Wordless Wednesday Flower Hat

Another photo from my grand aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Wordless Wednesday Bowler Hat

Another photo from my grand aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Wordless Wednesday Couple

Another photo from my grand aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Saturday Night Fun Genea Santa 2013

Come on, everybody, join in and accept the mission and execute it with precision. Here's your chance to sit on Genea-Santa's lap (virtually) and tell him your Christmas genealogy-oriented wish list:

1) Write your Genea-Santa letter. Have you been a good genealogy girl or boy? What genealogy-oriented items are on your Christmas wish list? They could be family history items, technology items, or things that you want to pursue your ancestral quest.

1)  Yes I think I have been a good boy, I continue to do the research requests for Eastern Washington Genealogical Society, mostly obits now days, but an occasional trip to the courthouse to look up, divorces, probates, etc. I got to see the now empty auditors archives in the county courthouse, as the last paper records were on their way to the state archives. Hard to believe how much time I spent in that archive over the last ten years. The auditor asked me to keep my eyes open for anything pertaining to the history of the Spokane County Courthouse, so when I found an article in the Spokesman Review about a murder on the second floor of the courthouse, in front of a Spokesman Review reporter and a couple of other witnesses in the Spokesman Review I took it to the auditor and she was thrilled at what I had found. She had heard of the murder, but I both had a description of the murder, and the reason the lawyer was shot and killed, a probate filing, and an inference that the other lawyer was intimate with the widow before the husband had died.

I continue to write the genealogy column for the Clan Forsyth newsletter, and an occasional article for the EWGS Digital Digest.

I think I asked Genea-Santa for the parents of John Jackie Vanderpool last year, so this year I will ask Genea-Santa for the parents of Thomas D. Kelly, born in Kentucky in 1827 and hope he does better than last years complete failure to find John  Jackie's parents.

Wordless Wednesday Top Hat

Another photo from my grand aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Saturday Night Fun last B Surname

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible! music) is to:

1) We're going to do a little bit of Semi-Random Research tonight...

2)  Go to your family tree database of choice (you know, like RootsMagic, Reunion, Ancestry Member Tree), and determine who the very last person on your list of B names is.  Or the last person on your list of D names.  Or H names.  Or any other name you need to research.  Your choice!

3)  What do you know (or not know) about this person based on your research?  It's OK to do more research if you need to - in fact, it's encouraged!

4)  How are you related to this person, and why is s/he in your family tree?


Well the last B surname in my list is James Butler, don't know much about him other than he married Kimberly Jo Luckey June 2, 2000 in Utah. Kimberly is a granddaughter of Madelyn Whittum by her first marriage to Alvin Luckey. Madelyn divorced Alvin and married my uncle Leigh Hansen, my dad's younger brother, so I am really not related to James Butler, but slightly related to his wife. I checked to see if I could find more on James, but without his birth date or place of birth it looks like I won't find him. I did find a whole page of possibilities.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving, the last three years I posted Thanksgiving Postcards from my dad's postcard collection here. I am thankful that he collected these postcards an kept them all these years.

Wordless Wednesday Group by tree

Another photo from my grand aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Wordless Wednesday Girl on Lawn

Another photo from my grand aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Saturday Night Fun Travel Maps

1) What states in the USA and what provinces in Canada have you visited or lived in?  

2)  Either list, or make a map of them (at the http://www.defocus.net/visitedstates/us-canada.html website) and indicate the following:

*  red for states/provinces where you've not spent much time or seen very much.
*  amber for states/provinces  where you've at least slept and seen some sights.
*  blue for states/provinces  you've spent a lot of time in or seen a fair amount of.

*  green for states/provinces  you've spent a great deal of time in on multiple visits.

3)  For extra credit, you could make a map to show where your ancestors resided at any time (e.g., in 1900), or perhaps where your 16 great-great-grandparents or 32 3rd-great-grandparents married, or where your ancestors were born, all with an appropriate legend

 Well my mom and her parents were born in Missouri
My dad and his mom were born in Minnesota (his dad was born in Denmark)
Pops grandparents grandpa in Maine, grandma in Wisconsin and two in Denmark
Moms grandparents grandpas both in Illinois, grandma in Missouri, and second one I think Missouri also but may have been Tennessee

I Remember John Kennedy Assassination

Thomas MacEntee is asking those of us that remember the assassination of John Kennedy in November 1963 to post our memories so they can be collected at geneabloggers.
I was a sophomore at Rogers High School, and when the president was shot I was in a PE class, but after that class everyone seemed so solemn in the halls. My next class was World History with Mr. Pelo, and he had a TV on and Walter Cronkite was reporting that the president had been shot. Mr. Pelo filled us in on what had happened so far and said just watch the TV as this is history, more than he could ever teach us. The next couple of days I watched as much of the coverage of the assassination and funeral as I could.

