The official newsletter of the Genealogical Research Society of Eau Claire, WisconsinVolume 33 November—December 2015 Number 02

An affiliate of the Wisconsin State Genealogical Society www.wsgs.org

Holiday Gift Ideas for the Genealogist in the Family• Flash/Thumb Drives, great stocking stuffers• Mechanical Pencils, for those archives and libraries; plus a really nice, big eraser!• A nice pencil bag to carry ev-erything and keep it from falling to the bottom of your case• A subscription to a genealogy magazine (FamilyTree?)• A subscription to the WI

History Magazine (or the state history magazine where your ancestors are from)• An external hard drive (for backing up all those pictures and files). Amazon has a 1 Terabyte hard drive for $55.00 and a 5 Terabyte hard drive for $135.00• Rechargable AA batteries, they recharge from any USB port (also on Amazon

• A gift membership to a state genealogical society in the state of your choice• My husband and son gave me two coupons for two nights in Madison, WI so I could research at the Wisconsin Historical Society library and two nights in St. Paul, MN so I could go to the MN History Center. It was fantastic!

It’s been a great start to our genealogy year! I hope you all have had some success and taken advantage of opportunities that present themselves. My husband wanted to go leaf peeping so we coordinated that with a trip to a La Crosse cemetery to find graves of distant relatives. Found them all, and got great photos on the

drive down and back.

It seems there are great opportunities this fall for seminars, conferences, and webinars. WSGS had a great conference recently on copyrighting. The presenter, Thomas MacEntee has a facebook page and also a blog going. His e-mail address is hidefgen@gmail.com and web site at http://hidefgen.com/. Check him out. Be sure to check out WSGS (wsgs.org) for their webinars and also MNGS (mngs.org) for theirs. Both have good ones coming up. Don’t forget those at our own library.

Recently, a friend tagged me on facebook on the meaning of the word coimetromania “(n.) an abnormal attraction to and desire to visit cemeteries.” I thought this was a normal thing! Shows you who writes definitions for dictionaries.

If you haven’t been to a meeting recently, please come join us. We have some great programs lined up and would love to share them with you.

Pat Lindholm

A Message from the Chair

www.grsec.org grsec@cvmuseum.com

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Genealogical Research Society of Eau Claire (GRSEC)ChairmanPat Lindholm.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 715.836.7375

Vice ChairmanBob Fraser .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 715.839.9893

SecretaryKathy Herfel .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 715.926.5205

Treasurer/MembershipTom Davey.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 715.835.2655

Program ChairTodd Johnson

Cemetery IndexingKarin Pettis . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 715.225.9901

HistorianLinda McClelland

Obituary ChairKathy Herfel .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 715.926.5205

LibrariansRoger Davis .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 715.835.1630Patricia Anderson. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 715.563.2616

WebsiteMichaela Walters . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 715.828.1711

LE Phillips Library LiaisonKathy Herfel

PublicityDeb Jarvar .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 715.874.6678

NewsletterAnita Reid .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 715.828.2255

This newsletter is published in September, November, January, March, May, and mid July. Deadline for entries is the last day of the month prior to publication. So entries for November’s issue would be October 31.The GRSEC meets the second Saturday of each month, September through May, at 10:00 a. m. Come early at 9:30 a. m. with your questions or just to visit. We meet at the Chippewa Valley Museum, located at Carson Park, in beautiful Eau Claire, Wisconsin.The GRSEC does not meet during the summer months (June through August). The membership year runs May 1st through April 30th. Membership fee is $10.00 per year, beginning May 1st. Check your mailing label on the newsletter for your expiration date. It is on the right hand corner. Get your newsletter via email? Then check with Tom Davey, the Treasurer/Membership chair.

Meetings, Events and a Webinar!

• November 7, LE Phillips Library, “Finding Grandma’s Ancestors,” 11 a. m. to 12 p. m. in the Eau Claire room, 400 Eau Claire St., Eau Claire, WI

GRSEC Executive Board

Items of Interest

Meetings and Events cont.

