How can you access these online books? If you attended Juanita Linton McBride's presentation on Digitized Book Sites on June 21st, you would know! If you would like a copy of Juanita's syllabus, please contact me at kidmiffatgmaildotcom, substituting the appropriate symbols for the green words.
Monday, June 30, 2008
What You Missed: The June 2008 Computer Class
Did you know that there are thousands of genealogy books, county histories, and biographies that can help you in your research which are available online, either in transcribed or digital form? Many of these may be historical or genealogical information about your direct ancestors or relatives in your family tree. You may find local or social histories about the areas or time period in which your ancestors lived which can help you understand their lives better. There may even be business or government records that provide snippets of personal information about a relative. All these things could help you break down a brick wall or add a generation or two to your ahnentafel!
How can you access these online books? If you attended Juanita Linton McBride's presentation on Digitized Book Sites on June 21st, you would know! If you would like a copy of Juanita's syllabus, please contact me at kidmiffatgmaildotcom, substituting the appropriate symbols for the green words.
How can you access these online books? If you attended Juanita Linton McBride's presentation on Digitized Book Sites on June 21st, you would know! If you would like a copy of Juanita's syllabus, please contact me at kidmiffatgmaildotcom, substituting the appropriate symbols for the green words.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
What You Missed: The June 2008 General Meeting
"Serendipity and Salads" was the theme of the meeting held Saturday, June 7th in the meeting rooms of the downtown public library. Originally scheduled to be held as a picnic at Comstock Park, the threat of a downpour caused a change in the venue. Dozens of tasty green, pasta, bean, fruit, and jello salads filled the tables, accompanied by hot and cold drinks and desserts, and of course, the best of company! Members sat and ate in a circle, visiting and enjoying the chance to socialize.
During dessert, those who wished shared their stories of serendipitous research. What is serendipity? Call it just plain luck, help from above, or a "fortuitous coincidence", it's those times when you stumble by chance across something for which you've seached high and low, or were told no longer existed. Every genealogist has at least one story of serendipity to share. Examples can be read in Hank Jones's Psychic Roots books, or seen on his video series on RootsTelevision.
EWGS members had plenty of serendipitous tales to share. I think we all agree that our favorite was Pat Mielbrecht's story of the Lace Lady. Have you heard of brass rubbings or brasses? In England and other Western European countries, there are brass plates on top of old graves in churches that are representative of the individuals buried there. Some are life-sized, while others are more miniature. One hobby that has developed in these areas is called brass rubbing, in which people cover the plates with paper and rub them with a crayon to copy them. The best-looking ones are done on black paper with gold crayons, because the results look more like the original brass plates. Pat's story is how she tried multiple times to visit the Lace Lady's grave, so-called because of the beautifully-detailed lace dress depicted in the brass plate. Eventually, Pat got her brass rubbing of the Lace Lady and her husband, Sir Thomas Peyton. Only years later, did she discover that she is a direct descendant of this couple! Pat brought her brasses beautifully displayed in gold-colored frames for all of us to enjoy.
You can see two images of a brass of the Lace Lady on E-bay here.
The next general meeting will be held Saturday, September 6th at the Shadle Branch of Spokane Public Library, due to repairs to the Downtown Branch at that time. Our topic will be "Oh, the Places We Went" during which time members will be encouraged to share their stories from courthouses, graveyards, etc. during research excursions in the summer of 2008. This meeting is FREE to the general public. Coffee, Cookies, and Conversation begin at 12:30, followed by the business session at 1:00. The main presentation will begin at 1:30. There is free parking in the library parking lot. If the lot is filled, attendees can park along the east side of Belt Street along the west side of Shadle Park and walk through the park to the library.
During dessert, those who wished shared their stories of serendipitous research. What is serendipity? Call it just plain luck, help from above, or a "fortuitous coincidence", it's those times when you stumble by chance across something for which you've seached high and low, or were told no longer existed. Every genealogist has at least one story of serendipity to share. Examples can be read in Hank Jones's Psychic Roots books, or seen on his video series on RootsTelevision.