Wordless Wednesday Croquet

Another photo from my grand aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Veterans Day 2013

Well the previous four Veterans Day I have posted tributes to my dad and my uncle Leigh for their contribution to WWII. My dad was in a service squadron that serviced the B17 and B24 bombers. He was in England for a while but spent most of the war in Africa and towards the end in Italy.
My uncle Leigh was trained as a tail gunner for B17s, but got air sick as soon as the airplane left the ground, so they retrained him as an aircraft mechanic and sent him to Panama where they had B17s and B24s patrolling the canal.
I also had an ancestor Joseph Vanderpool that enlisted in the Army during the Civil War, but got measles and was discharged so never saw any service.
Robert Forsyth was a Kentucky rifleman in the War of 1812, his unit won the battle for Fort Meigs, was ordered to retreat, but followed the British into the woods and was ambushed by the Indian allies of the British. 150 of the 800 Kentucky riflemen survived and Robert Forsyth was one of the survivors. He was the last of my ancestors that actually fought in a war.

Thanks to all for your service.

Wordless Wednesday House

Another photo from my Grand Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Wordless Wednesday Porch Railing

Another photo from my Grand Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Saturday Night Fun Days Old?

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible! music) is to:

1)  Do you know how many days you have lived?  How many hours?  How many minutes?  How many seconds?  

2)  For this challenge - do some calculating.  Figure out how many days you've lived, how many hours, how many minutes, how many seconds (you can round off to account for the time you were born on your birth date - do you know it?).   Tell us your birth date, birth time (if you know it), and then calculate your time alive up until your birth time today.

NOTE:  If math befuddles you, use the Age Calculator at http://www-users.med.cornell.edu/~spon/picu/calc/agecalc.htm

3)  What does all of this mean to you?  Think about that marvelous "machine" inside your chest beating in rhythm.  Share your thoughts!  


Well since I turned 65 June 14, 2013 I am 23,876 days old, or 573,024 hours old, or 34,381,440 minutes old. The Seconds overran my little calculator so I rounded off to 206,280,000 seconds. So I guess my heart has beat about 206 million times, and if I live as long as my dad I have another 35 years to go or another 100+ million heart beats. Glad I got his genes as all the tests for my heart health say my heart is still young.

Wordless Wednesday Snow

Another photo from my Great Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Saturday Night Fun Calendar Fun

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible! music) is to:

1)  Do you know which of your ancestors were born on your birthday?  Or married on your anniversary?  

2)  Use your genealogy software program to find out who was born on your birthday, or married on your wedding anniversary.  

3)  Tell us how you determined this.  Write it in your own blog post, or in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook or Google+ post.

4)  NOTE:  If you have no one born on your birthday or married on your anniversary, do it for one of your parents or for all of the children of your ancestors.  

1. Well non of my ancestors were born on my birthday, but 4 second cousins were: Brandon Gay, Pamela Klimek, Kathy Lindgren and Fred Stanfield
2. Since I am not married I was looking on the expanded sheet and for June 21 5 aniversaries:

• 445 years ago Thomas and Julian Tilden Fynche a collateral line
• 87 years ago Arthur and May Moore Anders, parents of Clayborn Anders
• 86 years ago Fred and Frances Hansen Woltermann, parents of Dorothy Woltermann and my aunt
• 58 years ago Clayborn and Dorothy Woltermann Anders 
• 17 years ago Paul and Jennifer Peak Anders, son of Clay and Dorothy Ander

      3.  I printed the June 2013 calendar page with everyone in my Ancestral Quest file 

Wordless Wednesday Sit on Stump

Another photo from my great aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Genealogy Roadshow Survey Episode 4

Well the survey of episode 4 was almost the same as previous episodes, but this one added a new question after question #3.
How Likely are you to watch future rebroadcasts of Genealogy Roadshow?  So it sounds like they might show this series again.

Ok so did I like the show?  Yes, could they have showed more of the research?  Yes, but that would probably have lost most non genealogists, this show was entertainment, not a show on how to find your Mayflower ancestors.
I learned something on each show I did not know before, and so I hope others did also.

They are asking for more people to send them queries to research, so does that mean a second season is coming? Lets hope so. I do hope my participation in these surveys helps them decide.

Saturday Night Fun Henry Numbers

1)  Do you know what a "Henry Number" is?  It is a descendant numbering system from a specific person.  The Wikipedia article for Genealogical Numbering Systems describes it as:

"The Henry System is a descending system created by Reginald Buchanan Henry for a genealogy of the families of the presidents of the United States that he wrote in 1935.^[3] It can be organized either by generation or not. The system begins with 1. The oldest child becomes 11, the next child is 12, and so on. The oldest child of 11 is 111, the next 112, and so on. The system allows one to derive an ancestor's relationship based on their number. For example, 621 is the first child of 62, who is the second child of 6, who is the sixth child of his parents.  In the Henry System, when there are more than nine children, X is used for the 10th child, A is used for the 11th child, B is used for the 12th child, and so on. In the Modified Henry System, when there are more than nine children, numbers greater than nine are placed in parentheses."

