As our summer gradually draws to a close we can look forward to a new year for TPCGS with speaker presen- tations for both our pre-meeting presentations and our general meetings. We hope to see you at these monthly events planned for the coming 2010-2011 year. In September we have the Puyallup Fair with the TPCGS display of our local historical figure, Ezra Meeker, whose family pedigree goes back to the 1600’s. Also featured will be a map of his trip highlight- ing the Oregon Trail and numerous pictures shared by Ken Keigley, one of the Meeker descendants, and the Meeker Mansion Museum. We won’t have Ezra’s oxen to show you but they will be there in spirit. In October we will share a table at the Education Night sponsored by the Heritage League of Pierce County for all educators in Tacoma and Pierce Co. at the Tacoma Museum. In November we will have election of new officers and a vote for bylaws revision and our special speakers for the programs. Our officers are elected for just one year, so give some consideration in holding an office or working on one of the committees. WE ARE ASKING THAT MEMBERS WHO HAVE EMAIL CHECK OUT OUR BYLAWS REVISION THAT IS POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE. IT IS YOUR RE- SPONSIBILTY TO SEE WHAT IS BEING VOTED ON IN NOVEMBER. PLEASE CHECK IT OUT! And last but really the most important is the fact that a seminar is being planned for Saturday May 7, 2011, featuring Laura G. Prescott, highly recommended by Cyndi Howells. So you can see this will be an eventful year for all of us. Laura’s topics can be found on our website and on page 2 of this newsletter. TPCGS members can also check to see what else is being of- fered by other groups. Jane does a fantastic job of searching out what others are doing in their societies both near and far. This is just a sample of the exciting events for the com- ing year and hopefully you will join us Ellen McKanna President August 2010 Vol. IV No. 5 MEETINGS AND SPEAKERS SCHEDULED 30 Aug. 2010 . . . TPCGS Board Meeting. . . All members welcome . . . Olympic Room, Tacoma Public Library 14 Sept. 2010 Summer projects, trips and other adventures . . . . . . . . . . Bates Technical College 4 Oct. 2010 TPCGS Board Meeting. . . All members welcome . . . . . . . Olympic Room, Tacoma Public Library 12 Oct. 2010 Mt. Rainier National Park Service on historical programs . . . . Bates Technical College 1 Nov. 2010 TPCGS Board Meeting. . . All members welcome . . . . . . . Olympic Room, Tacoma Public Library 9 Nov 2010 Rosie Bodien on Czechoslovakian research and culture . . . . Bates Technical College TPCGS NEWSLETTER A New Beginning with Fall 2010
Transcript
As our summer gradually draws to a close we can look forward to a new year for TPCGS with speaker presen-tations for both our pre-meeting presentations and our general meetings. We hope to see you at these monthly events planned for the coming 2010-2011 year. In September we have the Puyallup Fair with the TPCGS display of our local historical figure, Ezra Meeker, whose family pedigree goes back to the 1600’s. Also featured will be a map of his trip highlight-ing the Oregon Trail and numerous pictures shared by Ken Keigley, one of the Meeker descendants, and the Meeker Mansion Museum. We won’t have Ezra’s oxen to show you but they will be there in spirit. In October we will share a table at the Education Night sponsored by the Heritage League of Pierce County for all educators in Tacoma and Pierce Co. at the Tacoma Museum. In November we will have election of new officers and a vote for bylaws revision and our special speakers for the programs. Our officers are elected for just one year, so give some consideration in holding
an office or working on one of the committees. WE ARE ASKING THAT MEMBERS WHO HAVE EMAIL CHECK OUT OUR BYLAWS REVISION THAT IS POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE. IT IS YOUR RE-SPONSIBILTY TO SEE WHAT IS BEING VOTED ON IN NOVEMBER. PLEASE CHECK IT OUT! And last but really the most important is the fact that a seminar is being planned for Saturday May 7, 2011, featuring Laura G. Prescott, highly recommended by Cyndi Howells. So you can see this will be an eventful year for all of us. Laura’s topics can be found on our website and on page 2 of this newsletter. TPCGS members can also check to see what else is being of-fered by other groups. Jane does a fantastic job of searching out what others are doing in their societies both near and far.
