Thursday, April 29, 2010

75,000 New WWI Records Go Online at Findmypast.co.uk

Leading UK family history website findmypast.co.uk has today expanded its collection of British military records with the release of the Royal Marine Medal Roll 1914-1920. The record set provides a listing of all Royal Marines who received medals for their service in World War 1, including those awarded the 1914 Star, the Clasp to the 1914 Star, the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Royal Marine Medal Roll 1914-1920

Containing records of over 75,000 Officers, NCOs and other ranks, the Royal Marine Medal Roll 1914-1920 comprises both transcripts and images of the original WW1 Campaign Medal Rolls for the Royal Marines. Aside from the medals awarded, the records detail the Marine’s name, rank, service branch, service number and also a description of where or to whom the medals were issued. In addition to this, many of the transcripts contain extra service details for the Royal Marine, often highlighting those that died of wounds or were killed in action during WW1. These details are available online for the very first time.

Debra Chatfield, Marketing Manager at findmypast.co.uk, said: “We are delighted to be able to add the Royal Marine Medal Roll 1914-1920 to the collection of World War 1 records available at the findmypast.co.uk website. These records are a fantastic new resource, allowing family historians to uncover many more details about the lives of ancestors who fought for their country.”

John Marshall, author of the Royal Marine Medal Roll database, said: “Today sees the first of any WW1 Naval Medal Rolls to be made available online, providing a complete listing of all Royal Marine Officers and men who served in the Great War. This database is dedicated to the memory of CH/19403 Private John (Jack) Clegg RMLI, 1st Royal Marine Battalion, Royal Naval Division, who was “wounded and missing” at the Battle of the Ancre in 1916.”

Ancestry.com Previews Mac Version of Family Tree Maker Software

No. 1 Selling Family Tree Software Planned for Mac Users By The End of the Year

PROVO, Utah, April 28, 2010 – Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family resource, today revealed a Mac® version of Family Tree Maker® at the 2010 National Genealogical Society Family History Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. The new version of the world’s No. 1 selling family history software is planned for release later this year.

“Every innovation or update we make is driven by what customers tell us they need to further their family history research,” said Eric Shoup, Senior Vice President of Product. “The Mac version of Family Tree Maker was the obvious next step forward to add to our family of Ancestry.com products and is a much anticipated product for our Mac-based customers.”

Family Tree Maker has helped users organize their family history research for more than 20 years. The software provides users the tools they need to build a family tree, record memories and organize photos, stories, videos and audio clips in a way that will help easily capture and share the story of their ancestors.

Family Tree Maker accesses the robust collection of family history records and powerful search features from Ancestry.com - without leaving the software. When connected to the Internet, Family Tree Maker automatically searches Ancestry.com for historical documents about the individuals in the user's family tree. Ancestry.com subscribers can easily view and import these historical records into their family tree with just a few mouse clicks.

Family Tree Maker 2010 is the current PC version of the software. The Mac version of Family Tree Maker will be built on the functionality of Family Tree Maker 2010 and constructed from the bottom up to take full advantage of the Mac platform in terms of technology and user experience.

Early this year, Ancestry.com expanded to another Apple® platform: the iPhone®. With the launch of its  Tree To Go iPhone application in January 2010, Ancestry.com now gives users access to generations of family history at every turn. From their iPhone, users can easily upload photos, update sources and edit trees. The Tree To Go iPhone application is available for iPhone and iPod touch® for free through the iPhone App Store or iTunes®.

Ancestry.com also announced today the launch of its new Ancestry.com Wiki. This wiki will feature a living version of the company’s two largest reference books, The Source: A Guidebook to American Genealogy and Red Book: American State, County and Town Sources. These books, which are exhaustive guides to American genealogy, will now be made available for the family history community to update, expand on and even add to, making it a go-to resource for guidance and information. The beta version of the Ancestry.com Wiki is available to the public for free at www.ancestry.com/wiki.