2)  Go to your first known ancestor with your birth surname and calculate your Henry Number from that person.  Show each generation of your line of ancestors with your birth surname with their Henry numbers.

3)  How did you calculate the Henry numbers?  What do these numbers tell you?

Well this will be short as my grandfather is the first person with my birth surname since he was born in Denmark and the patronymics change the surname each generation.

1     Anton Hansen
14   Claude Hansen
142 Charles Hansen  (me)

Did not have to calculate, just filled in the numbers. The first two children of my dad's generation were girls, and my sister was the oldest in my family. Actually I am the only male grandchild of my grandfather Anton and I am the youngest.
 

Wordless Wednesday Surrender?

Another photo from my great Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Genealogy Roadshow Survey Episode 3

This weeks survey asked the same questions as last weeks survey so I won't bore you with the same questions. They did scramble the order of the questions.
So is this a good show?
How do they get so much research done in 50 minutes?
I do wish they would show more of the research, but I am pretty sure they are targeting non genealogists hoping to get more people interested in genealogy or family history.
I did like the episode on the walking stick, and not the one on finding Ben Franklin as an ancestor. Too many people just look for a famous ancestor, and pass up all the ordinary farmers or other working people.

Wordless Wednesday Railroad Bridge

Two photos from my great aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Genealogy Roadshow Survey Episode 2

Genealogy Roadshow PBS Survey for week 2 from Detroit, Michigan.

1. Which city was this episode based?  Detroit, San Francisco, Boston, Milwaukee, Austin, Nashville
2. Rate this episode.
3. How likely are you to watch future episodes?
4. What did you like about this episode?
5. What did you dis-like about this episode?
6. Pace of program?  Too fast, too slow, just right
7. Were main stories too long, too short, just right
8. Were the number of stories? just enough, too many, too few
9. How did you like the environment this episode was filmed?  City of Detroit or outdoor setting
10. Did you feel like the stories were particular to the region?
11. Did you like that the stories focused on everyday people?
12. Did you like the historical segments focused on cities and places which the episode was filmed?
13. Were you able to follow the information "Spoken" by the experts?
14. Did you like the secondary stories interspersed in the episode?
15. Did you like the stories more when the genealogist presented participants with a surprise guest/relative?
16. Were the family tree graphics easy to read?
17. As a result of watching last weeks show, have you worked on your family history in the past week?
18. Do you plan to fo to a genealogical website as a result of watching the show?
19. Did the show inspire you to do genealogical research?
20. Would you apply to have your family history researched by the show?
21. Have you done genealogical research on your own?
22. Did you learn something new about history while watching?
23. Rate  Josh, Kenyatta and Emmett
24. Rate each of the segments of this episode
25. How important is the audience?
26. How important is the technological devices?
27. Rate the music 
28. Rate the amount of information provided
29. Rate the idea for the program
30. Rate the interaction between the research team and subjects
31. Rate the title of Genealogy Roadshow
32. Rate the narration delivered during the program and the voice delivering that content
33. How do the following impact your future decision to watch the show?

           Like PBS
           Interest in genealogy
           Love of History      
           Related to someone mentioned on the show
           Filmed in your hometown or state

Wordless Wednesday on the Dock

Another photo from my great aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Genealogy Roadshow Survey

I was lucky as I got to see the Genealogy Roadshow twice last night, our cable company has 3 PBS stations and one station had the Genealogy Roadshow at 8 and one at 9. Several months ago I signed up with PBS to do some surveys on shows they air, and they had a first survey that asked what types of shows I liked and watched, so about a week or so ago PBS sent a short survey asking if I would be interested in a survey after the first Genealogy Roadshow, I said yes, then they asked if I was interested in a survey after each of the four shows, and again I said yes, so last night after the show I went to the URL PBS sent me and took that survey.

The survey had 33 questions , some with multiple questions, so I will just do a few here.

1. Which city was this episode based? Memphis, Nashville, Boston, Detroit, Austin or San Francisco
2. How did you rate this episode?
3. What did you like about Genealogy Roadshow?
4. What did you dislike about Genealogy Roadshow?
5. Pace of show? too fast, too slow, just right
6. Main Stories? too long, too short, just right
7. Number of stories  just enough, too many, too few
8. Did you like historical segments focused on cities where episode filmed?
9. Did you like that the stories were focused on everyday people?
10. Did the show inspire you to do genealogical research?
11. Were the family tree graphics easy to read?
12. Have you done genealogical research on your own?
13. Did you learn something new about history while watching?
14. Would you apply to have your family history researched by this show?
15. How frequently have you watched History Detectives, Antiques Roadshow, American Pickers, Finding Your Roots, Who Do You Think You Are?
16. Rate Kenyetta Berry, Josh Taylor and Emmett Miller
17. The next one was to rate each segment which I will skip here.
18. Three Best Segments
19. Three Worst Segements
20. How important was the audience?
21. How important was DNA testing?
22. How important was technological devices used in the show to show pictures, documents and family trees?

