Tuesday's Meeting will Discuss DNA!

Why DNA?  Do you come up empty about DNA when it comes to a simple understanding of this great new genealogical tool?

Come to our meeting this coming Tuesday night:
 12 February 2013 6:30 PM at Willard Library – Bayard Room on the Second Floor.  

Kenneth “Ken” E. Nowlan, Jr. will present a very interesting program on “Making Sense of DNA: How Can It Assist Genealogical Research.”  How many of you have found people in your genealogical research and wondered if they were related, but could not find any proof. In today’s world there is a way to find that answer using DNA. We see on the news and on crime shows how DNA helps find the bad guys. Now you can find out how to use that technology in your research.  Ken earned his Bachelors Degree from Indiana University and his Masters Degree from University of Pennsylvania. He became a Certified Genealogist (SM) from the Board for Certification of Genealogists, he is the Project Administrator for DNA Surname Project on FamilyTreeDNA and is a Member of Tri-State Genealogical Society.

You do not have to be a member to come and participate at the society’s monthly meetings.

TSGS Meeting Tonight!

Tri-State Genealogical Society
Meeting Tonight!

When: Tuesday 9 October 2012 - 7:00 PM
Where: Willard Library - 2nd. Floor
What: Monthly Meeting & Program

A drawing for an attendance prize will be awarded at the close of the meeting... you must be present to win.

The Tri-State Genealogical Society will have a brief business meeting with a short presentation from Willard Library's Director, Greg Hager, followed by our program:

“Bio-Terrorism-Biological Warfare in the Revolutionary War” by TSGS President Don Counts.

This is a program you will not want to miss. We usually think of Biological warfare as something that happens or could happen in modern warfare. Our ancestors suffered biological attacks.

We will be looking forward to seeing you at the meeting and enjoying a very interesting and entertaining program.

You do not have to be a member to come and enjoy the society’s monthly meetings.

- Posted by TSGS President Don Counts

TSGS Meeting Notice

TSGS (Tri-State Genealogical Society)
Meeting Notice!

When: Tuesday 9 October 2012 - 7:00 PM
Where: Willard Library - 2nd. Floor
What: Monthly Meeting

A drawing for an attendance prize will be awarded at the close of the meeting... you must be present to win.

The Tri-State Genealogical Society will have a brief business meeting followed by our program:

“Bio-Terrorism-Biological Warfare in the Revolutionary War” by President Don Counts.

This is a program you don’t want to miss. We usually think of Biological warfare as something that happens or could happen in modern warfare. Our ancestors suffered biological attacks.

We will be looking forward to seeing you at the meeting and enjoying a very interesting and entertaining program.

You do not have to be a member to come and participate at the society’s monthly meetings.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This time of the year, weather conditions may cause the society to cancel meetings... the decision to cancel usually is determined the day of the meeting, providing short notice. Since a bad weather system may develop later in the day (or that night), check our blog (http://tsgsblog.blogspot.com/) for cancellation notice or call Willard Library (812-425-4309).

Don Counts,
TSGS President

From the Firdt Mate's Photo Album - Willard Library

Very Large Portrait

of George Washington

with Horse

Hangs midway on the stairs to the second floor.

 

This photo and excerpts below are from the Willard Library website: Washington's Portrait. [Click on the link to the left for this photo and story.]

This copy of Gilbert Stuart’s “George Washington at Dorcester Heights” (which hangs at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts) is believed to have been painted by William Edward West.

The painting has been with Willard Library since its opening, but how it came to the Library was a mystery until 1954.

At that time, Julia Evans Stephens Shea, a resident of Hollywood, California, and descendent of General Robert M. Evans, was visiting Evansville. During her stay, she read a newspaper article by Bish Thompson on the cleanup and minor restoration of the painting.

Shea was the only living heir to the painting in 1954, and she determined it should be left on display at Willard Library. It hangs there today.

Willard Library Director Greg Hager told me an interesting story about this painting that maybe I will be able to get him to share on this blog!  My middle son, JJ, who just turned 37 lives in Cincinnati and asked me about this painting that he remembers as an 8 or 9 year old.

