EWGS Presidents: Carrie Teats Lartigue

This is the thirteenth in the series on the Presidents of EWGS leading up to the 75th anniversary in 2010. See the previous posts on Samuel Pool Weaver, Leora Cookingham Thiel, Susan Marie West Jack, Ruth Churchill Austin, Alfred Denman, Florence Ballou Brown, Harriet Jefferson Pinkham, Mary Elizabeth Dow Maltbie and Achsah Maltbie Rawlings, Lee DeGolyer Patchen, Susie Elliott Faubion and Edith Webb Nelson.


Carrie Teats Lartigue started researching her family in 1953 and stumbled around for more than a year before she heard of EWGS and joined in 1954. Carrie was born at Peck, Lewis County Idaho, daughter of George Henry and Anna (Kole) Teats. She married twice, Jack Fannon was first and they had one son Jack L. Fannon. She married second Weston L. Lartigue. He was born at Golden, Jefferson County, Colorado, son of Henry Clay and Elizabeth (Dailey) Lartigue. She was a member of Esther Reed Chapter of DAR, IOOF and Mission Avenue Presbyterian Church.

Volume 16 page 11 of the EWGS Bulletin has an article on Carrie titled Carrie Who?. We all know Carrie Lartigue - or do we really? She is that lady with the twinkling eyes and contagious smile; the one that is so quiet you don't really notice that she is around but whose presence is felt in all of the activities of EWGS.
She joined the society in 1954 and has been a continually active member longer than any other. She has been a major factor in the growth and success of the society. She knows the "jobs" do not get done by themselves but require individual and group efforts for successful completion. Many of the projects for the society have been carried out personally by her, other projects with the help of her late husband, Weston, and still other projects with the assistance of other volunteers.

This picture is of a group of cemetery readers organized by Carrie.

Some of Carrie's success stories: The assembly and indexing of approximately 150 scrapbooks containing the queries and answers from the Hartford Times and the Boston Transcript; copying at least 8 of the cemeteries in the Spokane Rural Cemetery volumes, copying and publishing Whitman, Lincoln Adams, Pend Oreille and Stevens County cemetery records; copying and publishing Books A and B of Spokane County Marriages; publishing the holdings in the genie room of the library; preparing numerous index cards for the Patchen file; indexing books written by other members; compiled two or three books on her own families; and doubtless other efforts which do not come to mind at the moment.

In addition to the above, Carrie is a Life Member of the Society, has been President(1956-1957), Treasurer, Librarian and Trustee. She has served as a library helper and project chairman.

Weston Lartigue died July 18, 1975 and Carrie died September 9, 1990 and Find a Grave has their tombstone picture.

Editor Note: Carrie Lartigue was probably the second most important President of EWGS; as you can see she did a lot of projects to help EWGS and other members.