HCGS Meeting Jan 14, 2023

   HONOLULU COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY - ZOOM MEETING

  JANUARY 14, 2023           9 AM

                                      MINUTES FOR THE JANUARY 14, 2023

MONTHLY ZOOM MEETING OF THE HONOLULU COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

Present: Janice Choat-Zavaval, Lenore Hansen-Stafford, Karin Jones, Larry Meyers, Isabelle Rivera, Deborah Richards, Alan Toft, Susan Victor and Donna Wendt

Meeting began at 9:00 a.m.

OLD BUSINESS:

    The future of the Honolulu County Genealogical Society was briefly discussed.

    A point to continue to the society was brought up by Alan Toft. He expressed concern over the

dwindling numbers of organized groups. Yes, there is much information to find online, on one’s own, yet there is much to be said for being a part of a group that meets regularly to share and discuss specific topics of interest. Whether we meet in person or in Zoom we have learned much from each other regarding genealogy tools, facts, as well as personal histories and stories.

The HCGS website can still be found on the internet on rootsweb.ancestry.com and wordpress.com.  Unfortunately, these sites are at a 2018 standstill as the creator had moved to the mainland. The current P.O. Box is still listed on the website. It was suggested contacting the web company to look into obtaining ownership or closing it down. If we continue as an organization perhaps we should look into creating a new website if we are unable to access the existing sites.

     Thankfully, we have the HCGS blog that Donna Wendt created and faithfully updates every month -  honolulucountygenealogicalsociety.blogspot.com .

One excuse which more than one member has received when inviting people to attend our meetings is the particular day - Saturday. Many people, especially the “younger” generation are busy on the weekends. In our search for future genealogists, we may have to consider being flexible with our meeting dates and times.  Perhaps a weeknight meeting would be more acceptable for the new generation. It is also important to update our web and Facebook presence if our organization wants to thrive.

     At an earlier meeting, the suggestion to gather to share a meal was introduced. The Joneses graciously offered to open their home if people were willing to come out to the West side.

    Another suggestion was the Waioli Kitchen and Bake Shop in Manoa Valley. They are open Tuesdays to Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.  Present members are willing to get together, but a set date and place is pending until the HCGS funds are accessible.  Lenore Hansen-Stafford (treasurer), Stanley Jones (president) and Karin Jones, agreed to meet at the nearest bank branch to complete necessary signatory paperwork in order to access the HCGS funds.  Due to the pandemic shutdown the transfer of names has been on hold.

PRESENTATION: QR (Quick Response) Codes on Forever.com by Karin Jones

In a previous meeting, members were intrigued with the QR Code which Karin had included at the end of a photobook she had made for her husband, Stan. The QR Code linked the reader to a video of Stan.  With the possibility of storage disks/flash drives becoming outdated or lost, the new QR Code technology offers another means of storage, keeping, sharing and displaying media.

Take a video and download to your computer. In Forever.com go to the QR Code generator to

download the image or video, once saved it is ready to download to your scrap or photo book. The QR Code image or video does not take up any of your storage space in your Forever account.

Those receiving the QR code will automatically be taken to the video or image when scanned. They will be able to download. Question asked, “Are you able to send URL Code?” The answer was “Yes”.  Forever Boxes are on special – transfer your media to Forever.com storage. Choose and order a box, fill with media you would like saved, close and send to Forever.com. Color correction is automatic for slides and photos. You will be contacted first if your media is over the storage space you have purchased.  Karin’s recommendation is to purchase the medium sized box (the most reasonably priced) and “cram” it with your media. If you are contacted due to reaching your storage limit you will be able to decide which media to process or if you would like to purchase more storage. Boxes are sent via Fedex and trackable during the entire transit time. Forever guarantees the best results possible. If you are not pleased they will redo the record(s).

Forever will migrate all of their storage to the latest technology. They also offer passing access of your records and storage to your designated heirs.  February 25, 2023 is Forever Family History Event. The topic for this year is “What To Do With Your Research”. Time is from 7 to 10 a.m.

[On February 13, 2021 Karin sent to select members a link to sign up for this free event. There is no obligation.]

CALABASH BOWL:

At the opening of today’s meeting various members shared memories, history and thoughts.

   Alan Toft, joined us from his vacation rental in Kihei, Maui. He shared of his love for the Nova Scotia community.

   Deborah Richards’ maternal family, are of Irish and English stock. They traveled on whaling ships from Nantucket to Hawaii, choosing to remain in the islands. Her Norwegian and Swedish ancestors settled in Maui in 1881. One can find a monument to these ancestors by the lighthouse in Lahaina.  Deborah’s Moloka’I family were given land by King Lunalilo. Because the land could not be developed it was used by the family as a cemetary.

   Karin Jones shared that for hundreds of years the parishes of Sweden were tasked with keeping records of the family/people in their respective parishes. Records are kept at the Lansarkivet (National Archives of Sweden). Check the Lansarkivet if you are searching for Swedish relatives.

In researching Stan Jones’ Scottish/Swedish heritage Karin discovered an interesting inheritance law for titled gentry. A widow had the right to continue collecting rents/income from property left by her husband for the rest of her life, but she was not allowed to inherit the property. Title to property was passed only to the sons so as to remain with the original family.  Alan Toft said that in England, if someone dies without a will a full sibling's child will inherit before a half sibling.

   Susan Victor is back in Hawaii as of December 2022. She is recovering well from her back injury.

   Shutterfly products are now accessible through Costco. Costco members receive 50% discount. Donna Wendt orders her photobooks and personalized gift items from Shutterfly.  Shutterfly is not a storage company but they do store photos you upload. They recently sent out reminders that customers need to purchase any item within 18 months to remain active and not have your stored photos deleted.

   Donna cautioned regarding messages on Ancestry from people inquiring on relatives. We could have large pool of possible relatives listed under our matches on various sites. DNA is interesting but it can be hard to trace most of the matches for higher removed cousins. Many do not have trees, or their trees are private. Make sure to check out the person’s tree, their name(s) and shared matches.

   The Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah has a new title, the Family Search Library and the Family Search Centers are your local LDS research libraries

   Searching for groups on Facebook – tap on the magnifying glass icon in the Search box, then put in specific information for groups you are searching for.

    Our next meeting will be on Saturday, February 11, 2023, 9:00 a.m.  on Zoom.  See email from Lenore.

Meeting adjourned at 11:25 a.m.

(02/10/2023 by Bella Rivera)  .