Presidents Officers



Official Publication Of

The Grants Pass Genealogical Society

SEPTEMBER 2011 VOL 9 ISSUE 7

Grants Pass Genealogical Society

P.O. Box 214

Grants Pass, OR 97528



Meetings held on the 2nd Tuesday

of each month (except July, Aug, Dec) at 1:30 PM at the

Josephine Community Library

200 NW “C” Street

Grants Pass, OR 97526

President

Celeste Guillory

541-471-1944

cacese36@

Vice-President

Linda Kent

541-592-3736

lindak@

Secretary & Web Master

Louise Ross

541-479-8739

weezee@

Treasurer

LaVona Ness

541-479-2027

dolaness@

Newsletter

Janis Seaton

541-474-4686

janisseaton@

Telephone Committee

Nada Dusslier

541-479-0141

Esther Snyder

541-476-6161

Marianne Gordon

541-471-2251

[pic] President’s Message

Now that summer is over, it’s time to hit the ground running and prepare for two local genealogy-related events …. the Grants Pass Family History Seminar on October 15th and the RVGS & GPGS sponsored October Workshop & Seminar scheduled for October 21 & 22 in Medford. Both events promise to be informative and worth your time and attention. I encourage you to attend at least one of these genealogical events in October.

I want to thank Janis Seaton, Barbara Johnson, Judy Leipold and LaVona & Don Ness for helping at the Courier Parking Lot Yard Sale in early August. It was a very enjoyable day for those who worked there that Saturday. It wasn’t too hot and we were finished by 3:00 PM. We met many nice people while Don Ness did free look-ups and we also made some money to help with future projects.

The following week LaVona and Don hosted the annual picnic, and we thank them for their hospitality. They opened their home to more than 20 people who attended the picnic that day. Janis Seaton, Carol Bray and Jeri Paradise won blue ribbons for special dishes they brought for the buffet table. The weather was perfect and there was plenty to eat as we got to know some new members and catch up with members who have been in the Club for many years.

Linda Kent has been on a research road trip and I’m anxious to hear what she was able to dig up during her two-month adventure while riding across America.

The Grants Pass Broadcasting Company, better known as KAJO 1270 AM Radio, will host speakers from GPGS on the Tuesday Morning Talk Show September 20th from about 9:35 until 10:30. Various topics will be discussed to promote our Club and genealogy activities planned for October. Any member wishing to join me that morning in the studio is welcome to help out. Remember these shows are archived each week at in case you miss the program when broadcast live that morning.

Members from the Nominating Committee will be contacting all of you in the next few weeks to encourage you to run for President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer of our Club. We have many new members who shouldn’t be shy about becoming an elected officer. New ideas, which come from new members, keep things interesting and benefit all our members.

See you at our next meeting on Tuesday September 13th at 1:30 at the Josephine Community Library. The Board of Directors meeting (the nuts and bolts business meeting) commences at 12:30 before the General Meeting.

Cheers,

Celeste Guillory

President, GPGS

Welcome New Members

We welcome our newest member Le raish. (Yes, that’s Lee with one “e” and Raish with a lower case “r”!) Le joined the GPGS at our last meeting in June. Le has been researching her family history for a long time, but we hope she gets a jump start from joining our group.

September Presentation

For our next meeting on September 13th, Don Ness has planned a fascinating look at what the Library of Congress has to offer to family history researchers. I took a quick look at their website () and learned that they are the ones behind the Chronicling America project (digitized old newspapers). They also have digital versions of some Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps. Then I tripped across a WPA project that captured the personal histories of various folks in America. I found it so interesting that I almost forgot to get back to producing the newsletter. One of the authors, writing during the 1930’s, described a previous “great depression” that had occurred in 1893. Another story dealt with the author’s family’s experience as slave owners in the state of Missouri. (Editor)

Getting to Know You

From time to time we introduce you to one or more of our new members. Their photos are included so that you can recognize them and make them feel welcome.