About Ancestry.com
Ancestry.com Inc. (Nasdaq: ACOM) is the world's largest online family history resource, with more than one million paying subscribers. The company has digitized and put online more than 4 billion records over the past 13 years. Ancestry users have created over 14 million family trees containing nearly 1.5 billion profiles. Ancestry.com has local Web sites directed at nine countries, including its flagship Web site at www.ancestry.com.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

EWGS Presidents Grace E. Kelso Garner

This is the twenty seventh 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, Achsah Maltbie Rawlings, Lee DeGolyer Patchen, Susie Elliott Faubion, Edith Webb Nelson, Carrie Teats Lartigue, Guy Alfred Clumpner, Grace Ellis Woodward, Mabel Rue Frederick, Nell Hartman Peel, Edwin Allan Poole, Mabel Enid Rice Conrad, Helen Elizabeth Osborne Rowe, Dr. Herbert Hoover Osborne, Jane Merritt Logie Webster, Beatrice Cutler Mitcham, Marie E. Stone Larson, Lorena May Saylor Wildman and Raymond J. Fisher




Grace E. Kelso Garner was EWGS President in 1978. Grace was born April 13, 1907 in Reardan to Edgor G.(Isaac) Kelso from Virginia and Harriett L. Brill from West Virginia. She was reared in the Deer Park-Clayton area and September 4, 1926 married Cecil C. Garner born 1900 in Missouri, son of Joe L. Garner of Missouri and Bettie Clement of Tennessee. Grace was a timekeeper for the Sunshine Mine in Kellogg, Idaho from 1932 to 1942 and the for the Bunker Hill Zinc Plant from 1943 to 1947. From 1947 to 1966 Grace and Cecil owned and operated grocery stores in Espanola and Sprague, Washington. Grace had also been active as a precinct worker for the election board. Grace wrote three books on early settlers in Virginia where her parents were born. She also authored the first three obituary books done by EWGS after 1980 when the Patchen file changed from 3x5 cards to books. Cecil Garner died May 1, 1982 in Spokane and is buried in Greenwood Memorial Terrace Cemetery. Grace died January 8, 1985 visiting her daughter Carol Ingle in Kellogg, Idaho and she is also buried at Greenwood Memorial Terrace.
In 1978 the Bulletin published mini-biographies of members so we could get to know one another. The Washington State Historical records and archives project was conducted. The project was to identify archival records, and learning the content of various collections. They were to provide a catalog for researchers and historians.
The New England Historical and Genealogical Society presented a day long seminar in September, 1978, at Cheney Cowles Museum. The Subject was "Research in New England".

This is the last comment from Carrie Lartigue: 1978 Mrs. Cecil (Grace) Garner. Grace took overt the Obituary cards for several years, did most of the indexing and cut all the stencils for the Roster of Ohio Soldiers War of 1812; she serves on the Helper committee, fills in at workshops and has published several books on West Virginia (sic), the area of her research. Also Grace and Cecil helped with the tombstone project. At this point Carrie had to give up active membership in EWGS due to poor health.

Note the picture has Ray Fisher next to Grace Garner.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

EWGS Presidents Raymond J. Fisher

This is the twenty sixth 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, Achsah Maltbie Rawlings, Lee DeGolyer Patchen, Susie Elliott Faubion, Edith Webb Nelson, Carrie Teats Lartigue, Guy Alfred Clumpner, Grace Ellis Woodward, Mabel Rue Frederick, Nell Hartman Peel, Edwin Allan Poole, Mabel Enid Rice Conrad, Helen Elizabeth Osborne Rowe, Dr. Herbert Hoover Osborne, Jane Merritt Logie Webster, Beatrice Cutler Mitcham, Marie E. Stone Larson, and Lorena May Saylor Wildman