I did skip a few that were mainly repeats of other questions, just worded differently 

Saturday Night Fun Children and Grandchildren

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission Impossible! music) is to:

1)  Consider your Birth Surname families - the ones from your father back through his father all the way back to the first of that surname in your family group sheets or genealogy database.  List the father's name, and lifespan years.

2)  Use your paper charts or genealogy software program to create a Descendants chart (dropline or graphical) that provide the children and their children (i.e., up to the grandchildren of each father in the surname list).

3)  Count how many children they had (with all spouses), and the children of those children in your records and/or database.  Add those numbers to the list.  See my example below!  [Note: Do not count the spouses of the children]

4)  What does this list of children and grandchildren tell you about these persons in your birth surname line?  Does this task indicate areas that you need to do more research to fill out families and find potential cousins?

Mads Christensen (Mads died before his son was born)
1 son 
3 grandchildren

Mikkel Madsen  1807-1888
6 children
19 grandchildren

Hans Mikkelsen  1837-1892
10 children
25 grandchildren

Anton Mikkel Hansen 1870-1961
5 children
9 grandchildren

Claude Dillingham Hansen 1906-2008
2 children
1 grandchild

24 children average 4.8 per generation
60 grandchildren average 12 per generation

Saturday Night Fun Random Search

1)  We're going to do a little bit of Semi-Random Research tonight...what is your first name? [This is the easy part!]

2)  Go to your family tree database of choice (you know, like RootsMagic, Reunion, Ancestry Member Tree), and determine who the first person in your alphabetical name index is with a surname starting with the first two letters of your first name (e.g., my first name is RAndall, so I'm looking for the first person with a surname starting with RA).  [If there are no surnames with those first two letters, take the surname after that letter combination.]

3)  What do you know about this person based on your research?  It's OK to do more if you need to - in fact, it's encouraged!

4)  How are you related to this person, and why is s/he in your family tree?

1. CHarles so first surname is Delbert E Elmer Chambers b 9 Nov 1935 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma d. 4 Dec 1993 in Phoenix, Arizona 
2. He married Karen Ray Hansen 8 May 1970 in Chino, California
3. Karen is my second cousin so Delbert was her husband

Wordless Wednesday Swing

Another photo from my great aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Saturday Night Fun Alive in 1863

1)  Determine where your ancestral families were on 1 September 1863 - 150 years ago.

2)  List your ancestors, their family members, their birth and death years, and their residence location (as close as possible).  Do you have a photograph of their residence from about that time, and does the residence still exist?

1. Mikkel Madsen b 11 May 1807 Magleby, Denmark d. 8 Sep 1888 Humble, Denmark. He married Kristen Hansdatter b. 21 May 1804 and d. 23 Jan 1880 both at Humble, Denmark. Their son Hans Mikkelsen b. 21 Apr 1837 and d. 10 Jan 1892 both at Humble, Denmark. Hans married Karen Jorgensen b. 08 Jun 1840 at Tullebolle, Denmark d. 29 Mar 1891 Humble, Denmark. Not sure if her parent were living in 1863, but I will say the were. Father was Jorgen Petersen b. abt 1791 Tullebolle, Denmark and mother Johanne Jensdatter b. abt 1803.
2. Samuel P. Dillingham b. 8 Aug 1835 Dixfield, Maine d. 25 Jun 1919 Algonquin Twp, Illinois. I think he stayed in Maine till after the Civil War. (he did not fight for medical reasons). His father was Enos Dillingham b. 10 Aug 1804 Freeport, Maine, d. 12 Jun 1876 Dixfield, Maine. His wife Clarissa Virgin had died before 1863. Samuel married Eliza M. Hellenbolt b. 1 Mar 1845 Town 2, Wisconsin and d. 03 Sep 1933 Algonquin TWP, Illinois. Her father Richard Hellenbolt b. abt 1815 in NY and mom Rhoda Preston b. abt 1816 in Canada were living in Minnesota in 1863.
3. Robert Forsyth Kelly b. 23 Jul 1855 Adams County, Illinois and d. 14 Dec 1934. His father Thomas D. Kelly b. 25 Apr 1827 near Louisville, Kentucky and d. 1 Mar 1896 Trenton, Missouri. He married Margaret J. Forsyth b. 29 Dec 1833 at Quincy, Illinois d. 28 Jul 1905 Trenton, Missouri. In 1863 this family was in California and when the Civil War was over they came back to Illinois. Robert married Vada Belle Hert who was not born in 1863, but her parents Joseph Hert b. 29 Jun 1830 in Indiana a d. 12 May 1912 in Grundy County, Missouri and Sadie Jane Selson b. 19 Mar 1832 in Indiana d. 26 Jul 1913 Harrison Twp, Missouri.
4. Daniel C. Travis b. 4 May 1833 Lawrence County, Illinois, d. 27 Mar 1905 Mill Grove, Missouri. and his wife Mary Elizabeth Travis b. 10 Sep 1833 Green County New York. d. 27 Oct 1927 Mill Grove, Missouri. Not sure where they were in 1863.
5. Joseph J. Vanderpool b. abt 1831 Campbell, Tennessee d. 1 Oct 1929 Clinton, Oklahoma, married Margaret Loe b. 3 Aug 1837 Ray County Missori, d. abt 1901 Mercer County, Missouri. They were living in Missouri in 1863.

