Heritage Quest/ProQuest: Update from Mary Holcomb

The “New” HeritageQuest

By Mary Holcomb – March 2015

Heritage Quest/ProQuest  has for years been a genealogy tool available to all genealogists through their local public library (not individual subscription). Those who have used this database of information know its value and are excited about the transformation this website has undergone for our benefit. Those unfamiliar with the HQ database should plan a visit to the downtown Spokane PL and have the EWGS volunteers explain it to you…… they can teach you about it there but the mail Spokane Public Library does not carry this subscription, sorry to report. This database can be used at the Spokane County libraries. Now for Mary’s report………………

I'm excited to be telling you about this update! As of March 3, 2015, HQ has undergone a face lift. The site is now powered by Ancestry with a different but similar search format. 

This is a FREE site available at the Spokane County Library branches. I for one will miss the old search but find the new site exciting and very manageable. The images are much improved, the search boxes are user friendly and much more information is available.

There still are six major categories to search:

CENSUS -- Includes all the US federal Population schedules (1970 – 1940). Slave, Non Population, Veterans Schedules and more. There is also included an extensive list of Indian Census Rolls.

BOOKS & DIRECTORIES --  lets you search where your ancestors lived with Local Histories from History Books and City Directories.

REVOLUTIONARY WAR --  Search has actual copies of the requests for pension and benefits for many soldiers and their spouses. I found this section much improved over the old search. I gained five more pages of information for my Patriot.

FREEMAN’S BANK --   A searchable data base of ancestors  (Afro American and white) who applied to a federal banking program during Reconstruction period after the Civil War (1865 – 1874).

US SERIAL SET --  A unique area to search for Information. If your ancestor petitioned a State Representative or the President for special help (Amnesty, exceptions to existing law or other assistance) paperwork documenting this could probably be found here.

While the above categories were made more user-friendly than the original versions, there are a couple new and very exciting additions. Under the HeritageQuest banner on the home page and next to SEARCH are RESEARCH AIDS and MAPS.

Here in MAPS you will find in one place, all the state’s county maps and how they changed over the years. The original states, new states and then the territory’s breaking down to the states as we now know them, It’s all here.   Down-loadable state research guides are available here as well.

RESEARCH AIDS is a gold mine. Tips and tricks to help when you get stuck are here. Sub categories for Military, Immigration, Census and ethnic Research are here. Also here are sections for “getting started” and “beyond the basics”.

I hope you will take a trip to your nearest County Library branch and check out the new HeritageQuest. This is truly another wonderful tool to add to your genealogy toolbox.

GU Library Trip, Treasures Viewed & Lessons Learned

Way back in early February our paper carried a small story about an exhibit at Gonzaga University, in the Archives & Special Collections in the Foley Center Library. "GU library unveils hidden treasures," was the enticing headline. So Bev Vorpahl and I managed to set a date to go visit this exhibit before it closed next week. And to do lunch of course!

We had wondered if Bing's pipe was still around and not on somebody's trophy shelf. Good to know that it rests safely in this collection. All three of them!

The lesson learned was viewing this artifact, a portion of the typed records of the postwar trials in Japan........... and learning that the only other known copy is in our National Archives.

The lesson is this:  imagine that this was a unique family history of your brickwall ancestry family, and one of only two known copies, and would you EVER have guessed that it would be in Gongaza University Library in Spokane Washington? A million miles from where the event was or where the family lived???

If you assumed that some such was "out there," (maybe, hopefully) where would you look to find it???  Is there an index to every single item in every single archive and museum nationally??? Yes, there are some but not a complete, comprehensive index of such to my knowledge.

Maybe that's part of the reason why searching for our ancestors is such fun.......... the unknowing!

Vernon & District Family History Society Seminar

Donna's Travels: Cemeteries in Taiwan

In an island country the size of Connecticut with a population matching that of Australia, you'd expect to see many cemeteries and we surely did! Weedy-overgrown ones, tidy-tended ones, hillside ones...coming right down to the highway.... Buddhist ones and a few Christian ones.... and one all by itself in a plowed field.

April 5th is the Chinese New Year and on that date families will come to their ancestral graves to clean them up......... as this man is getting a head start on doing.

Loved ones are buried facing west because, I was told, they are "facing the life to come."

Thought you might enjoy these photos I took since all genealogists are interested in cemeteries.

TriCity Genealogical Society Contest

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                          

 TriCity Genealogical Society

                                                                          

 www.tricitygenealogicalsociety.org                                                            

www.facebook.com/TriCityGenealogicalSociety                            

For more information contact

  Susan Davis Faulkner

   Phone: 509-554-1050

   denmother4@hotmail.com

The TriCity Genealogical Society to launch contest to prove that not all genealogical records are available online.

Beginning April 1 contest participants are encouraged to post scanned images of genealogical documents on the TriCity Genealogical Society Facebook page. Images can be of documents obtained by any method other than downloading. There are various methods to obtain documents including having them handed down by family members, ordering them from government agencies, and copying them from microfilm images just to name a few.

