Few posts back I spotlighted Roxanne Low and her list of "Free Genealogy-Related Internet Sites." Remember? Did you take time to looksee any of them?? Today I highlight some of those opportunities!
* www.abmc.gov -- The American Battle Monuments Commission website features a database of nearly 218,000 American war dead from WWI and WWII who were buried in overseas cemeteries. The site also includes 94,000 more names commemorated on Tablets of the Missing.
* www.easycalculation.com -- calculate how many years, months and days have elapsed between two dates.
* www.deathindexes.com -- A directory of links to websites with online death indexes, listed by state and county. (Get it? A listing of links to online death indexes!!!)
* www.genealogylinks.net -- Over 50,000 links to resources in the US, the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. (If you've stuck with the "tried and true" websites, why? Why not try this?)
* https://gravelocator.com/va/gov -- A VA site, updated daily, offers searches of veterans and their family members buried in most any military cemetery.
* https://glorecords.blm.gov -- Use this site to search through more than 5,000,000 federal land title records (1788 to present). (Did your ancestor homestead or buy land from the federal government?)
* https://digital.newberry.org/ahcb -- The Newberry Library in Chicago website is one of the best places to trace shifting county lines and the records that went with them.
* www.usgs.gov/programs/national-geospatial-program/national-map -- Looking for an obscure ancestral locale? This website offers help to finding that "old" place with the "new" name.
Before Ellis Island in New York harbor, there was Castle Garden. Let's look again:
Honest, this postcard shows "Our Baked Big Potato Float" that appeared in a Spokane parade; no date on the image. A baked potato float in a parade? How wild is that? And the big-hatted bakers walking alongside? And pulled by horses? And the railroad logo??
Thank you Google: "Parade floats were first introduced in the Middle Ages. Churches used pageant wagons as movable scenery for passion plays and craftsmen with artisan guilds built pageant wagons for their specified craft."
I confess to you that when I asked Google for unique or weird or crazy parade floats I wasted too much time laughing at the images that Google shared. I dare you to try it for yourself!
How about these:
It's back to learning time, back-to-school time, right? How about taking a deeper look at the Major Records Collections offered for free at FamilySearch.org?? Think you might oughta take a looksee??
On the left is Efa Hope Carr, 1889-1980. She was a primary school teacher in Nashville, Washington County, Illinois. She wanted to marry Melville Potter but they delayed their marriage because once married, and "being a woman of carnal knowledge" she could no longer be a teacher. Needing that money to start their lives, they waited a year but finally did marry in 1917.
On the right is husband's mother, Esther Mary Oswald, 1913-1998. She graduated from Cheney Normal School (now EWU) in 1930 and by age 18 was teaching in rural Newport, Washington. She remembered that some of the boys in her class were her same age. Still a teacher, she married Chuck Phillips in 1941. By start of the school year 1942 she was pregnant and assumed she'd have to quit teaching. But no, the war was on and too many male teachers had gone off to war, and, as she told me, "they said to just put on a smock and go to work." So she did.
WHAT a difference between then and now! First, a 4-year Bachelor's Degree is needed to become a teacher (plus more schooling for higher education). And, according to Google:
Moral requirements for teachers today center on ethical conduct, professional responsibility, and fostering a positive learning environment. These include prioritizing student well-being, maintaining confidentiality, demonstrating respect and fairness, and upholding honesty and integrity in all interactions. Teachers also need to be competent, accountable, and committed to ongoing professional development.
When my daughter, Jane, was in 5th grade, her young man teacher was Mr. Lannigan. He was married and they were expecting their first baby and Mr. Lannigan took the kids through all nine months of that journey. Jane loved it and never forgot Mr. Lannigan.
Disclaimer: I snipped this from the James Bay Victoria Beacon newspaper in March 2025 when I visited Butchart Gardens. I thought it was SO GOOD that I had to share. Big thanks, Colin Couper.
