Strong Reaction by Family Researchers to the "New" Ancestry.com

OK, nobody else (that I've seen) has blogged about it, but it is really big news: Ancestry.com changed its website, including the way information is accessed. No one seems too happy about it, but apparently Ancestry is not willing to change it back...only to address some of the more serious problems. In the past 18 days, there have been 185 comments posted to the Ancestry Weekly Journal post about the changes...of those, I only found one comment that was NOT negative.

There's a lot of frustrated people out there who say they are cancelling or choosing not to renew their subscriptions when they come due. One fellow warned, "AOL wouldn't listen to their customers, either, and look what happened to them!"

I'm not too pleased myself. I loved the "People I'm Looking For" feature, which has been messed with. I had to upload my GEDCOM to continue it, and I'm not so sure that's a good idea. Years ago I didn't like that Family Tree Maker took people's GEDCOMs, turned around and put them on CD, and then sold them...with mistakes and old incomplete data galore. Makes me wonder...?!

Well, if ain't broke, don't fix it. I think a business has a lot to lose if it doesn't listen to its customers. It will be interesting to see what the outcome will be. I think Heritage Quest, with much similar data, will be giving Ancestry a run for its money.

I invite your comments below.

Mark Your Calendars!

The Eastern Washingon Genealogical Society will be starting out its 2006 - 2007 year with our first meeting on Saturday, September 9th. While we normally meet the first Saturday of each month, excepting July and August, the first Saturday of September usually falls during Labor Day weekend, so we will have it on the second Saturday this year. We meet in the meeting rooms on the main floor of the Downtown Library, off to the left of the main entrance as you walk in from the street. There is parking in the library basement (access from Spokane Falls Blvd.) or across the street in River Park Square, which is connected to the library via a skywalk (the library basement parking is cheaper, but there are less parking spots).

We will have coffee, cookies (free!) and conversation at 12:30 PM. Our meeting starts at 1:00 with some business and then our guest speaker will do her presentation. September's speaker will be Linda Walston, an ex-Microsoft and NASA employee. She will be giving tips on making our computers work better and safer.

In addition, we will be selling raffle tickets for special prizes ($1.00 a ticket, or 6 tickets for $5.00), and will have various helpful and fun genealogical items for sale. This will also be a good time to register for our October Workshop with Michael John Neill!

I hope you will join us. You do not need to be a member to attend the meetings or workshops, and we always have a warm welcome for visitors!

Many people decide to come early or stay late to do their research. There will be EWGS volunteers on duty in the genealogy section of the library (3rd floor). This is a great time to find out about all the great resources available...not just for the Spokane area, but for other states and countries as well. Learn how to use a microfilm reader, too! Bring your research notebooks! The library opens at 10:00 AM and closes at 6:00 PM.

Grave photos of Charles Anderson and Emeline Mary (WILBOURN) MIDKIFF

I discovered that back on May 31st, Laural D., a Find A Grave photo volunteer, took photos of the unmarked lot where my husband's great-great-grandparents, Charles Anderson MIDKIFF, Sr. and Mary Emeline WILBOURN were buried in 1919 and 1923, respectively. Click on the links to view their memorial pages, portraits, and their cemetery lot photo. You can also click here to read a synopsis of Charles' life.

Week of July 23 - 29, 2006

Saturday, July 29
Diana Wilkes, a Find A Grave photo volunteer, blessed the socks off of me by not only taking many photos of my Robbins ancestors' graves at Hesperia West Cemetery in Hesperia, Michigan, but also submmitting a cemetery map with all the Robbins' graves marked! In addition, she will be mailing me a CD with all the photos. The photos she submitted to Find A Grave were for Joseph Josiah Robbins, Marinda (Robbins) Robbins, Charles H. Robbins, and Viola Gertrude (Peck) Robbins.

Sent a link to my Robbins Family Page to the McKean County, Pennsylvania GenWeb site.

Found info online about the Wyckoff House Museum, which my ancestor, Pieter Claessen Wyckoff, built c. 1652 on Long Island. It is the one of the oldest standing wooden homes in North America, and New York City's first Landmark.


Friday, July 28
Andrew Whitlock, a Find A Grave submitter, e-mailed to say he had updated my Civil War ancestor Benjamin Henry Kimball's information, which I had sent him a few weeks ago.


Thursday, July 27
Requested photos of my Higby ancestors graves in Old Westfield Cemetery in Middleton, Connecticit from Norma Unger.

