Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.
Today we’re introducing Christine Schomaker of Kenmore, Washington, who was nominated by the Seattle Genealogical Society.
Christine is the Swiss army knife of the Seattle Genealogical Society. Over the past 20 years, Christine has been treasurer, library director, operations director (three times!), and is starting her sixth year as membership director.
She is always willing to help out with just about anything SGS needs done, and has been the de facto SGS registrar for anything that involved registrations, including seminars, SGS’s online courses and managing the over 600 alumni of the Certification Discussion Group.
At the in-person seminars, Christine and her husband Eric were regulars in moving the sales items over to the seminar venue (and back!). She assumed the responsibility of sitting at the sales desk and handled all the monetary transactions.
Having served so much time on the SGS board, Christine is a key part of the society’s corporate memory, which is an important thing to have in these days of transition.
For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award” in the subject line.
Without dams and locks the Mississippi River would be un-navigable to ships and barges and the states along the river would be continually flooded and their boundaries changed by the meandering river. Locks and dams are vital to travel and commerce on the Mississippi.
There are 28 locks between St. Paul and St. Louis; there are none below St. Louis. The Mississippi River falls 450-feet between those two cities. Most locks are really shallow, under eleven feet. The largest/deepest lock is at Keokuk, Iowa and is 38-feet deep. (The Mississippi is not a very deep river.)
The top photo (from Google) shows a dam and lock. As we approached a lock during the night (and this was often the case above St.Louis), the area was flooded with light for navigating into these narrow channels. This maneuver takes knowledge and skill. The ship enters; the gates behind the ship close; the area fills with river water and when the ship is raised or lowered to the desired level, the front gate is open and the ship proceeds. Not just ships but these HUGE barges too. All us passengers stood on deck (during the day) and watched; it was fascinating.
The lower photo shows how close we were to the lock walls….that’s my hand reaching out. Illegally, as I found out later.
DNA Doesn’t Lie, but Needs Help to Find the Truth! — a presentation by Debbie Smith sponsored by the Clallam Genealogical Society Saturday, April 15th at our 10:30 am meeting.
DNA is a valuable tool for use in genealogic research for providing the proof of a genetic relationship. However, it does not stand alone. Documentary research is needed to confirm genealogic relationships. This lecture will demonstrate how pairing DNA discoveries with research can strengthen your conclusions.
Debbie Smyth holds a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University. Her research and lectures focus on DNA, methodology, lineage society applications, and midwestern and southern states.
The meeting will be available through Zoom. One can obtain the Zoom meeting number and passcode by calling CCGS Tuesday through Friday — 10am to 4pm, or Saturday — noon to 4pm. The phone number is 360-417-5000.
The program will also be presented at the CCGS Research Center located at 403 E. 8th Street in Port Angeles, WA.
There is no cost to attend this meeting and presentation.
For more information visit our website: www. clallamcogs.org.
DNA Doesn’t Lie, but Needs Help to Find the Truth! — a presentation by Debbie Smith sponsored by the Clallam Genealogical Society Saturday, April 15th at our 10:30 am meeting.
DNA is a valuable tool for use in genealogic research for providing the proof of a genetic relationship. However, it does not stand alone. Documentary research is needed to confirm genealogic relationships. This lecture will demonstrate how pairing DNA discoveries with research can strengthen your conclusions.
Debbie Smyth holds a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University. Her research and lectures focus on DNA, methodology, lineage society applications, and midwestern and southern states.
The meeting will be available through Zoom. One can obtain the Zoom meeting number and passcode by calling CCGS Tuesday through Friday — 10am to 4pm, or Saturday — noon to 4pm. The phone number is 360-417-5000.
The program will also be presented at the CCGS Research Center located at 403 E. 8th Street in Port Angeles, WA.
There is no cost to attend this meeting and presentation.
For more information visit our website: www. clallamcogs.org.
We all share a passion about tracing our ancestors.
Over seven years ago I decided to work to attain the credential of Certified Genealogist from the Board for Certification of Genealogists. It wasn’t easy but in January 2017 I achieved my goal. At that time there was one other person with the credential in the entire state of Washington. Washington now has 7 certified genealogists! However, all of them are from western Washington.
I know there are very competent genealogists in Washington; I know there are many who would like to improve their genealogical skills and to see if they are doing it “right.” Perhaps they haven’t heard of the program or perhaps they have heard about it and dismissed it.
I would like to offer to your society to give (yes, free) a presentation to your membership about certification and why it might benefit them. Certainly, armed with knowledge they could decide not to pursue the credential. That is fine. It is not the goal to turn everyone into a CG; it is the goal to make sure everyone makes a knowledgeable decision.
Yes, I run the Certification Discussion Group series out of Seattle GS and it is a resource some might find helpful, but it is certainly not a requirement for applying as two of the seven can attest.
If you are interested in a free presentation on certification to your group, please contact me at jkmorelli@gmail.com so we can find a mutually convenient time.
I hope to hear from you soon.
This offer is made to any genealogical society who would like to know more about certification.
Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.
Stephanie joined GSSWI in 2007, and soon volunteered to serve as director of publicity on the board of directors. She then worked fervently to expand and advertise the society’s educational programs in all modes possible.
Stephanie next stepped forward and assumed our program director position and since then has been applying her amazing talents to securing speakers for GSSWI’s monthly programs. Additionally, Stephanie oversees the December social which is one of the society’s highlights each year.