Water is required to wipe away dirt, and to clean away the haze,
it only takes a little work and now I look on brighter days.
I can see right through you, I can see through your pane,
you're really quite special, when we all can see again.
From in the house, you protect me, shield me from the rain and cold,
in the mirror you reflect my image that shows me getting old.
You can totally change my outlook, spectacles correct my outward vision,
You're even on the Hubble telescope, where you're grounded to precision.
Now you can hold your liquor, lots of whiskey, wine and beer,
you can be molded in beauty and can be made crystal clear.
You are strong but also you are brittle, both at the same time,
and your character can be shattered, broken at the scene of crime.
As a windshield on the open highway, you keep debris from our eyes,
and sadly, we take you for granted, no longer a bright surprise.
You are truly a unique specimen in society a needed touch of class,
so, to you we raise our drinking vessels as we thank, and toast you, Mr. Glass.
** Parmesan Ice Cream? An unusual flavor of ice cream graced spoons in the 1700s: parmesean. The first-ever recipe for Parmesean cheese ice cream was published in 1789. Would you like it?
**In Japan, various flavors of Kit-Kat candy bars are available. These include cough drop, rum raisin, melon with mascarpone, sake wasabi, matcha, strawberry and melty caramel. Which one would you try?
** In Thailand, folks can buy Oreo-flavored Coco-Cola and Coca-Cola flavored Oreos. Really!
** Petrichor is the word for the smell of rain. How would YOU describe the smell of rain?
** Brontology is not the study of brontosauers but is the study of thunder. File that in your "when-I-go-on-Jeopardy" file.
** Spokane Daily Chronicle, Monday, April 4, 1949: Documents Indicate Woman Died at 117. Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. "Sarah E. Moore of Rathdrum died there Saturday and her age was determined to have been 117. Mrs. A.A. Berges (Donna's note: her stepmother), with whom the widow of a Civil War veteran had lived, said today that papers among her effects showed conclusively that she was born in South Carolina on April 4, 1832. She had lived with Mrs. Berges for 20 years." Sarah rests in Forest Cemetery in Coeur d'Alene.
The
following article, The End of the Indian
Wars, was published in The Cashmere
Valley Record, Vol. 30, No. 8, on 20 February 1936. I share it with you
because it was of interest to Washington history buffs. Part 3:
Princess Angeline, Chief Seattle's daughter.
As to just how the warning reached the white people
we do not know. You may have noticed when visiting Lakeview cemetery, Volunteer
Park, in Seattle, that the grave of Princess Angeline is in a prominent
location. Tradition has it that this girl, who was Seattle’s daughter, was the
one that warned the whites of the impending attack. True or not, it is fitting,
in view of other valued services to the white settlers on the part of Seattle
and his family, that she should thus rest near the Carmack, Libby and Denny
plots.
Only one more battle should be mentioned in this
campaign. A detachment of soldiers was opening up a road from Puyallup to
Muckilshoot Prairie. A group of Indians attacked them but were repulsed, the
soldiers suffering only slight losses.
With only a few more skirmishes, the war was given
up by the Indians. The whites had held Seattle, had built blockhouses on Whidbey
Island, on the White River and at a dozen other places throughout the
territory. The Indian cause was lost.
We can close this description of what, had we lived
then, would have been a vivid and exciting time, but to read it is only one
horror story after another by showing what grew out of the Indian Wars. The
most important result was the ratification of Stevens’ Indian treaties which
opened the territory to settlement. The department of Oregon Military Affairs
was created which would give the settlers greater protection in the future.
Perhaps the greatest interest to us from this period
is the series of names that are remembered in Washington geography: Wright,
Seattle, Steptoe, Leschi and Klickitat. After all, that is one of the
interesting things in any period of the past.