EWGS members had plenty of serendipitous tales to share. I think we all agree that our favorite was Pat Mielbrecht's story of the Lace Lady. Have you heard of brass rubbings or brasses? In England and other Western European countries, there are brass plates on top of old graves in churches that are representative of the individuals buried there. Some are life-sized, while others are more miniature. One hobby that has developed in these areas is called brass rubbing, in which people cover the plates with paper and rub them with a crayon to copy them. The best-looking ones are done on black paper with gold crayons, because the results look more like the original brass plates. Pat's story is how she tried multiple times to visit the Lace Lady's grave, so-called because of the beautifully-detailed lace dress depicted in the brass plate. Eventually, Pat got her brass rubbing of the Lace Lady and her husband, Sir Thomas Peyton. Only years later, did she discover that she is a direct descendant of this couple! Pat brought her brasses beautifully displayed in gold-colored frames for all of us to enjoy.
You can see two images of a brass of the Lace Lady on E-bay here.
The next general meeting will be held Saturday, September 6th at the Shadle Branch of Spokane Public Library, due to repairs to the Downtown Branch at that time. Our topic will be "Oh, the Places We Went" during which time members will be encouraged to share their stories from courthouses, graveyards, etc. during research excursions in the summer of 2008. This meeting is FREE to the general public. Coffee, Cookies, and Conversation begin at 12:30, followed by the business session at 1:00. The main presentation will begin at 1:30. There is free parking in the library parking lot. If the lot is filled, attendees can park along the east side of Belt Street along the west side of Shadle Park and walk through the park to the library.
What You Missed: The May 2008 Computer Class
Do you have Canadian roots? Barbara Brazington's class on May 17th was a wonderful treat that you missed! Barbara brings her experience as a teacher and as the society's assistant librarian and acquisitions chairperson to every presentation she makes. As usual, I discovered many new resources and learned some search tips. For example, even those of us with only English Canadian roots should be searching the French Canadian databases as well, because at certain times and locations, the only record-keeping was done by the French or by the Catholic church. Barbara passed around a handout with 65 links to useful Canadian websites and/or databases! If you would like a copy, contact me at kidmiffatgmaildotcom with appropriate symbols substituted for the green words.
Don't forget that the Genealogy Room in the downtown branch of the Spokane Public Library has many Canadian resources as well. You can search the card catalog online here.
If you are interested in signing up for future computer classes (see our schedule here), please contact me, Miriam Robbins Midkiff, at the e-mail address listed above, or see our member directory for my telephone number. You must be a current EWGS member to attend. If you are interested in joining EWGS, please go to our website here and download the membership application.
Don't forget that the Genealogy Room in the downtown branch of the Spokane Public Library has many Canadian resources as well. You can search the card catalog online here.
If you are interested in signing up for future computer classes (see our schedule here), please contact me, Miriam Robbins Midkiff, at the e-mail address listed above, or see our member directory for my telephone number. You must be a current EWGS member to attend. If you are interested in joining EWGS, please go to our website here and download the membership application.
What You Missed: The May 2008 General Meeting
It was with great pleasure that we attended Pat Bayonne-Johnson's presentation "Tracing African-American Roots" on Saturday, May 3rd. She was originally scheduled to speak at our February 2nd meeting for Black History Month; however, the meeting was canceled and the presentation postponed until May due to the dangerous snow storm that hit Spokane that week.
Pat is a newer member of our society, having moved here from California, where she was a board member of the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California. Currently, she is the 1st Vice President of EWGS, overseeing the program, educational, publications, and PR committees. In her presentation, which she illustrated with census images, photographs, and even a wooden carving of her ancestral plantation, she shared with us how she found her free and enslaved ancestors, and included information on the Jesuit Plantation Project. Probably the most exciting part of her story was her serendipitous experience when she was in a genealogy library and turned around to spy a book on the plantation of her ancestors! Don't we all wish we could have such luck!
Pat used typical resources such as home sources, vital and church records, historical and genealogical books, and censuses to assist her in her research. When she hit a brick wall, she hired a professional who lived in the area of Lousiana where her ancestors had resided. Pat has also used a variety of DNA tests, and listed a number of links to online resources in her outline.
If you are interested in receiving a copy of Pat's outline, please contact me at kidmiffatgmaildotcom, substituting the appropriate letters for the green words.
