Since 1972 Vol. 13 No. 11 & 12 November/December 2013

TWIG TALK

A publication of: Muskegon County Genealogical Society

c/o Hackley Public Library Torrent House

315 W. Webster Avenue Muskegon, MI 49440-1209

www.genealogymuskegon.org

1972mcgs@gmail.com

Find us on

Officers

President: Dawn Westcomb Kelley Past President: Jane Appleton Schapka Vice President: Connie Fales Secretary: Nancy Clark Spoon Treasurer: Ruth Dillabaugh Skinner

Committees County Clerk ................. Jane Gates

Dawn Kelley

Barb Martin

Facebook ...................... Norman Dagen

Family Tree Talk ........... Kay Bosch

Historian ....................... Board Members

History Book Project ..... Kathy DeCormier

Hospitality...................... Jane Weber

Paula Halloran

Connie Fales

Library ........................... Barb Martin

Membership .................. Kathy DeCormier

Marsha Wiersema

Paula Halloran

Newsletter ..................... Kay Bosch

Dawn Kelley

Pioneer Cert. Program.. MCGS Board

Programs & Publicity ..... Connie Fales

Special Projects ........... Dawn Kelley

Website ......................... Shelly Nelson

Newsletter of the Muskegon County Genealogical Society

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Holiday Gathering and

Annual Meeting

Pot Luck Dinner Thursday, November 14th at 6:00 p.m.

at the VFW Post 3196, Grand Haven Rd

Historical Michigan Trivia MCGS Something a little different this issue: I have scattered some fun Michigan facts throughout this newsletter. There will be a big fun fact sheet for you at the November meeting.

Join us at the VFW for our November Holiday Gathering and annual meeting and Pot Luck Dinner. We will be providing the table service, refreshments and sloppy joes. Bring a yummy dish to pass and the recipe for it (make copies if you can). Remember this is also our annual meeting so we will be voting in the President, Vice President Secretary, and Treasurer. Don’t stay away though, there will be more fun than business. Jane Weber has something special cooking up her shelves that you don’t want miss. We will also be sharing holiday ancestral stories and much more. Give away prizes. Tell and show us what genealogical goodies you found this past year. Also, renew your 2014 membership now and save $2. Remember, we will be starting at 6:00 instead of 7. FAMILY HISTORY WORKSHOP IN NOVEMBER! Do you have a brick wall you need help with? Do you need a tour of the Genealogy Department at the library? Are you looking for a few friendly faces to sit and research with? Then we are here for you! We need to use our genealogy department at the Torrent House! We will be available to help on Saturday, November 9. The morning session will be 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The afternoon session will be 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Please pre-register so we will have plenty of people to help you. You can register online at 1972mcgs@gmail.com or call the Torrent House, Local History & Genealogy Dept. at 231-722-7276 ext. 240. Coming in 2014-members Only Genealogy Help Workshops! . Fun Fact! Sault Ste. Marie was founded by Father Jacques Marquette in 1668. It is the third oldest remaining settlement in the United States. RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP FOR 2014 NOW AND SAVE $2! Mail in the membership application and $23 before December 31 and save. You can also bring your completed application and money to the November meeting.

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C O U N T Y C L E R K R E S E A R C H

Twig Talk Vol. 13 No. 11 & 12 November/December 2013

We are there on Wednesdays from 1:00-4:00 p.m. The Muskegon County Clerk is located in the Muskegon County Building at 990 Terrace.

Need help on your research, come on down an see us.

Beth Lyons, Kenai, AK

SURNAMES: Carrick, Haviland, Antisdele,

Johnson, Gudelsky

M E M B E R S H I P

Dues for 2014 will be $25, but if you pay by December 31st of 2013 take $2 off your membership it will be $23. Coming Soon! we will be adding some very interesting Members Only perks to our webpage, including reinstating Family Tree Talk periodical, discounts on web sites, free queries, and more.