The
following article, The End of the Indian
Wars, was published in The Cashmere
Valley Record, Vol. 30, No. 8, on 20 February 1936. I share it with you
because it was of interest to Washington history buffs. Part 2:
But the sympathetic point of view held by Wright was later proved to be mistaken. No matter how we may feel personally, we must recognize the dangers and trails felt by the settlers and the responsibility placed on the shoulders of the military command. Accordingly, when a band of Palouses entered the Walla Walla Valley on a marauding expedition, the realization came that sympathy was not enough.
In April, 1857, Col. Steptoe notified his superior
that a general expedition against the tribes north of Walla Walla seemed
advisable. This was the start of the Steptoe-Wright campaign which lasted for
the greater part of the two following hears. Only the barest outline of details
need concern us here. The battle of Steptoe Butte and the battle of Spokane
Plains were the two principle military events. The latter engagement was fought
on the land where Fort George Wright had later been built. (Donna’s note: not so; that battle was
fought miles west of where the fort was constructed on the western side of
Spokane.)
But to retrace our steps to the Sound area for a
time. The Indians continually invaded the settlements and burned farm homes
almost at will. A blockhouse fort was built near where the Totem pole now
stands on Yessler Way in Seattle and the settlers prepared themselves for a
siege. The warship, Decatur, Capt.
Guert Gransevoort commanding, was standing in the harbor ready to assist the
settlers.
By some means, more or less in question, word
reached the settlers of an intended attack. On January 26, 1856, the attack was
made. All day volleys from the howitzer, which stood in front of Dexter
Horton’s store, and the rifles and pistols of the men were answered from the
woods. But at night the attack was finally repulsed. The town was safe.
(Copied from Wikipedia article on the Decatur: During the early 1850s, hostility grew between the Native peoples and the new settlers in the Puget Sound region. The "Decatur" and several other government ships were moved to the area to protect the settlers. On January 26, 1856, following word of a planned attack on Seattle, troops on the "Decatur" fired howitzers into the forest beyond Third Avenue where a group of Indigenous peoples had gathered. The Native peoples retreated, burning buildings as they went.)
Please
stay tuned for Part 3 next time.
The
following article, The End of the Indian
Wars, was published in The Cashmere
Valley Record, Vol. 30, No. 8, on 20 February 1936. I share it with you
because it was of interest to Washington history buffs.
The next time you drive from Spokane to Pullman and
Lewiston, take particular notice of Steptoe Butte. If you have ever driven over
this road you will remember it, for it is a landmark for miles around. It was a
guide post for the gold seekers at Colville and Pierce and for missionaries,
stockmen and homesteaders.
The hill was named for Lt. Col. Steptoe, one of Col.
George Wright’s assistants in the Indian Wars of the ‘50s. During the summer of
1856, and throughout 1857 and 1858, the Indian troubles had continued on about
the same three fronts as already noted: the Seattle-Puget Sound country, the
Yakima Valley, and the Palouse-Walla Walla area. Col. Wright had wintered at
Vancouver and had started upstream in March. Leaving the portage around the
rapids in the Columbia, from which the city of The Dalles, Ore., takes its
name, guarded by a handful of men, he pushed on, heading for Walla Walla and
the upper country.
It was at this portage that the Indians resumed the
war on March 26, 1856. An attack was made and several whites killed and
scalped. Help arrived from Vancouver under Sheridan just in time to avoid a
complete massacre. Thus the first state of the ’56 campaign ended in the
whites’ favor. Col. Wright then crossed Simcoe Pass to the Yakima Country. Here
Wright, who clung to the idea that the Indians had been wronged, spent several
months in parleying for peace.
But the governor remembered well his experiences at
the hands of the Nez Perces. They had saved his life…and he well knew it. He
therefore determined to place a force at Walla Walla that would insure the fair
treatment of his friends.
Col. Wright, avoided going to the “aid” of the Nez
Perces, and sent Col. Steptoe instead. The Governor went himself to try and
make another peace, but it fared little better than the big peace council
formerly held there. The two factions had too many differences…there was too
much involved. As a result of this 1856 failure, Gen. Wool, commanding the
regular army regiments concerned, ordered the area vacated by all except
soldiers and missionaries. And, too, Fort Walla Walla was built…just where the
present city stands.