Raymond J. Fisher was EWGS President 1976 and 1977. Ray was born August 23, 1923 son of Guy Ragan and Ruby Lavia (Bunt) Fisher. Ray graduated from Dayton High school and Kinman Business University. He had been a Corporal in the US Army from 1945 to 1947. Ray was an accountant and he retired in 1991. Ray collected old post cards and liked genealogy, reading, woodworking and local history. He was a life member of EWGS and a member of the Eastern Washington Historical Society, the Society of Genealogy of London, the National Genealogical Society and the Pike County, Illinois Genealogy Society. If you check the Spokane Public Library catalog you find Ray was the author of an Index to Township Maps 1905, Mason School Records, and a Directory of School District Officers of Spokane County. Besides being EWGS President and EWGS Treasurer many times, he held many appointive offices, and was the EWGS Researcher till 1998. He also made copies and mailed publications EWGS had published. Ray died October 22, 2003 and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery at Walla Walla, Washington.
In 1976 EWGS membership grew by 20%. 1977 EWGS dues were $6.00. The Bulletin printed a Index to the Book of Deeds of Spokane County 1880-1883.

Comments by Carrie Lartigue: 1976 Mr. Raymond Fisher -Is there an office or appointive committee in EWGS on which Ray has not served? I believe he, more than any other member, has helped more people, done more individual favors and contributed more to the betterment of this society than I could possibly list. Outside of Sundays..his second home is at the library in the Genie Room. Congratulations, Ray...we are proud you chose us for friends!

Editors Comments: While I had met a few of the earlier EWGS Presidents, Ray was the first one I knew personally. I was a new genealogist when Ray suggested all the EWGS members join the genealogy bulletin board on Prodigy, I really liked that bulletin board and by reading posts every night I learned a lot about genealogy and later became a Special Contributor and eventually a Member Rep on the Prodigy Bulletin Board. I started doing some look ups for queries for the Spokane area from Prodigy, and so when Ray decided to retire from the Research I asked the then President Elect John Zeimantz if I could replace Ray as the EWGS Researcher. John said no one could replace Ray but I could have the Research job on a trial basis and so on January 1, 1998 I became the new EWGS researcher. Ray still had some research he was finishing, and so he showed me around the courthouse, introduced me to the people in the auditors office and in the archives. Ray's advice to me was the best way to become a better genealogist is to do research for others, thanks Ray that was great advice.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Barbara Nuehring to be Featured Speaker at Spring Seminar 2010 (May 15th)


Barbara Nuehring will be the featured noted lecturer at the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society's Spring Seminar held Saturday, May 15th at the Country Homes Christian Church, 8415 North Wall Street in Spokane, Washington (see map at bottom of post). Ms. Nuehring has a B.S. in Business from the University of Maryland and after a successful career as a comptroller withing the U.S. Department of the Army, she has spent her time researching her family history and taking active roles in several organizations.

Currently she and her husband travel full-time in their motor home, which gives her ample opportunity to do on-site research and make regular visits to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.  Barbara is the Secretary/Treasurer of the 200+ member Escapees Genealogy Group and writes feature columns for their newsletter and for the Green Valley [Arizona] Genealogy Society Past Tracks. She is a member of the National Genealogical Society; Genealogical Speakers Guild; International Society of Family History Writers and Editors; Palatines to America; and several local societies.

Barbara has been a guest lecturer at genealogical seminars and society meetings, teaching courses on a wide variety of subjects that couple traditional genealogy methodology with computer technology. The seminar's theme is "Oh, the Places You'll Go!" and Ms. Nuehring will be presenting the following four topics:
  • Exploiting Maps to Track Down Your Ancestors
  • Dealing with Stumbling Blocks: Calendars and Penmanship
  • On Site Research: Ready, Set, Go!
  • Across the Pond: Researching Your European Ancestors
In addition to the lectures, door prizes will be handed out and a raffle will be held. There will also be a contest to name EWGS's new digital publication. Registration is only $15 each for members; $18 each for non-members. No registration form is necessary; to ensure a syllabus, simply mail your check made out to EWGS and marked "Spring Seminar" by April 30th to the address below. Payment will also be taken at the door, but syllabuses are not guaranteed.