Matt and I went to Holy Cross Cemetery and took photos of the graves of George Ogden and Dessie Lola (McCready) Purviance for a requestor. It was my first time there, and I found it to be a beautiful, well-laid-out cemetery with easy-to-find graves. It is a newer cemetery (built 1931).


Wednesday, July 26
Added details to a memorial page on Find A Grave, which I created for my grandaunt, Mary Louise (Hoekstra) Glashower.

Heard back from Judy Zenge, a Find A Grave photo volunteer who is looking into taking a photo of the grave of my infant brother, Aaron James Robbins. She talked to an individual in Metlakatla, Alaska who said his parents are buried right next to Aaron, and he and other Metlakatla citizens continue to tend the grave out of loving respect and memory of all my parents did as Salvation Army officers to that village over 30 years ago. He also stated that the cross Dad made for Aaron's grave was still intact. Judy is hoping to get over to Metlakatla on Annette Island from Ketchikan soon, to take a photo. This news was very touching to me.


Tuesday, July 25
As pre-arranged, I received a telephone call from Laurie Perkins, Education Historian at the Michigan Historical Museum in Lansing. She is in charge of developing and overseeing the Future Historians program for 9 - 15 year olds at the Museum. She told me about the program and answered my many questions. She also gave me contact information for the person in charge of the Genealogy Sprouts Day Camp program through the Library of Michigan. I am hoping that my local genealogical society can develop (a) similar program(s) in the Spokane area, with the help of the Spokane Public Library and/or the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture.


Monday, July 24
My son, Matt, and I went to Greenwood Memorial Terrace to take a photo of the grave of Allene Eugenia (Castlio) Castlio for someone who requested it through Find A Grave. We stopped first at the cemetery office, and were informed that Allene was not buried there; she was buried at Fairmount Memorial Park. Greenwood and Fairmount are both owned by the Fairmount Memorial Association, which also owns Riverside Memorial Park, Spokane Memorial Gardens, and Woodlawn Cemetery, so they have all the records at the central office at Greenwood. I was given the locations of some more Castlio burials; two at Greenwood (Edwin Sparks and Dora A. Castlio) and two at Spokane Memorial Gardens (Raymond W. and Alma L. Castlio). Since I was already at Greenwood, I went and took the photos; then I went to Fairmount and, after a little help from the office there, found Allene's burial place (her grave is unmarked, except for a curbstone family marker off to the side). After adding Allene's photos to her memorial page at Find A Grave, I created pages for the other Castlio individuals at that site. I used information from the Washington State Death Index at Ancestry to fill in some unknown information.


Sunday, July 23
I worked on my friend Bev's family tree website, and I now have three pages up. Once I get it complete, I'll put a link here for my readers, so that they, too, can read it. Bev is a great writer; a professional journalist who writes for many genealogy magazines, and her family stories on her new website will warm your heart and make you feel like you've known these people all your lives!

One of the ladies from the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society contacted me; she recently ordered a copy of the GenSmarts software by phone. She talked to Aaron Underwood, the owner of the program, and suggested that he donate a copy as a door prize for our October workshop. He agreed, and I think that this will make a wonderful addition to a great program (Michael John Neill will be our guest lecturer)!

I've agreed to be the coordinator for the EWGS' educational program for 2007. We offer free computer classes for members each month with a different topic. So far, we covered Using the Boolean Search Method, Using Ancestry.com, Placing Queries for (and Finding) Surnames Online, Using FamilySearch.org, How to Fix Broken Links (see my blog entry of July 16th), Patriotic and Lineage Societies Online, and Using GenSmarts Software. My job will entail signing up people for the classes (there's a limit of 15, due to the amount of computer stations in the computer lab), of which we hold three each program day.

I also started adding a lot of cemetery information from various sources to the Goodrich Cemetery (Atlas Township, Genesee County, Michigan) listing at Find A Grave...kind of an outgrowth to my work on The Atlas Project.

Broken Links and Other Tips and Tricks - Free Syllabus

A couple of months ago, I taught a computer class offered exclusively for members of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society. This class was titled "Broken Links and Other Tips and Tricks." Have you ever heard of a great genealogy website from a friend, or seen a link to a great new database in an e-mail or on a website...but when you've gone to the site (either by entering the URL yourself or clicking on a link) you get the dreaded 404 Page ("this page not found")? There are tips and tricks you can use to find the site you need. I wrote this presentation from things I learned from experience, plus from other tips I've found along the way over the years. For those who could not attend (and for all of you reading this blog), I am offering the syllabus for that class. It is a step-by-step procedure on how to find those sites when the links are broken. This syllabus is offered for free, no-strings-attached (I won't send you spam or put you on a mailing list). Just e-mail me (find my address in My Profile - see right-hand menu) and ask for the Broken Links syllabus.

