Whitman County Genealogical Society
is hosting a FREE Spring mini-seminar
Bishop Place Independent Living Social Room,
811 SE Klemgard St., Pullman, WA
Saturday, April 26, 2025

Welcome ROBERT KING

“Privatizing America: Homesteading in the USA 1862-1988 – and more!”

9:00 am: The doors open.

9:30 am – 10:30 am: Focus of Robert King’s presentation: The USA includes about 2.27 billion acres of land of which about 60% are privately owned. Robert’s talk looks at how this came about,
which was largely under various federal laws starting just after American independence. He will focus on some of the major types of federal legislation under which land transferred into private ownership, including various homestead laws, the 1820 Sale-Cash Act, the Timber Culture Act, the Desert Land Act, Bounty Land Acts, and more. He will both discuss requirements of the laws and give examples of real stories about people who obtained land under those laws.

10:30 am – 10:45 am: Break and refreshments

10:45 am – 11:45 am: The second part of Robert’s presentation will include examples of how some of Pullman became privately owned and what details can be found in federal records significant for enriching the stories of some of the town’s first settlers. He will look more closely at a few examples
of homestead documents (and other early land documents) from Whitman County, including the Pullman area. He will have examples of original homestead certificates and other types of early federal land transfer documents available for viewing.
There will be a time for questions at the end of each session.

Please RSVP to Sue or whitmancgs@gmail.com by April 10 to accommodate handouts and refreshments.
The seminar is free, but donations are welcome at the door.

Directions: Turn off Bishop Boulevard onto Klemgard St., follow Klemgard St. up the hill, and turn left at the top. Do not go into the front entrance, but turn right, continue up the hill, and turn left at the white carports. Find an appropriate parking place, enter
the building through the main doors there, and go straight ahead to the Social Room.
Seminar flyer

Mark your calendar now for the fall seminar of Whitman County Genealogical Society. It will be held on Saturday, October 13, 9:00AM – 12:00Noon in the Independent Living Social Room of Bishop Place Senior Living, 811 SE Klemgard, Pullman, Washington.

Speakers will be Tony Birch from Cheney on the topic of heraldry and Lee Pierce, archivist of the Eastern Region Branch of Washington State Archives. It should be a very informative morning. Hope you can join us. Watch our website for further details as they become available.

Whitman County Genealogical Society is hosting a FREE Spring mini-seminar at Bishop Place Independent Living Social Room, 811 SE Klemgard, Pullman, WA

Saturday, April 21, 2018

FEATURING:

“The Buffalo Soldiers and The Tuskegee Airmen:
Past, Present & Future” by Horace Alexander Young

“Cooking the Church Books”
by Fr. Mike Savelesky

9:00 am: The doors open.

9:30 am-10:30 am: Horace Alexander Young is a Clinical Associate Professor of Saxophone and Jazz History at Washington State University. The profiles of three servicemen will be discussed: Col. Charles Young, U.S. Army 9th and 10th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers); Lt. Col. Clarence L. Shivers, U.S. Air Force (Tuskegee Airman); and Lt. Col. Jack D. Holsclaw, US Army (Tuskegee Airman & WSU Alumni).

10:30-10:45 am: Break and refreshments.

10:45 am-11:45 am: Fr. Mike Savelesky is a retired pastor living in Spokane, currently serving the Holy Rosary Parish in Rosalia and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in St. John. His current volunteer job is Diocesan Archivist in Spokane, WA. His presentation (which applies to all church denominations) will include: why the Catholic Church keeps records; details found in various parish sacramental books (Baptism, Confirmation, First Eucharist, Marriage, Ordination, Profession of Vows, Annulments); tips for researchers’ use of sacramental books; tips for researchers’ use of parish census directories; review of available resources for the researcher.

If you have any questions or need more information contact WCGS President, Sue Kreikemeier at: aerocraft@completebbs.com or 509-635-1303.

Please RSVP to Sue or whitmancgs@gmail.com by April 14 to accommodate handouts & refreshments.

While the seminar is free, donations are welcome at the door.

Directions:
Turn off Bishop Boulevard onto Klemgard Ave., follow Klemgard Ave. up the hill and turn left at the top. Do not go into the front entrance, but turn right, continuing up the hill and turn left at the white car ports. Find an appropriate parking place, enter the building through the main doors and go straight ahead to the Social Room.

Here is the seminar flyer for download click on to download:

Seminar Flyer April 2018 with pix, ver 2.0

Click below for biographies of the seminar speakers:

Fr. Savelesky’s & Horace Young’s bios