Our cookbook will be on sale at our November annual meeting/Holiday Gathering. Please bring $15 per cookbook. This is a fundraiser for our society. You

can also order by letting us know via email at 1972mcgs@gmail.com

M E M B E R S H I P C H A N G E S C O M I N G F O R 2 0 1 4

C O O K B O O K O R D E R S

HOSPITALITY HAPPENINGS

Our October meeting with speaker, Dani LaFleur, had a great program on interesting people and their grave sites in Muskegon County. The door prize was won by lucky Linda Welsh. She also shared her Norwegian immigrant who survived a ship sinking to this country only to almost die in a vast forest before reaching his final destination in Rhineland, Wisconsin. Article was found on GenealogyBank.com. Kathy DeCormier brought pumpkin sugar cookies, pumpkin-spice muffins, cupcakes and grapes to make a tasty treat! Our Slaters' brought our much loved water. For October Family History Month, Joan Gawron's donated prizes and they went to: Sandra Kelley, Connie Fales, Marie Payne, Bonnie Vokits, Karen Farmer, and Jane Schapka, We need to see ONE of your completed projects as a: book, folder, quilt, or album.

G R E A T N E W B O O K

Chart your research course to find your European ancestors with the beginner-friendly, how-to instruction in this book. This one-of-a-kind collection provides invaluable information about more than 35 countries in a single source. Each of the 14 chapters is devoted to a specific country or region of Europe and includes all the essential records and resources for filling in your family tree. Inside you'll find:

Specific online and print resources including 700 websites.

Contact information for more than 100 archives and

libraries.

Help finding relevant records.

Traditions and historical events that may affect your

family's past.

Historical time lines and maps for each region and

country. Tracing your European ancestors can be a challenging voyage. This book will start you on the right path to identifying your roots and following your ancestors' winding journey through history. It is available on Amazon.com in a printed version. There is not currently a Kindle or Nook version available.

We need your ideas and help! What can we do for our society 45th anniversary in 2017 to promote genealogy? We are thinking of hosting a one day Seminar like they do in Lansing. If we do that who would you like to see come to speak? What would you like us to offer for seminar topics? Would you be willing to help? We are going to need everyone in on this and we need to start planning and booking now. Let us know your thoughts. Write your thoughts down and either email them or bring them to the next meeting.

Fun Fact! The Kellogg Company has made Battle Creek the Cereal Capital of the World. The Kellogg brothers accidentally discovered the process for producing flaked cereal products and sparked the beginning of the dry cereal industry.

ANNIVERSARY DETAILS

Now is your chance to purchase the Muskegon County History Volume 1 for your friends and family members. Please complete the order form and send it in or bring it to the meeting for your copy just in time for Christmas. What an easy way to get all your shopping done, help out the society, and give your friends and family something to last generations. Remember you will get a $10.00 Discount for being an MCGS member ONLY!

HISTORY BOOK VOLUME 1

3 Twig Talk Vol. 13 No. 11 & 12 November/December 2013

Flat Maps outline property boundaries, identify land-

owners or residents, and more. Many are available in the Cities and Towns sections of American Memory Map Collections memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml

Insurance Maps, the most well-known of these are

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps loc.gov//rr/geogmap/sanborn

Topographic Maps can be crucial toi understanding

an ancestral neighborhood. It’s worth looking for them in the Conservation and Environment section of American Memory Maps memory.loc.gov/ammem/gmdhtml

Street and Transportation Maps show how

our relatives got around. Depending on the time and place, they show railroad lines and depots; canal routes and river systems; streetcar routes or overland roads and byways. http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch2en/conc2en/ch2c1en.html

Check www.maphistory.info/imageus.html

Vernors Ginger Ale was created in Detroit and became the first soda pop made in the United States. In 1862, pharmacist James Vernor was trying to create a new beverage when he was called away to serve our country in the Civil War. When he returned, 4 years later, the drink he had stored in an oak case had acquired a delicious gingery flavor. Michigan is first in the United States production of peat and magnesium compounds and second in gypsum and iron ore. How Far Can You Go? Railroaders got into a rate war in the 1880's and the price of a ticket from Kansas City to Los Angeles dropped to $1.00. It's an historical fact that a lot of people wound up in Los Angeles merely because it was a cheap ride.

