EWGS Presidents: Edwin Allan Poole

This is the eighteenth 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 and Nell Hartman Peel.

Edwin Allan Poole was EWGS President in 1964. Edwin was born at Kaukauna, Outagamie County, Wisconsin, son of Edwin Franklin and Kathleen (Allan) Poole. In the Presbyterian church in Bison, Perkins County, South Dakota he married Gladys Thomte. She was born at Liston, North Dakota, daughter of John and Mary Louise (Paquin) Thomte. Ed was a school superintendent in South Dakota and then Sales Manager for Prudential Life Insurance in Spokane till he retired in 1968.

As I said in the last article on Nell Peel, Ed started the first EWGS bulletin in June of 1963, called Tree Talks. After three issues it became News Notes for about a year when it was called The Messenger for about three years. Then no name for a couple of years and in 1969 it became The Bulletin. Ed also wrote a nice five page article in The Bulletin in 1975 titled "The First Forty Years". One of the interesting paragraphs he wrote was: " There were many times in the past when books and money were contributed by the Society or its members. At one time $50 was given when that amount bought a lot more than it does now. Mrs. J. Fred Austin (the fourth EWGS president) and Mrs. Walter E. Fredrick (also an EWGS president) made several cash donations and often quietly added books to the library. In the 1940s when the library was considering the contract purchase of the costly vital records of the 70 Massachusetts towns, Mrs. Austin volunteered to donate $25 a year until the books were paid for. There are probably many others who like these fine ladies did much for the growing Society and the library." Another interesting fact Ed wrote about was at the first meeting of EWGS they decided to hold the meetings on the first Saturday of the month which is still true today.

Edwin died October 28, 1975 in Spokane and was buried at Fairmount Cemetery. He was a member of the Spokane Amateur Movie Club, Eastern Washington Genealogical Society, The Westerners Historical Society, the Huguenot Society of Washington State, Eastern Washington Historical Society and Audubon Park Masonic Lodge 272. He was survived by his wife Gladys and daughter Carmen Farley. Gladys Poole was a school teacher, and worked as a chemist for Alcoa Aluminum during the war. She died in December 2000 and her obit appeared in the Spokesman review December 29, 2000. She helped author the book Genealogy and Family History of John Pool(e), 1630-1981.

Historic Map Works Purchases Metsker Maps

Historic Map Works is pleased to announce the acquisition of Metsker Maps, the long running map publishing business from Tacoma, Washington.

During their almost century long run, the Metsker family produced approximately 300 county atlases and 400 county wall maps of Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, and Northern California. Scanning the newly acquired maps will add approximately 10,000 images to the 1.2 million map related images already available on www.HistoricMapWorks.com. You can read more about these historic maps and see examples of our first scans from the new collection here.

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On a personal note, my husband and I have been using Metsker maps over the course of the last 22 years, for camping, history, local road trips, and the like. They are very common here in Washington, and it's not unusual to see them in any hardware or convenience store. The fact that they were only limited to the West is news to me; I thought they had mapped the entire U.S., and always planned to purchase some for my ancestral locations:

Unlike many publishers of the time who limited themselves to publishing maps of more developed areas, the Metsker family excelled at recording the history of the then rural and wilderness geographies. Many of our users already use Metsker Maps to study the boundary changes to state and national parks as well as helping land use enthusiast to locate former logging trails, timber camps, gold mines, and other areas of industry which flourished and then quietly faded away during the Northwest's various booms and busts. In many instances, the only way to locate these now ghost towns and overgrown roads is to look on a map published by Metsker Maps.

Updates to Three Genealogy Television Shows

It was brought to my attention that the air times and dates for Faces of America were incorrect in my last post. I have changed them and they are correct to the best of my knowledge. Additional information on BYU-TV's channels has also been added.

Three Genealogy Television Shows

If you haven't already heard, there are three genealogy televisions shows either currently broadcasting or soon to be!

The first one is The Generations Project, which first aired January 4, 2010 on BYU-TV. This is "a new reality series that helps those who have questions about their family history investigate their own identities by walking in the shoes of their ancestors. As they undertake these journeys, they often uncover the hidden identities in family pasts, and come to see that in many cases the best way to know who you are is to know who you came from." Ordinary people are featured on this program, rather than celebrities. In the Spokane area, you can watch this show on Channel 232 on Comcast Cable and Channel 9403 on Dish Network. The Generations Project is aired four times during the week so check your listings. You can also watch the most current episode on their website at http://www.byub.org/thegenerationsproject/. Older episodes will be available to view online starting in April.