Wordless Wednesday Rowboat

Another photo from my great aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Saturday Night Fun Bloggers GeneaMeme

1) Read Jill Ball's post The Bloggers GeneaMeme on her Geniaus blog.

2)  Copy the questions into your own blog post, or into a word processing document, and answer the questions.

1. What are the titles and URLs of your genealogy blog/s? Mikkels Hus and Early Spokane Obits and More
2. Do you have a wonderful "Cousin Bait" blog story? A link to a previous blog post might answer this question. Not Really
3. Why did you start blogging? Is there someone who inspired you to start blogging? I became one of a team of three bloggers on our Eastern Washington Genealogical Society blog, And Miriam Robbins was the person that inspired me.
4. How did you decide on your blog/s title/s? Mikkel is a family name, starting with Mikkel Madsen, Hans Mikkelsen, Anton Mikkel Hansen and Me, Charles Michael Hansen, Hus is Danish for House. My other blog was to post the Spokane obits I have collected over the years, and sometimes there are very interesting articles on the same page as the obits.
5. Do you ever blog from mobile devices? No
6. How do you let others know when you have published a new post? I guess they read it on their blog reader.
7. How long have you been blogging? I think it was 2008 when I became a part of the EWGS team bloggers.
8. What widgets or elements do you consider essential on a genealogy blog? Like the Google analytic.
9. What is the purpose of your blog/s? To post information on my family and other interesting posts. The second blog is to post the Spokane obits I have collected. Who is your intended audience? Spokane researchers.
10. Which of your posts are you particularly proud of? The series I did on the 1962 Seattle Worlds Fair.
11. How do you keep up with your blog reading? Feedly Blog Reader is pretty fast.
12. What platform do you use for publishing your blog/s? Blogger
13. What new features would you like to see in your blogging software? none I can think of.
14. Which of your posts has been the most popular with readers?  Well 8 of the top 10 are on the Seattle Worlds Fair and the top one is on the Seattle Space Needle.
15. Are you a sole blogger or do you contribute to a shared blog? Both shared blogger on EWGS blog, sole blogger on Mikkels Hus and Early Spokane Obits and More
16. How do you compose your blog posts? Online in Blogger
17. Have you listed your blog/s at Geneabloggers? Yes
18. Which resources have helped you with your blogging? Spokane Library
19. What advice would you give to a new Geneablogger? Start your own blog, it is easy and fun.

Wordless Wednesday Picket Fence

Another photo from my great aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album

Saturday Night Fun Anton Hansen Timeline

1) Have you created a Timeline for one of your ancestors using a genealogy software program (e.g., Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, Legacy, Reunion, etc.) or an online family Tree (e.g., Ancestry Member Tree, FamilySearch Family Tree, Geni, MyHeritage, etc.), or in a spreadsheet (e.g., Excel)?

2)  If not, try to create a timeline using the program/website of your choice.  If so, create another one for the ancestor of your choice!

3)  Show us your Timeline creation, and tell us how you did it.  Which program/website, the process you used, and how you captured the images to display your timeline.

Well I had not created a timeline since I stopped using Family Tree Journal a very good DOS program. Ancestral Quest has not had a timeline in it till version 14, but it is there now and kind of fun to do. Pick the individual you want and hit TIMELINE. Here is the Timeline for my grandfather Anton Hansen.

 

Wordless Wednesday Flower Hat

Another photo from my great aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Wordless Wednesday Bridge

Another photo from my great Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Saturday Night Genealogical Fun Great Grandmother Roulette

1) What year was one of your great-grandmothers born?  Divide this number by 125 (use a calculator!) and round the number off to a whole number. This is your "roulette number."

2) Use your pedigree charts or your family tree genealogy software program to find the person with that number in your ancestral name list (some people call it an "ahnentafel" - your software will create this - use the "Ahnentafel List" option, or similar). Who is that person, and what are his/her vital information?

3) Tell us three to five facts about that person in your ancestral name list with the "roulette number."