P.S. This syllabus isn't just for genealogy websites...it will work for ANY kind of site you are looking for online.

Grave photo for Theodore William VALK

Sheryl Rose of Find A Grave very kindly took a photo of my granduncle's grave. Uncle Ted came out west from Grand Rapids, Michigan to California for 25 years after WWII, then settled in Boise, Idaho. He and his family, and my mother are the only known VALKs to live out west...all the rest live back in Western Michigan, for the most part.

I attended a meeting this afternoon at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (MAC) to obtain information on the Campbell House Employee Research Project. The Eastern Washington Genealogical Society members were invited to participate in researching the lives of the various employees of the Campbell House, a mansion in Victorian-era Spokane, Washington. Each participating member chooses several employees' lives to research. The purpose is to "round out" the individuals who played quiet, but important, parts in the history of early Spokane. Many of these servants were immigrants, and they sometimes worked for more than one early famous Spokane family. The museum hopes to garner enough information to have presenters act out the roles of these employees in order to make the tour of the Campbell House more authentic. I chose Herman Thoeni, a gardener, and Mrs. Amelia Beers, a cook. I specifically chose them because they have apparent Dutch surnames, and I am familiar with Dutch research, having many Dutch family lines of my own. I'm looking forward to finding out more about "my" servants!

Obituary of Fredericka WILKINSON

I received an obituary of Fredericka WILKINSON which I requested via e-mail June 15th from the Everett Public Library. I have posted it on my obit page on my website; it's the entry at the top. The obit provided me with a complete birthdate and location, as well as confirmation that Fredericka and Frederick only had one known child. Unfortunately, it did not list her maiden names, or the names of her surviving siblings.

More photos from the Netherlands

Cousin Leslie Coulson sent more photos of the WIERSMA home places, and Cousin Joni Graeff also sent quite a few of the VALK home places in Friesland from her recent trip, as well. There's too many to post here, but I hope to eventually get Joni's pix linked to my VALK webpage.

Photos from the WIERSMA family home towns

A distant cousin, Leslie Coulson, recently visited the home towns of our WIERMSA ancestors in the municipality of Wonseradeel, Friesland, the Netherlands. She sent me a photo of the old church where our ancestors worshipped, were baptized, married, and buried, and included a nice shot of some WIERSMA relatives' graves.

Lineage Societies

Today I attended a class on Lineage Societies - one of the computer classes offered for free to members of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society. The class was presented by Janice Bueckers and Barbara Hill, and they did a terrific job. We went to Cyndi's List and found links to all sorts of lineage societies. I didn't realize that there were so many, and that they have a variety of categories. Naturally, one thinks of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), but there are many other types, too. Besides military societies (like the DAR), they are categorized by Early America, First Families & Pioneers, Locality Specific, and societies for those descended from a certain ancestor. Both ladies are members of the DAR, and they gladly explained the process for joining to me, when I pointed out that I have several ancestors believed to have fought in the American Revolution.

Frederick WILKINSON and the WWI Draft Registration

Yesterday evening, Nancy Robinson, who so kindly took photos of my Frederick WILKINSON's grave, e-mailed me with a link to his WWI Draft Registration Card at Ancestry.com. I'm very familiar with the WWI Draft Registration database there, but for some reason, had never thought to look up my WILKINSONs. Frederick's card gave me a more complete birth date - 26 Sep 1881 (previously, I had only the month and year), a rural route address near Kelso, Cowlitz County, Washington, his employer's name and address, confirmation that he was married to Frederica (she was listed as next of kin), and a physical description (short height, medium build, blue eyes, black hair, and no disabilities).

