Readers Request Leads On Family History

Part of today’s column shares readers’ queries. If you have an answer for one of these folks, please write directly to them.

Toby Phillips, 2347 Malcolm Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90064, fax (310) “I seek help in locating the descendants of Will D. BROWNE, whose last known address was in 1920 in Spokane.” (Actually, Phillips’ mother, who lives in Australia, submitted this query.)

Lee B. Akeley, 80 Dawson St., South Portland, ME 04106, writes: “Need information on the AKELEY family that migrated from Maine to Oregon and Washington. Walter Ossian Akeley died in Seattle in 1978, age 83. His wife was Lottie Mae HAGERMAN, and their daughter was Elva Marie Akeley who died in Seattle in 1946 at age 28. She was wife of Oscar WESTFORD. Also seeking information on Frederick M. Akeley who died in Roseburg, Ore. in 1943 at age 89. His wife was Nellie M. CUMMINGS, and their daughter was Grace Akeley who died in Oregon in 1945 at age 64. She married Frank THIBODEAU.”

Jack Schaedler, 5204 Nelson St., Sacramento, CA 95820 writes: “I am searching for information on Elizabeth PETTYJOHN who married Haskell YATES. She died in 1915 in Asotin, Wash., having lived for a time with her son, Elisha Jackson Yates in Pendleton. Other children were Mary Lavisa Yates, Mahala Yates, William Rubin Yates, William Samuel Yates, Abraham Lincoln Yates and my grandfather, Robert Columbus Yates.”

Marcelle Carpenter, P.O. Box 117, Chelan, WA 98816, writes: “I am making a display of Pioneer Families in the Chelan Museum. We would like to contact the family of Rosswell LORD for a picture of the Edwin Harvey Lord family. Rosswell Lord, the second son of E.H. Lord, married Maggie DICKSON in 1891 in Chelan at her parents’ home. The couple moved to Spokane before 1908; their children were Mable, Hazel and Harvey Lord. Mabel married Joseph ROSAUER and they had a little store at Parkwater. One of their daughters was Bernice Rosauer who married Ray McGINNIS and had a son, Patrick. Can anyone help find this family?”

Evelyn Jordan, 6510 N. Belt, Spokane, WA 99208, writes: “I would like to correspond with anyone working on the Oliver family surname. We probably are cousins!”

Other genealogy topics

If you are looking for Texas ancestors, write to the Texas State Historical Association, 2306 Sid Richardson Hall, University Station, Austin, TX 78712.

Since 1897, this organization has been preserving, studying and publishing the Texas past. The association began publishing its journal, the Southwestern Historical Quarterly, in 1897; they sponsor a summer seminar in Texas history at the University of Texas in Austin. Association membership is $35 annually. You can request a free copy of their publications list by writing to the above address.

Did your ancestor live in northwestern Oregon in the early 1800s? Perhaps he had contact with the Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery as they wintered there. The Fort Clatsop Historical Association offers an extensive array of mail order items pertaining to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, as well as Western history, Northwest Indian tribes and Oregon history. Request a brochure from them at Route 3, Box 604-FC, Astoria, OR 97103.

Here’s a great idea - “messaging in cemeteries.” I’ve read several times about a unique way to communicate with unknown family members by making contacts in cemeteries. When you travel to visit your family cemetery, take along an empty quart jar into which you’ve put papers listing some basic genealogy on the family, and several copies of your name and address. Leave the jar tucked into the grass next to the tombstone, and go home and wait for a “cousin” letter.

At the 1 p.m., March 4 meeting of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society, John Zeimantz, member and local attorney, will discuss “Frontier Law.” Even the most humble ancestor in America appeared in court from time to time, and this presentation will acquaint you with legal terms and how to access these 19th century court records. All area genealogists are invited to attend the session in the first-floor meeting room of the downtown Spokane Library.

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