EWGS
P.O. Box 1826
Spokane, Washington 99210-1826

Registration and check-in begins at 9:00 AM. The meeting will begin at 9:30 AM, with the first lecture starting at 10:00. A potluck lunch will be held at 12:15 PM. Members are asked to bring the following items according to their surname (coffee, tea, and water will be supplied):
  • A-F: potato or pasta salad, or rolls and butter
  • G - L: fruit tray or dessert
  • M - P: green salad with dressing or veggie tray with dip
  • R-Z: meat or bean dish or casserole
The last lecture will conclude at 3:30 PM.

Ms. Nuehring was EWGS's featured speaker at the October 2008 workshop and her presentations were met with much enthusiasm. This is a seminar you won't want to miss! For further information, please contact Miriam Robbins Midkiff by phone (484-6759) or e-mail.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

EWGS Presidents Lorena May Saylor Wildman

This is the twenty fifth 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, Achsah Maltbie Rawlings, Lee DeGolyer Patchen, Susie Elliott Faubion, Edith Webb Nelson, Carrie Teats Lartigue, Guy Alfred Clumpner, Grace Ellis Woodward, Mabel Rue Frederick, Nell Hartman Peel, Edwin Allan Poole, Mabel Enid Rice Conrad, Helen Elizabeth Osborne Rowe, Dr. Herbert Hoover Osborne, Jane Merritt Logie Webster, Beatrice Cutler Mitcham, and Marie E. Stone Larson



Lorena May Saylor Wildman was the EWGS President in 1974 and 1975. Lorena was born in Van Buren County Iowa July 2, 1911 to Robert R. and Mildred (Raines) Saylor. She grew up in Davis County Iowa. She graduated from Pulaski, Iowa High school and worked as a practical nurse. Lorena married Kelsey Atherton Wildman in October 1929, at Iowa City, Iowa. She authored four books on her family genealogy. Kelsey and Lorena came to Spokane in 1943 because of the War when a requiter from Spokane came to Iowa looking for workers for the local aluminum plant. Lorena was listed as author or co-author of several books in the Spokane Library: Early Marriages of Spokane Book A, 1880 Census of Spokane County, Early Wills (of Spokane County), 1880 Stevens County Census, Genealogical Guide to the DAR Magazine, Early Spokane County and Research tips in Pennsylvania.
Kelsey Wildman retired from Spokane Sash and Door Company and died August 13, 1987. Lorena survived Kelsey till November 17, 1998.



Because of Expo 74 the library asked EWGS to have volunteers as helpers for the May 1 to October 31, 1974, since the library was only a block from the Expo grounds. Mrs. Helen Rowe was the coordinator for this project. Milton Rubincam visited
Expo 74 in September and conducted a Workshop September 13 and 14. It was Mr, Rubincam's first professional visit to the northwest. Expo 74 Postcards. Expo really changed downtown Spokane from an area of old railroad depots and decaying buildings across the street from the rail road depots. Today Riverfront Park is a lasting monument to Expo.
1975 was the year for Alex Hailey's "Roots" was published, and the Boy Scouts started genealogy research for a new Merit Badge. By the end of 1975 EWGS had 204 members and dues were $5.00

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

EWGS Presidents Marie E. Stone Larson

This is the twenty fourth 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, Achsah Maltbie Rawlings, Lee DeGolyer Patchen, Susie Elliott Faubion, Edith Webb Nelson, Carrie Teats Lartigue, Guy Alfred Clumpner, Grace Ellis Woodward, Mabel Rue Frederick, Nell Hartman Peel, Edwin Allan Poole, Mabel Enid Rice Conrad, Helen Elizabeth Osborne Rowe, Dr. Herbert Hoover Osborne, Jane Merritt Logie Webster, and Beatrice Cutler Mitcham



