Sep 16, 2009 meeting

 The subject for this month's meeting was "Heirlooms - show and tell" hosted by Suzanne Case.  Many members must be back from vacations as the attendance was up this month.  And for the second months in a row someone has read about the meeting in the "Community Calendar" of the newspaper and came to check us out...complete with something to "show and tell."  Refreshments were brought by Louise Chung to everyone's delight.

   I'll add photos of the those that brought a treasured heirloom.  I missed a couple of people, sorry.

Leilani Pyle holds a peacock feather hatband which her grandfather, Adna G. Clarke always wore on his Panama Hat.  He became a Hawii politician.              


                                                                                            

Pat Brown displaying a photo of an authentic Civil War sabre her g-grandfather,Isaac Earl Beakman of NY picket up at Gettysburg.

Posemarie Panko shows her ancestor, Sarah S. in an old photo from Long Island NY in an acid free envelope.

Ann Sloat shows the delicately tatted handkerchief made by her great grandmother, Susan Blair (or Rosina Edwards) born in 1856 in Wisconsin.

Bobby Stevens shows off his grandfather, John Archer Clark's pocket watch.  His grandfather was born in Virginia and raised tobacco. 

Claudette Derricotte brought the small cut glass bowl that her mother used to have on her dresser and always kept her jewlery in it..  Her mother, Clair Rose Solanski Melecha, died at age 92.

Kathy Hudson discusses the large bible of her great grandmother, Rebecca Blandford West...probably received as a wedding present.

The bible pages with additions by her great-grandmother and her mother.

Harriet Hoffman brough quite a display of an Ansonia Clock which received a chip during the San Francisco earthquake of 1906.  It was in her grandmother's home and Harriet remembers it chimed on the quarter hour.  She also brought the old Haviland China dishes and cut glass bowls of her grandmother.

MORE ITEMS TO FOLLOW WHEN I CAN GET BACK TO THIS:-)  Donna

8 Aug 2009 HCGS Meeting

Our program Saturday, August 8th was Karen Sutherland-Pahia presenting "Ways to Put Your Family History Together - - Writing, Printing, Publishing, etc. Customization and image was discussed in front of a large audience. She brought examples of her published works as did society members to show at the meeting. Karen has worked many years with genealogy and working to identify and keep track of the various lines of her farmily's largely Scottish and Hawaiian heritage. In her quest for family history she has even fallen into graves. Sad story that after her grandmother died, all the family photos disappeared with no one knowing what happened to them. Digitalizing photos and documents became critical to preserving the family history. A user of Family Tree Maker software she has organized, written and assembled may histories which she publishes at Kinkos for a good quality and low price. Kinkos provides a free "Proof Copy" to review before they publish the copies you pay for. One family history book she ordered was 50 copies of a 1000 page family line. She uses a combination of the Family Tree Maker Books feature and Microsoft Word. Including picture images within the genealogy report makes the history more interesting and readable, and it's easiest to add pictures after the text is completed. Choice of binding is important, and she uses a spiral had back variety. A flat glued binding is more expensive. It was mentioned that the Family History Library in Salt Lake City prefers unbound pages so they can do the binding there for any copies of family histories that might be donated, rather than the spiral binding.

The index is very important to the book, and also is time consuming once you start adding photo images to the report. So you have to update the page numbers and index when you disturbe the generated genealogy report. She also recommended using spell check as you go, while entering data.

Lenore Hansen gave a short review of her attendance at the Southern California Genealogical Society's Jamboree recently in Burbank, California.

Suzanne Case asked everyone to bring a family heirloom to the next meeting and we will discuss the history and importance to the family for each.

Thanks to Lenore and to Martha for the refreshments.

Meeting July 11, 2009

ANCESTRAL POTLUCK was the the subject of the July 2009 meeting of the Honolulu County Genealogical Society. After a general meeting with announcements the members each told about the food that they brought to the meeting to share. Each item had a cultural and family connection. Some stories reflected a food that is common to people of a certain country and some food reflected the favorites that were eaten in their home as they grew up. I should have taken notes, but I'll list a few of the foods we enjoyed as best as I can.

Alan Toft had quite a story about the common "Ploughman's Lunch" in his home of England. He brought a selection of excellent cheeses, something about pickles, a long french bread (we're short on English bread in Hawaii) and three bottles of bottled beer that would be eargerly consumed in any English pub.

