Come learn about EWGSI on February 5th.

Is your understanding of (and excitement about) our new EWGS website as little as the above picture??

If so, do come to our regular monthly meeting on Saturday, February 5th, 12:30, downtown Spokane Public Library where and when Cecily Cone Kelly will demonstrate and teach us about our spanking-new website, www.ewgsi.org .

And Cecily will introduce us to our new EWGS Digital Digest, a prominent part of our new website.

Come for the Cookies, Coffee & Conversation at 12:30; the meeting begins at 1:00. Oh, and if you want to learn more, come down at 10:00 for Shirley Penna-Oakes regular beginners' class (main floor auditorium).

See you there!

Mozart Genealogy???

Today on public radio I learned that today, January 27, was the birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who was born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1756. He married Constanze Weber on August 4, 1782. The couple had six children but only two lived into adulthood and those two had no children. Thus, Mozart's genealogy ended. If you want to see Mozart's ancestry, click to www.mozartproject.org/biography/tree.html and have a look. For a complete biography of the man and his music Wikipedia will tell you all about him.

Why this particular post on a genealogy blog? Well, it is his birthday today. And he did have ancestors (and I'm sure nieces and nephews as pseudo-descendants). And I'm guessing that most of us enjoy at least some of his music. And I loved the movie Amadeus. Genealogy can be learned in a wide variety of ways and places. Wouldn't you agree?

Earthquake in Spokane? Yes!

Wanting today to show you that the past issues of our Bulletin are still viable, vital and certainly interesting. In the March 2008 issue I had an article about our area's earthquake zone and how on June 25, 2001, at 7:15 in the morning, a 3.7 magnitude earthquake rumbled through Spokane. And over that next week, and in the weeks to follow, a swarm (term used by seismologists to describe a bunch of smallish earthquakes that are close in magnitude) of 101 earthquakes occurred in Eastern Washington. That big one, on June 25th, was centered under Gonzaga University. Were you living in town then? Did you realize what had happened?

My point it, don't toss out all your old issues of the Bulletin. At least page through them and look for once-again interesting articles to read and share. Idea? (All the past issues are on the shelves in the Genealogy Room of the downtown Spokane Public Library.)

If you want to know more about that quake and any other in the area, Google Washington Geology, Vol. 29, Nos 1-2, September 2001. Very interesting read. In fact, the image used in this post (which I found in Google images) came from that book.

Early Spokane Pictures Online at Northwest Room

The Northwest Room Blog posted an article on the pictures that they have posted on the internet and plans to add many more.

Larry Cebula comments on the pictures at his Northwest History Blog

I am working on an upcoming project where I needed some early pictures of Trent/Front Avenue in downtown Spokane and I found a couple there that really show what I was looking for.
Note: Trent in downtown Spokane is now named Spokane Falls Boulevard, but it was still Trent when the pictures I was looking for were taken.

They have posted pictures of Spokane Streets, Spokane Homes, Spokane Parks, Spokane Bridges, the Spokane Fire, Spokane River and Spokane Views.

March 5: EWGS & Bing Crosby Event

News flash! Got some preliminary words today regarding the Bing Crosby Family History event planned for Saturday, March 5th, 2011. EWGS will cancel our regular meeting (REPEAT: OUR REGULAR MEETING AT THE DOWNTOWN SPL IS CANCELLED) so that all members can take advantage of this free event over on the Gonzaga campus. Planned are display tables, informational tables, computer lab demos and a program about Crosby's ancestry. More details will follow; for now, mark the change on your calendar and plan to come to something really interesting, productive and sure to be fun!

Update: You can register for this FREE event at http://www.heritagecenter.wa.gov/.

Memoral Grant to Assist Young Genealogists Attending 2011 SCGS Jamboree

January 5, 2011 – Student genealogists interested in attending the 2011 Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree are invited to apply for the 2011 Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Grant established by friends and family to honor Suzanne’s Freeman’s lifetime of service to young people and to assist young genealogists seeking to advance their genealogical education.

