Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter

More About Chuck Knuthson

Many of us knew Chuck Knuthson, a professional genealogist who was a popular speaker at many conferences, a busy instructor, and a member and leader of several genealogy societies. Sadly, he passed away February 27. You can read my earlier article about Chuck at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2008/03/chuck-knuthson.html.

While many of us knew him for his genealogy expertise and enthusiasm, very few of us knew about his “other life.” I recently learned that Chuck was a retired police captain, a Viet Nam veteran, recipient of a bronze medal of valor by the Placer County Law Enforcement Association, and also a husband and the father of five children.

You can read more about Chuck’s life experiences that many of us never knew at http://www.granitebaypt.com/detail/78636.html.

Bad Baby Names

Michael Sherrod is a V.P. at Ancestry.com, part of The Generations Network. I guess V.P.s do genealogy research also since Michael and co-author Matthew Rayback must have spent a lot of hours looking at census records. The two have now authored a book, entitled Bad Baby Names: The Worst True Names Parents Saddled Their Kids With, and You Can Too!

Bad baby names? How about Carr Chase? Well, we can't blame the parents as young Carr was born many years before the invention of the automobile. Likewise, Mr. and Mrs. Pack named their little girl Fanny before that phrase meant a favorite fashion accessory. But how about Mr. and Mrs. Royd who named their young daughter Emma?

Then there is Fat Meat Fields, Pickle Parker, Harry Pigg, Panties Moberg and Toilet Queen, to name a few. And, yes, those are all real names. They come straight from U.S. census records, and the authors have copies of the census records to prove each one.

Chuck Knuthson, R.I.P.

Many genealogists will be saddened to learn of Chuck Knuthson's passing. He was a very popular genealogy lecturer at many of the national conferences. He was also a prolific writer. He received Certificates of Appreciation from the National Genealogical Society, the Association of Professional Genealogists, and the Federation of Genealogical Societies.

As a professional genealogist, Chuck had been researching for more than thirty years. He retired as a police captain after thirty-two years of service. He was president of the 1,300-member Sacramento German Genealogy Society and a board member (including a Program Chair) of others. Chuck was a member of numerous organizations, including the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Genealogical Speakers Guild, the National Genealogical Society, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, and the California Genealogical Society.

Be A Genealogy Software Tester

It might be the ideal job for many of us although the position is available only on a part-time basis. OneGreatFamily.com is advertising in the Help Wanted sections for a genealogy software tester.

OneGreatFamily.com is well known as a provider of an interconnected online genealogy database of thousands of individuals. You can read my review of the service at http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2007/09/onegreatfamilyc.html. Now the company is looking for a part-time software tester in its Springville, Utah office.

Halvor Moorshead Retires

Halvor Moorshead is well known in genealogy circles as the owner/publisher of Moorshead Magazines - which includes Family Chronicle, Internet Genealogy, History Magazine, and the new Discovering Family History. Halvor has sent an e-mail message to many of his friends and acquaintances announcing that he is retiring.

Nobody should wonder about the future of the magazines, however.

Matt Wright Becomes Editorial Director at FamilyLink.com

I suspect that quite a few readers of this newsletter know Matt Wright. Those folks may not know that Matt has switched employers. The following announcement was written by FamilyLink.com:

After eight years at Ancestry.com Matt Wright recently joined FamilyLink.com as director of editorial and print products, bringing with him a wealth of genealogical experience, expertise and connections in the industry.

Society Names Irvin's Place in History

There's the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame, the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame -- and now the Virgina V. Irvin Volunteer Hall of Fame for the Wisconsin State Genealogical Society.

Those who have a hall of fame named after them usually have done something so extraordinary that a mere place in a hall of fame isn't enough. More than 220 members of the Wisconsin State Genealogical Society recently named their hall after Virgina Irvin.

Gardener Retires at 104

I don't know if this article is genealogy-related or not, but I found it to be very interesting.

Jim Webber has decided to retire. He has been a gardener for as long as anyone remembers. Mr. Webber carried out hedging, mowed lawns, and did other gardening jobs for residents of Stoke Abbott, Dorset, England, as well as mowing the lawn of the local pub, the New Inn. This year he finally decided to stop mowing lawns and doing the hedging. Arthritis is forcing him to slow down a bit. You see, Jim Webber is 104 years old.

Lolita Thayer Guthrie inducted into the Ruth C. Bishop Volunteer Hall of Honor

The following announcement was written by the Federation of Genealogical Societies:

Lolita Thayer Guthrie has been chosen as the 2006 inductee into the Ruth C. Bishop Volunteer Hall of Honor. Mrs. Guthrie was nominated for this honor by the Ohio Genealogical Society (OGS), of Mansfield.

Mike Dodd Joins Omniture

Many people in the genealogy business will recognize the name Mike Dodd. He spent the past four years serving in various executive-level capacities at MyFamily.com, Inc., including senior vice president and general manager of the Commerce Business Unit, vice president of New Channel Marketing, International Marketing and Business Development. His friends and acquaintances will be interested to learn that he is now at Omniture, Inc.