Photographs of Willard Library, 1948

• Click to view enlarged image.

J. Paul Wurtz is the photographer of these Willard Library images, taken in 1948.

Reading Table and Bench

• Click to view enlarged image.

The reading table and bench from Columbia school were a gift from Mrs. Sam Warren.

Willard Library and Other Notable Buildings of Evansville

• Click to view enlarged image.

The depictions of Willard Library and other notable buildings of Evansville are from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper, October 12, 1889.

- Compiled by JGWest

TSGS Meeting Report

 

TSGS Meeting

Willard Library

Bayard Room

11 Sep 2012

 

 

 

Since this was 911 Patriot's Day, President Don Counts brought in his "Flag of Honor" with all of the names of those killed in the 911 attack in New York.  The names are used to make the stripes.  Vice-President John G. West helped Don show the flag at the meeting.  With about 30 people present the Bayard Room was a little crowded.

Earlier in the meeting, Special Collections Director Lyn Martin gave the library report mentioning up-coming events and informed the society that due to costs and security, all patrons needed to be out of the building no later than 8PM.  Since we have been meeting at 7PM this put pressure on us to get everything in and adjourn the meeting before 8 O'Clock.

The Finance Committee with approval of the TSGS Board of Directors proposed the 2012-2013 Budget which was accepted by the membership.

Indiana Bones presented his "Cemetery Stories" for the program.  The program was cut short in order to be out by 8PM.  The society may have to meet earlier or meet on weekends to avoid cutting meetings short.

John G. West, TSGS Vice-President

TSGS Meeting Notice!

Tri-State Genealogical Society
(TSGS) Meeting Notice! When: Tuesday 11 Sep 2012 - 7:00 PM
Where: Willard Library - 2nd. Floor
What: Monthly Meeting

[Photo credit: Becky West - Artwork: Chris Lantaff]

Guest Speaker for the September Meeting of the Tri-State Genealogical Society will be Indiana Bones. He will present stories about some of his adventures concerning cemeteries. The Evansville Courier & Press has dubbed TSGS Vice-President John G. West as a "Self-proclaimed Cemetery Geek!" a title he is proud of with his very active pursuit of genealogy over the last 50 years.

 His wife, Becky, gave him the name of "Indiana Bones" and the character evolved to help share his interesting and oftentimes humorous tales about cemeteries and other related genealogy subjects. Whether you are a family historian, genealogist, a history buff or just like to listen to story tellers... you should enjoy these "Adventures of Indiana Bones - Cemetery Stories!" You do not need to be a member to attend TSGS meetings - everyone is welcome!

John G. West (AKA: Indiana Bones)

 [Photo credit: Don Counts]

A drawing for an attendance prize will be awarded at the close of the meeting... you must be present to win.

The Tri-State Genealogical Society will have a brief business meeting that anyone can attend.

 

- Donald R. Counts, TSGS President

From the First Mate's Photo Album

Willard Library's Flowers

These flowers looked so nice at the entrance of the library that I wanted to share them with you.  This is sort of my way of "stopping to smell the roses!"  As you well might suspect, I was on my way for some serious genealogical research.  This time researching on my Gardner family in Pittsylvania County, Virginia records... I found a lot in 3 hours!  I will have to return to go through more than just 3 books of the 20 or so books for that county at Willard Library!

- Photos taken by JGWest.

Willard Library Special Collections Added A New Feature!

The Special Collections Department did not have any books or other media that could be checked out and brought to your home.  However, Lyn Martin, Special Collections Librarian, has announced its new circulating library with check-out for home use.  Mostly "how-to-books" and manuals with some videos.  It is a nice start for some great material that requires more study or reading.  Click on the photo below for a larger image that you should be able to read many of the books that are available.  I have already checked out a book on DNA genealogical social networking.

- Photo taken and submitted by JGWest.

TSGS Meeting Report

Report on the TSGS Meeting held on Tuesday 12 Jun 2012

We had a small attendance of about 16 for this meeting, with 10 attendance prizes providing most with something to take home!  The weather has been so nice that we should have held the meeting outside!  Click on photos to see a larger image.