Pat is a newer member of our society, having moved here from California, where she was a board member of the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California. Currently, she is the 1st Vice President of EWGS, overseeing the program, educational, publications, and PR committees. In her presentation, which she illustrated with census images, photographs, and even a wooden carving of her ancestral plantation, she shared with us how she found her free and enslaved ancestors, and included information on the Jesuit Plantation Project. Probably the most exciting part of her story was her serendipitous experience when she was in a genealogy library and turned around to spy a book on the plantation of her ancestors! Don't we all wish we could have such luck!
Pat used typical resources such as home sources, vital and church records, historical and genealogical books, and censuses to assist her in her research. When she hit a brick wall, she hired a professional who lived in the area of Lousiana where her ancestors had resided. Pat has also used a variety of DNA tests, and listed a number of links to online resources in her outline.
If you are interested in receiving a copy of Pat's outline, please contact me at kidmiffatgmaildotcom, substituting the appropriate letters for the green words.
What You Missed: The April 2008 Computer Class
Donna Potter Phillips presented "Ancestry.com - extended" to our society members on Saturday, April 19th in the computer lab of the downtown public library. She has spoken on this topic twice before for our computer class programs, and I've learned something new at each one I've attended. This time, Donna highlighted some of the features of Ancestry that many of us long-time users may have overlooked: DNA information and updates; "What's New on Ancestry"; "What's Coming on Ancestry"; and the Learning Center. With new members joining our society all the time and/or returning members signing up for Ancestry for the first time, this program is a foundational one for our society.
If you would like a copy of the syllabus, please contact me at kidmiffatgmaildotcom, substituting the words in green with the appropriate symbols.
If you are interested in signing up for future computer classes (see our schedule here), please contact me, Miriam Robbins Midkiff, at the e-mail address listed in the previous paragraph, or see our member directory for my telephone number. You must be a current EWGS member to attend. If you are interested in joining EWGS, please go to our website here and download the membership application.
If you would like a copy of the syllabus, please contact me at kidmiffatgmaildotcom, substituting the words in green with the appropriate symbols.
If you are interested in signing up for future computer classes (see our schedule here), please contact me, Miriam Robbins Midkiff, at the e-mail address listed in the previous paragraph, or see our member directory for my telephone number. You must be a current EWGS member to attend. If you are interested in joining EWGS, please go to our website here and download the membership application.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Genealogy Resources on State Government Websites
Did you know that at each of the 50 United States' official government websites there is at least one page of genealogical and historical resources (online and offline) for that particular state?
AND did you know that there is a webpage that list links to all 50 of those sites' resource pages?
Neither did I until today, thanks to Carlie, a local librarian and a participant in my current Basic Online Genealogy class I'm presenting this month at the local county library district.
The webpage of links is located on the United States official government website, www.usa.gov: http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/History_Family/State_Genealogy.shtml
This is one you'll surely want to bookmark!
AND did you know that there is a webpage that list links to all 50 of those sites' resource pages?
Neither did I until today, thanks to Carlie, a local librarian and a participant in my current Basic Online Genealogy class I'm presenting this month at the local county library district.
The webpage of links is located on the United States official government website, www.usa.gov: http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/History_Family/State_Genealogy.shtml
This is one you'll surely want to bookmark!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Downtown Street Closures for Hoopfest
Want to come to the downtown branch of the Spokane Public Library for some genealogical research on Saturday? Keep in mind that Hoopfest, the world's largest 3-on-3 basketball tournament will be held this Saturday and Sunday, June 28th and 29th in downtown Spokane.But take heart: you can still easily access the library on Saturday via Monroe and Lincoln Streets, although parking space in area lots and garages may be at a premium. Both the library's Diamond Parking garage in the basement and Parkade (Main and Stevens) will be open (but possibly full or crowded). Riverpark Square parking garage appears to be open as well.
A map showing the street closures, open routes, and parking areas is available online here. Closures will begin Friday evening, June 27th at 7:00 PM (the library closes at 6 PM) and continue through the evening of the 29th until about 10:00 PM.
You may also consider taking Spokane Transit. Their website has a handy trip planner (best viewed with Internet Explorer) to help you figure out your bus schedule.
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