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The second show also has already begun airing. This is Faces of America, a four-part series hosted by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. on PBS.Our local television station, KSPS, threw a bit of a monkey wrench into things when they aired the first episode last Wednesday at 7 PM, instead of 8 PM as it was nationally advertised. The subsequent three episodes will also air at 7 PM on Wednesday nights from February 17th through March 3rd. In this show, Gates "turns to the latest tools of genealogy and genetics to explore the family histories of 12 renowned Americans — professor and poet Elizabeth Alexander, chef Mario Batali, comedian Stephen Colbert, novelist Louise Erdrich, journalist Malcolm Gladwell, actress Eva Longoria, musician Yo-Yo Ma, director Mike Nichols, Her Majesty Queen Noor, television host/heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, actress Meryl Streep, and figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi." Previously aired episodes will be available to watch online every Thursday following the airing at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/facesofamerica/.

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And last, but certainly not least, the American version of the British and Canadian genealogy reality series, Who Do You Think You Are? will begin broadcasting on NBC on Friday, March 5th! Seven celebrities (Matthew Broderick, Lisa Kudrow, Spike Lee, Sarah Jessica Parker, Susan Sarandon, Brooke Shields and Emmitt Smith) embark on the journeys of their lives--the quest to discover the genealogical roots of who they are. If the show does well this spring, it is hoped that it will renew for the fall! You can read more about it here.

If you have a Facebook account, you can become a fan of all three shows: The Generations Project, Faces of America, and Who Do You Think You Are? fan pages. And if you're a Twitter user, there are hashtags for two of the shows: #FOA, #wdytya

EWGS Presidents: Nell Hartman Peel

This is the seventeenth 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, Edith Webb Nelson, Carrie Teats Lartigue and Guy Alfred Clumpner, Grace Ellis Woodward and Mabel Rue Frederick.

In 1961 the next EWGS President was Lee Patchen again, so I will go on to Nell Hartman Peel the 1962 and 1963 EWGS President. Did not find much on Nell, she appears in the Spokane City directories in the 1920s, and married Samuel E. Peel June 18, 1932 in Stevens County. I did not find much on Samuel either, he was living in Spokane in the 1920 census age 53 born in Canada. In 1930 I found Nell here in Spokane in a boarding house age 40, but no Samuel. After they married I did not find them again. In the 1940 city directory Nell is back, working for the school district as a clerk, and after that either a clerk or a teacher, but no Samuel, so maybe he went back to Canada?? Nell did leave Spokane to live in Rockford, Illinois, and passed away at Rockford January 29, 1985. Probably the highlight of her time as EWGS President was the first bulletin. The first publication was in June of 1963, by Edwin A. Poole (more on him later). It began as a one page publication called TREE TALKS. After three issues it became NEWS NOTES for about a year when it was called the MESSENGER for approximately three years. Then no name until 1969 when it was named THE BULLETIN which continues on to today. Copies of all those issues are in the periodical section of the genealogical section of the Spokane Library, and many of the issues have been indexed by Google Books.

Intermediate Online Genealogy Course

If you live in the Spokane area, Miriam Robbins Midkiff would like to invite you to take her Intermediate Online Genealogy Course, available through the Community Colleges of Spokane's Institute for Extended Learning (IEL). Classes will be held Tuesday evenings from 6:00 to 8:00 PM for six weeks at the CenterPlace campus, 2426 N. Discovery Way, Spokane Valley, Washington.

This course will cover using Internet resources to research military, naturalization and immigration, court, and land records, as well as explore various genealogy websites such as Footnote, WorldVitalRecords, GenealogyBank, and HeritageQuest. Taking my beginning course is recommended; however, if you are comfortable researching vital, cemetery, and census records, have a working knowledge of the Internet, as well as an e-mail address, you are welcome to sign up for this course.

You may register for this course (L116) by calling the IEL at (509) 279-6030 or (800) 845-3324; you can also register online by going to the course webpage here.