 Photo of some of the members just before the meeting was called to order by President Don Counts.  Several people were still researching on the microfilm machines in the back.  Willard Library is a great genealogical research library and is so beautiful inside & out.

 Above is pictured those officers elected for 2012-13 that were in attendance - from L-R: Sue Hebbeler, Corresponding Secretary; Larry Goss, Director; Rena Goss, Director; Becky West, Director; Kim Nightingale, Recording Secretary; John G. West, Vice-President; Don Counts, President.

 Becky West, the out-going Program Chair, after thanking the society for having a non-genealogist for 2 years as the Program Chair, read a brief humorous account of the Vincent Van Gogh Family Tree.  Then she introduced Indiana Bones (pictured below) to present his "Field Trip Health & Safety Tips!"  This was Indiana Bones first public appearance.  Since, John West was tagged as a "Cemetery Geek" by the Evansville Courier, Becky came up with the name of Indiana Bones for the TSGS Cruiser Blog and to give programs as this character.  John is shown with some of his gear: hat, walking stick, cemetery bag.  During the short session on tips, Indiana Bones pointed out some ideas of what to carry on field trips to a cemetery ("cemetery hopping"). A hand-out with suggested items for a first aid kit & a cemetery bag was passed out to all present.

Photos taken by Carol Lantaff, Larry Goss and JGWest.

TSGS Meeting Notice!

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Tri-State Genealogical Society
(TSGS) Meeting Notice! 

When: Tuesday 12 June 2012 - 7:00 PM
Where: Willard Library - 2nd. Floor
What: Monthly Meeting

A drawing for an attendance prize will be awarded at the close of the meeting... you must be present to win.

The Tri-State Genealogical Society will have a brief business meeting including Election of Officers and Installation for the forthcoming fiscal year, followed by our program:

Becky West, TSGS Program Chair, has announced that the program will feature

"Genealogy Humor" and an appearance by Indiana Bones.

This is a program you don’t want to miss, we will be looking forward to seeing you at the meeting and enjoying a very interesting and entertaining program.

You do not have to be a member to come and participate at the society’s monthly meetings (except, no meetings in July and August).

IMPORTANT NOTICE: This time of the year, weather conditions may cause the society to cancel meetings... the decision to cancel usually is determined the day of the meeting, providing short notice.  Since a bad weather system may develop later in the day (or that night), check our blog (http://tsgsblog.blogspot.com/) for cancellation notice or call Willard Library (812-425-4309).

Don Counts,
TSGS President

Willard Library Book Sale

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The Evansville Area's largest 1 day book sale featuring large collections of fiction, history, cookbooks, etc.

Hardbacks $1, Paperbacks $ .50, Children's Books 10 for $1, and All Other Material $ .25; Some individually priced items will be available.

The sale is across the street from Willard Library (at Fire & Rain Productions), but the library will be open on Saturday 9am - 5pm for your convenience.

Marker/Plaque/Monument Monday

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The Rick Borries

Memorial Garden

Becky and I decided to go downtown Evansville to get a few photos of the life-sized chess set and board that was constructed next to the Signature School across from the Ford Center and the Civic Center.  The TV news covered the story about this outdoor chess set with pieces between 3 and 6 feet tall.  We found the chess board, but the pieces were being stored in the Victory Theater in some un-disclosed location by another group responsible for its care.  I just wanted to get a photo of one of the pieces, at least... possibly the king or queen.  It was not going to happen.  To save the expedition to the downtown area, I had noticed several beautiful gardens east of the U.S. Post Office near Data Mail - one of which I posted on Saturday.

The other set of gardens (closer to the Post Office and the Civic Center) was to my surprise a very nice garden dedicated to Rick Borries about one year ago.  I did not remember this being done or mentioned via any news media, but I do not always follow the news as closely as I would like.  I would have attended the ceremony, since Rick was a long-time political associate.  Rick had been in several political offices including serving as an elected Vanderburgh County Commissioner.  We had many close mutual friends.