Although Louise Chung could not attend, she sent a dish reflecting her German heritage: home made saurkraut and pork chops in a bake dish. Harriet Hoffman impersonated a french person and brought a fine tasting quiche.

Donna Wendt (me) pulled out all the stops at home and actually created something from "scratch." I found an online recipe for Welsh Cookies, then bought the required currants (and the other basic ingrediants like flour, vegetable shortening, sugar, eggs, nutmeg, and sugar). The cookies or "Welsh Tea Cakes" are a bit like scones and are cooked in a frying pan after the ingredients are mixed and refrigerated for a couple hours. My Rees cousins in Wales would be proud!

Jeane Neuer brought a tasty tuna spread and crackers that reminded her of her parents favorite after work snack. She said they always had a "Manhatten" drink to go with the snack, but she didn't bring any of those drinks along to the meeting.

Kennydene, a new member, of Hawaiian descent, didn't know it was a pot luck until the morning of the meeting. Not to worry, she stopped by the Liliha Bakery and brought the modern Hawaiian favorite treat of "Coco Puffs" - a delicious special type of chocolate-filled creme puff, buttery and with chantilly frosting. Absolutely my favorite! Maybe next year she'll bring the other Hawaiian favorite (of Portuguese roots) hot "Malasades" from Leonard's Bakery.

Jan Everly Williams brought a specially prepared greens salad with toasted tofu to reflect a bit of Japanese culture. Very healthy! Christine Absher brought a nice selection of cut tropical fruits, reminescent of favorite family foods on these tropical islands.

Jim Deutch brought "Gefilte Fish" and flat bread, traditional with the Jewish culture. Carp or Pike fish is chopped into small pieces, mixed with onions and some other vegetables (carrot, celery, parsley). The mixture is held together as a ball with eggs and matzah meal. It is then boiled in broth for a while. It can be served warm or cold, though it is usually served cold with red horseradish and garnished with carrot shavings.

Ann Sloat brought a big jug of tasty apple juice which brought me memories of pressing apples to make cider. Claudette Derricotte made delicious little flaky kind of cookie bar dessert. I can't exactly describe it, but she used fresh oranges from Jim's trees and the flavor of the filling was absolutely amazing - a bit tart, a bit sweet.

I think Bobby Stevens brought a hot dish, kind of a stew with corn and perhaps pork in it, which was excellent. Lots of ingredients which I can't list now. I think the connecting ancestry was from the English and early Virginia colonial settlers. Other members attended and enjoyed the food, as bringing a dish was not mandatory since there is always so much to go around. The main focus of the meeting was getting together in a social atmosphere and sharing stories of food, while getting to taste some of the delicious creations.

Frima Riva Shatz grandmother of Jim Deutch

At the HCGS Meeting of May 9th, Jim Deutch spoke about his grandmother, Frima Riva Shatz for a "Mini-Biography." Here is a summary of his talk.

**********Biography of Frima Riva Shatz ******

The following information is based upon family legend and "best guess" reasoning. All dates given are approximate.

Frima Riva SHATZ was my grandmother. She was born in 1881 in the Ukraine town of Ostropol. She was the 6th child of Mordechi and Fayga GLATZER SHATZ. In 1899 she married Isriel Polishuk from the near-by village of Vorobiivka. My great uncle Morris, Isriel's brother, said when he first met his brother's fiancé, she was so beautiful and had such a breathtaking personality, he fell in love with her. However, he could not pursue his heart because she was his brother's betrothed.

Frima Riva and Isriel's first child, Goldie, was born the following year, 1900. She was followed in 1902 by William, in 1904 by Betty, and in 1906 by Dorothy. During a typhoid epidemic, Frima Riva nursed her extended family back to health, only to come down with the disease, herself. She died in 1909. In 1907, prior to the epidemic, her husband, Isriel, had gone to the United States to earn money to bring his family to America. Following her mother's death, Goldie, the oldest daughter, became so despondent that she, too, died "of a broken heart." The family came to America in 1910. Frima Riva's last child, Dorothy, was my mother.

Oahu Cemetery Tour

We had a wonderful tour of historic Oahu Cemetery in Honolulu, given by Nanette Napoleon, today. Nine people were able to attend. Special thanks to members who gave "a little extra" to make this interesting experience happen: Lenore Hansen, Alan Toft,, Bobby Stevens and Louise Chung. I won the "door prize" of the book Nanette Napoleon has written about the cemetery, by answering a couple questions at the end of the tour. The final question, was: "Exactly where is Elvis Presley buried?" I knew the answer from a visit many years ago: "Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee."