Presidents Day Flag Retirement Ceremony

courtesy of 3DFlags

Fairmount Memorial Association

with

The Sons of the American Revolution

&

The Inland Northwest Chapter of American Red Cross

Proudly Announces

A Solemn American

Flag Retirement

Ceremony

on

Presidents Day

Monday, February 15, 2010

(A Federal, State, and School Holiday)

1 o'clock p.m.

at

The Lofty Cross of Inspiration

Top Terrace, Greenwood Memorial Cemetery

211 North Government Way

Spokane, Washington

For Directions or More Information, Call

(509) 747-4029

Some Genealogical Valentine Treats

Mrs. Harders, unknown location, to Rena Lerfald, postcard, c. 1909 - 1913, unpostmarked; Lerfald-Westaby Postcard Collection; privately held by Troy Midkiff, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] Vancouver, Washington, 2010.

Happy Valentine's Day! There are some very special Valentine treats that have been put together by the genealogical community! The first one is the Valentine's edition of Shades of the Departed, the beautiful and incomparable genealogy, history, and photography e-magazine! Oh, and I did I mention, it's free?

True to their quality standards, the writing and editorial team headed by the footnoteMaven have put together a fabulous issue featuring vintage African-American photos (this is African-American history month, after all!), a sweet fiction piece, an article on what the archival process involves, and much, much more! Plus, it's just so fun to actually turn the pages of this online magazine--go check it out, if you haven't done so--and you can download it for reading again later!

The next treat is from another one of my favorite people, Lisa Louise Cooke. She recently had the privilege of interviewing Lisa Kudrow, with whom you will be familiar from the television show, Friends. If you haven't already heard, Ms. Kudrow is the executive producer of a new genealogy show airing on NBC March 5th, Who Do You Think You Are? Lisa C. interviewed Lisa K. in her latest episode of the Genealogy Gems podcast, which is available to listen to today.

Now if you've never listened to a podcast, don't be intimidated! You don't need an iPod, an MP3 player or any fancy technological equipment. All you need is the computer you're using right now to read this, and either speakers or headphones. Go to this link and look at the little white podcast player in the right-hand column. Click on the play button ( > ) and listen to this fascinating and exclusive interview!

A genealogical Valentine magazine and radio show...or at least the modern versions of such...it doesn't get any better than this!  Happy Valentine's Day!

FamilySearch Indexing Update: 1910 U.S. Census and 4 New Countries Added

5 February 2010

FamilySearch continues to make progress on indexing the 1910 and 1920 United States Censuses, with five new states released this week. In addition, new international projects are available for Germany, Spain, Jamaica, and Norway.

New Projects in the Past Two Weeks
· Deutschland, Baden, Achern—Kirchenbücher, 1810–1869 [Part B]
· España, Malaga—Registros Civiles, 1846–1870
· Jamaica—Civil Births, 1878–1899 [Part A]
· Norway—1875 Census [Part B] (In partnership with DIS-Norge)
· US, Alaska—1920 Federal Census
· US, Hawaii—1920 Federal Census
· U.S., Illinois—1910 Federal Census
· U.S., Indiana—1910 Federal Census
· US, Iowa—1910 Federal Census
(See the chart below for a complete list and current status of all indexing projects.)

Recently Completed Projects
(Note: Recently completed projects have been removed from the available online indexing batches and will now go through a final completion check process in preparation for future publication.)

· Argentina, Cordoba—Matrimonios, 1642–1931
· Belgique—Registres Des Décès—En Français
· Deutschland, Bremen—Schiffslisten, 1904–1914
· U.K., Bristol—Parish Registers, 1837–1900 [Part A]
· U.S., Kansas—1910 Federal Census

Current FamilySearch Indexing Projects, Record Language, and Percent Completion
Argentina, Balvanera—Registros Parroquiales, 1833–1934 [Parte A]
Spanish
32%

Argentina, Balvanera—Registros Parroquiales, 1833–1934 [Parte B]
Spanish
1%

Argentina, Santa Fe—Registros Parroquiales, 1634–1926 [Parte A]
Spanish
12%

Argentina, Santa Fe—Registros Parroquiales, 1634-1926 [Parte B]
Spanish
5%

Belgium, Antwerp—Foreigners Index, 1840–1930
English
81%

Brasil, Rio de Janeiro—Matrimonios, 1900–1910 [Piloto]
Portuguese
24%

Canada—1871 Mortality Census
English
80%

Canada, Québec, Montreal—Régistres Paroissiaux, 1800–1900
French
11%

Česká republika, Litoměřice – Matriky 1552-1905 [část 1]
(Tschechien, Litomerice—Kirchenbücher [Teil 1])
German
21%