I really hit paydirt as I expanded my search on the other Wilkinson siblings. First, I tried the eldest brother, Manley. He was not listed (probably too old for the draft registration), but his eldest son, Manley Richard, Jr., in Muskegon County, Michigan, was. So was brother John. Brother William brought me the biggest surprises: living in Seattle, Washington, his next of kin was listed as Florence GRANT WILKINSON, living at a separate address from him in Seattle. Now I had never heard that he had been married. His obituary lists only his sister, Kate, with whom he was living at the time of his death, in Ottawa County, Michigan. Since William's draft registration card was dated 12 Sep 1918, I checked out the 1910 and 1920 Federal Censuses for William, hoping to find Florence listed. She was not. In 1910, William was single, living in William Jenning's boarding house, and working at the local shingle mill, in Skamokawa Precinct in Wahkiakum County, Washington. In 1920, I did find William with his family, but Florence was not his wife: Evelyn P. was. He also had two step-children and two of his own children living with him in Eagle Harbor Precinct, Kitsap County, Washington. So I have some work to do: finding a marriage and divorce record for a possible marriage to Florence Grant; another marriage record for Evelyn P.; a divorce and/or death record for Evelyn P. (since William appears to be single at the time of his death in 1924); census records for William, Evelyn, his step-children, and children through 1930; SSDI listings for the step-children and children.

I didn't finish there; I went on to search for the WILKINSON women's husbands. My ancestor, Mary's husband, George LEWIS (my great-great-grandfather), was too old for the draft registration. I found sister Catherine/Kate's first husband, Carl THOR, with information that filled a lot of gaps: his full name and a birthdate, and the fact that he had been naturalized (he was born in Sweden). I couldn't find her second husband, Abner AINGER, although I tried multiple variations of his name in the search engine. I don't have a birth date for him, and its possible he was too old to be registered. I found Floyd LUCHINI, Ella's husband, in 1918 in Alma, Gratiot County, Michigan. He listed Selena LUCHINI in Italy as his next of kin. This is probably his mother. Floyd and Ella had a daughter, also named Selena, in 1921.

I'm still not believing I didn't look up this family before in the WWI Draft Registration database, but I am very grateful to Nancy for kickstarting this investigation for me.

Grave Photos for Raymond Edwin VALK and Frederick WILKINSON

This morning I had a nice surprise when I opened up my e-mail. Two different Find A Grave photo volunteers had fulfilled photo requests. One was for Raymond Edwin VALK, younger half-brother of my maternal grandfather, William VALK. Uncle Ray's grave is in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Cathy Shows took the time to find the grave and photograph it, along with Uncle Ray's wife's marker (she is still living, but her marker is next to his, and gives a birth date, which I did not have).

Frederick WILKINSON was the younger brother of one of my paternal great-great-grandmothers, Mary J. WILKINSON. He and his wife, Frederica, came out west about a hundred years ago, first to Oregon, and then later here in Washington State, settling on Whidbey Island, in or near Freeland. They are buried in Bayview Cemetery, and Nancy Robinson kindly took 10 photos of Frederick's grave and the cemetery itself (Frederica's grave apparently never got a marker). I was able to find the online cemetery records again, and noticed information on the webpage regarding the name of the funeral home. A quick trip over to Dex Online, and I was able to find the current address and phone number of the funeral home. I hope to call or write within the next few days to see if I can obtain more information. I also e-mailed the Everett Public Library with a request for obituaries. I'm not sure if that is the correct library system (it's in a different county), but both the local genealogical society and the public library system seem to be joint county (Island County and Snohomish County).

HOEKSTRA - JONKER - TON - ZIGTERMAN - DICKINSON marriages, Ottawa Co., Michigan

I went to my local Family History Center this evening. The film I had ordered (FHL microfilm #0984231: Ottawa County, Michigan Marriage Records, Vol. 5 - 7, 1867 - 1902) was in. I had a number of marriages to search. The first was for my great-great-great-grandparents, Jan Martens HOEKSTRA and Grietje JONKER. Both widowed, they emigrated separately to the U.S. from Kloosterburen, Groningen, the Netherlands to Holland, Ottawa County, Michigan. Jan came in 1867 with a daughter, Geertje "Gertrude", from his first marriage. I haven't been able to find Grietje JONKER's immigration information, but it had to be between 1862, when her youngest son, Filippes DEKKER, died in Kloosterburen, and 1867, when she married Jan.

I found Jan and Grietje's marriage in Volume 5, page 3. It was record #45, and extremely difficult to read. They were married in Holland (Michigan) on 28 Oct 1867, a mere short four months after Jan emigrated. The officiant was J. B. DeBEE(K?), officiant of the "T. Ref. Ch." Now looking at the Ottawa County GenWeb site, I cannot find a Reformed Church that starts with a "T." It might be a "J" or maybe a "1". Couldn't find a pastor's name with DeBEE or DeBEEK, either. More investigation needed. Also, I had a difficult time reading the witnesses names: J. HUIGESTAGES (?) and E. HATLE/HIGTE/SLIGTE (?), both of Holland.