Please
stay tuned for Part 2 next time.
"In the 1800s the method of making one plank (long board cut from a log) was that a pit was dug. The tree was placed over the pit. Two men would go into the pit, and two men would be on top of the log and together they would handsaw each plank. The men down in the pit would get sawdust in their eyes and that was how the expression "it's the pits!" originated." (Church of Our Lord tour guide, Victoria, BC)
In November, 1217, the 10-year-old King Henry III signed a charter giving England's common people some legal rights for the first time. One big provision is that the concept of "royal forests," where common folks could not hunt and poaching was a death sentence. This new rule reduced the size of these off-limits forests and restored ancient hunting rights. (History Magazine, from England, 2024)
The General Society of Mayflower Descendants is committed to research on the lineal descent of the Mayflower Pilgrims and education about the Pilgrims who traveled aboard the Mayflower in 1620. The Society provides education and understanding of why the Mayflower Pilgrims were important, how they shaped western civilization, and what their 1620 voyage means today and its impact on the world.
Think you're eligible to join this Society? Want to know more? Visit www.themayflowersociety.org. All your questions will be answered and your interest heightened!
The Society also offers a channel on YouTube....... several short videos will help you know more about this group and their goals. One really good vid is "Things They Left Behind," presented by the Gov. General, Lisa Pennington.
The good folks of Eastern Oregon were frustrated with being coupled with Portland. The citizens of north Idaho felt they had nothing in common with their capitol, Boise, or the entire southern half of the state. And many of those in Eastern Washington know themselves to be Republicans but Washington always seems to fall to the Democrats in elections due to the "Cascade Divide" of our state.
How come this didn't happen nor likely never will? Wikipedia gives the answer: "Multiple senators at the time objected to naming a territory after a single man, acknowledging Washington Territory (named in 1853 for George Washington) as the sole exception."
Put this factoid in your trivia folder for when you get invited to be a contestant on Jeopardy.
Butchart Gardens covers more than 55 acres of the large estate of Jennie and Robert Butchart. It was Jennie's genius to convert a worked-out limestone quarry into the Sunken Garden we go to see today. By the 1920s, more than 50,000 people visited each year. Today the gardens boast over 265,000 annuals of 900 varieties, 280 different roses, 40 different geraniums, 100 varieties of dahlias and 191 different tulips! As I wandered the paths, there was not a weed in sight, nor a dead leaf. The garden is super well tended.
My favorite flower, and what Butchart is famous for, is the Himalayan Blue Poppy. The gift shop sells seeds for the adventurous.
EWGS member
Richard Sola is, for many of us, Mr. Spokane History. His encyclopedic knowledge
of everything and everybody in the 1910 period is amazing….. and just as
amazing, he eagerly shares his knowledge in an animated style.
I was recently on the Southside Community Center’s tour bus with Richard to learn more about the “movers and shakers” of Spokane in 1910. Scribbled way too many notes to include here but this one tidbit might interest you. One stop that day was at the Spokane’s Womens Club. The prominent women of Spokane (think May Arkwright Hutton) founded the club in 1907. In 1910 the current building became headquarters to address the needs of Spokane’s women by providing education, schools, child care and cooking classes. And the organization thrived! Collectively these women helped forge national policy (1910 womens’ suffrage!)
In the downstairs of the club building sits a real antique. In 1917, a local business donated this stove to the club in order to teach cooking to women………. “how to cook with rationed food and food restrictions during the World War I years,” Richard quipped. .
(Want to know more? Google: teaching women to use rationed food in 1917)
Tony Birch and his late wife, Janette, were the EWGS meeting greeters when we used to meet at the Central Library downtown. Cindy Hval, The Spokesman columnist, did a story on 5 June 2025 about Tony and his unusual collection of once-candy-filled-glass-toys.
