Susa Young Gates

Susa Young Gates married Jacob Forsberry Gates. That marriage linked our family lines. Susa became my great-aunt as Jacob was the brother of my great-grandfather, Wellington Forsberry Gates. While perusing a book of pioneer women recently at BYU I came across this brief history of her. I found it fascinating and thought others in the family might enjoy it as well.

"Mrs. Susa Young Gates:--The first child born in the Lion House, March 18, 1856, Susa Young, daughter of Brigham Young and Lucy Bigelow, was a studious and imaginative child. She was taught dancing by Sarah Alexander, and for several years was a child danseuse at the Salt Lake Theatre. She was a natural musician, studied telegraphy and graduated as a star pupil. (in “shorthand”) of David Evans, the Church stenographer, in 1870. Removing to St. George with her mother’s family, she was a popular actress in that pioneer Dixie city; taught music and organized the Union Club there in 1876. She attended the B.Y.Academy in 1878 and there organized the Music Department under the direction of her beloved teacher, Prof. Karl G. Maeser, with two choral bodies an excellent choir. She organized and taught the Domestic Science Department in 1896 in the same school. Since 1894 she has been a Trustee of that institution. For two terms, 1905-1911, she was Trustee of the Utah Agricultural College. Married Jacob F. Gates in 1880, she has borne thirteen children five of them living. Mrs. Gates was a member of the General Board of the Y.I.M.I.A. for over twenty years, and founded and edited, during that time the Young Woman’s Journal, presenting the magazine to the Association when it became an assured success in its eighth year. Placed on the General Board of the Relief Society in May 1911, by President Joseph F. Smith, she was chosen Corresponding Secretary in September, 1913, and appointed editor of the new Relief Society Magazine in the fall of 1913. She is the Historian of the Society and is not engaged in writing the history of the Society and of the Mormon women. She was the first person baptized in the St. George Temple, President Woodruff officiating with her father, President Young, confirming her for the dead. She was a worker there at the opening of the Temple and three years thereafter, chiefly acting as a recorder. She was the official stenographer for bot St. George Temple dedications, as also for those in the Logan and Salt Lake Temples, and is still faithful to that calling. Mrs. Gates has lived seven years in St. George, was 29 years in Provo, one year in New York and has been to the Sandwich Islands twice, the last time on a mission with her husband, where three sons were born and two died; to Europe three times, and many times East, in the interests of women’s organized work. She was a speaker at the great London International Congress of Women in 1899, was the United States delegate to Copenhagen in 1901, and was a United States delegate and a speaker at the late Woman’s Congress in Rome in 1914. Organized the Utah Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and associated with Senator Reed Smoot and John Caltrin of Provo, organized the first Utah Pioneer Society—The Sons and Daughters of Utah Pioneers in 1894; served a term as Director of the National Household Economic Association and was the United States delegate of that Association to Canada in 1898. She was Ward President of the Y.I.M.I.A. in Provo; and taught a class of over one hundred Sunday School girls in the B.Y.U. for over twelve years, also giving semi-weekly lectures on Special Physiology for girls at the same time and place. Her writings are voluminous, and besides editing two magazines she has written many short stories, some verse and three books: “The Life of Lydia Knight,” “The History of the Y.I.M.I.A.” and “John Stevens’ Courtship”. She has written for the local magazines and papers since she was fourteen years of age and for ten years has edited the Genealogical Department of the Saturday Evening News and the Sunday Morning Herald Republican. Her greatest work outside of her home life has been the creative efforts put into the cause of genealogy and in the assisting of that work both in the Genealogical Society of Utah and in the General Board of the Relief Society. She wrote the Genealogical Lesson Book now in use, developed the class work and has been of great assistance to the General Bard of the Genealogical Society and to the women of the Church in this line of endeavor. She is also Genealogist for her father’s family and has secured over 16,000 Young names from the Utah books and other sources, all properly recorded and indexed. She was made President of the Daughters of the Pioneers in 1904 and served several years in that capacity, founded the Relic Department and made a feature of the old-fashioned balls for that Society. Her genealogical work has begun there and after some years the sisters were invited to transfer their activities to the Genealogical Society itself. Mrs. Gates is eminently a pioneer and is said to inherit much of her father’s initiative and executive ability in many of the lines of activity which have engaged her attention. She is orderly and systematic in all her ways, and very practical. She has been a public speaker, organizer, traveler, writer, musician and temple worker from her youth up, not forgetting her activities in the political field as she is an ardent Republican and has been a leader and organizer in that party for twenty years. With all her public work, however, Mrs. Gates has been devoted to her husband, home ad children, and they are her most adoring lovers and fastest friends. She is an excellent cook and loves to entertain her friends in a social capacity. It is said of her that she is a human dynamo; growth, activity, development, progress—all these are the ruling forces of a busy and conscientious life. Her father’s ancestors came from Boston, and later Hopkinton, Mass.; his grandfather, Dr. Joseph Young, was a physician and surgeon in the French and English wars, while his father, John, and two of his uncles were in the Revolutionary War, John serving directly in two engagements under General Washington. On the mother’s side, the Bigelows, are a famous old New England family, running back to 1630, in Plymouth." Transcribed from the book “Daughters of the Utah Pioneers and their Mothers” by Shauna O. Robins on 29 Sept 2012. This book is located at the Harold B. Lee Library at Brigham Young University.