Chile, Concepción—Registros Civiles, 1885–1903 [Parte 2A]
Spanish
15%

Chile, Concepción—Registros Civiles, 1885–1903 [Parte 2B]
Spanish
2%

Colombia, Bucaramanga—Registros Parroquiales, 1649–1959
Spanish
1%

Colombia, Marinilla—Registros Parroquiales, 1815–1959
Spanish
15%

Deutschland, Baden, Achern—Kirchenbücher, 1810–1869 [Part A]
German
31%
Deutschland, Baden, Achern—Kirchenbücher, 1810–1869 [Part B]

German
(New)
Deutschland, Brandenburg—Kirchenbücher, 1789–1875
German
92%*

Deutschland, Mecklenburg—Volkszählung, 1890 [Div 39–69]
German
28%

España, Avila, Navalmoral—Registros Parroquiales, 1530–1935
Spanish
68%

España, Lugo—Registros Parroquiales, 1530–1930 [Parte 1]
Spanish
32%

España, Malaga—Registros Civiles, 1846–1870
Spanish
(New)

France, Cherbourg—Registres Paroissiaux, 1802–1907
French
10%

France, Coutances—Registres Paroissiaux 1802–1907
French
5%

France, Coutances, Paroisses de la Manche, 1792–1906
French
90%

France, Paris—Registres Protestants, 1612–1906 [Partie 3]
French
18%

France, Saint-Lo—Registres Paroissiaux, 1802–1907
French
21%

Guatemala, Huehuetenango y San Marcos—Registros Civiles, 1877–1900
Spanish
31%

Italia, Napoli, Castellammare di Stabia—Atti di Morte, 1809–1936 [Parte A]
Italian
46%

Jamaica—Civil Births, 1878–1899 [Part A]
English
(New)

Mexico, DF—Registros Parroquiales, 1898–1933 [Parte 3]
Spanish
44%

Mexico, Hidalgo—1930 Federal Censo
Spanish
87%

Mexico, Jalisco—1930 Federal Censo
Spanish
46%

Mexico, Michoacan—1930 Federal Censo
Spanish
24%

Mexico, Nuevo Leon—1930 Federal Censo
Spanish
36%

New Zealand—Passenger Lists, 1871–1915
English
78%

Nicaragua, Managua—Registros Civiles, 1879–1984 [Parte 1]
Spanish
50%

Russland, Sankt Petersburg—Kirchenbuchduplikat, 1833–1885
German
2%

South Africa, Cape Province—Church Records, 1660–1970
English
22%

Sverige, Södermanland—Kyrkoböcker, till 1860 [Del 1]
Swedish
5%

Sverige, Uppsala—Kyrkoböcker, till 1860 [Del 1]
Swedish
21%

Sverige, Örebro—Kyrkoböcker, till 1860 [Del 1]
Swedish
1%

U.K., Cheshire—Parish Records, 1538–1850 [Part 2]
English/Old English
73%

U.K., Essex—Parish Registers, 1538–1900 [Part 1]
English
2%

U.K., Warwickshire—Parish Registers, 1754-1900 [Part 1]
English
45%

US, Alaska—1920 Federal Census
English
(New)

U.S., Florida—1910 Federal Census
English
61%

U.S., Georgia—1910 Federal Census
English
60%

US, Hawaii—1920 Federal Census
English
(New)

U.S., Illinois—1910 Federal Census
English
(New)

U.S., Indiana—1910 Federal Census
English
(New)

U.S., Indiana, Clark County—Marriages, 1811–1959
English
75%

U.S., Indiana, Dubois County—Marriages, 1811–1959
English
56%

U.S., Indiana, Harrison County—Marriages, 1811–1959
English
80%

U.S., Indiana, Marshall County—Marriages, 1811–1959
English
67%

US, Iowa—1910 Federal Census
English
(New)

U.S., Louisiana—1910 Federal Census
English
65%

U.S., Rhode Island—1905 State Census [Part 3]
English
46%

U.S., Rhode Island—1935 State Census
English
72%

Venezuela, Mérida—Registros Parroquiales, 1654–1992 [Parte 2]
Spanish
3%

Österreich, Wiener Meldezettel, 1890–1925
German
7%

Украина, Киев—Метрические Книги, 1840–1842
Russian
68%
(*Percentage refers to a specific portion of a larger project.)