This is just a sample of the exciting events for the com-ing year and hopefully you will join us Ellen McKanna
President
August 2010 Vol. IV No. 5
MEETINGS AND SPEAKERS SCHEDULED
30 Aug. 2010 . . . TPCGS Board Meeting. . . All members welcome . . . Olympic Room, Tacoma Public Library
14 Sept. 2010 Summer projects, trips and other adventures . . . . . . . . . . Bates Technical College
4 Oct. 2010 TPCGS Board Meeting. . . All members welcome . . . . . . . Olympic Room, Tacoma Public Library
12 Oct. 2010 Mt. Rainier National Park Service on historical programs . . . . Bates Technical College
1 Nov. 2010 TPCGS Board Meeting. . . All members welcome . . . . . . . Olympic Room, Tacoma Public Library
9 Nov 2010 Rosie Bodien on Czechoslovakian research and culture . . . . Bates Technical College
TPCGS
NEWSLETTER
A New Beginning with Fall 2010
2 TPCGS News August 2010
TPCGS Spring Seminar 2011
May 7, 2011
Speaker: Laura G. Prescott, who comes to us highly recommended by our own Cyndi
Howells, who will be the emcee.
Laura is the president of the Association of Professional Genealogists, genealogist for the Nickerson
Family Association, and a consultant at Footnote.com. She lectures and writes for national audiences on
a variety of genealogical and historical topics. She speaks at national, international, and regional confer-
ences. Her specialties include the use of manuscripts in genealogical research, genealogy on the Internet,
genealogy for Mac users, and weaving history into genealogy. Her work has appeared in Ancestry, NGS
NewsMagazine, Digital Genealogist, New England Ancestors, and other genealogical publications.
Topics:
Turning Fiction Into Fact
Treasures Within the Ivory Tower: Finding Family in Academic Archives
Timelines: Placing Your Heritage in Historical Perspective
The Rest of the Story: Using Manuscripts to create a Family History
Location: La Quinta Inns and Suites, 1425 East 27th Street, Tacoma, Washington
A limited number of rooms will be available at a special rate for seminar attendees.
Registration: Before April 20, 2011: Members, $35; Non-Members, $40 (become a mem-
ber now and save!); Students, $20 (Under 25 with Student ID). Lunch (sandwich and
salad bar), $15.
After April 20th, add $5 late fee.
Additional Information:
Check out the TPCGS website at: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~watpcgs/
seminar.html
Raffle Tickets – Door Prizes – Vendors – Book Sale
We hope to see you there!
TPCGS Programs 6:00 to 7:00 pm pre-meeting topic. 7:00 to 9:00 pm meeting and program
14 Sept. 2010 Summer projects, trips and other adventure stories presented by the Society members. Pre-meeting topic will be a presentation by Laura Lemke on rehabilitation of the graves at historic Western State
Hospital cemetery
12 October 2010 Mt. Rainier Park Service on their new programs, especially the Lantern Program, where participants carry a
lantern, walk the trail, and are met by Northwest historical figures.
Pre-meeting time will feature a panel on brick-wall problems with audience participation. Panel members are Ora Clark,
George Snyder, and Gretchen Campbell. Margaret Demick will start things off with a prepared brick-wall problem.
9 November 2010 Rosie Bodien has been researching in Czecho/Slovak area for over 20 years. She is president of the C/S of
Kirkland, WA. and is extremely knowledgeable in C/S culture and is fluent in the language.
All members of the Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society wish to
thank the following people for their response to our recent financial appeal.
Thank you for your generosity!
Howard Baumgart Thomas and Gretchen Brezarich
Kathleen Callahan Paul and Charlotte Cooper Thomas Glump
John Ogden William Wheeler
http://wastories.blogspot.com/ is described as
―all things historical from those in the know.‖ The Wash-
ington State Historical Society has been around for more
than a century, but keeps up-to-date with its on-line offer-
ings. A blog, titled ―Washington History 2.0,‖ offers com-
mentary on Washington State history-related news and
views. Currently it recalls to readers the Oregon Trail
Game, used in elementary schools to teach NW history.
