Coffin nails

Little white slavers

Dope sticks

Devil’s toothpicks

Satan sticks

Coffin pills

Little white devils.

These are names for cigarettes in the late 1800s and early 1900s. 

Residents of Washington State were so opposed to cigarettes that they passed a law, in March of 1893, prohibiting any person to “buy, sell, give away, or manufacture cigarettes or cigarette paper.”

This law, a first of its kind in the country, was struck down in the Federal Court four months later.  The Federal Court declared it unconstitutional on the grounds that it improperly restrained interstate trade. 

The anti-cigarette lobby did not give up – they got another prohibition bill introduced in the State Legislature in 1907 and that law passed as well.  Two years later the Legislature enacted an even more draconian law banning the mere possession of cigarettes and cigarette paper.

Washington State was not, however, alone in its concern for this unhealthy substance.  Fifteen states passed laws prohibiting sale and manufacture of cigarettes in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Even if they did not get a law passed, many other States, debated the topic. 

The Seattle P-I ran a satirical piece – an interview with Mr. Cigarette (“the attenuated friend of the undertaker”).  The cigarette was quoted as saying:  “I have learned to love the Puget Sound country. I have many close friends in Seattle. It is sad to part with them. I have become attached to scores of them, and it is a consolation to me to know that they will miss me.”

After it became clear that the law could not be enforced – too many violators – it was repealed in 1911.  That was the end of cigarette prohibition. 

To put this in context of the ‘Prohibition” that we are more familiar with – prohibition on alcohol –

Washington State passed a law prohibiting the sale and consumption of alcohol in 1916.  The rest of the country caught up with Washington State by passing the 18^th Amendment to the Constitution which prohibited the manufacture, sale and transportation of alcohol in 1920.

(Photo: Prohibition Agents destroying barrels of whiskey – Wikimedia Commons)

The 18^th Amendment was repealed by the 21^st Amendment in 1933. 

SOURCE:

Cigarette Prohibition in Washington, 1893-1911 – HistoryLink.org

 Karen Treiger is the author of the new book – Standing on the Crack: The Legacy of Five Jewish Families from Seattle’s Gilded Age.

Website: Homepage – Karen Treiger – Author

Her weekly blog about the history of Seattle and stories about her ancestors can be found here: Ancestry, Genealogy, Legacy, History: Stories of Five Jewish Families in Seattle

An Alabama woman’s discovery of a long-lost family heirloom, discovered gathering dust among items at a local thrift store, has led to an emotional reunion. To read the amazing story, click here: https://www.newsweek.com/woman-buys-thrift-store-painting-message-back-2090019

Note: The image on the right was created by Roxanne Lowe using ChatGPT.

Reprinted from Eastman’s On-line Genealogy Newsletter, May 13th 2025

Claims are now open for individuals impacted by DNA-tracking company 23andMe’s 2023 data breach, and we’ve got all the details about how to opt in and how much you might be able to get paid.

The San Francisco-based company, which allows people to submit genetic materials and get a snapshot of their ancestry, announced in October 2023 that hackers had accessed customer information in a data breach, but the company didn’t confirm the full extent of the incident until December. Around half of the company’s 14 million people saw their personal information exposed in the leak, which first began in April 2023. 

The lawsuit, filed in January 2024, accused 23andMe of not doing enough to protect its customers. It also accused 23andMe of not notifying certain customers with Chinese or Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry that their data was targeted specifically and spread on the dark web. The company opted to settle the suit for $30 million.

“We have executed a settlement agreement for an aggregate cash payment of $30 million to settle all US claims regarding the 2023 credential stuffing security incident,” a 23andMe spokesman told CNET. “We continue to believe this settlement is in the best interest of 23andMe customers, and we look forward to finalizing the agreement.”

Now, a few months on, there’s finally an official method available for you to make your claim and potentially get paid by 23andMe, in some cases as much as $10,000. Keep reading to get all the details you need, and for more, find out why T-Mobile settlement checks have been delayed and see if you’re able to claim a piece of Apple’s Siri privacy settlement.

How many people were affected by the 23andMe data breach?

The settlement could cover roughly 6.9 million 23andMe customers whose data was targeted in the leak. To qualify for the proposed settlement, 23andMe users must also have been a US resident on Aug. 11, 2023.

That 6.9 million number includes around 5.5 million users of 23andMe’s DNA Relatives profiles, which lets users find and connect with genetic relatives. The other 1.4 million people affected by the breach used another service known as Family Tree, which predicts a family tree based on the DNA users share with relatives, 23andMe said.

