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Genealogical Stories

Thursday, October 8, 2009 – 7:01 pm

The path to our ancestors is often fraught with brick walls and misleading information. But occasionally we get a break, like Michelle Obama. Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak, the speaker at last months Washington State Genealogy Conference, recently tracked Mrs. Obama’s family back to 1844, during a time of inequality and racial tension. Mrs. Obama’s great-great-great grandmother was a slave. And her son was biracial, born of a black mother and a white father. Mrs. Obama is an ancestor of a woman who survived some of the worst things life can throw at you and survived. Her descendants were carpenters and painters and civil rights activists and the first lady of the United States. Stories are waiting to be told and, while we may not have a Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak to help us, the excitement is in the discovery and the stories that are waiting to be told. For more on the search of Mrs. Obama’s ancestors you can read the New York Times story.


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City Directories

Thursday, September 3, 2009 – 7:41 pm

I recently was asked to find out who owned a certain property in Spokane in 1910. My first thought was to go to the city directories, but these weren’t cross referenced by address until 1929. I knew the census would have the information but how was I supposed to find an address in the census?! I went back to the city directory and discovered that not only is there a listing for all Spokane Additions and their boundaries, there is an explanation of the five city wards in Spokane as well as their precincts. In 1910 there were sixty five precincts in Spokane, from Ada to Eve. The 1900 city directory also lists the wards and precincts in Spokane, but unfortunately the 1920 and 1930 do not. With the information from the 1910 directory I was able to find the owner of the property, searching about twenty pages of the census instead of the hundreds had I not known the ward and precinct. So if you know where your relative lived but can’t find the magic spelling to bring them up in the census, check the local city directory. You may discover a whole new search option at your fingertips.


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Search the Spokane Daily Chronicle Online-Free!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009 – 11:21 pm

A friend recently brought to my attention that Google has digitized and made searchable the Spokane Daily Chronicle and its predecessor, the Spokane Falls Daily Chronicle as well as the more recent Spokesman Review from approximately 1890-date. The method of finding the search is difficult, which is probably why it has remained unknown for so long. Although you can find articles and view them on Google, in order to get a physical copy you would need to come to the library or contact us with a citation, which is available at the top of the page. The way to get to the search is as follows: First, go to Google and click on News. Then click advanced news search (to the right of Search the Web). On that page, click archive search, then click advanced archive search. One last thing, make sure you enter “Spokane” in the source box to get only local searches. If you are from out of town and need a lookup contact us at telref@spokanelibrary.org. Happy searching!


Posted in Research, United States, Washington State | Permalink | No Comments »

Home Sweet Home…

Thursday, June 18, 2009 – 2:41 am

Have you ever scanned a census and wondered what the house your family lived in might have looked like? How many bedrooms did it have? Did it have a parlor? Through the miracle of modern technology you can find out. If the house is still standing the city’s local assessor’s office should have information such as layout, age, and number of bedrooms listed. In Spokane, you can even get a picture of the house. All you need is the address. This allows you to “see” the house even if you don’t live in the city and especially if your family no longer owns the property. So visit the Spokane Assessor’s office or google one where your family lived. It can be a great way to understand more about your family and how they fit nine children in a four bedroom house!


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Obituary Database

Wednesday, April 29, 2009 – 8:31 pm

The obituary database has finally gone online and is ready to be searched! The web site is www.spokanelibrary.org/obituaries/. It currently includes over 17,000 records and is complete from January 1, 2008 on. Earlier records are included and are one’s that I have done lookups for and added to the database. It is searchable by name. Check it out and let us know what you think!


Posted in Records, Research, United States, Washington State | Permalink | No Comments »

Family Tree Magazine New At The Library!

Sunday, January 18, 2009 – 12:47 am

Spokane Public Library is proud to announce a new subscription at the Downtown branch to Family Tree Magazine. The magazine offers helpful hints and state guides to assist you in your research. Their web site offers free forms to get you started and an easy way to record and file the information you have found. If the magazine is something you like you can also sign up for a free e-newsletter. Keep an eye out for this new research tool @ Your Library!


Posted in Records, Research, United States | Permalink | No Comments »

Online Genealogy Tutorial

Sunday, November 23, 2008 – 1:34 am

This tutorial by Sharon Centanne was written for librarians but offers a comprehensive and in depth method for searching. It rates software and offers free forms that you can print out and use in your searching. The site also offers ideas for questions to use when you are interviewing people about their family history. The site is updated fairly frequently (the last date is August 2008), so it could be a very helpful site for beginners as well as a refresher course for those who are more advanced.


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Volunteering Genealogy Services

Saturday, September 27, 2008 – 2:26 am

With the increased interest in genealogy and the advent of the Internet, web sites are popping up all over. One of the most comprehensive in the United States is usgenweb.org. Organized by genealogists on a county level, it includes all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C. and Indian Territory in Oklahoma. Nationally acclaimed, its volunteers search for sites that are beneficial to their counties for posting. Volunteers are also working to transcribe many of their county’s records. Volunteers are encouraged to submit transcriptions and often, by contacting the local coordinator, can volunteer their services in transcribing books that are needed. This can be done in the comfort of your own home and serves as valuable resource for genealogy, for both beginner and advanced researchers.


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Washington State Digital Archives Announcement

Wednesday, August 20, 2008 – 8:21 am

The Washington State Digital Archives has completed adding full text records for Washington State Deaths, 1907-1960. You can now go in and view the complete death record, which includes cause of death, parents’ names, birth date and location, as well as cemetery information. The site has changed the search capability. In order to return to the initial list you need to select “my recent searches” and click on the name you were searching. This will take you back to the main list. The archives is continuing to record and reproduce records from across the state, so bookmark the page and get searching!


Posted in Records, Washington State | Permalink | No Comments »

Pilot Search from familysearch.org

Friday, July 11, 2008 – 10:26 am

The Latter Day Saints have always been a good source for genealogy. Recently they launched their new web site, Pilot. Pilot is a database that is updated by volunteers. Numerous records have been added, from 1930 census records in Mexico to German marriages and Baptisms 1700-1900. Some are only available to browse and others are searchable. Thousands of records are being added each day. The layout is clean and easy to read and most records are replicas of the original. So give it a try and see what you can find.


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