Looking back through previous blogs, readers will find
comments on the Forks-sited ―Twilight series,‖ and State
Librarian Jan Walsh's reading recommendations—nine
books on the theme "Washington as Place."
Rural Eastern Washington Life in the Early 20th Century
can be seen in the Frank A. Matsura Image Collection at
the Washington State University Digital Collections. It is
found at: http://content.wsulibs.wsu.edu/cdm-matsura/
After coming to the United States from Japan in 1905,
Frank S. Matsura stopped in Seattle and then moved across
the Cascades to the city of Okanogan, WA. As a photogra-
pher, he was involved in his own practice and in document-
ing the changes in the environment as the city expanded
and the Conconully Dam was built nearby. Matsura was a
very active member of the community, and he created a
playground for local children and he was fond of dressing
up in strange hats and costumes. This delightful digital ar-
chive of his work was created by the Washington State
University Libraries Digital Collections, and it contains
almost 1600 of his photographs. Users can look through the
"Predefined Searches" section for a few highlights organ-
ized into areas like "automobiles", "children", and "Native
Americans". Overall, the site offers a rather unique glimpse
into early 20th century life in rural eastern Washington.
Genealogy 101: Researching Your Family Tree Tues-days: October 12, November 9, January 11 6-7:30 pm, Olympic Room, Main Library Interested in genealogy, but don't know where to start?
Join us for a free class that will introduce you to the tools
you need to start finding your roots. Learn the basic steps
for gathering family stories, finding and using key re-
sources, and organizing your research. You will also learn
about the many genealogy resources available at the Ta-
coma Public Library.
Class size is limited. Reservations are required and can
be made by registering online or telephoning the library at
(253) 591-5666.
Online Genealogy Tuesdays: October 26, November 30,
January 25 6-8 pm, Computer Lab, Main Library
This hands-on library workshop will introduce you to An-
cestry Library Edition, HeritageQuest, and useful web sites
available on the Internet for genealogical research. Basic
keyboard and mouse skills required. Class size is limited.
Reservations are required and can be made by registering
online or telephoning the library at (253) 591-5666.
Washington State Historical Sites Reviewed by Jane Irish Nelson
Tacoma Public Library Offers Family History Classes
BROWSING PERIODICALS . . . By Elaine Workman Publications exchanged with or subscribed to by the Society are available in the Northwest Room of the Tacoma Public Li-brary, and may be found by a call number or hanging file designator (HF). Due to limitations of shelf space, some periodicals are stored in the Basement Stacks. If you provide the library staff with the call number, they will retrieve the journals for you. Just ask. INTERNATIONAL / NATIONAL American Spirit (DAR, Washington DC) May/June 2010: Sacrifice for Independence – Remembering Revolutionary POWS; Horatio GATES New York’s Forgotten Revolutionary. Je Me Souviens (American French Genealogical Society, Woonsocket, RI)Vol 33.1 Spring 2010: In Pursuit of My Ancestors Rabideau; Early French Pioneers in Minnesota, ―L ’Etoile du Nord‖ (Star of the North); Growing up in French-Speaking Louisiana. (929.1/J34J) AROUND THE U.S.A. CA Redwood Researcher (Redwood) Vol 42.4 May 2010: Fortuna 1933 precinct register index; Humboldt County 1868 register; Humboldt County burials 1905-1947 cont’d. (929.1/R248R) FL Buried Treasures (Central Florida Gen. Soc., Orlando) Vol 