Rick Borries was a Social Studies Teacher in the Evansville Vanderburgh County School System.  Quite some time back (possibly 30 years), Rick was looking for someone to present a beginning genealogy class for two of his Central High School Classes.  So, he called Willard Library to request someone to do this.  Willard Library suggested me.  Rick was very pleased because he knew me and thought I would do a good job.  I had always wanted to be a teacher and even took classes at University of Evansville in Elementary Education before going into the U.S. Air Force in 1968.  So, this was a big thrill and a great opportunity to complete a dream even if it was just being a "teacher for a day!"  It was a lot of fun and with my 4-H Genealogy Project experience giving workshops for 4-H teenagers... it was an easy assignment.  Special thanks to Rick for providing that opportunity that I will always remember and cherish! 

 Click on these photos to get a larger, better image.  In the photo below, you can see downtown Evansville in the background... and I must say, with a smile, that it is appropriate that in the background is a political "yard sign" for a candidate running for an office that another friend (and TSGS member) is running for, J.D. Strouth - County Clerk (this is not J.D.'s sign).

These gardens are part of "Keep Evansville Beautiful" and these gardens sure do just that.  Rick "Rest in Peace!"

- Photos taken by JGWest

Professional Baseball in Evansville

Professional Baseball in Evansville, Indiana

I stopped by Willard Library this morning as I was out doing some errands... thought I would check out some new leads to Newberry Co., SC for my Williams family.  Peggy Newton was busy working on her display for May for the Genealogy/History Department on Willard's second floor.  She was putting together some display boards to put up behind the counter.  Peggy had already completed a great looking display case exhibit at the top of the steps at the entry door to the second floor.  The photo below is the title of the case and the display boards behind the counter... "Play Ball!"  (That is a miniature bat in the case.)

 Below is an all-time Evansville baseball team with some baseball cards on either side.

Peggy busy putting together the last display board of four.  Peggy has put a lot of time & effort into this local history of professional baseball.  It is a must see exhibit!

 Some info about Evansville leagues from 1901- 1957 with some stats and a few photos.

 The Frontier League with the Otters was the board that Peggy was working on.  She had a lot of great photos of people like Don Mattingly, Gil Hodges and several others that she was not going to be able to use due to the lack of space.  Stop by Willard to check this exhibit out... you will enjoy it!  Let Peggy or one of the librarians know how you liked it.

- Photos taken by JGWest

TSGS Meeting Announcement

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On Tuesday Night...

08 May 2012

the Tri-State Genealogical Society will have the honor of having Jeannie Browning Hester as the guest speaker. She will present an overview of the Browning Online Genealogical Database and give some tips on how to get the most from the site. Through this site the Browning family has made a major contribution to regional history & genealogy; and, it is being updated daily! The TSGS meeting begins at 7PM with a brief business meeting followed by this program. Location is the second floor of Willard Library. You do not need to be a member to attend the TSGS meetings. Anyone interested in genealogy or history will want to see this program.


Announced by Becky West, TSGS Program Chair

NAVIGATING ALONG the RIVER - Research Tips

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Ok! I know...
you are asking what is this photo about?

During our last TSGS meeting, I was taking photos for the blog of different things going on during the meeting. While I was up front by Lyn Martin's desk at Willard Library taking a photo of those in attendance, I looked down and noticed this small stack of new booklets covering some 1700's court information from Maryland. Having several lines in Maryland in the 1700's I just took a photo of the books to remind me later that these will be on the shelves in the near future that I will look for!

My research tip is probably used by a lot of family historians these days with the great digital cameras available. The tip is to take photos with your digital cameras for info you might normally use a photocopier to save the information to bring home. Caution: remember that a camera flash may be distracting to other patrons in the library or courthouse.

Do you remember those old detective/spy TV shows where they would sneak into the records in some office in the dark and using their little spy camera to photograph the pertinent files and used later in court? We can do that, too... only during day time! Digital cameras can take hundreds of photos and you can check to see if you got a good image.

Happy spying...er... I mean documenting your research!