Seaman Protection Certificate If your ancestor went to

sea in the 1800s, he may have applied for a Seaman's

Protection Certificate to protect him from imprisonment

by Great Britain and other powers. This program lasted

from 1796-1897. The applicant presented proof of

citizenship and paid a fee of 25 cents. Every three

months a list of seamen was sent to the Secretary of

State, Washington, D.C. stating each seaman's age and

physical description. Write the Archives Division,

National Archives & Records, Washington, D.C. 20408.

Alpena is the home of the world’s largest cement plant.

Heritage Quest Online www.heitagequestonline.com FREE to all Michigan residents, just use your Michigan driver’s license, MI ID or library card. This site has FEDERAL CENSUS 1790 - 1940, Books – 28,000 family and local histories, PERSI ARCHIVES – Search for Personal Index to find people, and places from this index of over 2.3 million genealogy and local history articles (1800-2009). REVOLUTIONARY records from the Revolutionary War Era Pension & Bounty-Land warrant application files. FREEMAN’S BANK – search for individuals in Freeman’s Bank (1865-1864) which was founded to serve African Americans. U.S. SERIAL SET – Memorials, petitions, and private Relief Actions of the U.S. Congress in ProQuest ® U.S. Serial Set. FACEBOOK PAGES Here are some Facebook pages to check out. Cornish Connection of Lower Michigan Detroit Genealogy Detroit Society for Genealogical Research French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan German Genealogy Huron Shores Genealogical Society Ionia County Genealogical Society Jewish Genealogical Society of Michigan Michigan Genealogy Michigan Genealogy Research Midland Genealogical Society Muskegon County Genealogical Society Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan Western Michigan Genealogical Society Western Wayne County Genealogical Society of Michigan Go to www.SocialMediaGenealogy.com for a huge free list in .pdf format.

More Digitized Newspapers Appear Online Chronicling America at http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ a free newspaper site from the Library of Congress, reported that over 600,000 pages from over 1,100 newspapers were added. New additions are papers from Michigan, Iowa and West Virginia. More papers were added from Hawaii, Indiana, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas. Michigan papers include: The Cass County Republican, Dowagiac, 1858-1880 Constantine Republican, Constantine, 1836-1838 The Grand Haven News, Grand Haven, 1858-1866 Grand River Times, Grand Haven, 1851-1857 Northern Tribune, Cheboygan, 1875-1885 Weekly Expositor, Brockway Centre, 1882-1892 Ypsilanti Sentinel, Ypsilanti, 1843-1848 Various dates within the time periods. Historical Newspaper Archives Free at Elephind.com This site allows you to search all of the world's digital newspapers from one place and at one time. You can simultaneously search across thousands of articles using key words and phrases. The site presently has about 1,200,000 newspapers.

L A T E S T F R E E O N L I N E R E C O R D S

WEB NEWS

F U N F A C T S !

HISTORIAL MAPS WEBSITES From Family Tree Magazine September 2013

Regular Meetings Starts at 7:00 p.m.

2nd Thursday

VFW Post 3195 5209 Grand Haven Road

November 14, 2013

No meeting in December

2014 January 9,

February 13 March 13 April 10 May 8

June 12

No meeting in July

August 14 September 11

October 9 November 13

No meeting in December

Board Meetings Meet at 5:30 p.m.

2nd Thursday

VFW Post 3195 5209 Grand Haven Road

No meetings in Nov & Dec

2014

January 9, February 13

March 13 April 10 May 8

June 12

No meeting in July

August 14 September 11

October 9 November 13

No meeting in December

Genealogy Family History Workshops

Torrent House Local History & Genealogy Dept., 315 W. Webster

2 sessions! 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. or

2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. You must pre-register online at 1972mcgs@gmail.com or call Torrent House at 231-722-7276 ext. 240.

November 9, 2013 No workshop in December

2014

January 11 February 8

March 8 April 12 May 10

No workshops in Jun, Jul, Aug & Dec

September 13 October 11 November 8

Upcoming Events Dates 2013/2014

REMINDERS FOR 2013/2014 Nov 14—Holiday Gathering/Annual Meeting/Elections

COMING IN 2014

More Perks for Members only. That gives our members benefits they can only get by renewing! New workshops on using computers, software,

organization and more. Classes and Presentations on using computers for

genealogy. Genealogy help sessions at the Torrent House. Member Car Pool Field Trips to Lansing, Grand Rapids,

and Fort Wayne. New issues of Twig Talk and Family Tree Talk. Expanding databases on our website.

