Genealogy Blog

Passenger Records

genealogy librarian — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:00:59 +0000

Many families came to the United States before Ellis Island began operation on January 1, 1892. Instead of one single port of entry prior to 1892, there were many, run by the states themselves, and most did not document well the incoming passengers. To complicate things further, in order to avoid more rigorous entry requirements, people would disembark in Canada and then cross into America. For those who did come through New York, the debarking point was Castle Garden. Originally known as Fort Clinton in the West Battery, it reopened as Castle Garden in 1824 and served as a an entertainment venue. In 1855 it became the Emigrant Landing Depot run by the State of New York. Although some records were damaged in a fire, many are available online for searching. The Castle Garden site allows you to search by passenger name, ship name, occupation, port of departure, country of last residence, and by date-1820-1913. Sometimes the best way to search is with the least amount of information. To perform a wildcard search use the first three letters in the name followed by an asterisk (*). This is especially useful if you aren’t sure how the name was spelled-ie. Gustav instead of Gustaf. You might be surprised to find that you have been spelling it wrong the whole time!

New Online Newspapers From Washington State

genealogy librarian — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:48:02 +0000

This was printed in the Washington State Library Newsletter and announces an important addition to genealogical resources in Washington State:
“More than 42,000 historic newspaper pages from 8 Washington newspapers were contributed by the Washington State Library to the Chronicling America web site, hosted by the Library of Congress. The site provides free and open access to over 1.7 million pages from 212 titles that were published between 1880 and 1922 in 15 states and the District of Columbia. The new titles are Washington Newspapers: Colfax Gazette 1900-1912, Colville Examiner 1907-1922, Commonwealth 1911-1914, Leavenworth Echo 1904-1922, Pullman Herald 1888-1893; 1907-1922, Ranch 1902-1914, Seattle Republican 1903-1913, and Washington Farmer 06-15-1914.”
This collection is browse only but provides valuable insight into the life and times of the early twentieth century farming communities and towns in the Inland Northwest. To access these newspapers you can go to the Secretary of State website or click here. For more information about Washington’s Digital Newspapers or WSL’s participation in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), please visit the project website or contact Laura Robinson, National Digital Newspaper Program Manager at laura.robinson@sos.wa.gov or 360.570.5568.

New England Historical Genealogical Society

genealogy librarian — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 18:50:32 +0000

The Spokane Public Library is proud to announce the addition of the New England Historical Genealogical Society to the list of available databases. This database covers much of the northeastern United States, with heavy emphasis on Massachusetts and Rhode Island. As of right now, the records in Massachusetts are complete to 1910 and they are daily adding records to 1915. If you are new to the site I would recommend checking out Getting Started . This resource is only available in the library buildings, but could be the breakthrough you need to move further back in your family’s history. So check it out and let us know what you think!

Genealogical Stories

genealogy librarian — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:01:02 +0000

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.

City Directories

genealogy librarian — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 17:41:29 +0000

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.

Search the Spokane Daily Chronicle Online-Free!

genealogy librarian — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:21:39 +0000

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!

Home Sweet Home…

genealogy librarian — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 00:41:12 +0000

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!

Obituary Database

genealogy librarian — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 18:31:33 +0000

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!

Family Tree Magazine New At The Library!

genealogy librarian — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 22:47:51 +0000

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!

Online Genealogy Tutorial

genealogy librarian — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 23:34:23 +0000

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.