1940 Census is Completed!

The 1940 census was indexed and arbitrated in only 124 days!  What a great project it was!  My personal goal was to index and arbitrate at least one batch from each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.  I thought it would be a good goal for me--what I didn't realize was that there would be so much interest that some states would only be available for a day or so!  There were some days that I was indexing like a crazy woman and checking the database several times daily to grab my desired batch from each state!  

These are the badges that Family Search sent to each indexer and arbitrator at the conclusion of the project!  Fun images to remind me of a great personal goal and service opportunity!

Are Vital Records Hiding at Your House?

Today while sorting a random pile of papers in my "junk" room I came across this--the death certificate of my uncle, Joseph Candland Olsen!

Death Certificate
of Joseph Candland Olsen

Now the fact that I had a copy didn't surprise me.  I was given literally boxes (about 30+) of paper following the death of my grandmother, Bessie Ardell Candland Olsen.  Over the years I have downsized the boxes, discarding what seemed pointless to keep--old appliance warrranties, random cards and letters from friends and acquaintances.  I have kept the photos (many of which I am still unable to identify the individuals in the photo), personal documents, scrapbooks, obituaries, etc.

What did surprise me was this document was in a random collection of misc. papers stuffed in an envelope and in a box of unrelated papers!  I decided upon finding it that I needed to scan it and document the information it contains into my genealogy database immediately!

I love death records because they contain so much information!  For example:  the cause of death (septic shock from gastric carcinoma and end stage renal disease), place and date of burial, name, birth date and place, parents names, last known address, place of death, usual occupation, social security number, date and time of death, and informant information.  Usually the informant is a relative and that gives a genealogist a clue to other family members!

Things I learned:  I didn't know where or why my uncle died.  He is listed as a widower--don't know who his last wife was or when she died!  Most of all I learned the importance of handling a document only once!  When you come across a vital piece of information, source it and file it safely!  How lucky I feel to have noticed this before I discarded what I thought were meaningless papers!

Final Tally on the 5 Million in 24 Hours Challenge

The final numbers are in!  Hard to believe that the goal of 5 million names in 24 hours was eclipsed with the final tally being 10,340,87!  More important than the huge number of records indexed is the excitement and anticipation of the vast number of new records available to aid those working to link their families eternally!  Truly an act of great service was done by the many indexers and arbitrators who participated.  Below is my trophy for being a participant in this great project!

Final Indexing Numbers!

If you are reading this blog post and not already indexing, give it a try!  It is a great way to quietly serve and you will learn a great deal about the amazing records that are available online.

Goal: 5 Million Names in 24 Hours!

Today Family Search Indexing challenged all indexers and arbitrators world wide to attempt to index and arbitrate 5 million records in 24 hours!  It was a lofty goal and achieving that number in one day has never been done before.  It posed a challenge for me as it was a work day so my free time was limited but I got up early and arbitrated 40 records (1 batch) before setting off to work for the day.  Tonight I did an additional 4 batches (160 records) which doesn't seem like very many but every little bit helps.

At the time of this posting here are the latest numbers from Family Search Indexing:

RECORD UPDATE

Indexed Records: 7,068,719

Arbitrated Records:3,011,615

TOTAL RECORDS: 10,080,334

UNBELIEVABLE ACCOMPLISHMENT!