The second important marriage record was for Jan and Griete's son and daughter-in-law, Martin HOEKSTRA and Jennie TON (my great-great-grandparents). I had long suspected that the "Martin HOEKSTRA - Jana FOW" marriage I had seen listed in the bride's index at the Ottawa County GenWeb site was for my ancestors, with TON misspelled. I found their record (#233) in Vol. 6, pg. 59. Yes, TON was misspelled as FOW on the record itself...which probably was copied from the original marriage certificate or the clergyman's records incorrectly. Martin and Jana/Jennie were married 27 Nov 1886 in Holland (Michigan). I know this is their record, because Jennie's birthplace is correctly listed as Ohio, and Martin's parents, Jan and Grietje, were the witnesses. It also matches the information Martin and Jennie's son, John (my great-grandfather), wrote in his Family Record Book, that his parents were married November 1886.

A fun new discovery was a marriage record for Catherine DEKKER, Grietje JONKER's daughter by her first marriage to Jans Freerk DEKKER, and a half-sister to Martin. She married Bene HAIT of Grand Rapids, Kent County, Michigan on 12 Jan 1874 in Holland (Michigan), according to their marriage record (#83) found in Vol. 5, pg. 98. It lists Catherine's birthplace as Kloosterburen, which is terrific! Groningen does not yet have all its birth/baptisms listed online at the Dutch National Archives website, so I did not have a specific birthplace for Catherine before now, although I did find other family records (marriages and deaths) located in Kloosterburen. I suspect now that the E. HATLE/HIGTE/SLIGTE witness to Jan and Grietje's marriage may actually be HAIT. UPDATE: I've since discovered that this difficult-to-read surname was actually STUIT, and not HAIT. The witness was very likely Hattie STUIT, mother of Beene STUIT, who married Grietje's daughter Catherine.

Other marriage records found of lesser importance include those for Zigert ZICHTERMAN - Anna BRONSEMA (Zi was a brother to my step-ancestor, Trientje ZIGHTERMAN BOS BARSEMA); and Wallace William DICKINSON - Elizabeth GARRISON (Wallace was a brother to my ancestor, Lucy May DICKINSON). I could not locate a marriage record for Fonytje "Finnie" HOEKSTRA (Jan and Grietje's daughter) to Riekel VanTIL, although a descendant of theirs lists 27 Oct 1892 in Holland (Michigan) as their marriage date and location. I found Sherman DICKINSON (a brother to Wallace and Lucy) in the index, but ran out of time to locate the record. And I still need to investigate all DEKKER listings to see if I can locate Fredrich DEKKER's marriage (brother to Catherine/son of Grietje from her first marriage).

Today's Mail

I got two items of genealogical interest in the mail today. The first was The Grand River Times, the newsletter of the Grand Rapids (Michigan) Historical Sociey, of which I am a former member. I'm still receiving their newsletter, though. They have an interesting article about a presentation of antique Grand Rapids penny postacards at the Ford Museum in Grand Rapids on April 13th. Apparently, penny postcards are a terrific way to view urban history. Because of their economical price, many were massed produced in the late 1800's and early 1900's. If you can find a postcard of your ancestor's hometown, you may be able to see what his/her neighborhood, place of worship, place of business or local park looked like.

The second item was from my mother's cousin, and was a package of documents - copies of her parents' vital records and some of her father's military papers. This was my maternal grandmother's sister and brother-in-law, Mary Louise (Hoekstra) and John Peter Glashower, II. Not only are my cousin Kathy and I exchanging records for our own genealogical collections, we are safeguarding them by keeping copies in another state, should a disaster occur. The last few years have brought large terrorist strikes, tsunamis, hurricanes and other major events that should prompt family historians to double-check their backup plans on those priceless heirlooms and genealogical data.