We saw lots of interesting styles of graves and grave markers. Also various family, fraternal, and military plots.

Donna Wendt

Note in the photos below:
--The Hawaii Historic Marker outside the Cemetery on Nuuanu Ave.
--Nanette talking in front of King Kamehameha's cannon which was donated to mark off the plot for US Civil War veterans who are buried there.
--Nanette trying to find worn letters in the volcanic stone marker for one of Harry's ancestors who is buried in this very old plot - (I believe through the Campbell family?)
--Nanette pointing to some interesting cemetery memorials as we walked along.
--Nanette telling us about this US Veteran's area of the Navy, where many are buried who died at Pearl Harbor in Dec 1941 from the Japanese attack.
--At the grave of Elizabeth Pratt (a Hawaiian) and her husband
--Close up of the headstone of High Chieftess, Elizabeth Pratt, longest Royal survivor - with very old image photographed on a porcelan piece in modern headstone.
---1886 Tombstone of Edwin Oakley, from England, with interesting "dagger piercing a heart." Said to be a symbol for "Redemption." Probably put on his stone because he had committed suicide.

Meeting 13 June 2009

Cemeteries & Genealogical Research was the topic for the June presentation at the Honolulu County Genealogical Society. This was given by me, Donna Wendt as an "Open Office" presentation using my new "netbook" attached to our Society's own digital projector. All went well. I will list the websites I discussed, that have to do with cemeteries, many of which I borrowed from Kory Meyerink as reported by Sharon Haddock in "Mormon Times" of March 16, 2009.

http://www.findagrave.com/

http://www.interment.net/

http://www.linkpendium.com/

http://www.idreamofgenealogy.com/

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/

(Tombstone Transcription Project)

http://www.gravelocator.com.va.cem.gov/

www.daddezio.com/cemetery (Cemetery Junction)

http://www.geonames.usgs.gov/

( U.S. Geographic Names Information System -GNIS)

http://www.funeralnet.com/

http://www.gravestonestudies.org/

http://www.namesinstone.com/

Next Saturday, June 20th, 2009, at 9am we will meet at the parking lot at Oahu Cemetery at 2162 Nuuanu Ave, Honolulu, HI. Hawaii's own "History Detective & Graveyard Historian," Nanette Napoleon will be our tour guide for the 2 hours of our adventure of discovery at the cemetery. The cost is $10 per person, and everyone is invited.

Don't forget that our next month's meeting is July 11th, 2009 and will be our annual ethnic foods pot luck luncheon. Everyone is invited to bring a food that reflects a specific culture, especially their own. This is a fun gathering and all are welcome to attend.

April 11, 2009 Meeting

The April meeting of the Honolulu County Genealogical Society was a workshop, of sorts, entitled "Helping Each Other" -- with everyone bringing various research books and CDs that others could peruse. President Bobby Stevens led the introductory discussion. Each person told about the items they brought, which amounted to a lot of materials. Laptops were everywhere.

Donna Wendt discussed upcoming programs and passed around a survey asking about members use of Subscription databases and free databases online, and which genealogy soft ware they used. There will be a special fiend trip on June 20th, to the Oahu Cemetery on Nuuanu Ave, Honolulu. Hawaii Historian/Graveyard Detective Nanette Napoleon will conduct a tour for us in this historic cemetery. Cost will be $10 each and any interested individual is invited to join us.

Ann Sloat presented a the mini-biography of her grandmother, Sarah Margaret Russell Sweeley with a power point presentation. Born: 18 April 1888 Lodi, Clay Co., South Dakota --- Died: 19 Feb 1975, Los Angeles, California Teacher, supreme story teller, determined survivor, chin up optimist. Especially poignant were the memories Ann mentioned, that she had for her. (see Ann's photo)



Thanks to Joann Henely for the delicious homemade pre-Easter refreshments.

The next meeting will be on Saturday, May 9th and noted genealogical researcher, Richard Souther will discuss "Timelines: A chronology of Life Events." Jim Deutch will give the mini-biography challenge.

The June 13th meeting will be a presentation on "Using Cemeteries for Research." Fran McFarlan is scheduled to give the mini-biography.