It is so amazing to me to see how much can be accomplished by volunteers who just each contribute a few minutes of their spare time to move this great work forward.

If you are reading this post and are not part of the indexing team, give me a call and I will help you get involved or you can go to https://familysearch.org/volunteer/indexing/ to get started today!  A word of warning--indexing is very addictive and contagious!

Memorial Day Memories

Memorial Day is the perfect opportunity to do some family history with the family!  We traditionally visit the grave sites of our grandparents to decorate them with flags (for the veterans) and flowers.

Since we were going to be at the cemetery I decided to take my cell phone and use the GPS feature and the Billion Graves app to take photos of family graves, upload them to the internet and then transcribe them into the Billion Graves database making them searchable for anyone, anytime, any where in the world!  Plus it is amazing technology and a lot of fun!  By the way did I mention that the Billion Graves app is FREE?

The other cool thing about this app is that you simply point and shoot the picture.  You then upload to the website at your convenience and the photos are placed in a file where you can either transcribe and edit them or simply turn them over to the general public and someone else will do that for you.  The app, using the GPS feature in your smartphone determines the latitude and longitude of the grave, the name of the cemetery you took the photo in and maps the gravesite for you!  Love it!

 I also take a photo of the cemetery sign--two reasons for this:  First I have a poor memory and it helps me remember who is buried where, and secondly it is nice in my genealogy file to have this information for others.  I am amazed how many cemeteries are listed under several names and having the sign as a starting point really helps.

My paternal grandparents

My Dad's brother and my Uncle Joe

I hope to add this tradition to my vacation list and as we travel to take the time to stop and seek out the burial spots of other ancestors to add to my family history database.  It helps these relatives become real individuals for me.  P.S.:  as we reflected over memories at the graveside of Kevin's parents with his sisters I was quietly compiling a list of places I need to visit and document!  Happy Memorial Day family and to our ancestors--thanks for the legacy of love you left us!

On April 2, 2012 the National Archives released the 1940 U.S. Federal Census.  It is a snippet of America and its citizens following the Great Depression and during World War II.  Kevin and I were recently called as Stake Family History Directors and have been challenged to excite and encourage our stake members to get involved in family history.

We decided that the 1940 U.S. Census project was the perfect way to start.  The Church has a personal goal to index and publish the 1940 census in 6-9 months.  Since the 1930 census took 3 years that is an ambitious goal. We decided to use our own ward YM/YW as a test group and see if we could excite them about family history.  We put together a slide and video presentation and kicked off our project with our own ward YM/YW. As part of that presentation we shared the story of Charles W. Robins, Kevin's uncle. Uncle Charles is on the 1940 census--this is the real story of a real person!

Uncle Chuck, as he was known to the family, joined the 8th Air Force 398th Bomb Group in the 603rd Squadron when he was 18 years old.  Shown in the photo below he was one of a crew of ten.

Charles was the ball turrett gunner on a B17.  The ball turrett gunner was the only member of the crew unable to keep his parachute on at all times.  When he climbed into the ball turrett, it was too small to allow you to wear your chute so the chute was placed up near the radio shack in the body of the plane.

Charles and his crew deployed on their third mission on July 7, 1944.  Their mission was to drop their bombs on an oil refinery in Leipzig, Germany.  The map below shows their charted course.

They were in the second wave in a group of 35 planes.  We are unsure why but they only flew with a crew of nine that day.   Their B17 was piloted by Pilot 2nd Lt., Boyd A. Nisewonger.

As they neared Leipzig, Germany, Charles placed his parachute by the radio shack and climbed into the ball turrett.

They turned south, dropped their bombs, and began their return to flight to England. 

 South of Leipzig, they encountered heavy flak.  The following is an eyewitness report given by Wauldeam H. F. Like the left waist gunner in the B17 piloted by Lt. Rudlow (#2597-V). 

 "I was flying left waist gunner on Lt. Rudow's crew in the high squadron of the low group on the mission to Leipzig, Germany 7 July 1944.  About two minutes after bombs away, I saw flak hit the number four engine of Lt. Nisewonger's ship over in the low squadron of our group.  The wing broke off at number four engine.  Then his plane, completely enflamed, shifted sideways to the right for about five thousand feet down, then it started in a spin to the left.  About that time four chutes came out, and a little later another cam out (totaling five chutes).  The plane dropped some more and then blew up completely at about five or then thousand feet above a wooded area about three or four miles from the target."