42.1 January-March 2010: William W. RABEY/RAINY/RAINEY Land Entry Application, 1889 – Cherokee County, Alabama; senior class of Orland High School 1929; abstract of1820 trial of Nixon CURRY, Mecklinburg Co., NC; Life on an Indiana Farm, conclusion; petition to legitimize Elizabeth GRIFFIN Rutherford Co., NC 1843. (929.1/B916B) GA Family Tree Quarterly (Cobb Co. Gen. Soc., Marietta) Vol 19.1,2,3,4 2009: Dr. William Denson CONYERS; Issac Anderson REED; Eliza Jane (Rainey) Wallace GREGORY 1862-1911; Nicy (Crow) HADAWAY of Hall County GA. (929.1/F21FT) KS Kansas Kin (Riley Valley Gen. Soc., Manhattan) Vol XLVIII.2 May 2010: County Donegal name map; Tiny tafel of James El-wood BRADLEY; Catholic qualification rolls 1778-1790 Donegal, Leitrim, Londonderry. (929.1/K133K) KS Topeka Gen. Soc. Quarterly Vol 40.2 April 2010: Extracts from early Kansas newspapers; Shawnee County farm directory, 1963 cont’d; Undertakers in Topeka 868-1999; Topeka funeral homes 174-1999 Letters of C.B. LINES. (929.1/T621T) MN Minnesota Genealogist (Minneapolis) Vol 40.4 Winter 2009-10: Four Great-Grandmothers on the Minnesota Frontier (Eliza Davies Hughes, Sybil Barlow Rawson Hills, Wilhelmina Elizabeth Schlaberg Lowe and Sarah Ann Smith Southwell); Philatelic Ge-nealogy in Minnesota; Marriages at St Michael’s Roman Catholic Church, Stillwater, Minnesota, Pt 2, 1873-1899. (929.1/M666M)NC Burke County Journal (Morganton) Vol XXVIII.2 May 2010: Tax Roll Capt. Dysard Compy 1808; Tax List of Capt Dysard Com-pany for the year 1809; Abstracts of Burke County Land Grants #2588-2621; Burke County Road Records 1800-1806. (929.1/J826J) ND Dakota Homestead Historical Newsletter (Bismarck) Vol 40.2 June 2010: pioneer histories LANTERMAN, PETERS, BOLEY; Morton County naturalization records index HEGEL-HERIN. (929.1/D148D) OR Bulletin (Gen. Forum of OR, Portland) Vol 59.4 June 2010: French Canadian footprints; the Vancouver LAFRAMBOIS(E); fam-ily of Gedeon SENECAL; the MCLOUGHLIN house; letters of Oscar Wakefield BEAMAN and Sally Maud MINTON; abstracts of probate case files of Multnomah County 1856-1866. (929.1/G286B) TX Stalkin’ Kin in Old West Texas (San Angelo Gen. & Hist. Soc.) Vol XXXVII.3,4: Menard County marriage records,1903-1905; Runnels County marriage records 1908-1909; Tom Green County marriage records 1926, civil court 1920-1921, criminal court 1928; unmarked interments in Calvary Cemetery of San Angelo, TX; The San Angelo Standard Oct 15, 1887; OVERHOLSER fam-ily; MCSWAIN family; Ole and Mary (OLSON) NELSON family; CANNING family. (929.1/ST18SWA Backtracker (Port Orchard) Vol 35.1 April 2010: The Elusive HOUSEN’s. (929.1/F21F)
Washington State Quarterlies
WA Bulletin (Clallam Co. Gen. Soc., Port Angeles) Vol 30.3 Summer 2010: Society news. (929.1/C138B) WA Bulletin (Yakima Valley Gen. Soc., Yakima) Vol 42.2 June 2010: Cradle roll enrollment cards, First Christian Bible school, cont’d; Ahtanum School records, cont’d ; North Yakima high school 1909. (929.1/Y11Y) WA Pioneer Branches (Northeast WA Gen. Soc., Colville) VolXXV.3 April 2010: Stevens County Timeline Part VII; 1945 Plat Map of Stevens County; Names from the 1913-1914 Stevens County Directory, cont’d.(929.1/P661P) WA Seattle Gen. Soc. Bulletin Vol 59.2 Spring 2010: ancestry of Agnes Abiatha (AUSTIN) SMITH pioneer of Seattle W.T. 1869; defunct funeral homes in Seattle and King County; genealogical clues from family letters; finding immigration and naturalization clues in the Federal Census. (929.1/SE18B) WA So King News (South King County Gen. Soc., Kent) Vol 26.1 July/August 2010: Society news. (HF) WA The Sounder (Sno-Isle Gen. Soc., Lynnwood) Vol XXIV.ii Second Quarter 2010: founding of Mukilteo; Mukilteo pioneer ceme-tery; Mukilteo military pioneers; Kenneth Lee WORLEY a study in valor; History of Everett cont’d; Everett Daily Herald obituaries July 1913. (929.1/SO83S) WA Tri-City Gen. Soc. Bulletin (Richland) Vol 50.2 July 2010: 1915 School Census for Benton County, WA District 17, Richardson-Weisel, cont’d. (929.1/T731T)