But one of the more important reflections about Stephanie lies in the kind way she approaches members. Her interest is always in matching members’ genealogical needs with excellent speakers, and she reaches out through surveys and personal invitations to members to express their topical interests to her. She then begins the arduous task of finding speakers to address member requests. GSSWI is extremely grateful and appreciative of Stephanie’s continuing dedication, leadership, and many contributions to their society.
For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award” in the subject line.
Nauvoo, Illinois, at 2:00am; I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and I did SO want to see Nauvoo and hopefully the Nauvoo Temple. I was blessed to be on the correct side of the ship and to wake up just in time to see the shining lights of the Nauvoo Temple. One of the small “warm fuzzies” that happened on this wonderful trip.
I naively imagined that there would be towns or cities or ports or LIGHTS all along the river. Not so at all. Since Mother Nature is in control of the meandering Mississippi, the channels are like braided ribbons, miles wide. Because of this, nothing permanent is built right on the river’s banks. Made sense. So it was pitch-black-dark at night most of the way. (Except when, above St. Louis, we would enter a lock at night and everything was brightly lighted.)
The Mississippi flows just under 1800 miles from St. Paul to New Orleans, and falls 450’ in elevation from St. Paul to St. Louis; the 28 locks and dams on the upper river (above St. Louis) were constructed to control the river and keep the water where farmers needed and wanted it. Most of the locks are quite shallow, under 11’. Exception is the one at Keokuk at 38’. Some 60% of American exported grain comes down the Mississippi. One barge can carry more than 70 trucks or 16 train cars; by water is the most efficient way to ship grain. In October 2022, we saw barges half empty so as to rise higher above the bottom and not get stuck.
The Mississippi is really many rivers in one. First part is the headwaters above St. Paul; no boats allowed on this part. Next is the St. Paul to St. Louis, with those 28 dams and locks. Third is St. Louis to Cairo (KAY-row); fourth is Cairo to Baton Rouge. Last is the Baton Rouge to New Orleans section of the river. Our teacher that day characterized the lower Mississippi as a “huge parking lot of ships and barges with a stream running through it.”
Those states having boundaries along the Mississippi have seen their boundaries changed over the years due to three factors: (1) Mother Nature, ribboning the river all across the miles wide area between the hills; (2) Corps of Engineers working since 1824 to control the river and straighten out crooked or tight bends; (3) Civil War.
Do you know who’s running the show at the Washington State Genealogical Society? Who are these people? In the coming months, we’ll introduce them to you, so you can say “hi” the next time you see them. (Note: a variation of Charles’s story was published in October 2017.)
Blog Master Charles Hansen
In today’s “Meet the Board” series, we’re introducing you to Charles Hansen from Spokane. Charles is WSGS’s Blog Master, as well as chair of the Resource Guide Project. He is a longtime member of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society where he serves as their Registered Agent, email chair, chief researcher (since 1998), head of library volunteers and one of their bloggers.
We know him as Charles, but he was born Charles Michael Hansen and called “Mike” by his family for as long as he can remember – probably to avoid confusion with his maternal grandfather Charles Rupert Kelly after whom he was named. His middle name honored his paternal grandfather Anton Mikkel Hansen.
Born in Spokane, Charles graduated from Washington State University in Pullman in 1971. For many years, he’s been an “Enrolled Agent,” someone considered by the IRS to be the equivalent of a CPA – able to do examinations, collections and appeals. In case you were wondering, the name Enrolled Agent came about soon after the Civil War when Enrolled Agents were authorized by the government to fill out paperwork for the veterans and families of the veterans for benefits provided by the government.
Charles and his grandfather Charles Kelly, Aunt Mayme McMichael and his grandmother Cleo Kelly
Charles became interested in genealogy back in 1990 after he and his sister Jacque decided to hold a family reunion. They started looking for their Hansen relatives – not an easy task considering that Charles and Jacque have more than 100 second cousins! After corresponding with their Dad’s first cousin Lorraine Erickson, a Family History Center volunteer in Arizona, Lorraine sent them a group sheet — something Charles and Jacque had never seen before! Lorraine suggested they send blank group sheets with the reunion packets. Imagine their surprise when they got 350 family group sheets back! They dutifully typed the information into a program called the “Enhanced Family Tree” and printed a book for everyone that came to the reunion.
That started the ball rolling. Wanting to find out more about their family, they took a beginning genealogical course through the local community college taught by Donna Potter-Phillips, past president of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society — and WSGS Vice President. She encouraged Charles and Jacque to join EWGS and the rest is, well…history.
A tip from Charles: I didn’t record who sent me each group sheet, so for the first 500 names in my genealogical file today most have no sources, but I do have the hard copy group sheets. Also the Enhanced Family Tree program did not have the ability to save data as a GEDCOM so when I switched to a better program, I had to retype all the data I had.
Charles and Jacque recently returned from a road trip to visit family and the Montana State Genealogical Society conference in Missoula to hear Judy Russell and Amy Crow. Charles has also visited Minnesota where the five original Hansen brothers settled. He’s also got ancestors from Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky, New England, Denmark, England, Scotland and Germany.
When Charles isn’t blogging on the WSGS Blog (or his own blog http://charles-mikkelshus.blogspot.com/), researching at the county courthouse, volunteering at EWGS or doing his own genealogy, he’s out in his garden puttering here and there.
More trivia about Charles:
His favorite color is blue.
His favorite dessert is ice cream.
His most used genealogy website is the Washington State Digital Archives – where he’s transcribed over 568,000 records — 568,650 to be exact!
He says the single word that best describes him is “introvert.”
Now you know a little more about one of the WSGS Board members. The next time you see Charles, say hello and thank him for his service to the WSGS.
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