 "We were proceeding down the bombing run and ahead the flak was very intense.  I was flying umber two of the second element of the low squadron ad ship number 508 piloted by Lt. Nisewonger was number two in the lead element of the low squadron therefore he was directly in front of m ship.  We had passed over the target without dropping our bombs and were just out of the the flak when I noticed that his ship was giving him trouble.  There was either smoke or gasoline coming from behind his number three engine.  Suddenly there was an explosion wit the large flame at the number three engine.  The right wing and number four engine went sailing through the air and the main part of the ship started cart wheeling downward through the air.  I had no further view of the falling ship but members of the r said that as many as six chutes came from the falling plane."

Eyewitness description given by 2nd Lt. Ernest W. Spitzer Pilot of B17 #2562-G which was flying directly behind Uncle Charles' plane in the formation.

This is an eyewitness account given by S. Sgt. Perry J. Livingston, the tail gunner on B17 #7348-R piloted by Gallager.

"I heard our pilot say over the interphone that a ship had been hit at nine o'clock.  Then I heard our waist gunner say a wing had come off and was coming by,  I looked out of the tail position toward nine o'clock where I saw a wing float by with one motor still intact.  This happened about one or two minutes after the bombs had been dropped.

I didn't see the actual explosion, but after the wing went by quite a few pats also came by.  I didn't notice the rest of the ship until about five minutes later after a turn to the right where I saw the trail area.  This area seemed to be left and a few miles from the target.  That would be about southwest of the target.

I counted five chutes floating down after we had gone a little way   I counted then two or three times to make sure I was right  They must have been about four thousand feet below us at the time I counted them.  They were closely grouped so they probably landed close together."

Charles fell in the ball turrett about 26,000 feet without a parachute and landed in a tree.  He was captured by the German's and spent nine months as a prisoner of war.  He was knocked unconscious and had no memory of the week following his capture.  He had a badly broken leg and was in and out of the hospital several times during his captivity for treatment for his injuries.  He never talked much about the accident but we discovered these details through indexing work at a website called Fold3.  It was a treasure trove of information and helped us gain a new appreciation and love for our uncle and those who served to protect the freedoms we now enjoy. It was so exciting for us to discover the details of his story and develop a greater love for him and his sacrifice in our behalf.  The people of the 1940 U.S. census truly are "the greatest generation"!

Final Day at Roots Tech

Saturday dawned and honestly I was not planning on returning to the final day of the conference, but as we talked about our evening in the library and looked over the class list we noticed a class being taught by Fold3!  It was a must attend so we packed up our computers and off we went.  The exhibition hall was open to everyone, registered or not, and I didn't figure anyone would ask for a badge--so Kevin went with me.  We were able to go to 3 classes--the first was an excellent one on navigating the website of the Library of Congress.  A very frustrating website but with a few pointers I discovered that it holds a wealth of amazing maps, and information available to me for free as an American!

The second class was the one taught by Fold3.  It too was very informative and they explained how they annotate and ways that each of us can improve their site by annotating our individual relatives by name.  We can also set up memorial pages for our military loved ones at no cost.  A wonderful way to pay tribute to family members for their military service.  Following the class we were quick to head to the exhibit hall to take advantage of their conference special all access pass--we can search, print, and explore the military records from home at our leisure for a year!

The final class of the day was one taught by Lisa Louise Cooke, podcaster of Genealogy Gems, who I have listened to for several years now.  She presented a variety of ideas to get those in the family not interested in family history excited. Her class was a bit to artsy crafty for Kevin but he was a trooper and endured to the end.  I found her ideas to be a fun twist that could be adapted to a variety of occasions and am excited to try several of them in the future.

So there you have it--Roots Tech 2012.  Would I go again--absolutely!  I was hesitant on Thursday to get out of my comfort zone and venture into the conference alone but I did it!  What I discovered was really not a discovery at all but rather a confirmation of what I already knew--family historians are passionate about their hobby and willing to share their love and knowledge with anyone who will listen regardless of age or ability.  Finally that I know more about family history than I give myself credit for.  I have decided that I am no longer a beginner but rather at the intermediate level and if I will but "experiment upon the words" that I have been taught, doors will open, opportunities will present themselves and  I too can enjoy the passion that is family history!