Well I picked Dona Vanderpool born in 1873/125= 14.984. Actually all my great grandmothers gave me #14 plus a fraction and rounded up all would be 15, but I dropped the excess and got #14.
Number 14 is Orville Travis, husband of Dona Vanderpool his first wife. Together they had 7 children and there are some big gaps between babies so maybe they had a few die young. Soon after child #7 Dona died and Orville married Bessie Keith. Orville and Bessie had 10 children, so Orville had 17 kids by his two wives. Orville was born in Lawrence county, Illinois September 18, 1864. My grandmother Cleo was baby number 2 of 17 and the last baby was born 33 years after Cleo was born.

Wordless Wednesday Toast

Another photo from my Great Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun Nightmare

1)  This SNGF is based on the question:  "What is your genealogy 'nightmare?'"  Have you had a "bad" genealogy dream?  Or have a worst genealogical "fear?"  Or have you had a terrible experience concerning your genealogy research?  


Well a genealogy nightmare does not sound like fun, but years ago I had a terrible experience. I had found a Mayflower ancestor and joined the group associated with that ancestor. They were asking for a GEDCOM  of all the descendants of this ancestor, so I sent my GEDCOM. A few weeks later that same GEDCOM appeared on multiple websites including all my living cousins, I E-Mailed the group to see what had happened and one well meaning volunteer had put these GEDCOMs on a website and several people copied the data, but not the information on who submitted the data. I went to a few of the websites and asked that the remove the living people, and got chewed out royally since they all said they had got this information from public domain sites and I did not have any right to ask to have any of the information removed. So I asked them to tell me what the special codes in the notes were, and not a single one could come up with what those codes meant. You see the key to those codes was sitting on MY hard drive since I had written them I told them none of the information I had written was public domain. Nothing happened, I have not checked lately, but I assume that they are still there with my codes still intact.

Wordless Wednesday Canoe

These two photos are from my Great Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Satrday Night Fun 100 Word Challenge

1)  This SNGF is based on the 100 Word Challenge (http://100wc.net/) that school children are participating in around the world.  They are given a word or phrase to write a story about in one hundred words.

1)  Write a short 100 word story using the phrase ",,,the most interesting ancestor I have..." in 100 words.  [Hint:  If you write it in a word processor, you can use Tools > Word Count (or similar) to count words]

Well I will write about my great grandfather Robert Forsyth Kelly, he was born in Illinois in 1855, went to California with his parents during the Civil War and back to Illinois after the war was over. In 1889 he married Vada Belle Hert born 1871 and she had two sons, one died at age 5 and the other was my grandfather Charles Kelly. Vada Belle died in 1912 and so Robert married Lillie McDaniel Virts born 1861. Family tradition says he married an 18 year old again, but she was only 6 years younger than Robert. Lillie died in 1923 and so Robert married Catherine Elizabeth Struck and she died in 1927. Robert lived till 1934 and had outlived all three wives.

Wordless Wednesday On Boat

Another photo from my great aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Wordless Wednesday Orange Crate

Another photo from my great Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Saturday Night Fun August 8th

1)  What day of the week was your Father born? Tell us how you found out.

2) What has happened in recorded history on your Father's birth date (day and month)? Tell us how you found out, and list five events.

3)  What famous people have been born on your Father's birth date?  Tell us how you found out, and list five of them.

My father and my maternal grandmother were both born on August 8 (mom was one day later) Pop on Wednesday of 1906, grandma on Saturday of 1890 from our phone book.

Some August 8 happenings from HistoryOrb



1814 - Peace negotiations begin in Ghent, Belgium
1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for exile on St Helena
French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
1844 - Brigham Young chosen Mormon Church head following Joseph Smith death
1854 - Smith & Wesson patents metal bullet cartridges
1860 - Queen of Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) arrives in NYC
1863 - American Civil War: Tennessee's "military" Governor Andrew Johnson frees his personal slaves. During the early 20th century, the day was celebrated by blacks in Tennessee as a holiday.
1864 - Red Cross forms in Geneva
1864 - Union troops/fleet occupy Fort Gaines, Alabama
1876 - Thomas Edison patents mimeograph
1882 - Snow falls on Lake Michigan
Inventor Thomas Edison  
1900 - 1st Davis Cup tennis competition, named after Dwight Filley Davis, began at Longwood Cricket Club in Mass, & won by US 2 days later
1902 - 2nd Davis Cup: USA beats British Isles in New York (3-2)
1903 - 3rd Davis Cup: British Isles beats USA in Boston (4-1)
1911 - The millionth patent is filed in the United States Patent Office by Francis Holton for a tubeless vehicle tire.
1911 - Public Law 62-5 sets the number of representatives in the United States House of Representatives at 435. The law would come into effect in 1913.
1914 - French troops under Gen Bonneau occupy Mulhouse at Elzas
1914 - Montenegro declares war on Germany
1918 - Canada/Australian/British breakthrough with 600 tanks at Amiens
1918 - 6 US soldiers are surrounded by Germans in France, Alvin York is given command & shoots 20 Germans & captures 132 more