Ordering Vital Records

This morning I mailed off applications for vital records for ancestors of my husband. I was prompted by the posting at GenealogyBlog a few days ago that mentioned that there was a bill before the Colorado State legislature that, if passed, will prevent access to Colorado marriage records. Ridiculous! Of course, the reasoning behind this bill is identity theft and terrorism prevention, but once, again, paranoia has driven things too far! I can understand protecting records that are less than 50 or even 60 years old...but tell me how restricting access to marriage records that are 100 years old will prevent identity theft and terrorism? I can see it now...members of Al-Quaida are meeting to figure out a way to get counterfeit ID, and decide they will use Norm's great-grandparents' marriage record of 1907 to show proof of residence and thus citizenship. Oh, wait...that couple married 101 years ago! So I guess that member of Al-Quaida looks a little young to be married in 1907! Nevertheless, we must protect our citizens. Quick, shut down access to public records in the name of Homeland Security!

OK, off my soapbox. I ordered a marriage certificate from Colorado for John Franklin Midkiff, Sr. and Margie Ethel Tolliver; a birth record for Helen Mary Westaby (Norm's paternal grandmother) from Montana; and a death certificate for John Franklin Midkiff, Jr. (Norm's paternal grandfather) from Washington (State). To get applications, I simply went to www.co.gov, www.mt.gov, and www.wa.gov. I looked for "vital records" or "public health" links on the main pages of each website. All three sites were user-friendly, and I was able to find what I needed right away. If I hadn't been able to, I would have looked on the main page for a link to a site map, or done a site search.

I chose mail-in applications which I printed (all were .pdf files which I viewed with Adobe Acrobat) over online applications, which used third party businesses and were rather expensive. The mail-in applications may take some time, but they were reasonably priced. I didn't pay more than $17 apiece for the certificates.

National Archives Documents Removed

I saw this AP article this evening, and thought about the implication to historians, genealogists, and researchers:

"Intelligence officials will meet with the county's top archivist early next week to discuss the withdrawal of historical documents from the National Archives' public shelves, Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein said Friday.

"He said he requested the meeting following disclosure last month of a program in which thousands of documents, previously declassified, were being removed from public access. Historians protested the practice, saying they had access to many of the documents in past years.

"'The key here is not whether records are being classified or reclassified,' Weinstein said. 'It is whether or not it is appropriate to do so.'"

Read the rest of the article here.

February News

Wow, I can't believe it's been a whole month since I last blogged! I can tell you, though, it has not been a whole month since I did any genealogy! I manage to do something, genealogically speaking, each and every day. I just don't always get the time to sit down at my computer and blog about it. I have timed myself, and it takes about one hour to create a post, from start to finish. Some of it is my slow computer, some has to do with the time it takes to think about what I'm writing, the actual writing itself, the editing and revising process (including adding hyperlinks), and finally, the posting followed by a quick review.

Here are some of the events, activities, and research I've done this past month, to give an idea of how genealogy fits into my everyday life:

• nearly every day this month, I have posted a burial to Find A Grave, either from my local newspaper's obituary section, or from one or more of my three genealogy databases
• on Saturday, February 4th, I attended the monthly Eastern Washington Genealogical Society meeting. Not only do I attend as a regular member, but I am involved in the Ways and Means Committee (fundraising), selling raffle tickets and merchandise at each meeting. This month's meeting featured Tim Harper, the EWGS's webmaster speaking about the society's website and mailing list. He then asked three members (one of which was myself) to talk about their family tree websites, giving some details about what kind of program they used, and what type of information is presented on their website. You can view my website here.
• after the meeting, I shared with another member that I design personal family history websites, and she asked me to build one for her. I referred her to the website I designed for Oleo Publishing as an example of my work.
• on Monday, the 6th, I taught the last segment of my Winter Quarter Online Genealogy class for the Institute for Extended Learning. I really enjoyed this group of students, and look forward to seeing them at other local genealogy events in the future!
• on Thursday, the 9th, I went to my local Family History Center and attempted to find a birth record for my great-great-grandmother, Mary J. Wilkinson. I had rented the transcribed Northumberland County, Ontario, Canada Birth Records on microfilm. She was not listed in the records, but I did find one for her brother, John. I may try finding her in church records next.
  