Current FamilySearch Partner Projects, Record Language, and Percent Completion
Australia, Victoria—Probate Records, 1853–1989
English
82%

België—Burgerlijke Stand, 1851-1900 [Deel 2]
Dutch
13%

België, Mechelen—Overlijdens Registers, 1851-1900
Dutch, Flemish
81%

Belgique—Registres Civile, 1851–1900 [Partie A]
French
3%

Canada, Ontario, Toronto—Trust Cemeteries, 1826–1935
English
3%

Deutschland, Westfalen, Minden—Volkszählung, 1880–1900
German
1%

España, Avila, Madrigal y Garganta—Registros Parroquiales, 1530–1935
Spanish
24%

France, Quimper et Leon—Registres Paroissiaux, 1772–1909 [Part 1]
French
59%

Norway—1875 Census [Part 1]
Norwegian
92%

Norway—1875 Census [Part B]
Norwegian
(New)

Perú, Lima—Registros Civiles, 1910–1930 [Parte 4]
Spanish
68%

Philippines, Lingayen, Dagupan—Registros Parroquiales, 1615–1982
Spanish
8%

U.K., Norfolk—Parish Registers, 1538–1900
English
1%

U.S., Ohio—Tax Records, Post 1825 [Part 3]
English
1%

U.S., Utah, Salt Lake County—Birth Registers, 1890–1908
English
4%

U.S., Utah, Salt Lake County—Death Registers, 1848–1940
English
28%

About FamilySearch
FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Spokane Area Legacy Users Group to Meet Wednesday

If you are a Legacy Family Tree genealogy software user, or are simply curious about this genealogy software program, you may be interested in the Legacy Users Group (LUG), which will meet next Wednesday, February 17th, from 1:30 to 3:30 PM in the meeting room of the Shadle Park Branch of the Spokane Public Library at 2111 W. Wellesley. Regular attendees will take turns in the role of moderator for each meeting. If you have more questions, please contact Donna Potter Phillips here.

View Larger Map

EWGS Presidents: Mabel Rue Frederick

This is the sixteenth 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, Edith Webb Nelson, Carrie Teats Lartigue and Guy Alfred Clumpner and Grace Ellis Woodward.

Mabel Rue Frederick was Second Vice President in 1958, and became president after the untimely deaths of Guy Alfred Clumpner and Grace Ellis Woodward. She also was president in 1959 and 1960 and so became the longest serving president of EWGS. She was born in Spokane at the home of her grandfather Col. David P. Jenkins, August 19, 1885. Col. David P. Jenkins was a lawyer and he was the first settler on the north side of the Spokane River when he came to Spokane June 3, 1979 from Illinois. Col. Jenkins was born in Mt. Pleasant, Ohio in 1823. Practiced law in Illinois, was a friend of Abraham Lincoln, a Civil War Colonel for the Illinois Volunteers. He started the Spokane University, donated the land for the Spokane Courthouse, built a getaway cabin in Stevens county (Jenkins High School is named for him), refused to give land to James J. Hill for the Great Northern Railroad, but sold the land where the present day Kendall Yards is located to the city leaders who then gave that land to the railroad. As a note Spokane University was located south of the courthouse, but did not last long, but the street in front of the University was named College Avenue, and that name survives to today. Mabel's grandfather Lewis Rue was from New Jersey.


Mabel married October 6, 1921 in Spokane, Walter Eberts Frederick (1882-1936) born at Helena Montana and died here in Spokane June 1936. He was an office supply clerk for Shaw-Borden printing company. Mabel was a charter member of Spokane Garry Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and was named Woman Pioneer of the Year in Spokane in May of 1975. Mabel died in Salt Lake City January 19, 1980 and is buried at Fairmount Cemetery.

Comments by Carrie Lartigue: Mrs. Walter E. Frederick. Mabel was the granddaughter of early Spokanite - Col. Jenkins. He donated the land on which our Spokane County Courthouse stands. Mabel was a dedicated genealogist and active in the Daughters of American Revolution. Mabel moved to be near her Doctor son in Salt Lake City in her later years. She gave me some clothes worn by her grandmother in 1848 before the Civil War. A neat treasure for me!

MyHeritage.com Acquires Major Family Network OSN

MyHeritage.com Acquires Major Family Network OSN (Verwandt.de) to Accelerate Building the World’s Family Graph

With 13 million family trees, 47 million members and 530 million profiles, MyHeritage.com becomes the largest international site dedicated to families on the web

Hamburg, Germany, London, UK and Tel Aviv, Israel – February 3, 2010 – MyHeritage.com, the company that connects families to their past and to one another, today announced a significant expansion of its global family network through the acquisition of the Hamburg-based OSN Group, which operates a network of 10 market-leading family sites, including Verwandt.de (Germany), Moikrewni.pl (Poland) and Dynastree.com (USA).

