VAN ZANDT COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY ALL-DAY BEGINNERS’ WORKSHOP

VAN ZANDT COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY ALL-DAY BEGINNERS’ WORKSHOP Saturday, April 13, 2013 $10, including lunch Van Zandt County (Main) Library, Hwy. 859, Canton, TX We started this workshop last year and it was a great success! If you are beginning your genealogy or WANT to begin your genealogy or want a refresher, this is YOUR WORKSHOP! Topics to be covered are the research process, the courthouse, the census, cemeteries, record-keeping and organization, and thinking ANYWHERE but “inside the box.” This is a LOW-COST introduction to the most-rewarding, lifelong hobby you can have! This workshop will INSPIRE you to find those ancestors and pass your precious family history to the next generation! Cost is $10 and a simple lunch is provided. CONTACT us SOON at 903-567-5012 or at

UPDATE: This book was just awarded First Prize for a reference book by a professional from the Texas State Genealogical Society at its annual conference in Fort Worth! I'm so grateful!!!

Such fun I’m having with my new book of World War I-era real estate listings for North Texas (and other places!). Thursday, I took a long-ish lunch break from the Texas State Genealogical Society conference and drove to the address in one of the 1915 Fort Worth listings. The house is still there! After navigating some road construction and trying to locate house numbers, I found the house.

Here’s the original listing as it appeared in business records of a real estate agency in 1915. The words were written in a thick pencil.

“W.M. Graham, R-4849. Two-story, 9-room brick house. 5 up and sleep porch. 4 down. Modern in every respect. Bath up stairs with toilet. Toilet downstairs. Basement with hot furnace. Gas in all rooms. Hot water up and down stairs. Closet in every room. Two-story brick garage for three autos. Barn for two horses. Lot 80x150 feet. Fronts north and east. Price $20,000. No incumbrance. Will consider good farm close to Fort Worth at around $15,000 or good place not too far from Fort Worth. Will give plenty time on balance.”

While snapping photos, the current owner walked up. That’s always an anxiety-producing situation, but he was very nice and interested in the book and the information about the house and the historic neighborhood. He does not live there but offices there now, and is not related to the original owners.

He told me the house was built about 1907. The two-story brick garage is still there but shows evidence (to me, at least) of room for only two autos—arched openings that have since been bricked over. The barn is no longer there. He said some of the rooms had been combined over the years and that the structure was once a boarding house. An iron fence encompasses the property now.

In my mind it is still a beautiful turn-of-the-century neighborhood, even though some nearby houses have been razed, some are overgrown, and some have been turned into apartments. Across the street is a lovely bed and breakfast. This frame building of the same era boasts a cupola and wraparound porch.

After working with the records for so long, transcribing page after page of real estate listings in order to produce the book, it was a delight to see Old Fort Worth come alive to me at the first address I looked for!

The book is Fort Worth Real Estate: Ben F. Allen & Sons Business Records, City Property, 1914-1916, Vol. I, and is available from me by mail at Lisa McKinney, P.O. Box 997, Edgewood, TX 75117, for $30 + $2.48 sales tax if shipped to a Texas address, plus $8 for shipping.

Thrilled to announce that I was awarded First Place for my reference book in the Texas State Genealogical Society, professional division.

Such fun I’m having with my new book of World War I-era real estate listings for North Texas (and other places!). Thursday, I took a long-ish lunch break from the Texas State Genealogical Society conference and drove to the address in one of the 1915 Fort Worth listings. The house is still there! After navigating some road construction and trying to locate house numbers, I found the house.

Here’s the original listing as it appeared in business records of a real estate agency in 1915. The words were written in a thick pencil.

“W.M. Graham, R-4849. Two-story, 9-room brick house. 5 up and sleep porch. 4 down. Modern in every respect. Bath up stairs with toilet. Toilet downstairs. Basement with hot furnace. Gas in all rooms. Hot water up and down stairs. Closet in every room. Two-story brick garage for three autos. Barn for two horses. Lot 80x150 feet. Fronts north and east. Price $20,000. No incumbrance. Will consider good farm close to Fort Worth at around $15,000 or good place not too far from Fort Worth. Will give plenty time on balance.”