A favorite gift in the late 1800s, glass containers filled with candy were a favorite for decades. In the 1950s, glass was replaced by plastic. Tony and Janette would haunt garage sales for these treasures and amassed quite a diverse collection:
The Clallam
County Genealogical Society is really looking up! I visited their huge
collection in May when I was in Port Angeles house/dog sitting for my kiddos.
A good part
of the reasons why interest and membership is up are these:
·
They
applied and got a grant for 7 brand new computer stations and 3 laptops.
·
A
generous member donated a much-needed new roof.
·
Their
library is a FamilySearch affiliate; in the library you can freely use
Ancestry, FindMyPast, GenealogyBank, Newspaper.com, Fold3 and American Ancestors.
·
New
members are stepping up to accept Board positions.
·
The
society offers regular classes and great workshops.
·
They
do have a Facebook page too.
Ginny
(Virginia) Majewski is once again the president but no surprise; she’s such a
mover and shaker in the group that they keep reelecting her.
The coolest
big news from the group is that their building (which has lots of space for the
library and meeting rooms) is getting an update. Port Angeles is known for its
murals on buildings and the Board received another gift to paint a mural on
their building! (Used to be the State Patrol office and was a rather
dull-looking squatty building.) Won’t this be fantastic! There are easily 100
reasons to visit PA and the Olympic Peninsula but for genealogists, a visit to
this library is a must!
P.S.
Scrolling through their library catalog, looking for books on Maine, I had to
laugh out loud. If it took a few extra seconds for that whirling circle to find
what I wanted, these words would appear: “This might take a while…. We suggest
you read a book………… or even write a book!”
Since time immemorial, flower symbolism has been used to private correspondence and expressing unspoken feelings. People became especially fascinated by flower symbolism during the Victorian Era and books explaining "flower language" were nearly as common as the Bible in Victorian homes. Here are some common meanings of flowers:
Daisy - new beginnings
Sunflower - adoration, loyalty
Iris - faith, trust, wisdom, hope
Zinnia - thoughts of absent friends
Rose - joy, happiness, love
Poppy - remembrance of fallen soldiers
How about our Washington lilac?
Were you awake in your high school history class? How much do you know about the celebratory founding day of our country?? Test your memory:
1. Where was the first celebration of Independence Day held?
2. Every Independence Day, how many times does the Liberty Bell ring?
3. What was the U.S. population on July 4th, 1776?
4. The 4th of July commemorates which document?
5. What is the proper way to fold the American flag?
6. Which American president was born on July 4th?
7. Which U.S. president was the first to host a 4th of July celebration at the White House?
8. How many stars and stripes does the U.S. flag have?
9. How many men signed the Declaration of Independence?
10. What food is most commonly consumed on the 4th of July?
11. What is the name of our national anthem?
12. Who gave the Statue of Liberty to the U.S.?
1. Philadephia, 1777
2. 13 times
3. 2.5 million people
4. The Declaration of Independence
5. In a triangular shape with specific ritual and etiquette.
6. Calvin Coolidge, born on July 4, 1872
7. Thomas Jefferson in 1801.
8. 50 stars and 13 stripes (and what do they represent??)
9. 56
10. Hot dogs!
11. The Star-Spangled Banner
12. The people of France.
What's more American than ice cream?? "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" right?
According to an article in The Saturday Evening Post, July-August 2024, "... at any given moment, 87% of Americans have a tub of ice cream in the freezers, pushing the value of the U.S. ice cream market alone to more than $19 billion in 2024.
Ice cream was what most people ate on Independence Day almost since the very first one; it forms the sweet, sticky bedrock of our childhood nostalgia. (What is YOUR favorite flavor???)
According to Google ice cream ingredients typical include mild, cream, sugar and flavorings. Some recipes include eggs. Thomas Jefferson was the first U.S. president to serve ice cream to his guests. Here is his original, handwritten, recipe and transcription:
