With the blessing and permission of the Washington State Genealogical Society board, I get to start a new blog posting! Thursday Query will be the title and for this feature to be worthwhile, I shall rely on YOU to submit your query to me for this feature. Here’s the criteria:

1. Send it to Donna243@gmail.com
2. Make sure to include a name, a date and a place.
3. Limit this to queries about Washington history and/or ancestors.
4. Submit a photo if you have one.
5. Please know I reserve the right to edit the query.
6. Queries won’t be posted every Thursday unless I have them!

So on to the first one! I found this wonderful photo in Apple Annie’s Antique Gallery in Cashmere, Washington.

The stamp on the frame says, “Grams, Minot, N.D.” Handwritten across the bottom is ‘Bertha and Gus Monesmith.”

I did some looking on Ancestry, and found a 1920 marriage record for Gus Monesmith from Wenatchee, and Laura Belle Branin, also of Wenatchee. I also found (on Ancestry) an obituary: “Gus Monesmith, age 86, born in North Dakota, came to Wenatchee in 1904, in 1920 he married Laura Branin. He left a son, Thomas Monesmith, Scotts Bluff, NE;  three daughters, Nellie Reeves, Marion Gossman, and Mildred Travis, all of Wenatchee. So who is/was Bertha???

Would love to return this photo to a descendant if I can find one!