This is Part 1 of three parts of my article to summarize the presentation from Carol Buswell to my gene soceity, EWGS, last 7 April 2018;

Carol Buswell, from the National Archives at Seattle, was our afternoon speaker at our recent EWGS Spring Seminar. She was invited to teach us about the archives and how to find wanted records there.

Right off the bat she wanted us to know that “most generally, you do not search for a name in an archives; you search for a group of records pertaining to either the time period your person lived there, a geographic location,  or, perhaps to a government project or program he was involved with.” She really wanted us to realize that!

First off she asked did we know what a primary source was? We agreed that such are mostly documents created at or near the time of the event. “Well, she said, “ primary sources are what the archives collect.”  Such archives can be on the national, state, county or city level or they can be from companies, schools, historical societies, religious denominations, etc. But she was quick to point out the difference between public and private records and the National Archives collects only Federal Government-related, public records.

One slide Carol showed helped us to better understand:

Federal Agency Records are in the National Archives

State Agency Records are in the State Archives

County Agency Records are in the County Archives

City/Town Agency Records are in the City/Town Municipal Archives

A further explanation would be (hypothetically) rather like this, Carol explained. “Each agency holds records created since the inception of that agency.”

 *XYZ statehood date was 2 July 1820 so that state hold records FROM that date

• ABC county was set off on 15 Sep 1824 so that county holds records FROM that date
• EFG county was set off from ABC on 4 Mar 1830 so their records are FROM that date
• CITY-A was created on 22 Dec 1844 so their records are FROM that date
• CITY-B was set off from City-A on 5 Oct 1850 so their records are FROM that date

“Does that make sense to you?” Carol asked. “You cannot expect to find archival records from a time period when they did not have legal jurisdiction to gather records.”

NOTE: Please stay tuned for Parts 2 and 3 of my summary-article on Carol Buswell’s presentation to EWGS.

According to Wikipedia, the Shrimp Louie Salad originated in California….BUT if you were to come to Spokane and order that salad at the Davenport Restaurant you’d learn a different story! Here’s the scoop:

Chill out with some of Spokane’s best salads | The Spokesman-Review

Aug 23, 2017 – The Historic Davenport Hotel in the heart of downtown Spokane claims the Crab Louis salad as its own creation. The hotel has been serving the Louis, also spelled Louie, since it opened in 1914. According to the menu, its signature salad was “created and made famous a century ago for Louis Davenport …

Shrimp Louie – Wikipedia

Which are your favorite…… and why…… blue/white or yellow? Don’t we love these often first flowers of spring? Hummmm…. are there pink ones?

We here in Washington all recognize a Douglas Fir. But do we know who named that tree?? Reading a book on Perth, Scotland (hoping for ancestor information), p. 16-17 of “Perth & Kinross: The Big Country” by Jeremy Duncan, 1997, caught my eye. “The Douglas Fir was named after David Douglas who was born in Scone in 1799 and was the first to bring back to this country (Scotland) the seeds of that great tree.Well over 200 other plants wee introduced to European soil by Douglas including the Sitka spruce, the flowering currant…… and a host of others. He is commemorated by a tall memorial erected in 1841 in the grounds of Scone Old Church. A panel on the reverse lists some of the hundreds of plants he discovered.”

Surprise your friends with your newly-learned trivia info about our Washington state Douglas Fir!

Some tombstone inscriptions from the 18th century that I found in a book on Rattray Parish, Perthshire, Scotland: This one was 1754.

“Remember man impartial fate knocks at the cottage and the palace gate.

Life’s span forbids these to extend thy cares and stretch thy hopes beyond thy years.

Night soon will seize and you must go to frightful ghosts and dismal shades below.”

“Not gone from memory nor from love

but to our Father’s home above.”

“We loved them much, we loved them well.

We loved them more than tongue can tell.

God loved them too and thought it best

To take them home with Him to rest.”

Have you given any thought to what thoughts/words you’d want inscribed onto your tombstone?

Parnell, Washington, founded on 6 Aug 1889, on a site about 1/2 mile south of Hartline. Ever heard of it???

Even Grandma Google couldn’t find anything on this bitsy place! Seems it’s been forgotten? (There were several hits for folks named Parnell Washington, oddly enough.)

Parnell was established because of the need to survey the line for the railroad…..which failed to materialize. So the hopeful founding fathers, Brower & Reeves, moved their merchandise store from Parnell to Hartline and indeed, the Northern Pacific Railroad did come through Hartline a bit later. The town of Hartline was named by John Hartline on 28 Jul1890.

Anybody in WSGS have an ancestral connection to Parnell or even Hartline???