August 2010 TPCGS Newsletter 5
New Genealogy Books in the Northwest Room —-Jeanie Fisher, Librarian
Cline, DeLoa and Russell, Virginia. Funeral Home Records: Smith’s of Spokane, WA GEN 929.379737 C615F (pub. 1980) 2 vols. Published by the Eastern Washington Genea-logical Society, this two volume set contains ―basic‖ information culled from 1890-1906 re-cords of Smith’s Funeral Home, described as the oldest continuous pioneer establishment in Spokane. Each volume includes a full name index.
Goff, Lois B. Ancestry and Descendants of Andreas and Maria Elisabeth (Waldschmidt) Sauer: immigrants in 1850 GEN 929.20973 SA85G (pub. 2003) This family history charts the journey of the Sauers and their descendants, from Germany to New York to Illinois. Organized by generation, the book also includes ancestral lists for immigrants Andreas and Maria Elisabeth. Hungerford, Richard W. Marriages in the New York Reformer, 1850-1861GEN 929.3747 H898M V1 Hungerford, Richard W. Deaths in the New York Reformer, 1850-1861GEN 929.3747 H898M V2 Hungerford, Richard W. Genealogical Gleanings: Outside Jefferson and Surrounding New York Counties in the New York Reformer, 1850-1861 GEN 929.3747 H898M V3 (pub. 1996)These three volumes contain vital statistics extracted from the New York Reformer. Each volume has transcriptions of related articles and notices. Transcriptions are organized chronologically, and each volume includes a full index. More, Grace Van Dyke, ed. Chronicles of the More family: Published upon the Occasion of the Sixty-fifth Anniversary of the Organization of the John More Association GEN 929.2 M781C (pub. 1955 – reprint) A story of the More family, descended from John and Betty Taylor More who settled in near Roxbury, NY in 1786. Included are stories relating family landmarks, reunions, a ―who’s who‖ in the family, and a photo album. Also included are detailed lineage records of descendants, and an index. Shelby County, Indiana Marriages, 1822-1849 GEN 929.377259 SH431S (pub. 1985) With very little explanation or fanfare, this is a straightforward index, organized alphabetically by both bride and groom surname. Information includes the name of couple and date of marriage. Published by Ye Olde Genealogie Shoppe. Smith, Drew. Social Networking for Genealogists GEN 929.10285 SM549S (pub. 2009) This slim book describes the concept of online social networking, and the many ways genealogists can use social network tools for research, sharing information, and creating new content. Barde, Robert Eric. Immigration at the Golden Gate: Passenger Ships, Exclusion, and Angel Island GEN 304.87305 B2358I (pub. 2008) This new book details the activities of the Angel Island Immigration Station, which operated from 1910 to 1940 on San Francisco Bay, with a special emphasis on Asian im-migration and exclusion. Includes some photos and maps, index and bibliography, and is heavily cited. Williams, Byron. History of Clermont and Brown Counties, Ohio: From the Earliest Historical Times Down to the Present GEN 977.179 W6707H (pub. 1913 - reprint) Vols 1 & 2 The first volume of this set is a narrative chronological history, with some illustrations, maps, and photos. The second volume contains biographical sketches, some with portraits, of long-standing and/or promi-nent citizens.
