EWGS Presidents: John R. Zeimantz

This is the thirty eighth 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, Raymond J. Fisher, Grace E. Kelso Garner , Catherine P. Cornehl Hyslop, Barbara J. Wirt Clarkson, Ruby L. Simonson McNeill, Jeanne J. Jones Holder , Jeanne M. Polumsky Coe , Maxine E. LeGrant Pence, Mary Kay McGlothlin Gant, Elizabeth Dale Hastin Smith, Bette Butcher Topp, and Gordon Dean Clay.

John R. Zeimantz was EWGS President in 1998 and 1999. His Zeimantz family were settlers in Lincoln County in the Mondovi area, and John is probably the person most expert on Lincoln County research. He was even President of the Lincoln County Historical Society. John graduated from Washington State University in 1973 and the University of Puget Sound (JD cum laude) in 1979 and became a lawyer in 1979.

John wrote the article on the history of EWGS from 1955 to 1964 for the 50th anniversary issue of The Bulletin, which helped me in these posts on EWGS presidents (thanks, John!) Since John is an attorney, he has given many talks on courthouse research, held many offices for EWGS, and was chairman of a couple of seminars that EWGS held.


The spring seminar for 1998 was held April 16 - 18; the topic was The State Fair with James and Paula (Stuart) Warren at the Double Tree Hotel in the valley (Mirabeau Park Hotel now); the cost was $100.00. The October Workshop's theme was Back to School, held October 3, 1998 at Ferris High School; the cost was $20.00.

Nineteen ninety-nine was a busy year, as the spring seminar was presented by John Kitzmiller on April 10, 1999 with the topic, Your WISE Emigrants (Welsh, Irish, Scottish and English). It was at Spokane Falls Community College and the cost was $25.00.

In September, EWGS was again at the Sprague Rest Stop for a fund raiser, but this time we were inside as DOT had built a room for the volunteers to put their supplies. It it had a sink and even heat for the cold mornings, much better that being outside like the last rest stop we did two years before. EWGS cleared $1100.00 at the rest stop for the book fund.

The October 2, 1999 workshop's presenter was Merrill Mosher and he spoke at Spokane Falls Community College; the cost was $20.00. A couple of weeks later Arlene Eakle was in Spokane on October 16, 1999 at the Driscoll Baptist Church; cost for that seminar was $20.00.

If you read the newspapers, magazines and even The Bulletin, this was the end of the 1900s and everyone was worried about Y2K and whether that would be the end of the world, or would it just mess up computers everywhere. It turned out to be a non-event as programmers got enough advance notice to fix nearly everything.

Before John even became EWGS President, the longtime researcher for EWGS had resigned. Ray Fisher was having health problems and needed to slow down. I had been doing some lookups online, so I asked John if I could replace Ray as the new EWGS Researcher. John told me no one could ever replace Ray, but I could try the research job for a year on probation. Guess I passed the probation as I still hold that job. Thanks John, for your confidence in me!