Prospective parents ponder long and hard to find just the right name for their baby. This is true today and it certainly must have been true yesterday. In our genealogy we often “fuss” when Richard Allen-1 names his son Richard Allen-2 and then comes Richard Allen-3, and so on. But we raise our eyebrows equally high to find some downright (          ) (you fill in the blank!!) first names. I say odd, unusual, seemingly crazy and hard to spell much less pronounce.

Did you read where Kanye West and Kim Kardashian have three children named, North (girl), Saint (boy) and now Chicago (girl). Those dear children will never find their name on a doodad.

Yesterday first-naming a baby was no different. Cases in point:

Nicholas, King of the Jews……….. a baby boy in 1870 in Tennessee.

Alabama, Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia, all big sisters to baby brother Northwest Territory, another census finding.

What crazy-odd-funny-unusual first names are found in your family tree?

(Thanks to Google and “meandmason” blog on WordPress.)

The Pennsylvania Dutch, which as “everybody” knows were not “Dutch” but German folks, had a droll sense of humor according to The Pennsylvania Dutch, by Fredric Klees, 1950. They loved bad riddles:

What kind of stones are found in water?    Wet ones.

On which side does a dog have most hair?  The outside.

Why do farmers build pigsties next to the barn? For the pigs.

Here’s the best one cited by the author:

What is as white as snow, as green as grass, as red as blood, and as black as a hat?   A black cherry!

If your ancestry includes Pennsylvania Dutch folks, this book is a must-read for background understanding.  (Found it on Amazon for $26.00.)

According to that eminent authority, Sunday’s Parade Magazine, American love their “comfort food.” And each state has its favorites:

Alabama: BBQ Chicken                          Alaska:  Smoked Salmon Chowder

Arizona:  Chimichangas                          Arkansas: Biscuits/Choco. Gravy

California: Ramen                                     Colorado:  Chile Verde

Connecticut: Steamed Cheeseburgers   Delaware: Scrapple

Florida: Cuban Sandwich                        Georgia: Peach Cobbler

Hawaii:  Saimin                                          Idaho:  Finger Steaks

Illinois:  Deep Dish Pizza                          Indiana: Pork Tenderloin Sand.

Iowa: Maid-Rite Sandwich                       Kansas: Chicken Fried Steak/Msh’d

Louisiana:  Gumbo                                     Maine: Lobster Roll

Maryland: Crab Cakes                                Massachusetts: Clam Chowder

Michigan: Pasties                                       Minnesota:  Hotdish

Mississippi:  Tamales                                Missouri: Toasted Ravioli

Montana: Huckleberry Pie                       Nebraska: Runzas

Nevada:  Thai Rood                                  NH:  Apple Cider Donuts

New Jersey: Trenton Tomato Pie           New Mexico: Breakfast Burritos

New York: Buffalo Wings                        No. Carolina: Pulled-Pork BBQ

North Dakota: Knoephia                          Ohio: Cincinnati Chili

Okilahoma: Onion Burgers                     Oregon: Mac & Cheese

Penn:  Philly Cheesecake                         Rhode Island: Doughboys

So. Carolina: Shrimp & Grits                   South Dakota: Chislic

Tennessee: Hot Chicken                           Texas: Smoked Brisket

Utah: Funeral Potatoes                             Vermont: Blueberry Panckes

Virginia: Brunswick Stew                         Washington: Cedar Planked Salmon

W. Virginia: Pepperoni Roll                    Wisconsin: Deep-Fried CheeseCurds

Wyoming: Bison Meatloaf

Do you agree with Parade Magazine’s choice for YOUR home state? Some of those things I’ve never heard of………… some I’ve made and loved….. like Cincinnati Chili. But tamales for Mississippi?? Surprise, surprise. If you can believe Parade. 

We do love to talk endlessly about the weather….. too rainy, too hot, too cold and definitely too snowy. How about two feet of snow in one month? In Western Washington!

This bit was from the Tacoma News Tribune for 9 Feb 1929 but hearkened back to “1834 Was Year Of Real Snow on Sound.”

Dupont, Wash……. Feb 9th….. Inhabitants of the Puget Sound county “haven’t seen anything yet,” in spite of the shattering of records during the present cold snap. If history repeats itself, look back to January, 1834, the first year of the Hudson’s Bay Trading Company. An old diary kept by the factor of the fort discloses that on January 14th, it “snowed heavily.” Then on the 15th it again “snowed heavily.” On the 16th, “it snowed much of the day and much during the night.” The snow was two feet deep on the 18th; the 19th and 20th were repetitions of the 18th. Snow and very cold weather prevailed for eight successive days.

Then came thawing and rains and wind which “all but wrecked the palisades and buildings of the fort.” This type of weather prevailed until Feb 16th when another foot of snow fell which was repeated on the 17th and 18th. It was impossible to continue any sort of work. Cutting firewood seemed to be the only occupation.

And we shut down with barely six inches of the white flakes! Were our ancestors hardier than us? I wonder……………