Birthdays from History Orb

1922 - Rory Calhoun, actor (Blue & Gray, Judson Tyler-Capitol)
1922 - Rudi Gernreich, designer (1st women's topless swimsuit, miniskirt)
1923 - Esther Williams, Inglewood Cal, actress/swimmer (Dangerous when Wet)
1926 - Richard Anderson, Long Beach NJ, actor (Oscar Goldman-6 Million $ Man)
1930 - Jerry Tarkanian, basketball coach (California State, UNLV, 625-122)
1930 - Joan Mondale, wife of US vice-president Walter Mondale (1977-81)
1932 - Mel Tillis, Pahokee Fl, country singer (Who's Julie, M-M-Mel)
1936 - Don Bowden, US, 1st American to run a sub 4 min mile
Actor Dustin Hoffman (1937)
1937 - Dustin Hoffman, LA, actor (Graduate, Tootsie, Kramer vs

My 4th Blogiversary

Wow hard to believe it was four years ago I started this blog, but I did start with my first post on July 13, 2009. I had been a blog helper for the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Blog for a while before then, but I decided I wanted my own blog for my family and other posts that interested me.

To see the previous Blogversary Posts clock here. 
I did not post as many articles here as I did the previous three years, but I actually posted more this year than I have ever done before. I started a new blog a little over a year ago, posting some of the obits I have collected over the years, it is still a work in progress. You can see my new blog Early Spokane Obits and More here. I also have been posting other interesting articles from the pages that contain these obits.
My series of articles on the 1962 Seattle Worlds Fair seem to be my most popular posts this year, although a few more have been pretty popular also, like the 2012 Swimsuit Issue of the Carnival of Genealogy, the Carnival Of Genealogy Scrapbooking is the most popular this year.

Wordless Wednesday Fur Muffler

Another photo from my great Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album

Wordless Wednesday Purse

Another of the photos from my great aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Saturday Night Fun Datafile Statistics

Your mission this week, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  If you have your family tree research in a Genealogy Management Program (GMP), whether a computer software program or an online family tree, figure out how to find how many persons, places, sources, etc. are in your database (hint:  the Help button is your friend!)

Ok I have 2065 people in my database, 791 Marriages, places???, Sources 0 ( I do not use that feature, I put my sources in my notes).

Wordless Wednesday Palm Tree

Another photo from my great Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Tombstone Tuesday Virginia Van Pelt

Virginia was an optometrist, got my first set of glasses from her and wore them for 30+ years. She is buried at Greenwood Memorial Terraces.

Saturday Night Fun Fathers Day

1)  Sunday, 16 June, is Father's Day.  Let's celebrate by writing a blog post about our Father, or another significant male ancestor (e.g., a grandfather).

2)  What are three things about your father (or significant male ancestor) that you vividly remember about him?

This was on his 95th birthday, and he had 6 more and was close to number 7 when he died.

1. Pop could fix almost everything, he worked as a mechanic starting in the 1930s, during the war he ran the motor pool for a service squadron that serviced B17s and B24s.
2. He was good at building things, from our lake cabin to a riding lawn-mower-snow blower.
3. He was always reading, newspapers, books, magazines, etc 

Wordless Wednesday Nice Hat

Another photo from my Great Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Saturday Night Fun Fun Week

Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!):

The writer of Saturday Night Genealogy Fun is having too much fun at the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree this week and is unable to think up something fun for YOU to do.  So I'm going to rely on that old standby of:

What Genealogy Fun Have You Had This Week?"

September 21, 2013 is our Walking With Ancestors "Remembering the Iron Horse Era in Spokane" and as a guide this year I am to guide people to this monument where the remains of several railroad workers were buried after a big explosion killed them on September 6, 1890.

 

I did not know for sure where this monument was, just at the end of a dirt road near the hill, so I stopped by the cemetery on my way downtown going to the library. Took this horrible picture of the monument, and then went to the library and looked up the newspaper article on the explosion. So now all I need to do is dress up as a railroad worker and guide people to the monument.

 

Wordless Wednesday Flowers

Another photo from my great Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album

Wordless Wednesday In Front of Fence

Another photo from my great aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Wordless Wednesday Holding Baby

Two photos from my Great Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Saturday Night Fun Family Search Scavenger Hunt

Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!):

1) You're going on a scavenger hunt - for records of one of your relatives.  You can pick a relative who lived in the 1800 to 2000 time period.  A brother of one of your ancestors might be best (since males don't change their name).  Or the husband of a sister of your ancestor.  Tell us the name of your chosen relative. 

2)   Go to FamilySearch and search for records for that relative.  Start on the Search page - https://www.familysearch.org/search.  Search any way you want.   

Well I picked Robert Forsyth Kelly my great grandfather; he was married three times so very interesting. I found him in the 1860, 1870, 1900 and 1920 census.