While snapping photos, the current owner walked up. That’s always an anxiety-producing situation, but he was very nice and interested in the book and the information about the house and the historic neighborhood. He does not live there but offices there now, and is not related to the original owners.

He told me the house was built about 1907. The two-story brick garage is still there but shows evidence (to me, at least) of room for only two autos—arched openings that have since been bricked over. The barn is no longer there. He said some of the rooms had been combined over the years and that the structure was once a boarding house. An iron fence encompasses the property now.

In my mind it is still a beautiful turn-of-the-century neighborhood, even though some nearby houses have been razed, some are overgrown, and some have been turned into apartments. Across the street is a lovely bed and breakfast. This frame building of the same era boasts a cupola and wraparound porch.

After working with the records for so long, transcribing page after page of real estate listings in order to produce the book, it was a delight to see Old Fort Worth come alive to me at the first address I looked for!

The book is Fort Worth Real Estate: Ben F. Allen & Sons Business Records, City Property, 1914-1916, Vol. I, and is available from me by mail at Lisa McKinney, P.O. Box 997, Edgewood, TX 75117, for $30 + $2.48 sales tax if shipped to a Texas address, plus $8 for shipping.

County genealogists to present Judge Koches with family history research The Van Zandt County Genealogical Society will hold its regular monthly meeting Saturday, October July 27, 2012, at 2 p.m. at the Van Zandt County Library in the Buchanan Room, 317 First Monday Lane, in Canton. The featured guest is County Judge Rhita Koches. The program title is “The Genealogy and Family History of Judge Rhita Koches.” Genealogy society VP Scott Fitzgerald and others have researched Judge Koches’ ancestry. The program title is “The Genealogy and Family History of Judge Rhita Koches.” The genealogists will be presenting their findings in the style of the popular family history television program, “Who Do You Think You Are?” This is the first program of its type for the Van Zandt County society. The program will include interesting finds about Judge Koches’ family origins and also information about how people can search their own family history. The Society operates a library where anyone can come to do genealogy and local history research at no charge. Volunteers are always on staff to provide expert assistance, also at no charge. Society meetings are held the fourth Saturday of each month, with a variety of speakers presenting educational programs throughout the year. Visitors are always welcomed, and refreshments are served. For further information on society activities, call or visit the Library of Genealogy and Local History, located in the courthouse annex in Canton, 903-567-5012. The email address is vanzandtgensoc@etcable.net. (Meetings are held at the main library at 317 First Monday Lane. The main library itself is closed on Saturdays, but the meeting room is open.) Hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. The genealogy library is also open Thursday evenings until 6 p.m.

Workshop in Canton, Texas, Aug. 12, 9:30 to 2 p.m.

All are welcome! The Van Zandt County Genealogical Society will hold a research workshop Saturday, Aug. 18, 2012, from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Van Zandt County Library in the Buchanan Room, 317 First Monday Lane, in Canton. Workshop leaders will help both beginning and experienced researchers move ahead with their genealogy. The day-long workshop will begin with a session on basic research and will cover the gamut of genealogy topics, including birth, marriage, tax, census and death records. The new records available on the Internet and how to use them will also be covered. In addition, newspaper, funeral home, phone and business directories will be explored. Participants will also learn how to “Think Outside the Box” and to organize a genealogy research trip. A video outlining the rich resources of the Van Zandt County Library of Genealogy and Local History will cap the day. Cost is $5. Participants should bring a sack lunch. Door prizes will be given. Registration can be made in person at the Library of Genealogy and Local History at the County Courthouse Annex at the corner of Terrell St. and Hwy. 19 in Canton; by phone 903-567-5012; or by email at ellnwheeler@aol.com. Society meetings are held the fourth Saturday of each month, with a variety of speakers presenting educational programs throughout the year. Visitors are always welcomed, and refreshments are served. For further information on society activities, call or visit the Library of Genealogy and Local History, located in the courthouse annex in Canton, 903-567-5012. The email address is vanzandtgensoc@etcable.net. (Meetings are held at the main library at 317 First Monday Lane. The main library itself is closed on Saturdays, but the meeting room is open.) Hours of operation are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday and Friday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. The genealogy library is also open Thursday evenings until 6 p.m.

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