- JGWest

TSGS Meeting Recap For Those Not Attending

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Here is a summary of portions of our TSGS monthly membership meeting Tuesday night at willard Library. It was Valentine's Day so the attendance was down a little. We did have 17 to show up. To see a bigger, better image of each photo just click on it and then return to this page. In the first photo, President Don Counts has just called the meeting to order (note clock in upper left... our meetings start at 7PM the second Tuesday of each month). During the meeting President Counts made several announcements. He reminded everyone to make sure we have their current mailing address for the member's journal the Tri-State Packet and that dues are due in July for the fiscal year 2012-2013. The President has appointed John G. West as Chair of the Nominating Committee for the next fiscal year's officers that will be elected in June.

The next photo shows a shot of those in attendance while Secretary Kim Nightingale reads the minutes of the previous meeting.Below, TSGS Program Chair Becky West is introducing our speaker for the night.Our speaker was Kim Nightingale who provided us a very interesting and entertaining program she called "Hoosiers on the Oregon Trail" from reports/diaries of many who traveled the route for land. She mentioned at the end that one of the travelers was her ancestor.After the program, Becky West gave each lady a little gift to recognize the pioneer efforts of our lady ancestors. Each had a heart to show how much each of us appreciate the efforts of all women - today & in the past! The drawing for the attendance prize was won by Betty Counts who chose a TSGS membership for 2012-2013. The attendance prize is the society's way of saying thanks for attending the meetings. The programs alone are worth the time to attend, but we wanted to show how much it means for people to visit the society's meetings! The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 PM.

Next meeting will be March 13th. when Stan Schmitt will complete is program of Evansville's involvement with the Civil War. His program last fall was cut short by the library's new, young security guard that was totally unaware that we were conducting a meeting and generally stayed a little past the normal closing time. Stan's presentation was so good that everyone wanted he to come back to let us know how the war ended! :)

"I invented them, so I know there is no such thing."

*

When I was a child, I was recruited by my father, Wesley Raymond Goss, as his "go fer" on the annual project to make the rounds through the house, garage, and barn to oil the bearings in all the electric motors that provided comfort and services for us in our modern farmstead. Dad was an electrical design engineer at General Electric. It seemed like he was always fitting a spare motor to some other hand cranked or otherwise un-powered device. On the old motors, he would flip the oil reservoir open, give it a shot of oil, and move on to the next. But on the modern motors that had no reservoirs, he would carefully drill a small hole in the end cap, and work a few drops of oil into the felt that was inside. In the middle of this process, I had the timerity to ask why we were doing that -- since they were permanently lubricated? He stood up, squared his shoulders, and said, "I invented them, so I know there is no such thing."

Being a kid, I thought he was just giving me a quick answer. We went on about our work, and I didn't think much more about it. Many years later, I found that he was telling me the absolute truth. He had taken a job with the Fort Wayne works where GE made their refrigerators. As a new college graduate in 1927, he was assigned as one of four engineers designing the Monitor-top refrigerators that had the first hermetically-sealed compressors in the industry (1928-1932). By the following summer, he had his first patent on the sintered bronze sleeve bearing that is used universally on electric motors. That bearing made the hermetically-sealed refrigeration systems we all live with in our refrigerators, heat pumps, and air-conditioning systems possible. Prior to that time, compressors were driven by open belts; the shafts needed lubrication; and the seals allowed the refrigerant to slowly leak into the atmosphere. Mom and Dad had one of the Monitor-top refrigerators when they lived in the city, but by the time I was born in 1937, they had moved to the farm and had one of the Coldspot refrigerators that was made in Evansville. It was not hermetically sealed, and the unit had to be recharged on a rather regular basis to keep it working.

Many years later, we moved to Evansville when I was hired at USI to teach in the Engineering Technology department. On one of the early visits that my parents made to Evansville for a Thanksgiving celebration, they were here when I needed to read a census microfilm that had been ordered. I hauled them down to Willard library, and sat them down in the second floor reading room with several books that I pulled off the shelves. I gave them a list of names, dates, and places to keep them occupied while I spent time at the microfilm reader. I found nothing of interest in the film I had borrowed. On the other hand, my parents discovered three people in two generations of the family on that afternoon. That success was all it took for my parents to devote a major amount of time in their later years doing genealogical research. They spent every Thursday, all day long, in the Reynolds collection of the Allen County Public Library, and they extended our known family back to the 800's and 53 to 55 generations.