• on Friday, February 17th, I went to my local Family History Center, and looked at some more microfilms I recently rented. I found the birth record of my great-great-grandmother, Mary "Mae" E. McArthur, who was born in Washington Township, Gratiot County, Michigan. I also found a birth record for her younger sister, Arlie. I could not find her sister Catherine's birth record. However, Catherine's birth was recorded in neighboring Clinton County Birth Records book, with the location of her birth given as "Gratiot County." I am also missing brother Will's birth record. I will take another look at a later time, since I am still waiting for the microfilm of the birth records index to come in. It should make finding the records I'm seeking easier.
• Saturday, the 18th, I visited the downtown branch of the Spokane Public Library. First I went to the genealogy room and looked up some Washington death records in the Washington State Death Index. I was looking for death certificate numbers. One of these days, I am going to the Family History Center in the south part of the county to view their old Washington death certificates on microfilm. They are listed in certificate number order, though, so it is necessary to have those numbers before I drive all that way. After finding my information, I took a free computer class offered to EWGS members. This month's class was presented by Donna Potter Phillips, and was an interesting tutorial about Ancestry.com. Even though I knew most of the information Donna presented, I did learn a couple of new things about the website. That's why it's so important to go to every genealogy class you can get to (especially if it's free)! There is always something to learn!
  
• nearly every time I visit my local Family History Center, I look up records for others around the country (and around the world) who may not have access to them. I am listed as a volunteer with Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness, Find A Grave, and Books We Own.
  
• over Presidents' Day weekend, I went to a local cemetery and took photos for someone who requested them through Find A Grave. While there, I found the urn of a former neighbor, and also took photos of my sister-in-law's family members buried there.
• on Saturday, the 25th, I contacted a person who is interested in my Spring Quarter Online Genealogy class. It is always exciting to look ahead to the next one! I so enjoy getting others interested in researching their family trees!
• Also on Saturday, I met with two ladies from the EWGS Ways and Means Committee. We talked about upcoming fundraisers, especially for the October workshop.
  
• Sunday, the 26th, my desktop e-mail program (Juno) crashed. I am frustrated with myself for not keeping a better backup, because this has happened before...twice, as a matter of fact. I had 140 messages in my Inbox, most of which were genealogy messages. I also had over 100 e-mail addresses in my address book. Most of those addresses I do have stored elsewhere. I did attempt back up of Juno, but have not been successful in getting the program to open. I may need to reinstall the software, and try again. If you have e-mailed me recently and have not received a response, please try again. Currently, I am accessing new e-mail online, without any problems whatsoever.
• over the weekend, I went to the public library and brought home some issues of Smart Computing. This is such a great computer magazine...written without all the techno lingo for ordinary people. There is all kinds of technology help, software and website reviews (including those for genealogy), tips, tricks, and general information. Everyone in the household loved the magazines, including my 15- and 12-year-old kids. We liked it so much, we decided to get a two-year subscription. We're not impulse shoppers, and try to be pretty frugal when it comes to subscriptions. After all, if the library has it available, why should we pay for our own? We realized that having this magazine around the home 24/7/365 would be a great resource, especially if we're having computer problems and can't get online to solve them. One of the many perks of this subscription is that we can access the archives of four other major computer magazines online. Genealogy and computers go hand-in-hand so well these days, you can't research your family tree without some knowledge of PCs and the Internet!

There you have it: a month in the life of a family historian! This of course, does not include the many activities and responsibilities I have as a wife, mother, homemaker, employee, and school volunteer! Although I'm busy, I wouldn't have it any other way. It's what puts the joie in my vivre!

Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Upcoming Events and Classes

As a member of the EWGS, I am excited to share some great upcoming events for 2006! If you go to the EWGS website and click on "Calendar of Events," you will see a listing of the great topics we will be having during our montly meetings. The one I'm most excited about will be our annual October workshop, which will feature nationally known speaker Michael John Neill! Plan to attend. The monthly meetings (with the exception of the October workshop) are free to attend. You don't even need to be a member. Most meetings are held the first Saturday of the month (except summer months, and Labor Day weekend) at the Spokane Downtown Library. Times and dates are listed on the Calendar of Events page.

For the new educational classes that are now offered, click on "Special Classes." These computer classes are free to members of the EWGS. If you are not yet a member, this is a great incentive to join! I will be teaching the April class (not yet scheduled).

Free Genealogy Conference in Spokane, Washington

The third annual Genealogy Conference will be held Saturday, March 11, 2006 at the Spokane North Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 401 W. Regina, Spokane, Washington. This is a FREE all-day event, but it is best to register ahead of time, especially if you wish to purchase a syllabus (which I recommend) and order a sack lunch. Details, including times, classes, registration information, syllabus and sack lunch costs, will soon be available at Grave Concerns. Last year was the first time I attended, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I don't remember paying over $11 total for the syllabus and the lunch.

As we arrive closer to the date of the conference, I will post more information.