• November 7, Madison, Memorial Lib. rm 126, “German American Genealogy,” 8:30 to 4:40, cost is $30 (10% off for WHS or WSGS members)• November 10, Wausau, at the Marathon Coun-ty Public Library, Jerry Apps Wisconsin Agriculture Book Talk and Signing, 6 p. m. • November 14, GRSEC meeting, Chippewa Valley Museum, topic “GAR influence after the Civil War. 10 a. m.• November 17, Webinar “World War I Military Records,” sponsored by the Wisconsin State Genea-logical Society, you must first register! • November 18, Wild Rose, at the Wild Rose High School, Wisconsin Public Television will showcase its newest documentary with Jerry Apps, which draws from his book Whispers and Shadows. A book signing will follow. 6:15 p. m.• November 19, Eau Claire Public Library, Open Lab from 10:15 to 11:45 a. m. Todd Johnson will present, TBA• December 12, GRSEC meeting, Archives at the McIntyre Library, UW-EC, topic “Naturalizations,” 10 a. m.• December 19, Madison, Memorial Lib. rm 126, “African American Genealogy,” 8:30 to 4:40, cost is $30 (10% off for WHS or WSGS members)• WI Historical Society (WHS) has several free videos to watch, including “Preparing for a Trip to the Wisconsin Historical Society.” These free videos and webinars include a free print handout

Books• Polka Heartland: Why the Midwest Loves to Polka, by Dick Blau (photogra-pher) and Rick March (author); a WI Historical Society Press book

• The Chippewa Valley Line: The History of the Chip-pewa Valley and Superior Railroad, by Arlyn Colby. Contact him via email by clicking his name• The Expansion of New England: The Spread of New England Settlement and Institutions to the Mississippi River, 1620-1865, by L. K. Mathews• New York Family History Research Guide and Gaz-etteer, written and published by the New York Gene-alogical and Biographical Society

www.grsec.org grsec@cvmuseum.com

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We have already enjoyed two wonderful speakers and presentations this year. In September, our opening

meeting featured Bill Eckland from Sharp Photo here in Eau Claire. He gave an overview of the history of photogra-phy and types of photographs through time. One of the more thought-provoking state-ments… we are experiencing the most photographed time in our history, but will also be the least documented. Everyone has photographs on their phone, very few people print the pho-tographs and save them for the future. We seem to be blessed

and cursed with technology. We need to make sure future generations will have access to the photographs of now. Bill also outlined the services provided by Sharp Photo.If you would like to know more about the beginnings of photography, Vita Brevis, A Resource for Family History from American Ancestors.org has a wonder-ful blog post on this very subject. “The Introduction of Photography,” by Zachary Garceau.

Our speaker in October was Sharon Phiel. Sharon is a researcher from Minnesota and is the author of The Lee, Lien, Olson-Stensrud Family Genealogy. She has donated many of her books to our society. Sharon spoke of the research process and construction of her book. She emphasized of the importance of using all the resources available to you, such has obituaries, letters and family heirlooms. The outcome of the book was a family reunion and an eventual trip to Norway and the immigrant ancestor’s home

farm. Sharon’s book is available to all of us as it is in the society library.

Speaking of Norway, there is a new mapping tool available for Norwegian Parishes. This site has been available since the beginning of August, but I just discovered the post on the Dear Myrtle Genealogy Community on Google+. The first link is the English language explanation, but this is very simple to use.Slekt og slikt! is the blogNorway’s Parishes is the websiteFirst you select the county from the drop down list on the left, then municipality, then parish. The map first shows the county boundary and also includes links on the right for general information, genealogical resources, and farm list. You can drill down further if you know the municipality, and then even further to parish. For instance, my mother’s family came from Fet, which is in Akershus. The links for Fet include a picture of the parish church, genealogical resources, a brief church history (opens in a new link), a list of farm names, and then links to the parish records from the Norway’s Digital Archives site. Oh my, wish this had been available about ten years ago!

Looking for a new genealogy software program? There are two (that I know of ) that offer free pro-grams, RootsMagic Essentials and Legacy Family Tree Standard Edition. These are available to down-load and offer most of the complete program of the full price version. Both offer web-based training vid-eos on learning the software. I do not know if there is a price break on the full-program if you have tried the free one and like it.