The 1870 census of Ursa, Adams County, Illinois had a Lucretia Kelley, as a servant, I guess not a daughter, I had never heard of her before.
The 1900 census had my grandfather Charles R. Kelly age 10 and his mom Vada B. Kelly
The 1920 census had wife #2 Lillie D. Kelly 
I did not find the 1880, 1910 or 1930 Census for Robert.

Wordless Wednesday Sisors

Another photo from my great aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Saturday Night Fun Highlight of the Week

Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!):

1) What genealogy fun have you had this week?  What is your genealogy highlight of the week?  It could be attending the NGS conference, it could be finding a new ancestor, or it could be reading a new genealogy book, or anything else that you have enjoyed.

Well May 10th was the last day for the Spokane Public Library director Pat Partovi, she retired after 19 years with the Spokane Public Library. Eastern Washington Genealogical Society has been partnering with the Spokane Public Library since 1935 and it has been a good partnership.
I started volunteering at the library in 1993, because the library was in a temporary location in the old JC Penny's building and the genealogy section was right inside the east door. So many homeless people came in and sat in the genealogy section that they were recruiting men to volunteer in the evenings. In January of 1994 the new building opened up and Pat was the head of that new branch (actually it also houses all the administration and behind the scenes services). In 1998 I switched from being a gene helper in the library to doing research for others. Soon because of budget cuts they cut the hours of all the branches, and so about 2000 I started to go to the library board meetings to see what they were going to do next. About 2002 the library director retired and they did a search for a new library director, and soon we had a new library director, but she was offered a library job near her family and so she resigned. Pat became the interim library director, and they asked her if she was interested in the job full time, but since she had only been interim director a few days she said she was not sure. A couple of months later they asked her again and she said yes, so since 2003 Pat was the library director and I continued to go to the library board meetings, and even applied three times to be a library board member. Pat was always there encouraging me even though I never made it to the board. The mayor has the final say on who serves on the library board and they pick the top three to send to to the mayor. I was not picked by three different mayors over the years.  The next opening is in 2014 and I am not sure I will apply again. The library staff and library foundation threw Pat a retirement party on May 2 and I was invited, so thanks to all that thought of me.
So now the fun part; I asked if EWGS could give Pat something more than just a retirement card, and so with a little E-mailing we decided on a travel journal since Pat does like to travel. At our regular May 4th EWGS meeting we invited Pat and I had the privilege of presenting the gift near the beginning of the meeting and I also gave her a picture of two EWGS members passing books from the old Penny's building to the new library on the opening day of the new library, Pat's first day with the Spokane Public Library. The surprised look on Pat's face when I held up the gift for her is something I will never forget, thanks Pat, happy retirement.

Wordless Wednesday Setting on Lumber

Another photo from my great aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Wordless Wednesday Leaning Trees

Another photo from my Great Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo album.

Saturday Night Fun First Research Problem

Here is your assignment if you choose to play along (cue the Mission Impossible music, please!): 

1)  Think back to when you first started doing genealogy and family history research.  What was one of your first real research problems?  How did you attack the problem?  Did you solve the problem?  If so, how?  What lessons did you learn from this experience?


Well I knew next to nothing about either one of my grandmothers, I learned a lot about both grandfathers, my grandpa Kelly had a bible of his family and it went back several generations. We had a Hansen reunion and so I learned a lot about my grandpa Hansen, but next to nothing about his wife Anna Dillingham. So I found a Dillingham newsletter, and subscribed, and soon I found my Dillinghams were English Quakers and came to New England in 1630, bought a wonderful book called the Dillinghams of New England, it has a few errors, but mostly everything is correct.
I had asked my Grandma Kelly if all her family was Irish, and so when I started researching her I contacted the local gene society where she was born, and asked if they knew a very large Travis family, since my grandmother had 16 brothers and sisters but only 7 by her mom Donna Vanderpool. (Vanderpool is Dutch not Irish), the next 10 were by the second wife Bessie Keith who was Irish and so that is where my grandmother got that all her ancestors were Irish.
So I learned to contact a local gene society and look for newsletters researching a single surname. I actually subscribed to 7 or 8 surname newsletters at one time, but my subscribing seemed the kiss of death for newsletters as all but two quit soon after I subscribed, and now only one is left. I do research for our local gene society trying to pay back all the work I received when I was researching my grandma.

Wordless Wednesday Inside Old House

This is another photo from my Great Aunt Latisha Vanderpool's photo Album.

Class R-1 Mallet Steam Engine Built at Hillyard 1929

I was surprised by this postcard in the mail yesterday, actually a whole group of pictures of the Hillyard area. The Great Northern owned by James J. Hill built the largest railroad yard west of Minneapolis here in Spokane and the people called it Hills Yard, later Hillyard. They repaired cars and steam engines there and later even built a few steam engines, this is a picture of an R-1 Mallet built in Hillyard in 1929.