“MyHeritage.com has established itself as the trusted home for families on the web. By integrating these market-leading services into a single international platform, we are taking a great step towards realizing our vision of connecting families around the world,” said Gilad Japhet, founder and CEO of MyHeritage.com and the father of three children. “We’re thrilled to welcome millions of new families from some of the Internet’s most important markets to our platform. We look forward to offering our new members an effortless migration which preserves their privacy, and we will deliver the best that our combined network and technologies can offer to support them in exploring their family history, sharing important memories and staying connected”.

MyHeritage.com now holds a formidable international registered member base of 47 million, and offers its services in 35 languages. The acquisition helps MyHeritage.com build on its existing strength in the USA, UK, Canada, France and Australia while making significant inroads into key European markets such as Germany, Poland and the Netherlands as well as many major Latin American markets.

Combining these services into a single international platform expands the size of MyHeritage.com’s unique user-generated family graph to 13 million family trees including 530 million genealogical profiles. The increased scale of this privacy-enforced family graph provides instant value to families, making it even easier for them to find long-lost relatives and discover more about their unique family histories. This will help, for example more North American members connect with their European relatives and ancestors. As part of the acquisition, MyHeritage.com will be establishing an office in Hamburg where experienced OSN team members will be based.

“Facebook has built an amazingly useful graph of our social connections and LinkedIn of our professional connections, and MyHeritage.com is building a uniquely valuable graph of our family life, both past and present”, said Saul Klein, board member at MyHeritage.com, partner at Index Ventures and the father of two children. “By extending the scale and geographic reach of its family graph and offering a private place online for families across the world to securely share photos, important events and explore our family history, MyHeritage.com's service has the potential to become part of the fabric of our online lives.”

MyHeritage.com offers a powerful suite of tools and technologies for managing family connections online, including:

· Award-winning free downloadable genealogy software,

· Powerful Smart Matching™ technology that connects family trees across different languages, pronunciations and spellings, and

· Advanced facial recognition technology that auto-magically tags family photos

New technologies from OSN will be integrated into MyHeritage.com, starting with the Family Crest Builder, which will go live on MyHeritage.com this week.

"We’re really excited to be able to combine the best of OSN and MyHeritage.com’s services to bring even more value to our members” said Daniel Grözinger, co-founder of OSN Online Social Networking GmbH. "Since 2007, we have built our services into market leaders in key European and Latin American markets and we’re excited to work with Gilad and his team to make it easier for families to keep in touch and bridge gaps of geography, language and time. Our members' family trees are now safely and securely migrated to MyHeritage.com where they can continue to enjoy the service for free and benefit from many additional features of the combined platform, such as Smart Matching and photo tagging technologies".

About MyHeritage.com
MyHeritage.com was founded by a team of people who combine their passion for family history with the development of innovative technology. Since launching in November 2005 MyHeritage.com has become the world’s leading international online network for families and the second largest family history website. The fastest growth rates in the industry combined with the acquisitions of Pearl Street Software (2007), Kindo.com (2008) and OSN (2009) have made MyHeritage.com the home for 47 million family members and 530 million profiles. The company has offices in London, UK; Hamburg, Germany; Boulder, Colorado, USA and Tel Aviv, Israel. MyHeritage.com has received funding by Accel Partners and Index Ventures. For more information, visit www.myheritage.com.

About OSN Online Social Networking GmbH
OSN’s website group -- Verwandt.de, Moikrewni.pl, Dynastree.com and Dynastree.co.uk, Miparentela.com, Meusparentes.com.br and Meusparentes.com.pt, Parentistretti.it, Verwant.nl, Familleunie.fr, Akrabaonline.com and Semyaonline.com -- has been among the fastest growing family social networks worldwide in the last two years. OSN was founded by the experienced Internet entrepreneurs Daniel Grözinger and Sven Schmidt. The two have cooperated successfully in the past on getgo.de, an online ticketing site; the FIFA Soccer World Cup Ticketing Center and dialo.de, a portal for yellow pages. Recently, they have been involved in Farbflut Entertainment GmbH that runs Germany’s most successful web game, pennergame.de. OSN is funded by Germany-based VCs Hasso Plattner (co-founder of SAP) Ventures and Neuhaus Partners. For more information, see http://www.dynastree.com/resources/press/fact-sheet-dynastree.pdf