Many Thanks…

Would you like to receive the Sawdust City Roots newsletter via email? It is a simple as making sure that Tom Davey has your email address!

www.grsec.org grsec@cvmuseum.com

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Monastery in Eau Claire, WisconsinResearched and written by Mary E. Carlson October, 2015

“A great building must begin with the immeasurable, must go through measurable means when it is being designed, and in the end must be unmeasured.” Louis I. Kahn

Incredulous! Skeptical! Jaw Drop on the Sidewalk! A few days following a major religious holiday in Spring 2015, a request for information arrived at the office of a 157 year old downtown church. When requested to assist with the research, my genealogy juices overflowed and the challenge surged. Quite close to the final cache, the GPS revealed the near north side of Eau Claire. Mission: to take photos. In the process, I visited with a friendly (gosh, we live in Eau Claire), neighborhood Grand Motherly type pushing her stroller laden grandchild. The quaint stone Gothic inspired building amidst 1910’s architecture appeared misplaced. This conversation ensued: “What the heck are you doing on my sidewalk?” “I’m researching this stone Gothic building.” “What is the history?” “It’s a MONASTERY now!” “Really, a MONASTERY?”As a resident of Eau Claire for 25 years, reading the newspaper and listening to the local media on radio and TV is top of the list every day. (I read obituaries intermittently). A Monastery? How long has it been here? The nunnery south of town, now owned by UW-EC, is well documented.. Quickly escaping to car

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and home, I googled it! My jaw resided on sidewalk purgatory in front of the building.

INQUIRY: A past resident of Eau Claire (1970-1980’s) and 20 year member of Christ Church Cathedral (CCC) e-mailed a request for information. He now resides in Pennsylvania. While surfing the web, he found “an intriguing” photo of a north side home that had been converted from a church.” He attempted to save the photo, but the stone structure with the small rose window disappeared. UGH… we can all relate. In that brief glimpse, he noted that the structure had been affiliated with CCC.

RESEARCH: The request was given to me, the Cathedral’s informally appointed intermittent Archivist (2008), daily genealogist, and member of the church. I have an interest in buildings and history. A quick glance at the two publications shelved at home gave me no clues. The CCC Archives Index provided none either. Stumped. A phone call to one of the elders and lifetime member of CCC provided clues. She has an astute memory, told me exactly where the building was located, and identified names of folks to contact. Later, my spouse found a scanned Church History Document from 2004 on our computers! There was reference to the mission: “Various missions have been served by Christ Church clergy… St. Edward’s Chapel, Eau Claire, entry 36 a separate mission, 1891-1906… and served by the parish clergy until 1918 when the congregation returned to the parish.” Genealogy searching is easier with a name! I Googled it, and now I had an address: 1129 Bellevue Ave, Eau Claire, Wisconsin! Immediately it surfaced on Wikipedia, as listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000! The next day, a short road adventure landed me squarely in front of this architectural gem of Eau Claire, exactly where Miriam told me to find it. I took some photos of the beautiful stone exterior as I visited with the neighbor.Bingo, I e-mailed the fellow in Pennsylvania with the news! Yes, that was precisely what had sparked the inquiry.

MORE RESEARCH: • Christ Church Cathedral Archives George

Hancock (1849-1924) was the architect

• Diocese of Eau Claire publications

• L. E. Phillips Memorial Library-Reference (History of Eau Claire County, 1914, P. 528) and online ACCESS Newspapers: “In 1889 the work on St. Edward’s Chapel, Belleview Ave., commenced… on June 5, 1896 the present corner stone was laid… The formal opening of the chapel was held on St. Peter’s day, 1896.”

• Eau Claire, WI County Deed Records

• Wisconsin Historical Society Property Re-cord. The construction of the chapel was di-rected by Rev. B.F. Cooley, the rector of Christ Cathedral from November, 1888 to August, 1889. The church was named for Edward the Confessor, a saint from the twelfth century and for Bishop Edward Wells of Milwaukee.

The chapel was closed in 1917 and its cornerstone is now lo-cated at the northeast corner of Christ Cathedral. The Architec-tural Style is Gothic Revival.

OPPORTUNITY: The unique building on Bellevue Street is a destination worthy of any history/architecture buff. Per David, “the tower is simple, elegant in matching smooth

river stone with the little extended turret at one of the corners, and the opening for a bell”. See photo—that turret and tower is now missing. Recently, a friend and I visited as someone was exiting the front door. I talked to her, she allowed us entry, toured us around the main floor, and invited me to return with my camera for interior photos. The rose window is now plain glass, but the small Gothic inspired Nave windows maintain their historical shape, and are painted red (now white) on the inside sashes. And they are at the perfect level for inquisitive children to watch the birds, butterflies, snowflakes, and autumn leaves drifting slowly to the ground. No, it isn’t a Monastery — It is a Montessori School!Research details and documentation are available upon request.

www.grsec.org grsec@cvmuseum.com

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Life in Eau Claire, Wisconsin is awesome! Amen! As all genealogists know, “The Devil is in the Details!” Did I hear one of the numerous Presidential candidates articulate that today—or not?

