2015 Annual Meeting Highlights including New President and Vice President

The TriCity Genealogical Society had its Annual Meeting at the Isla Bonita Mexican Restaurant on November 11, 2015. A recap of the year was provided by reports of various Chairpersons. The 2016 approved budget was announced, and a change to the By-Laws was discussed and unanimously approved. The By-Law change changed our due structure to no longer have prorated dues. It was announced that starting in January 2016 TriCity Genealogical Society meetings will be held at Charbonneau Retirement Center.

The highlight of the meeting was the distribution of awards. President, John Covey, gave Certificates of Recognition to members who worked on the “Traveling Through Time” seminar that was held in September. Certificates were given to Walt Wood, Sandra Floberg, Bill Floberg, Janis Littlefield, Mary Kay Walker, Margaret Dunn, Art Kelly and Lawrence Clay. Jean Alexander, Gigi Bare, and Susan Davis Faulkner will also be receiving certificates for their work on the seminar but were not present at the Annual Meeting. Certificates of Appreciation for work on the library renumbering project were given to Dan Metzger and Linda Stephens. Mike McKinnon and Veronica Anguiano will also be receiving certificates for their work on the library renumbering project but were not present at the meeting. Special recognition was given to Margie Beldin and Veronica Anguiano for the Washington State Genealogical Society Outstanding Volunteer Awards that were presented to them at the Washington State Genealogical Society Conference in June.

As the business of 2015 was brought to an end new officers were elected by unanimous decision. The TriCity Genealogical Society President will be Walt Wood and the Vice President will be Bill Floberg. Walt Wood is bringing fresh ideas and energy to the Society and we are excited to catch his vision for the future. Bill Floberg has served the Society for many years as the Membership Chairperson, along with various as-needed jobs. We are honored to have him step up to this new position.

Walt Wood - TCGS President

Bill Floberg - TCGS Vice President

Other new Committee Chairpersons are Lawrence and Corliss Clay as Membership Chaircouple and Cody Allen as the Finance and Budget Chairperson. All other positions will continue with their previous leadership and are: Secretary, Mary Kay Walker; Treasurer, Margaret Dunn; Librarian, Sandra Floberg; Website and Publications, Janis Littlefield; Research, Veronica Anguiano; and Publicity, Susan Davis Faulkner.

We look forward to what this new blend of old and new Board Members will bring to the TriCity Genealogical Society. If you have ideas or questions, please don’t hesitate to let them be known.

~For pictures of the 2015 Annual Meeting go to the TriCity Genealogical Society Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TriCityGenealogicalSociety ~

We Are All Winners in the October Archived Document Contest

The Archived Document Contest is a monthly contest to showcase what can be found when we explore beyond what is available online. Those that enter the contest share what they have discovered, how they have discovered it, and how it relates to their family history research. In October we learned that there are methods to get information when the records are not available. We also got insight into fascinating aspects of some ancestor’s personalities that were revealed when researchers explored past indexes and transcriptions.

John Covey shared with us that his request for his aunt’s birth certificate was denied because he was not a direct descendant. What he received from the Tennessee Office of Vital Records instead of a birth certificate was an extraction of the information that the official document contained. This included the date, time, and location of his aunt’s birth along with detailed information about her parents and their background. We always want original records but when they are restricted there are often other ways to obtain juicy tidbits of information.

Linda Stephens provided a copy of her grandmother’s marriage certificate. The original document had holes in it caused by an eraser where the ages of the bride and groom were once recorded. By looking at the original document it was obvious that the 28-year age difference must have been a concern to someone.

Margie Stein Beldin entertained us with her story of her research trip to Scotland. After days of looking for information about her great-grandfather she hit a goldmine on the last day of her trip. She had poured through many collections at the UK National Archives before it was suggested that she visit the Scots Guard Barracks archivist. She was presented with a huge file folder of information pertaining to her great-grandfather. Included in the folder were his enlistment and discharge records which included his birth date and place, parents’ names, and religion. In addition to the information she expected to find she also was provided with his physical description, his health history, and reports of his drunken behavior.

Loren Schmid educated us with his research report disproving a family legend about his great-aunt’s father-in-law. This man was said to have been so tall that he hit his head on a barn while riding a horse and that he had sustained an injury that gave him a mental disorder. Searching through various Civil War military records, vital records, historical biographies, and even grave markers Loren ascertained that this man was actually 5 foot 2 inches and died of senility contributed to by arteriosclerosis.

We can all claim to be winners in this month’s contest. The examples and lessons learned provide us with an astounding amount of information to let us know that personalities of our ancestors are recorded and can be found when we leave the Informational Highway titled the Internet. The judges had plenty of material to consider before making the decision on which of the entries would win the TriCity Genealogical Society membership which was the prize for the October contest. They finally concurred that Loren Schmid and his discovery of his great-aunt’s height-challenged father-in-law was the winner. Loren was honored at the TriCity Genealogical Society Annual Meeting with a certificate stating that he had won an annual membership. Loren stated that since he had already paid his 2016 dues he would like for the money slated for the prize to be donated to the Wreaths Across America project. More information about this project can be found at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org

Loren Schmid accepting certificate for winning
October Archived Document Contest
 from John Covey, President

November’s contest is underway. Enter your story for an opportunity to win a free 2-hour consultation with Stories to Tell Books. Stories to Tell Books assist authors in any and all steps necessary to publish manuscripts.  Need some technical advice? Want an editor to look over your work? Check out Stories to Tell Books at www.storiestotellbooks.com.  Better yet, submit your entry to the November Archived Document Contest. Upload a family history related document to the TriCity Genealogical Society Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TriCityGenealogicalSociety Include how you obtained the document, which can be any method other than downloading from the Internet. Also explain how it pertains to your research. All monthly winners will be entered into a separate and special contest for the Annual Archived Document Contest with prizes to Ancestry.com and Findmypast.com