Suzanne Freeman was the mother of blogger and writer Denise Levenick, The Family Curator, and a lifelong volunteer who worked with many youth organizations in the capacity of leader, organizer, and administrator. She also developed a strong interest in family history, and enjoyed the growing number of young student genealogists. At the time of her death in Tucson, Arizona August 28, 2010, Suzanne was still searching for her elusive Winsor cousins.

Genealogy bloggers came to know Suzanne the past two years at the SCGS Jamboree where she enthusiastically joined the GeneaBlogger Welcome Bag project, assisting in the assembly and distribution of gifts to attending genealogy bloggers.

To honor her support of the SCGS Jamboree, the first Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Grant will be awarded to a student attending the 2011 Jamboree. The grant includes a check for $500 toward conference expenses.

Applicants need not be a currently registered student, but must have been a enrolled at a college, university, or secondary school within the last twelve months, and be between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five.

Complete guidelines and application are available online at The Family Curator blog http://www.thefamilycurator.com/suzanne-freeman-grant. Deadline for applications is February 15, 2011; the award recipient will be announced March 1, 2011.

Suzanne Winsor Freeman was born January 5, 1933 in Olathe, Kansas to Arline (Kinsel) and Frank Ammi Brown, and grew up in Orange and Santa Ana after her family moved to California in 1937. She purchased property in Green Valley, Arizona in 1982 and became a full-time Arizona resident in 1997.

The Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Fund honors her love of service and of family history. The purpose of the fund is to assist young genealogists by offering grants to advance their genealogical education, including funds to attend genealogy conferences and workshops.

Suzanne enjoyed researching family history online and frequently posted queries that resulted in new family connections. She supplied stories and anecdotes for TheFamilyCurator.com, the blog written by her daughter Denise Levenick, and also appeared as a guest blogger at ShadesoftheDeparted.com.

Donations to the Suzanne Winsor Freeman Memorial Student Genealogy Fund may be made at any Wells Fargo Bank c/o Wells Fargo Bank, Green Valley, Arizona 520/625-1222.

For More Information Contact: Denise Levenick, dmlevenick@gmail.com, 626/688-8974.
Suzanne Winsor Freeman Obituary: TheFamilyCurator.com and Green Valley News

Illinois State Genealogical Society Unveils New Website

Illinois State Genealogical Society Unveils New Website

New Design Features Illinois Resources for Genealogy Researchers

January 15, 2011 – Springfield, IL. The Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) announces the debut of its newly redesigned website available to the public on Saturday, January 15, 2011.

Located at http://www.ilgensoc.org, the new ISGS website features links to ISGS projects as well as links to other records and resources throughout Illinois including those individual genealogical home pages with an Illinois connection!

Visitors are invited to explore the new ISGS website and enjoy these features:

·       The current issue of the ISGS Newsletter and archived copies back to 2008 

·       Listings of ISGS events and events for Illinois genealogical societies

·       Highlights of various ISGS projects and initiatives

·       Free databases filled with information on Illinois ancestors

·       A list of Illinois research resources

New Members Section
One of the new features of the ISGS website is a members-only section which will be populated with access to Illinois-related databases for those researchers with Prairie State ancestors. Over the course of the next few months, additional members-only databases will be added.

Stop By and Visit ISGS!
ISGS encourages everyone – ISGS members and the public – to stop by and explore. In addition, visitors are encouraged to leave their feedback with the ISGS webmaster at isgswebmaster@ilgensoc.org.

About Illinois State Genealogical Society
The Illinois State Genealogical Society (ISGS) was organized in October of the Illinois Sesquicentennial Year, 1968, and is a non-profit, educational organization. ISGS was established for the following purposes:

·       To stimulate an interest in the people who contributed to the establishment and development of the State of Illinois.

·       To seek, preserve, and make available data pertaining to individuals, families, and groups who lived in Illinois and to events which took place therein.

·       To inform people of the value of, and need for, preserving family and local history for posterity.

·       To encourage the formation of local genealogical societies and to coordinate and disseminate information.

The ISGS genealogical collection is located in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Springfield and an administrative office is maintained in the Illinois State Archives. For more information visit http://www.ilgensoc.org.

Follow us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ILgensoc), Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/ILgensoc) and on our blog at http://ilgensoc.blogspot.com.