Patricia “Pat” Heumann moved to the Rogue Valley last year from Twentynine Palms, California following the death of her husband. Her son also lives in this area. Pat began pursuing genealogy after her father died in 1994. She was fortunate that her mother had been a great saver of documents, because her mother passed away within a year after her father.

Pat is researching the surnames Hyde, Demmert, Holtermann and Cowherd. An interesting fact about her family is that her great-great-grandfather was friends with Alexander Bell. According to Pat, he made one of his first telephones and his family were the first to sing and play music over the telephone lines.

Pat joined our group after learning about it at the Josephine County Historical Society where she volunteers. She enjoys the featured speakers and hopes to network with others in the group with similar research interests.

Another new member is Judy Leipold. Judy and her husband moved to Grants Pass in 2002 after retiring from jobs in Northern California. She heard about the Grants Pass Genealogical Society from Celeste Guillory.

Judy was introduced to genealogy by her sister-in law, an LDS member, about four years ago. Her sister-in-law kept sending Judy family information for years, but it was not until Judy retired and got her own computer that she also “caught the bug.” She has a list of surnames she is researching (including both her own and her husband’s ancestors), which we will print here in the hopes that someone else has a matching interest.

McVicker (California, Iowa, Pennsylvania, New York, Scotland/Ireland)

Kestler (California, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Germany)

Van Buskirk (New York, Illinois, Iowa, California)

Leipold (California, Arizona, Illinois, Australia, Germany)

Garratt (New York, Illinois)

Lackenby (New York, Illinois)

Faulkner (Canada, Illinois)

Dahlstrom (Sweden, Illinois)

Goffin (Sweden, Illinois)

Judy had a great-grandfather who was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Civil War, was active in community affairs in Iowa Falls, Iowa, and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR). He passed away in 1901, but there was no headstone marking his grave. Through the efforts of Judy’s brother and sister-in-law, her ancestor received his marker 108 years later, dedicated with full Memorial Day services in 2009.

Judy maintains a subscription to and has a Mac Family Tree, but she says she’s looking forward to chatting with other members of the GPGS and picking their brains, too.

Free Genealogy Webinars

Over the last few months, I have been enjoying watching free genealogy webinars from .

They are very informative, taught by experts in their fields, and have current topics. They are helpful for genealogists at all levels of expertise. They are on from 11-12:30 pm. (Pacific Time). To watch it live, you must make reservations ahead of time. At the end of each webinar, there is time for questions, and they even give out door prizes to the live listeners.

First, go to the link above, and in the upper right hand corner, “click here to register”. It will take you to the page that lists the webinars. In the upper right-hand corner of that page, click on Print and Share Our Webinar Brochure. As you make reservations for the webinars you wish to watch, put the letter “R” on the brochure you just printed out. You will also get e-mail confirmation.

If you are unable to watch a webinar live, it is still available free to watch for up to 10 days. One advantage of watching a webinar during that 10-day period, is that you can pause and restart as many times as you wish, in order to take notes. After that, it is available for purchase on DVD. Then there are a few webinars which stay available continuously. Enjoy!

Carol Bray

Fantastic Flea Market

On August 6th the GPGS participated in the Fantastic Flea Market hosted by the Daily Courier in their parking lot. This is a fundraiser for non-profit organizations that is held every year in August. We made $200.00 at this event. We thank Judy Leipold, Barbara Johnson, Celeste Guillory, Don & LaVona Ness and Janis Seaton for working at the booth, as well as many members who donated items to sell. We shared the booth with our friends from the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

Potluck Picnic

On August 9th the society held its annual picnic potluck at the home of Don and LaVona Ness. Our hospitable hosts provided a beautiful setting for the picnic with a choice of outdoor seating next to the duck pond or indoor comfort with an outdoor view. We do appreciate the time and effort they expended to make this a memorable event.

