?

by Roxanne Lowe

My husband works in Aiken, South Carolina and has maintained a temporary office and apartment there for three years. Recently the apartment building he was staying in was completely destroyed by fire. He had no idea that when he crossed the threshold at midnight he would be the last person to ever pass through that door. Since he was sleeping at the time the fire broke out he was very lucky to escape with the shirt on his back, his smartphone, and his laptop.

DaveFireAikenStandard

 

Continue reading →

Innovative Grant Awards Announced

by Roxanne Lowe

WSGS President Mikal McKinnon has announced the local society projects that received Innovative Grants at last month’s state conference. The Innovative Grant Program, awarding financial awards up to $100, was created to support the inventive and creative efforts of WSGS-member societies and organizations. The successfully funded projects, which include matching funds from the local society, are:

  • Chelan Valley Genealogical Society – Purchase of a computer, solely for genealogical research, at the Chelan Public Library. The computer will have access to Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.
  • Northeast Washington Genealogical Society – Removal of trees that are endangering the safety of people and protection of grave markers at the Evergreen Cemetery, a local cemetery near Colville. Until NWGS began caring for this long-neglected cemetery, vandalism and lack of care had left its mark on many of the headstones and gravesites. Today, the cemetery looks like an old, but loved, pioneer cemetery.
  • Skagit Valley Genealogical Society – Purchase of a new laptop computer to be used for society presentations and transcription of documents from the Northwest Regional Archives in Bellingham.
  • Tri-City Genealogical Society – Funds will support the society’s “Archived Records Contest” which encourages individuals to share records they have obtained by various means other than just downloading an image from the Internet. Click here for more about the Archived Records Contest.
  • Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society – Specialized computer software to enable more than one volunteer to enter data related to local obituaries, cemetery records, World War I records and more. The software purchase will enable WAGS members to add to their extensive genealogical holdings of more than 394,000 records and 90 databases.

Announcements for the 2016 grant cycle will be posted on the Blog in Spring 2016. For more information about the Innovative Grant Program, contact Roxanne Lowe, WSGS Recognition Chair.

Winner of the TriCity Genealogical Society May’s Archived Document Contest Announced

by Roxanne Lowe

There were only a few submissions in May 2015 for the Archived Document Contest but these few entries provided wonderful lessons. Documents from the 1700s and the 1900s were located on microfilms available through the Family History Library. The documents on these microfilms containing important genealogical information were viewed in Salt Lake City and also at the Richland Family History Center. This proved to us that travel is not necessary when looking for un-digitized documents. Microfilms from the Family History Library can be brought to our neighborhood Family History Centers.

Ray Baalman

Ray Baalman

Ray Baalman is this month’s winner of the Archived Document Contest. He submitted two documents from 1700s France. More importantly he shared with us a very valuable lesson. “The important principle illustrated here is NEVER overlook the importance of witnesses at baptisms and marriages. They are often relatives and can give important clues about where to look next.” Ray illustrated this lesson by explaining that he found his seventh great grandmother recorded as the godmother of his fifth great grandmother on that grandmother’s marriage record.

Continue reading →

Linda Stephens Honored as Outstanding Volunteer in 2014

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized more than 400 outstanding volunteers, 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 weeks, you will be introduced to each of the 2014 award recipients and learn why they received the 2014 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Today we’re introducing Linda Stephens of Richland, Washington, who was nominated by the Tri-City Genealogical Society (TCGS). She was recognized for her leader­ship, knowledge, and volunteer efforts toward the goals and operation of the TCGS.

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Linda Stephens

Ms. Stephens has been a member of the TCGS for only a few years, but has become one of its most dependable volunteers. One example is when TCGS organized a group to index/arbitrate the 1940 census for FamilySearch. Ms. Stephens was one of the first volunteers to join the project. She led the TCGS group with the most records indexed.

Ms. Stephens has also assisted the TCGS Publications Committee to resolve concerns and issues for each bulletin, as well as proofreading each edition before publication. She also proofread many of the scanned indexes of the 52 years of TCGS bulletins in preparation for an All Surname Index.

With all of the contributions Ms. Stephens made to the TCGS, she richly deserved this recognition in 2014.

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.