PROGRAMS

More with Bill and Glenna Jo Christian - Dating Photos Workshop.

Evernote and much more with member Karen Frazier New York with member Jane Schapka My Search for Roots and the Secrets in DNA with Richard

Hill

Twig Talk Vol. 13 No. 11 & 12 November/December 2013

DON’T FORGET TO UPDATE YOUR PHONE# & EMAIL ADDRESS

Don’t forget

Your completed 4 Generation Chart. Stories and photos for the History of Muskegon Volume II. Donation for our refreshment fund. Any donation of genealogy magazines, books, or other items. HOLIDAY SHOPPING! Money for the MCGS Cookbook. Money for your copy of the History of Muskegon -Volume I.

MCGS COOKBOOK ORDER FORM Name _________________________________________________________________________ Address _______________________________________________________________________ City ______________________________________________State ____ Zip ________________ Email _________________________________________________________________________ Phone _____________________________________ Cell _______________________________ Cookbooks are $15 each. This is a fundraiser for MCGS. Give them as Christmas, Birthday, Wedding, or any type of gift! Make checks payable to MCGS. How Many Cookbooks ___ Will you be picking up your books? _____ or do you want them mailed (add $5) _____ Signed_________________________________________________________________________

HISTORY OF MUSKEGON COUNTY “A PROUD LEGACY” VOLUME I MCGS SPECIAL ORDER FORM for (MEMBERS ONLY)

Name _________________________________________________________________________ Address _______________________________________________________________________ City ______________________________________________State ____ Zip ________________ Email _________________________________________________________________________ Phone _____________________________________ Cell _______________________________ History book Vol 1 is a special price for members only, $55 ea. This is a fundraiser for MCGS. Give them as Christmas, Birthday, Wedding, or any type of gift! Make checks payable to MCGS. How Many History Books Volume I would you like? _______ Will you be picking up your books? ______ or do you want them mailed (add $8) ______ Signed_________________________________________________________________________

Twig Talk Vol. 13 No. 11 & 12 November/December 2013

Holiday Gathering & Autumn

Ancestral Jubilee Thursday, November 14, 2013

6:00 p.m.

VFW Post #3195

Grand Haven Rd & Porter Rd

We will provide: Complete Table Service, Refreshments and Sloppy Joes & Buns. Everyone bring a yummy dish to pass, if you can, the recipe for it (make copies if you can). Jane Weber has something special cooking up her shelves that you don’t want miss. Come share holiday ancestral stories, pictures, family books you put together or memorabilia you have. Tell and show us what genealogical goodies you found this past year. We will have lots of give away prizes too.

BRING A FRIEND!

Remember, it is from 6:00 to 8pm

MUSKEGON COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

NAME________________________________________PHONE (_____) _________________

ADDRESS____________________________________________________________________

CITY_________________________________STATE___________ZIP____________________

E-MAIL ADDRESS_____________________________________________________________

MEMBERSHIP: $2 off by December 31, 2013

* A membership is from January 1 through December 31 each year *

Single $25.00 in the USA $30.00 USD$ Outside the USA

New membership

Renewal *Renewal membership cards are available on request with SASE

Send newsletter by e-mail Send newsletter by mail

SURNAMES:

Publish on the web site using my name and the societies e-mail address

Publish on the web site using my name and my e-mail address

Do not publish on the web site

Please list (print) surnames below.

_________________________,_________________________,__________________________

_________________________,_________________________,__________________________

_________________________,_________________________,__________________________

_________________________,_________________________,__________________________

_________________________,_________________________,__________________________

Please made check or money orders payable to MCGS

Mail to:

Muskegon County Genealogical Society (MCGS)

Attn: MEMBERSHIP

C/O Hackley Public Library

Torrent House

315 W. Webster Ave.

Muskegon, MI 49440-1209

Website: www.genealogymuskegon.org

E-mail: 1972mcgs@gmail.com

MCGS – APP MEM 100 – REV 2013

MCGS USE ONLY

Rec’d: ___________________

Check # __________________

Cash: ____________________

Amt: ____________________