Footnote Releases New Vietnam Records and Photos

FOOTNOTE.COM AND THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES RELEASE NEW VIETNAM WAR PHOTOS AND RECORDS ONLINE

-Over 27,000 Photos And Records Are Added To The Largest Online Vietnam War Collection

Lindon, UT – February 4, 2010 – Today Footnote.com announced a major addition to its Vietnam War Collection: Army Photos and Unit Service Awards.  Now totaling over 100,000 photos and documents, this collection helps visitors gain a better perspective and appreciation for this often misunderstood event in U.S. History.

“Our partnership with the National Archives has proven to be invaluable as we work to make these records more accessible,” explains Russell Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com. “Previously you were required to travel to Washington, D.C. to see these records.  Now anyone can access the original records through the internet.”

Army Unit Service Awards include documents relating to Presidential Unit Citations, Valorous Unit Awards and Meritorious Unit Commendations.  These were usually awarded to units going above and beyond the call of duty, and in most cases, showing exceptional valor.  These documents contain:

·        Dates of service

·        Duties performed

·        Letters of recommendation

The Army Photos feature various activities of the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War.  In nearly every case there is a caption or description of what was happening and the names of the soldiers featured in the photos.  Everything ranging from daily duties to Bob Hope’s Christmas program is captured, providing a glimpse into what life was like for the soldiers.  

“My dad is a Vietnam War hero, but I rarely can get him to share his experiences from the war,” says Justin Schroepfer, Marketing Director at Footnote.com. “Going through these photos allowed me to visualize a little more what he went through and the sacrifices he made for his country.”

In addition to these new records, the Footnote Vietnam War Collection also includes:

·        The Interactive Vietnam Veterans Memorial – featuring service records for each name on the wall

·        Photos of the Marine Corps in Vietnam - color

·        Photos of the Marine Corps in Vietnam - black and white

Footnote.com will continue to work with the National Archives to add more Vietnam War content online.

“These documents and photos tell a part of the Vietnam War story that you just can’t find in textbooks,” explains Russell Wilding, CEO of Footnote.com.  “It’s imperative that we preserve and share this side of history for future generations. We are encouraging everyone to come to Footnote.com and enhance these stories by adding their own comments, photos and documents.”

The Vietnam War Collection will be made free to the public during the month of February.  To view these documents, visit www.footnote.com/vietnam.

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About Footnote, Inc.

Footnote.com is a subscription website that features original historical documents, providing visitors with an unaltered view of the events, places and people that shaped the American nation and the world. At Footnote.com, all are invited to come share, discuss, and collaborate on their discoveries with friends, family, and colleagues. For more information, visit http://www.footnote.com.

EWGS Presidents: Grace Ellis Woodward

This is the fifteenth 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, Edith Webb Nelson, Carrie Teats Lartigue and Guy Alfred Clumpner.



Grace Estine Ellis was born August 25, 1879 in Dayton, Washington the ninth child of Samuel George Ellis (1832-1904) and Rhoda Ann Kennedy Ellis (1836-1904). Samuel was born in Virginia and was a Pioneer of Walla Walla in 1862. Rhoda was born in East Tennessee and died in Spokane. Her family was from Ireland. Rhoda's father John K. Kennedy was the captain of the wagon train to Walla Walla and the Ellis family came by ox team. Grace was selected to be EWGS President after the untimely death of Guy Alfred Clumpner in April of 1958, and she also died before her term ended, July 9, 1958. She was cremated. Grace had joined EWGS in 1953 and was also a member of Electra Chapter of OES and the Daughters of Pioneers.



Grace married Dan Marshall Woodward September 30, 1900 here in Spokane. Dan was the son of Henry and Margaret (Thompson) Woodward. Dan was born on the family homestead in Winona, Minnesota, still owned by the family, April 15, 1863 and he died here in Spokane June 8, 1937. He was the department manager of books and stationary for John W. Graham and was recognized as the leading athority in the west on fine paper.
The 1929 Spokane City Directory has an add from the John W. Graham & Co. Office Supplies, Office Desks, Chairs and Filing Equipment. 707-711 Sprague and 708-716 First Avenue, Spokane, Washington.