-Written by Larry Goss

NAVIGATING ALONG the RIVER - Research Tips

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Every time I really want to break down one of my genealogy "brick walls," I think about doing "back-door" research. This is when you try to go around the "wall" instead of over or though it. Sometimes I call this "side-door" research. It is that day when I take time to see what I do not know about the person and the family. Generally, I notice that I have not checked into the siblings and their lives. Was Richard the older or the younger brother? If I check him out, I might learn that he is the older brother and he was born in a different location. By going through this "side-door" (via Richard & where he was born), I might find new clues to find out about their parents... my brick wall.

Since I have researched for a lot of years, there was a time that it was more expedient to just gather data on my direct line and just recording the minimum on the brothers & sisters. I am talking about the days before the Internet, Ancestry.com, Find-A-Grave, HeritageQuest, USGenWeb Project, Fold3, and the many, many more resources available on the Internet. Back then, I had to pay a small fee to get a microfilm of a census for a certain location that I thought my ancestors lived. When it came in, the library would call to say it was here - we had about 10-14 days to use the microfilm (only at the library - when it was open!) before it had to be sent back. It usually took several hours to browse through the microfilm looking for anyone that had the surname you were researching... all the while, the pages rolled by causing you to get sleepy. I hated it when I would dose off while continuing to crank the handle on the machine and then not know how much film I did not see!!! The Willard Library at that time was not open on Monday, so if you worked during the day - you only had the weekend and Tuesday night to go through your microfilm. The library had far less research books available, too... many without an index. All of this meant you had little time to get info on your direct line of ancestors, let alone the siblings.

What a difference having a computer to record your data and to be able to use the resources on the Internet. You still need to go to the library, to courthouses and other repositories, but you do not need to order microfilm anymore. Ancestry.com, Heritage Quest & others have posted the US Census and a lot of other actual records on the Internet. Most are not free, but it is searchable and nearly all of it is available!!! Too often we are not sure what county or even which state to find them in 1860, for example. Granted these searches often give you many more choices than you want, but the first ones are more likely to be the one.

I have always used the computer software called "Family Tree Maker" to record my database for my family history. It has a special feature that allows you to go online with a button to search all of Ancestry.com for each individual in your database - one person at a time. It is perfect for checking out the brothers & sisters that you have not had time to check before. The search engine uses all of the data concerning that individual that you have entered into FTM. In just a few clicks you are usually taken directly to the page in the census listing your family. and you can copy & paste it right into your FTM program. Ancestry also allows you to put your data onto their servers and when it discovers something about one of them, it puts a leaf by that person's box for you to explore what clues & documents that may relate to your research. Ancestry costs about $100 a year as a subscription and may not be what you want to do. But Google or Yahoo can help you find free sources for most of this data online.

Just remember that Friends and Family uses the back or side door to visit... start using that approach more in your family history research.

- Written by JGWest

From My Email Box - "Tri-State Packet Artist"

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The Tri-State Packet...
the membership journal of the
Tri-State Genealogical Society (TSGS)

Since the first quarterly issue was published in 1977, the yellow cover has featured a sketched drawing by Barbara Simpson. She recently discovered that her drawing is still being used. Last week, I got this email from her.

Hi,
I am Barbara (maiden name) Barrows. Married name in the 1970’s, Simpson. I now live in Denver, Colorado, soon to retire and return to Evansville. I was looking at the Willard Library website and came across the Tri-State Packet for the Tri-State Genealogy Society !!!! I was excited to see the yellow cover of the Packet. I am the artist who drew the riverboat packet for the cover. When I first submitted the drawing it was just a draft and expected to draw it again following approval from the leadership at that time. But, to my surprise, they used the “draft” version of my drawing.
My mother, Mary Barrows, has continued family history and research in Evansville, and when I return to EVV, I plan to re-establish myself with the Society and historical events.
Thanks for the wonderful surprise of seeing my drawing !!!!!
Barb Barrows barb.barrows@yahoo.com