The theme of the potluck was to prepare a traditional family dish and bring the recipe for it. Awards were presented to Janis Seaton for Best Entrée, Jeri Paradise for Best Salad or Side Dish, and Carol Bray for Best Dessert. See the newsletter supplement for the winning recipes they shared with us, as well as a couple of bonus recipes.

Australian Kin?

Does anyone have kin who were sent to Australia from England? If you do, I have a fine article that was published in Smithsonian Magazine (July/August 2011) to share with you.

The English hoped to solve many problems by resettling tens of thousands exiled criminals in Australia. What the British defined as “criminal” in those days is speculative by today’s standards. Whether your kin went to Australia of their own accord or by court order, this article will provide some interesting background information for your records.

I’ll be happy to make you a copy of the article if you need one.

Celeste Guillory

Web Site News

has changed its name and focus, since its purchase by in September 2010. The new name is Fold3, a reference to the trifold of the U.S. flag, in keeping with the website’s emphasis on military documents. In addition to the military information, I’ve made good use of their extensive collection of digitized city directories.

Upcoming Events

Sep 10 “Break Down Brick Walls” at the Jackson County Genealogy Library. President Charleen Brown will lead a round table discussion. Bring your research question and a list of the sources you have already tried. 10:30 AM, 95 Houston Road, Phoenix.

Sep 13 Monthly meeting of Grants Pass Genealogical Society at 1:30 PM in the Ben Bones Room, Josephine Community Library, 200 NW “C” Street, Grants Pass. Speaker Don Ness will give a presentation on the great research possibilities at the Library of Congress.

Sep 14 Genealogy Week Presented by Klamath Basin Genealogical Society.

Thru Free classes on Wednesday & Thursday 7-9 PM, and either 2:30-4:30 PM

Sep 17 or 7-9 PM on Friday. All-day workshop $25 on Saturday. See website for details (). You can also find a copy of the flyer in the newsletter supplement.

Sep 20 General Meeting of the Rogue Valley Genealogical Society, at 1:30 PM, 2495 S. Pacific Highway, Medford. The speaker will be Russ Kautz on “Civil War Strategy and Leadership.”

Sep 26 Genealogy Week at Jackson County Genealogy Library.

Thru Free classes are offered at 10:30 AM and 1:00 PM each day, and free research

Oct 1 time is available before and after the classes. Look for this seminar announcement in the newsletter supplement.

Oct 11 Monthly meeting of Grants Pass Genealogical Society at 1:30 PM in the Ben Bones Room of the Josephine Community Library, 200 NW “C” Street, Grants Pass. Speaker Don Fairchild will do a presentation on British research.

Oct 15 Grants Pass Community Family History Fair.

Sponsored by the Family History Center, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. From 8:30 AM to 5 PM at 1969 Williams Highway, Grants Pass. Twenty-two different topics. FREE. See seminar announcement in the newsletter supplement for further details and registration form.

Oct 22 Graveyard Tours at 4 and 6 PM at the IOOF Cemetery, presented by the Josephine County Historical Society. More details to follow.

Oct 21-22 Joint seminar with Rogue Valley Genealogical Society, featuring Stephen P. Morse of One-Step Web Pages as featured speaker. Flyers have been distributed to GPGS members, and the information is posted on both groups’ websites. The early bird discount deadline is September 30th.

Nov 8 Monthly meeting of Grants Pass Genealogical Society at 1:30 PM in the Ben Bones Room, Josephine Community Library, 200 NW “C” Street, Grants Pass. Local historian and Grants Pass native, Jeanette Dickson, will speak about Bob Byrd and Byrd’s Market.

Dec 1 Deadline for submission of photos for the 2011 RVGS Ancestor Photo Contest. Winners will be announced at the January 17th General Meeting of RVGS.

Dec 7 Christmas Holiday Luncheon Buffet at 12:00 Noon at the Taprock Restaurant. Note that this will be on a Wednesday this year instead of on Tuesday.

Dec 17 Christmas at the Schmidt House (Josephine County Historical Society).

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