6 TPCGS Newsletter August 2010
The researching desk has been a bit slow the past few months. With all the sources on line, people from across the country are finding on-line sources for information and are relying on our research ser-vices less and less. But, there are people who want that obscure obituary or other information on their families and they still do contact us. Remember, if you contact a genealogical or historical society for research, there may be a modest fee attached to the services. Read all the information on the websites and be sure to enclose the fee with your request. The fees go to the society who advertises the service and, as in our society, that money helps pay for programs and member services. Here are a few of the families that I have researched over the past few months: Anotne, Joseph and Christina Koch; Pearl Ruby Wood; Raymond Hjalmer Nelson; Robert and James Elliott; Ernest, Emer-son and Genevieve Tarpenning; Alice Coffel; George Joseph Walters, Sr; Frieda Wuthe; Alfred Switzer; James Irvin Matthews; Jennie Cecelia Matthews; Reason Macovota Mathews; George & Mary Brooks; Roberta Eunice Hart; Verl Bernard Diro/Dira; Albert, Lilyh &Lillian Martine; Beatrice Brown Touhey; George, Cynthia and Sophia Milsted; Nettie May and Fred Herman Schwabel; John A. Logan; and finally the Spangler and allied families. If these families are in your family tree, contact me and I will put you in touch with our client. Last year a Mel Wyatt from Fruitland, Idaho, contacted me and asked the cost of getting some informa-tion from ―an Americana book‖ that was in the Tacoma Library. I asked at the library but the librarians were only able to come up with a list of several hundred books that it ―might‖ be. I reported back, telling Mel what I found out and that I would need a bit of clarification as to exactly what book this information came from. I did not hear further from him until June of this year. At that time he called again and in conversation told me that ―years ago‖ he had taken a class at the library from our own Glenda Thayer. She had done a little research on her own for all of the class members and in his case had copied pages from this Americana book. I asked for copies of the information, which he sent. From that I found that the information came from Americana Illustrated which was published by The American His-torical Society in January 1937. I found the publication and copied the remaining pages so that he could complete his research on the Wyatt family. Even though Mel had taken his class from Glenda ―years ago‖ he was still singing her praises. He told me that her class gave him a firm foundation on which to build his family research. Congratulations, Glenda, for all the good work you have done for local re-searchers!! Many times I find ―new‖ information for clients – even though they have researched names for ―years.‖ One of these was Reazin Mathews aka Rezin or Robert Matthews. Our client had researched Reazin for over 20 years and could not find a death date or anything about his parents. I was able to find his death date, his middle name and his parent’s names – Leonard M. Matthews and Lucinda Jane Haughn. Often times a local genealogical society will be able to find that elusive bit of family information you are seeking. I hope you kept up with all your research over the summer. Remember, if you can’t travel to some dis-tant place to do research, you can always look for a historical or genealogy society or library in the area where your family lived and contact them. Usually for a small fee (much less than the cost of gas, motel and food) they will do some research for you and there’s no telling what they will find!! Happy Researching!! —-Gretchen Campbell Family Line Researcher
From the Desk of the Family Line Researcher ----
August 2010 TPCGS Newsletter 7
GENIE GRAB-BAG Tacoma Times Added to Chronicling America: The state’s Secretary of State announced in
June that Tacoma Times is among nine newspapers and more than 50,000 historic newspaper pages re-
cently contributed to Chronicling America, making Washington State’s contribution to the program a total
of 16 titles and 92,000 pages. Chronicling America is a project of the National Digital Newspaper Pro-
gram (NDNP), a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of
Congress. Chronicling America provides free and open access to over 2.3 million full-text searchable
pages from 295 titles published between 1860 and 1922 in 19 states and the District of Columbia. The
Washington State Library’s National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) grant was recently renewed
through June of 2012 allowing more pages from other newspapers around Washington State to be up-
loaded over the next two years.‖ Access this free website at chroniclingamerica.loc.gov.
Newspapers from Washington State currently included in Chronicling America are Cayton’s Weekly,