Marie Earlene Stone was the EWGS President in 1972 and 1973. She was born in Cheney Washington in 1927 daughter of Alonzo Earl Stone and Hazel Marie Gorr. She graduated from Cheney High School and married August 3, 1947 Lamoyne A. Larson. Lamoyne was the son of Louis Larson of Minnesota and Eleanor Larson. They have two children Barbara Jo and Steven John Larson. Marie joined EWGS in 1966. Her hobbies are sewing, knitting, genealogy and traveling. Her grandmothers parents were early Cheney pioneers (about 1877). Lamoyne died February 5, 1993 at Liberty Lake. Looks like Marie is still living, could not find a death date for her.
In 1973 the Bulletin started a column called "Meet Your Fellow Members" and gave brief biographies of society members. "Our members are like snowflakes. All different, and all interesting". Marie's biography was the first one printed in 1973.
1973 was a bad year for genealogists, in July 26 million records of past and present military members were destroyed in a fire at a military storage building in Overland Kansas.
President Marie Larson had a disagreement with a horse and broke her leg, she attended meetings with cast and crutches.

Comments by Carrie Lartigue: 1972 Mrs. L.A. Marie Larson - What can I say about Marie? She held many offices, in fact so many that she did not have time for her own research! Besides work at EWGS, she is a faithful worker at the Family History Center on Pines. She has become an expert on Scandinavian research.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

What You Missed: The April 2010 General Meeting

We haven't had a "What You Missed" post on this blog for over a year. Preparations for the Washington State Genealogical Society's State Conference held here in Spokane in September 2009 took up a lot of time, and so the WYM posts went by the wayside. I thought we'd start them up again!

Today's program was titled "Lineage, Historical, and Family Societies." We had six presenters talk about nine different organizations:
  • First Families of Maine - Doris Woodward
  • Sons and Daughters of the First Settlers of Newbury, Massachusetts - Doris Woodward
  • The Spokane Corral of Westerners International - John Ellingson
  • The Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1861-1865 - Judith Emry
  • The Daughters of Colonial Wars of Washington State - Judith Emry
  • The Van Voorhees Family Association - Patricia Ewers
  • The General Society of Mayflower Descendants - Tony Birch
  • The Daughters of the War of 1812 - Marian Binsfield
  • The Daughters of the American Colonists - Marian Binsfield
Each presenter shared what motivated them to join their group, the mission of their group, the qualifications and fees for membership, when and where local groups meet, and how genealogy or an interest in history plays a part in joining. Several pointed out similar groups that others could join; for example, when Pat Ewers did her presentation on the Van Voorhees Family Association, she mentioned that Cyndi's List has a page of Family Associations. She also referred the audience to Google, stating that many Family Associations could be found that way. Another thing to keep in mind is that along with all the many "Daughters of..." organizations, there are usually corresponding "Sons of ..." organizations. Also, many states other than Maine and communities other than Newbury, Massachusetts have "First Families", "First Settlers", or "Pioneer Families" Associations. You also don't have to have ancestry that stretches back deep into American history to join a lineage group: Doris Woodward briefly mentioned the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society, which provides pioneer certificates if you can prove your descendency from Czech immigrants.

Most stated that the advantages of joining one of these organizations were to feel a strong sense of pride in their heritage, to reward themselves for the hard work of researching one of their lines, to access assistance in tracing an ancestor who might qualify them for membership, and to leave a genealogical record with the organization for future descendants. Many of these organizations have genealogical libraries, and/or do good works to preserve historical landmarks, or have community projects such as photographing Civil War veterans' graves. These repositories and projects contribute to society in general and are advantageous to us as genealogists, even if we are not members of these societies.

The variety of organizations that were represented ensured a little something for everyone. I myself knew I qualified for several of these organizations, and I decided to pick up a brochure and application for the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, 1861-1865!

What do you think? Did you like this program? Did it inspire you to consider joining one of these groups or a similar one? What other similar organizations are you a member of that you would like to highlight?  Please click on the comments link below (where it has a number and the word "comments") to add your thoughts! If you're reading this from your e-mail inbox or from a feed aggregate such as Google Reader or Bloglines, please click this link to come directly to the blog so that you can leave your comments.