DNA Seminar In Colville....Are You Going?

Several EWGS members are already signed up to go; how about you? There will be carpools. Click to their website to see this flyer full size, to print it out and send it in. (They don't have Paypal.) 

What should I do? Suggestions welcome!

In my late father's stuff I found this pin. When he was 18 in Illinois he worked as a cook in a local Greyhound bus stop. In 1939 they awarded (?) him this pin. 

My question: What to do with it now?  There is a Greyhound museum and I've tried every way I could think of to contact them and ask if they want it with nary a reply.

I really don't think it's the sort of thing a 21st century grandchild would ever want. What would YOU do with such a little thing??

Report on (Irish) meeting with Ann Eccels

Report from Lynda Keenan who attended the meeting:

On Wednesday, 25 July,  several members from the EWGS had the opportunity to spend time with Ann Eccels, IGSI President for a meet and greet at the Shadle Library.  The afternoon was spent with Ann sharing her love for Ireland. We learned how most of her great grandparents came from Ireland to the New World and how she became involved with the society.  Ann also spoke about the Church of Ireland and the controversies of the Catholic Diocese.

John Grenham was also mentioned and how useful his website is for researching your Irish surnames.  https://johngrenham.com/. This site does offer a free search, however to gain information there is a fee.

Below you may find a few other resources that were shared by Ann.

The Civil records start from 1864 and can be found at https://www.irishgenealogy.ie/en/, which is a free website. County Church records can also be found on this site.  

Census records for 1901 and 1911 are found online at the National Archives.

Another website that may be helpful with your family research is https://irelandxo.com/.

For those interested in learning more about your Irish Heritage, there is an upcoming Celtic Connections Conference that will be held in Chicago, Illinois, July 31 – August 1, 2020. The conference will have 14 speakers from all over the world, who specialize with Ireland as well as Wales history.

Thank you, Ann, for taking the time to share your love and knowledge of Ireland with us.

Summer: Take a grandchild to the cemetery.

While back I offered a class on things to do this summer that are genealogy related. One thing was take a grandchild to a cemetery. Who else is gonna teach them about remembering our ancestors?

This my youngest grandson. When he and his dad visited Spokane from their home in Port Angeles, OF COURSE I took them to the cemetery to see where Grandpa and I will rest. He was politely interested and did hint that he might go to a PA cemetery to view the grave markers on his mom's side. Score!

If you don't have a grandchild handy, take any child! And if you don't have a family stone to visit, there are a thousand stories in any cemetery. Go!

Was our 1850 U.S. census the first every-name census? NOPE.

Bet you thought, as I've always thought and been taught, that our 1850 U.S. Federal Census was The First to be an every-name census of a country's population.  And what a wonderful thing that was and still is to all of us genealogists.

BUT. 

On our recent trip to Iceland, and our visit to the National Museum of Iceland, I spotted an exhibit factoid that rocked my socks. "The first ever every name census in the world was taken in Iceland in 1703." Following up, I find that the Family History Library has that census available for researchers. Who would have thought?

Since the above doesn't lend itself to a photo, here is one of my favorites from the trip. This is Alaskan lupine, brought to Iceland to help control soil erosion and now has happily spread thickly all over the island. And one of Iceland's several glaciers.

Take your grandchildren to the cemetery day.

Our youngest of 8 grandchildren came to visit us this summer. One of the places we went was Riverside Cemetery to visit our memorial bench for when that time comes.

In between sprinker bursts, I introduced him to where his grandparents will be buried. The inscriptions on the top of the bench have our information, our 3 children's names and 8 grandchildren's names. He took it all in stride. I do wish and hope he will remember the visit. 

Whether or not you have your cemetery arrangements made, have you taken your grandchildren on a cemetery visit? I guarantee they will love it. And ask a bunch of good questions. 

October 5th........ you are invited to come learn.

Saturday, October 5th, will be a wonderful day of genealogical education. It's the day of our EWGS annual Fall Workshop. Is the date marked out on your calendar????

While all the details are not finalized as of this post, we do know that there will be 12 classes from which you can choose. Emigration, and all the factors in the various countries leading up to this movement, will be highlighted. As well as DNA classes. As well as a beginning class. There will be something for everybody, we guarantee!!

Stay tuned to our EWGS website (www.EWGSI.org) for registration information but mark your calendar with a big X on that day right now!

Celebrating July 4th...........then and now.

How did you celebrate July 4th, our nation's birthday? How do you suppose our ancestors marked the day? Mark each below as THEN or NOW or perhaps BOTH:

• Family dinner or BBQ
• Lake or beach visit
• Visit to American history site
• Hear speeches from men in suits
• Watch a parade
• Read the Declaration of Independence
• Explain it to your kids!
• Write in your journal what the day means to YOU
• Community event
• Church event
• Ignored the day
• Other

Grave markers or tombstones........... so different and so interesting.

On the day of the EWGS project to fulfill requests for the website Find-A-Grave in Greenwood Cemetery recently, I spotted another version of a tombstone that I'd not seen before:

Anna's husband "signed" his grave marker too. I wonder if it was a pre-need project and they actually signed into the wet concrete? What do you think? Ever seen markers like this?