Help Others Trace Their Family Trees

Queries are the subject of today’s column. Readers have sent their questions about missing ancestors who lived in the Inland Northwest, in hopes a reader will have the answer. If you have an answer, please write directly to the submitter.

Carol Halma, 9207 W. Thompson, Woodstock, IL, 60098, wants to know if her ancestors Lindley HOAG and Sarah COX lived and died in Washington in the late 1800s.

Eunice Aldrich, P.O. Box 642, Laverne, OK, 73848, would like to correspond with anybody having information on William M. TOSH and his wife Mary J. WADSWORTH. William died at age 73 in 1913 in Spokane. After his death, Mary married a Mr. GAINES, who also died in Washington. Their children were Willie Odell, Aurilla Bell, Stella Mary, Cora May, Claude W., Maude E., all born between 1879 and 1888.

Gary Tibbetts, P.O. Box 12, Aitkin, Minn., 56431, is organizing a Tibbetts family reunion, and would like to find Inland Northwest family members. One daughter, Margaret Marian TIBBETTS, married Daniel DICK; both are buried in the Creston cemetery in Lincoln County, Wash. They moved to Spokane in 1900. Their children were Julian Abraham, Mildred (m. Frank HENSE), Kenneth David, Harriet, Amy and Irma (m. George BANNEN); all were born between 1879 and 1904. Irma was the only one born in Creston.

Mark F. O’Connor, Rural Route 3, Box 850, Kula, HI, 96790, is seeking information on his uncle, Edward O’CONNOR. Edward was living in Spokane when his mother, Jullia, died. He was an attorney and newspaper owner; he and his brother Thomas started Kalispell, Mont.’s, first newspaper in 1891. There was another brother, Fergus. Edward died before 1943.

Gail Komar, 9603 Bel Glade St., Fairfax, VA, 22031-1105, desires information on Joseph CUSICK, a founder of Cusick, Wash. Is he buried in the Tacoma Creek cemetery in Pend Oreille County, and was his wife Ella C. who died in 1900?

Irene Torres, 1731 N. 19th St., Pasco, WA, 99301, would like to correspond with any descendant of her grandfather, George Thomas FOSTER, who, in 1917, married Laura Elizabeth COOPER in Hill County, Mont. At that time, he was 36, of Laird, Mont., and she was 20, divorced, and of Alma, Mont. They had moved to Deer Park by 1921, and were in Finley, Benton County, Wash., by 1923, raising nine children. Both are buried in Riverview Heights Cemetery in Kennewick.

A few years ago, a local genealogist asked me about a dairy she thought was once on the east side of Five Mile Bluff. If anybody knows about such a dairy farm, please write to me in care of this paper.

Here are some “didyaknow” items:

The Preservation Emporium, P.O. Box 226309, Dallas, TX, 75222, offers a free catalog of their acid-free conservation materials. This company is actively involved in offering conservation and restoration techniques to historians and genealogists. If you have old photos, postcards, books or papers you want to preserve and protect, send for the catalog.

The National Genealogical Society recently mailed a brochure to its members titled, “Psst! Wanna Buy Your Name?” The brochure warns of the many genealogical book scams surfacing to claim our money. The pamphlet tells how to recognize these frauds, what to do if you receive one, where to complain, and encourages readers to tell others. If you’d like a copy of the brochure, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope to National Genealogical Society, 4527 17th N., Arlington, VA, 22207-2399. Bottom line: if you receive an advertisement for such-and-such a family book, and are unsure if it really is a worthwhile investment, ASK SOMEBODY another genealogist, because they probably received the same card.

Looking for Southern ancestors, and it seems you’ve looked forever with little success? Try Southern Queries, a very well-done periodical carrying pages and pages of queries pertaining exclusively to Southern families as well as a few pages devoted to Southern research tips. Six issues is an annual subscription, and costs $24. Subscribers may submit queries for free. Rates for others are five cents a word. Their address is: Southern Queries, Box 726, Durham, NC, 27702-0726.

Picton Press is a small publishing house specializing in books on New England. I ordered “The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts,” by David Hoyt, and have found so much information on my family! This work, first published in a 22-part series between 1897 and 1919, was out of print for ages, until, to my delight, Picton Press had it reprinted. They also print new books concerning New England ancestors. For a copy of their free catalog, call them at 800-742-8667.

Seeking ancestors from Hawaii? During the “Great Mahele,” between 1846 and 1855, the common people of Hawaii were permitted to submit claims for the small holdings they lived on, called kuleana.

Kuleanas were usually house-and-garden lots on land previously held by the chiefs, government and king. The Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles heard testimony and made decisions on nearly 12,000 claims. Once awarded, a kuleana claim was to be surveyed, a communication fee paid, and a royal patent obtained.

Not all claimants completed the process. Most kuleana claims were from Hawaiians, but a few foreigners who had married Hawaiians or received lands from chiefs for services rendered, also registered claims.

The testimony taken during the nine years is on file at the Hawaii State Archives. “Indices of Awards made by the Board of Commissioners to Quiet Land Titles” was published in 1929 and lists the name of the land awarded, claimant names and award number. For more information, write to the Hawaii State Archives, Iolani Palace Grounds, 478 S. King St., Honolulu, HI, 96813.

The Nov. 4 meeting of the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society begins at 1 p.m. in the main floor auditorium of the downtown Spokane Public Library. I will present the program on “Researching American Loyalist Families.” All interested genealogists are invited to attend.

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The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Donna Potter Phillips The Spokesman-Review