To enter the contest a participant needs to upload the document image to the TriCity Genealogical Society Facebook page. They also need to include how the document was obtained and how it fits into their family history research.

Each month an entry will be selected as the winning entry and a prize will be awarded. The contest ends March 31, 2016 and three entries will be selected as Grand Prize winners. Prizes include online subscriptions to Findmypast, Mocavo, Newspapers.com, Fold3 along with additional prizes.

Participants are limited to one entry per week. Membership is not a requirement.

It is the desire of the TriCity Genealogical Society to educate our community that not all genealogical records are available online while simultaneously celebrating computerized genealogy.

The TriCity Genealogical Society Facebook page is located at www.facebook.com/TriCityGenealogicalSociety. A link to the Facebook page can be found on the TriCity Genealogical Society website at www.tricitygenealogicalsociety.org.

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Northwest Genealogy Conference August 2015

Dear Society Members:

We have exciting news for your members and your community, and we are asking for your help in spreading the word. I've included information below about both The Northwest Genealogy Conference and the Free Beginning Genealogy Workshop, held this upcoming August.  Our Conference Flyer is attached so you can print and make available at your society.

ABOUT THE NORTHWEST GENEALOGY CONFERENCE

Registration begins April 15 for the Northwest Genealogy Conference held August 13 - 15, 2015 in Arlington, Washington. You'll find information about our conference at http://www.nwgc.org.

The details:

CeCe Moore, Angela Packer McGhie, and Judy G. Russell to headline the NwGC three-day event - Registration Opens April 15, 2015

This year's speaker list is an outstanding group of professional genealogists from across the country. In addition to our headline speakers, your members will also learn from some of the Northwest's best genealogists, including Cyndi Ingle, Luana Darby, Steven W. Morrison and Janet Camarata. Linda Harms Okazaki will be lecturing on Japanese Roots in the United States, and Jean Wilcox Hibben will be lecturing on Citations and  America: Land of the Farm, Home of the Plow. More than 25 total classes are available, and you can see all the specifics on our website at http://www.nwgc.org.

Conference Video for Your Website: http://www.nwgc.org/?page_id=1675 (great for your website and social media pages)


NEW THIS YEAR - Free Beginning Genealogy Workshop held August 12, 2015 - Registration is Open

Beginning genealogists (or those of us who want a refresher course), will get to learn from two of the Northwest's best educators, Janet Camarata, and Winona Laird. They will be teaching a four-part workshop on fundamentals all genealogists need. Attendees will learn how to prepare to research, all about census records and vital records, as well as both on and offline resources and tools and techniques to keep moving your research forward. This pre-conference workshop is free, but space is limited so registration is required. 

HELP SPREAD THE WORD

Many of the conference speakers are in the Pacific Northwest for the first time, and we know your members will not want to miss out on these classes. We have recently returned from RootsTech where two of our headliners spoke to standing-room-only crowds. Their appearance in Arlington is a unique opportunity to see them a little closer to home.

We are asking our society friends to help us spread the word in four ways

1. Post the information about the NwGC and the Free Beginning Genealogy Class on your website event calendar
2. If you would like physical copies of our flyer, just send me an email at val@valsanfordgroup.com, and we will get them to you. We also have bookmarks if you want them and can send those to you as well.
3. Promote us to your membership. We are happy to write a guest blog or newsletter article for you if you want. Again just email me at val@valsanfordgroup.com, and we will turn around an article or marketing blurb about the conference.
4. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, (@stillygen #NwGC) LinkedIn and Google+ (nwgc.org)

FAST FACTS - Free Beginning Genealogy Workshop, sponsored by the Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society

Date: Wednesday Aug 12, 2015
Time: 1 - 4 pm
Location: Byrnes Performing Art Center, Arlington Washington, 18821 Crown Ridge Blvd. Arlington, WA 98223
Workshop Leaders: Janet Camarata and Winona Laird
Cost: FREE but registration required
Registration: http://www.nwgc.org/?page_id=1826

FAST FACTS - Northwest Genealogy Conference (NwGC), sponsored by the Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society

Dates:  Thursday through Saturday, Aug 13-15, 2015
Time:  8 am to 6 pm each day
Location: Byrnes Performing Art Center, Arlington Washington, 18821 Crown Ridge Blvd. Arlington, WA 98223
Speakers: 19 speakers, with CeCe Moore, Angela Packer McGhie, and Judy G. Russell headlining
Cost: Below. Registration Opens April 15

Full Conference All Three Days - Early Bird Pricing $130	$150.00
Single Day August 13th Only Early Bird Pricing - $60	$75.00
Single Day August 14th Only Early Bird Pricing - $60	$75.00
Single Day August 15th Only Early Bird Pricing - $60	$75.00

Room and Ride Share Board: http://www.nwgc.org/?page_id=1796
Conference Hotels: http://www.nwgc.org/?page_id=218

EWGS 80th Birthday 2015

February 22, 1935

February 23, 1935

February 25, 1935