(4/23/2008)
Photographs courtesy of Cathy Merrill Paris.
(4/20/2008)
Another CGS Tour to Salt Lake City came to a close on Saturday night with the annual dinner at Lamb’s Grill. Special guest and CGS member, Steve Danko, took time out from the United Polish Genealogical Societies Biennial Conference to join us.
President Jane Lindsey thanked all of the participants and gave an overview of the upcoming society events. Before the annual group photograph was taken, several members shared their research success stories.
Jane was doing the genealogical happy dance after finding the marriage record of Magdelena GERTH and Valentine HUND in Renchen, Germany.
Mother-daughter team, Penny Pollock and Faith Hazelton have attended the SLC trip for all eight years. Penny got closer to proving a Mayflower line through George SOULE; Faith proved one last year.
Mary White Limosner, equipped with new knowledge obtained during the Eastern European Research Workshop, finally had success finding her BUDNICK family in Polish records.
Arlene and Ted Miles enjoyed their first trip and found information on their Brooklyn ancestors and Ted’s Kentucky MILES family.
Rick Sherman was finding elusive Danes online in his hotel room.
Pat Smith and Laura Spurrier took advantage of the Danish talks offered this week at the Family History Library. Pat applied the knowledge to her Swedish ancestor Johan WIDMAN and found a probate record from the late 1700s.
Betty Barnard Walker found her BIERMANN ancestor in German passenger records from the mid-nineteenth century.
Bill O’Neil finally found the documentation he needed for his French Canadian DRINKWINE/BOIVIN and MITCHELL/MICHAUDs.
And last but not least, Cathy Paris and CGS librarian, Laura Spurrier, discovered that they are MERRILL sixth cousins.
SLC Tour group 2008(4/18/2008)
One hundred two years ago today, at 5:12 a.m., the earth shook in San Francisco and Sarah E. Phillips was “awaked by a most dreadful earthquake.” Thus began a series of letters Sarah wrote to her fiancé in Schenectady, New York, chronicling the days and weeks of the aftermath.
Almost one hundred years later, a ribbon-bound packet of forty faded letters, still in their original envelopes, was found in a misplaced box at the California Genealogical Society, with little to identify the writers or explain how the letters came there.
Author Dorothy Fowler, a researcher and long-time volunteer at the society, happened to be on hand when the letters turned up. She took on the challenge of researching and editing the letters and was the sole author of a book published by the society to coincide with the earthquake centennial. The vast number of hours required in researching and writing the book were contributed by her to the society.
Dorothy is a gifted writer with long experience in various publications. Much of her work life was spent in research, writing and administrative jobs, mainly for the state of California. She is now retired and lives in San Francisco.
Two years ago when promoting the book, Dorothy was a guest of radio personality John Rothmann on his KGO Radio 810 AM talk show. Dorothy did several readings from A Most Dreadful Earthquake: A First-Hand Account of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake and Fire before Rothmann closed with these remarks:
“I’m going to tell you that every April 18th, for as long as I live, I’m going to pick up your book, and I’m going to re-read it. And the reason I’m going to re-read it is because of the vivid, powerful expressions. You’ve given us a great gift… and you’ve preserved history. And for that we are all very grateful, Dorothy.”
We are indeed. Mr. Rothmann, have you done your reading this year?