“Old buildings whisper to us in the creaking of floorboards and rattling of windowpanes.” Fennel Hudson, A Meaningful Life-Fennel ’s Journal-No. 1

Photographs by Doug Carlson and used with permission. The St. Edward’s Chapel image is from the church archives and is reproduced with permission.

Do you have an interesting story to share about a place? Perhaps your neighborhood growing up, the school you attended, maybe the farm your ancestors lived on? Places have and give meaning to our lives. This weekend I listened to my husband describe the type of milking stool they used on the farm he grew up on. Apparently, there are many types, who knew? I certainly didn’t. Our milk showed up in the refrigerator, delivered by a milkman when I was younger. My husband maintained that a T-shaped stool was best, because you nev-er knew which way the cow was going to lean! You can’t move very fast on a three-legged stool I guess. My husband must have spent some quality time in his “place,” the barn on the family farm.So, share a paragraph or two with the rest of us. We would love to hear a story of “your” place and preserve your memories for the next generation.

14 Reasons Why Old Places Matter, by Tom Mayes, vice president and senior counsel with the National Trust (this first appeared in an article by Mark Wineka writing for the Salisbury Post, 20 September 2015)

1. Continuity gives people a sense of being a part of something2. Memory- “without memory, we are hardly ourselves”3. Individual Identity4. Civic Identity5. Beauty6. History- helps us to understand7. Architecture- “embody a spirit of their age”8. Sacredness9. Learning10. Creativity11. Sustainability12. Ancestry- a sense of belonging13. Community14. Economics

Here is a link to the complete article

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“Why waste your money looking up your family tree? Just go into politics and your opponents will do it for you.” — Mark Twain

Looking for a good calendar highlighting upcoming genealogy webinars? Look no further than Dear Myrtle’s GeneaWebinars Calendar. She has at least two and sometimes more webinars going every week. She also has an explanation as to how things work, a time zone converter and other tips and tricks.

My favorite blogs. I subscribe to many genealogy and history related blogs. None of them cost any money, all you have to do is subscribe, either via email or with a blog reader program. Each one gives you options to chose from. Here are a few of my favorites:

The Library of Congress Virtual Programs and Services

A Patient Genealogist, written by Devon Noel Lee. She covers not only traditional genealogy but also scrapbooking and writing.

Genealogy’s Star, written by James Tanner. I had been fortunate to hear Mr. Tanner at a conference in Mesa, Arizona. I do not know how he manages to find the time to research, work at a library, manage two or three blogs, and make it all interesting. I may not agree with all his conclusions but I always learn something.

Genealogy by Paula, written by Paula Stuart-Warren from the St. Paul area. If you ever get a chance to hear her speak at a conference, sign up! She makes the research process fun and exciting. So many ideas, so little time.

Genea-Musings, written by Randy Seaver. Randy uses both RootsMagic and FamilyTree maker genealogy programs and frequently explains and illustrates how he performs certain tasks in each program. This blog is the one I read first, every morning.

This and That…

Christmas Idea for a New York ResearcherThe NY Genealogical and Bi-ographical Society is offering free shipping on their premier book, New York Family History Research Guide and Gazetteer. This is a $10.00 savings. You need to pur-chase the book through the NYG & B bookstore and use the code “BOOKSHIP” Cost for non-mem-bers is $85.00, and the library/soci-ety price is $75.00. For more information and a link to the annotated Table of Contents, click here.

Did you miss the National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair on October 21 and 22? You can now go to YouTube and watch the presenta-tions. You can also download the slides and handouts used during the presentations.Day 1 lecture serieshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-rDaFVYJhUDay 2 lecture serieshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4o3_Ox_cUYHandoutshttps://www.archives.gov/calendar/genealo-gy-fair/2015/schedule-handouts.html

Free Webinars through the Illinois State Genealogical Society. Registration is now open for 2016. All lec-tures/presentations are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 8:00 pm Central time. These are free to the public. Here are some of the upcoming presenta-tions:January 12— Organizing Your Genealogy Research ProcessFebruary 9— Reconstructing Black Community Life Through Benevolent SocietiesMarch 8— Researching in Archives & Libraries: Do’s and Don’tsHere is the link to the websitehttp://ilgensoc.org/cpage.php?pt=234

GRSEC NewsletterChippewa Valley MuseumPO Box 1204Eau Claire, WI 54702