How much money could you get as part of the 23andMe settlement?

At the top end, 23andMe has said that it will pay out up to $10,000 with an “Extraordinary Claim” to users who can verify that they suffered hardships as a direct result of their information being stolen in the data breach that resulted in unreimbursed costs. This includes costs resulting from “identity fraud or falsified tax returns,” from acquiring physical security systems, or from receiving mental health treatment.

Residents of Alaska, California, Illinois and Oregon who were impacted by the breach can also apply for a payment as part of the proposed settlement, since those states have genetic privacy laws with damages provisions. The payments for these individuals are expected to be around $100, depending on how many people file for them, a settlement document said. 

Also, a smaller subset of affected users whose personal health information was impacted by the breach will be able to apply for a payment of $100.

Infographic credit: Gianmarco Chumbe/CNET; Background image: Jason Doiy/Getty Images

Will the settlement include anything else?

Beyond those payments, 23andMe will also offer impacted users three years of a security monitoring service called Privacy Shield, which filings described as providing “substantial web and dark web monitoring.”

How can I apply for the 23andMe settlement?

In order to file a claim electronically, you can do so using this official online portal from the Kroll Restructuring Administration. An additional online form is available if you would like proof of your claim sent to you.

Potential claimants can also download and print out hard copies of the claim form and proof of claim form if they wish to submit them by mail. If you’re planning to use this method, send your forms to one of the addresses listed on the official claims website. The deadline to make your claim is July 14.

Have you heard of Reclaim The Records? If not, you should.  According to their website, Reclaim The Records (RTR) is an activist group of genealogists, historians, researchers, and journalists that works to identify important genealogical record sets that are not online anywhere and not broadly available to the public. They use state Freedom of Information (FOIA) laws to force government agencies and archives to hand over copies of these records to the public, which RTR’s digitizes and puts online for free use. 

In 2018, RTR filed a FOIA suit for the Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) database against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. After numerous rejections and denials over the years, RTR finally won their lawsuit in 2020 and the records were handed over in 2022.

What is BRILS?

It’s possibly the largest public dataset of deceased U.S veterans, ever, with more than 18 million names, covering veterans who served from the late nineteenth century up through mid-2020. The Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) database was originally created and maintained by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It provides an index to basic biographical information on more than 18 million deceased American veterans who received some sort of veterans benefits in their lifetime, including health care, disability or life insurance policies, educational benefits (the GI Bill), mortgage assistance (VA loans), and more. The BIRLS database includes people who served in all branches of the U.S. military, including some branches that no longer exist, such as the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) and the Army Air Corps, as well as a few associated non-military groups and government agencies, such as NOAA. It even includes files for some non-US nationals, including veterans of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Scouts and Guerillas, who served prior to and during the Second World War.

How Do I Request Information?

RTR built and launched a searchable database for the materials to help people to get files from the government for their relatives and research interests. The records are now online and searchable at BIRLS.org. The site even includes a free Freedom of Information (FOIA) filing system to make it easier to request the records.

Writer’s note: I filed a FOIA request on behalf of my late father (Navy & Coast Guard) on 30 Mar 2025. I’m eagerly awaiting whatever is in his file. It was easy to request and I’m hoping for results in the next few weeks.

By now, you’ve probably heard that 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March 2025. As the company maneuvers through the bankruptcy process, including trying to find a buyer, customers may want to check out the following articles.

What the 23andMe Bankruptcy Means for your Data and Genealogy with Amy Johnson Crow (March 2025)

https://genealogybargains.com/turmoil-at-23andme/  with Thomas MacEntee (March 2025)

April 29, 2025 update: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/23andme-will-have-court-appointed-overseer-genetic-data-bankruptcy-2025-04-29/

The Everett Public Library is looking to find a new home for its set of 1972 Encyclopedia Judaica. It’s in excellent condition, and only one item is no longer in its decorative original binding. They have had no luck via the normal channels they use to move along items no longer in use, so they are reaching out to any local history-adjacent groups that might be interested. The library also has other materials related to the history of Washington State/the Pacific Northwest that are available to new homes if anyone would like to look at that list or be included in future offers. Local pick-up is preferred for these items, but in the case of the encyclopedia, the staff member originally in charge of finding a home for it said they would be willing to drive a bit to either deliver, or meet someone halfway. If shipping is preferred, they would need the requester to cover that cost they do not have a budget for that.