Find A Grave

Tuesday evening Patty Foley gave an excellent demonstration on preparing and posting photographs to the website Find A Grave. Her outline listed the specific steps to follow in resizing pictures of gravestones. If you were unable to attend, her outline was attached to Dick's meeting notice.

This is a great way to "give back" to the genealogy community. If you have ever used www.findagrave.com you already know how helpful that site can be for learning more about your ancestors. It is a collection of 77 million grave records, many including photos of headstones and/or obituaries and family groups.

If you are taking a field trip to your home cemetery, check Find A Grave before you go to see whether anyone has posted a request for a photograph of a tombstone. OR, look for a cemetery on Find A Grave that you are unable to visit and post your own request.

Member News

Our vice president, Ken Doane, will be a busy guy this year!


Ken was elected President of The Doane Family Association of America, Inc. at their July 2012 meeting. The 965 member nonprofit organization, with members on three continents, creates interest in the history and welfare of the descendants of Deacon John Doane.


Ken will oversee the publication of the third book in the Doane Family genealogy series, the Deacon John Doane Research Committee and the partnership with Family Tree DNA. “Through the DNA project, and other research that has become available online, we want to pursue the identification of Deacon John Doane’s parents, who we believe came from England,” Doane said. Doane will also manage the family’s foundation, an auxiliary asset of the national organization. The Foundation funds college scholarships for family descendants, as well as students attending Doane College in Crete, NE.


The Doane Family Association of America, Inc. has met biennially for the past 104 years. It welcomes those with surnames of Doane, Doan, Done, Donne or variations thereof, their spouses and descendants, as well as those interested in the family’s history.


The next national reunion, which will feature historic tours, research updates and history presentations, will be held July, 2014, in Michigan. More information can be found at the association’s website, www.doanefamilyassociation.org.

January 15 Workshop

Tuesday's workshop will provide you an opportunity to "give back" to the genealogy community.

Patty Foley will be demonstrating all the particulars involved in posting your cemetery headstone photos to FindAGrave. (She says if you don't have a headstone photo, you can practice with any photo in your computer.)

Bring your computers (fully charged!) and be ready to follow along with her instructions. The handout for this topic will be attached to Dick's weekly meeting notice. Please print and bring with you. (If you'd like to bring an extra copy, feel free.)

Following her demonstration, you may continue to work with FindaGrave. Others can join any special interest group, using our books, folders, etc.

Treasurer Needed

We have lost Louise! Well, we know where she is--it just isn't in Palm Creek anymore. She and Doug have bought a house out of the park, so she has had to resign as our treasurer. If you would like to assume the office of treasurer until our February elections (or even continue in office), please contact one of the current officers. Rick Wood at 6244, Ken Doane at 6387 or Dick Rietz at 6544.

Thanks in advance!

Tuesday's meeting

Last night we all enjoyed Louise's special cookies while watching a webinar explaining the changes being made on the family search website. Family Search is opening all of their genealogies to the general public. Anyone can upload their family tree, including sources. It is also possible to make changes in the existing trees, as long as there is a credible explanation (or source) for the change.

Now is the time to register on that site--everything is free--and make use of the extensive amount of information located there.     www.familysearch.org

Tuesday Meeting

First meeting of 2013: January 8, 7 PM in the San Tan room

Welcome back!

Presentation: Video explaining the latest changes on the Family Search website. They have made it easier to access family trees. We are also being encouraged to use familysearch.org to store our genealogy online.

Handout: 101 best websites of 2012.

Refreshments provided! Come for cookies and conversation.

Volunteers Needed!

It's Craft Fair Tuesday January 8, 2013, from 9-1. If you can spare an hour or two next Tuesday to help register new clients for ancestor lookups, please let Annie know at 6544 or xwordsmith13@gmail.com

Palm Creek's Welcome Home Party is scheduled for Saturday, January 19, 11:30-1:30. We could use one or two volunteers to assist at the genealogy table. In past years this event has helped to gain new members for our club. The more, the merrier, right? Again, let Annie know if you can help.

New Year's Resolutions: Genealogy

1. Organize my file piles! (I need to sort how-to articles, ancestor information, and genealogy club stuff.)

2. Enter data! (Some of the information I located in Salt Lake City in October is still sitting in the tote bag I was using.)

3. Set a weekly date to check FamilySearch for new records. (They post new data often, and new info is starred and color coordinated.)

4. Design migration maps for those ancestors who moved often. (Use census information and narrow searches to a specific state and/or county.)

5. Make a timeline for a brick wall ancestor. (A time line will point out missing information and focus your search.)

6. Consider FANS: friends, associates and neighbors. (Many times these folks turn out to be relatives.)

Happy New Year!