Late Night at the Library

As part of the Roots Tech conference a late night at the family history library was arranged for attendees and guests.  After meeting me for the Friday night halibut special at Little America, Kevin and I went the the library to check out the party!  With a special screening of the season premiere of "Who Do You Think You Are" being broadcast on the big screen, interest was high.  We headed to the US floor where I wanted to show Kevin a new paid website I had heard about earlier today called Fold3.  They are a site dedicated to digitizing military records and are available for no charge at the family history library and family history centers.  We were planning on spending just a few minutes to check out the website and head home.  Then we found it--detailed information on Kevin's uncle, Charles Robins, who was shot down while in the ball turret of a B-17 over Germany in WWII.

Eyewitness Report of Plane Crash of Charles Robins

 There were witness descriptions of the crash, details about the plane, details about the crew and what happened to them.  Things we had never known before which had been "classified" until recently.  Suddenly they were there before our eyes and available to copy and read in our own home!

Report of the capture of Charles Robins

We also found pension records on our two Mormon Battalion ancestors:  Ephriam Hanks and Robert Harris, Jr.  Needless to say our anticipated short stay was a long one--we didn't leave the library until well after 9 p.m.!

Roots Tech - Day 2

Day two and I couldn't wait to get to the Salt Palace!  I was armed with a long to do list of questions for vendors and classes I wanted to attend.  First item of business was to get a physical manual of my genealogy software, Legacy Family Tree!  The PDF is great but sometimes us old people just need a paper copy to touch and search!  Mission accomplished!

Legacy Family Tree Instruction Manual

Off to a wonderful day of classes!  First on the list were two on online publishing and blogging!  I have been very frustrated with blogging as I had made several attempts in the past and liked what I had done so far but then I changed my email and went with a google account so I couldn't access my old blogs without using my old email which I didn't want to do.  One question to a blogging expert--problem solved!  Not to mention that I learned wonderful hints on labels, privacy settings, etc.

The last class I attended was on Google's Toolbar and Genealogy.  Everyone who uses the web should have this type of instruction!  So many nuances that you never know about until someone in the know points them out to you!  I gleaned lots of search tips to improve my use of google images, news, books, and maps.  Finally I now know how to get "street" view on a google map!  Hooray!

Roots Tech 2012 - Thursday Classes

So many class choices--but I have to choose!  So  tried a variety of subjects:  Do I Trust Cloud Computing?, You Tube Your Family History, To Pay or Not to Pay--Online Databases, and How to Create Interactive Family Histories.  Each had a wealth of information and the presenters were outstanding.  I took copious notes which I plan to review and attempt to absorb and apply in the coming weeks!  It was interesting how easily you can create family history videos adding images, voice and text.  Definitely something to put on my to do list for the future!  I am really excited to return tomorrow!

Roots Tech 2012

When I registered for the Roots Tech 2012 conference back in November 2011 I took advantage of the $89 discount rate for consultants!  Little did I know how great this conference would turn out to be!  Imagine the latest and greatest tech toys and developments working in tandem with family history!  That is Roots Tech!

This conference is sponsored by FamilySearch and I am always so impressed with the scope and variety of the classes for both developers and users not to mention the diversity in levels for beginner - advanced family historians.

Day one was a busy one as it kicked off with a keynote speaker--Jay Verkler, CEO of FamilySearch, who gave us a quick look at how things are now and what they anticipate the future will hold.  Then off to the exhibition hall where Kevin and I had sent our family pedigrees in PDF format to Genealogywallcharts.com the night before.  They printed them 24"x36" in color--all 9  generations!  They did a free black and white 24"x36" too!  Really fun and you can immediately see where your direct line holes are!

My personal 9 generations!

Julie Belliston Anuszkiewicz's Initiatory

Lisa called me on Friday, January 13, 2012 to ask how to print out the FOR (Family Ordinance Request) form so that she could begin the temple work for Julie who passed away in November 2010.  She printed out the FOR and took it to the Columbus Ohio temple on Saturday, January 14, 2012 where she completed the initiatory work for Julie.  She will do the endowment session later in the year when her son, Elder Ryan Belliston, who is currently serving in the Boise Idaho mission, is able to attend the session.

What a tender act of service to be able to go to the temple for a loved one and provide those saving ordinances for those who cannot do so for themselves!