It’s this Saturday! The Family Research Workshop “From Hudson’s Bay to Downton Abbey” is this Saturday, August 16 to benefit the DuPont Historical Museum from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm. I didn’t suspect until we started working on this interactive program how much it’s possible to learn in just a few minutes, and how important are the family stories that go with the bare facts. For instance:
My Mom and Dad met on the swinging bridge across the North Fork of the Umpqua River near Roseburg, OR. Family legend has it that my father was waiting to return a waitresses dress to her. He used to tell the grandchildren that he got the dress “just the way you think I got it.” They always ran from the room crying “TMI” which he seemed to enjoy. He was a worldly 24 years of age and she was just 16. One look and the lightning struck them both. (Cue “Speak Softly, Love” from The Godfather). They didn’t marry until the next fall when Mom started her senior year. She tells how my grandma looked at her thoughtfully and said, “After high school, Josie, you stay here on the farm. Years go by, people say, whatever become of that Josie Franco?” Mom didn’t find that attractive so one morning she left for school and never came back.
Family Legend says that as the sun went down, Grandma was sitting with her rifle on the hill overlooking the farm, waiting for that big redheaded man who had ruined her daughter to show his face. He never did. (Cue “You Can’t Get A Man With A Gun.” Fade to black.)
I relived this story as I looked up the 1930 Census Form. I just love Census Forms. They’ve been my biggest research surprise. You can find out so much about the people you’ve known all your life. For instance, it was exciting to look at the 1930 census, and find my Grandfather and family on their farm in Oregon, and right down the column, are their neighbors, the Stumbo boys. I’ve heard about them forever. It was almost like a trip home.
A tip that I learned from our workshop presenter, Dee Haviland Fournier, is not to rely on the nice printed information forms that the mega sites present for your convenience, but go directly to the real form.
Each form asks different questions, and it ‘s like being transported back to the time and place where they were when the census was taken. And you don’t have to have hours to spend. I found these records in just about 20 minutes. And I’m slow.
Become a Genealogy Detective. Join us in DuPont on Aug 16 for our interactive family research workshop From Hudson’s Bay to Downtown Abbey.
Remember that each attendee will receive an attractive yet understated certificate declaring the bearer to be a Genealogy Detective.
Join Dee and me, Nancy Covert and Reenactor Synthia Santos, for an exciting and interesting day – and a free lunch. Remember there are also TWO free concerts, and a free ice cream social, and a chance to tour a historic company home.
Pre-register by phone (and pay at the door) at 253-582-4565 or online Dorothy@itsnevertoolate.com or send a check for $10 to the DuPont Historical Museum Send check for Ten Dollars to DuPont Historical Museum, 207 Barksdale Avenue DuPont, WA 98327. All proceeds go to benefit the museum.
