Mason County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 103 Shelton, WA 98584-0103 The Mason Log Volume 15 Issue 5 January 1, 2018 HAPPY NEW YEAR January •   January 4th – Skype Workshop •   6:30 p.m. Start time •   Mason County Historic Society Museum, 5th and Railroad Ave •   Membership dues - single: $15.00 Couple: $20.00 •   Find us on the web at http://rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wamcgs/ The inside scoop Ø   Skype Workshop Ø   John Gandy’s Will Skype Workshop Since we decided not to have a January or February meeting; we have decided to take this time to learn how to use Skype and to get our computers and tablets in sync. If you’re interested, bring your laptop and/or tablet, or if you don’t have one, plan on taking good notes to use on your computer at home. I’ve sat in on a couple of Skype sessions with the cemetery group and it appears to work; sort of. I think the biggest obstacles are the various operating systems and the software version. I’ve noticed it takes the cemetery group from 10 minutes (a good day) to 30 plus minutes (a bad day) for most of the participants to get on the same page. When it works, I’m reminded of old science fiction movies that seemed very real. When it doesn’t work I’m reminded of really bad old science fiction movies that were really bad. John Gandy’s Will When Susie and I met for a Christmas outing with several of my Graham cousins who live in Western Washington, they handed me a three inches thick packet of family papers. I found it contained some information and documents I hadn’t seen before. Subsequently, I’ve decided to share some of it with the group. I’ve known for most of my life that several of my ancestors on my father’s side were slave owners. It was no secret there was a reverence for all things Confederate. Several of my family members were Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy and a couple were Southern Dames of America. There was a refusal to acknowledge slavery’s role in the Civil War by my relatives. They believed it had to do with States Rights, which of course, history has proven to be false, though some today still cling to this narrative. I found John Gandy’s Will interesting and upsetting at the same time. His view of slaves and the institution of slavery are laid before the reader. I have no doubt that his views were common for the time and place in 1840 Bibb County, Alabama, with perhaps one exception, his specified treatment of Judy. Read below. , OCR Text: Mason County Genealogical Society P.O. Box 103 Shelton, WA 98584-0103 The Mason Log Volume 15 Issue 5 January 1, 2018 HAPPY NEW YEAR January •   January 4th – Skype Workshop •   6:30 p.m. Start time •   Mason County Historic Society Museum, 5th and Railroad Ave •   Membership dues - single: $15.00 Couple: $20.00 •   Find us on the web at http://rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wamcgs/ The inside scoop Ø   Skype Workshop Ø   John Gandy’s Will Skype Workshop Since we decided not to have a January or February meeting; we have decided to take this time to learn how to use Skype and to get our computers and tablets in sync. If you’re interested, bring your laptop and/or tablet, or if you don’t have one, plan on taking good notes to use on your computer at home. I’ve sat in on a couple of Skype sessions with the cemetery group and it appears to work; sort of. I think the biggest obstacles are the various operating systems and the software version. I’ve noticed it takes the cemetery group from 10 minutes (a good day) to 30 plus minutes (a bad day) for most of the participants to get on the same page. When it works, I’m reminded of old science fiction movies that seemed very real. When it doesn’t work I’m reminded of really bad old science fiction movies that were really bad. John Gandy’s Will When Susie and I met for a Christmas outing with several of my Graham cousins who live in Western Washington, they handed me a three inches thick packet of family papers. I found it contained some information and documents I hadn’t seen before. Subsequently, I’ve decided to share some of it with the group. I’ve known for most of my life that several of my ancestors on my father’s side were slave owners. It was no secret there was a reverence for all things Confederate. Several of my family members were Sons and Daughters of the Confederacy and a couple were Southern Dames of America. There was a refusal to acknowledge slavery’s role in the Civil War by my relatives. They believed it had to do with States Rights, which of course, history has proven to be false, though some today still cling to this narrative. I found John Gandy’s Will interesting and upsetting at the same time. His view of slaves and the institution of slavery are laid before the reader. I have no doubt that his views were common for the time and place in 1840 Bibb County, Alabama, with perhaps one exception, his specified treatment of Judy. Read below. , Mason County Genealogical Society,Mason Logs,Mason Logs,2018,V15 I5 MCGS Jan 2018 Newsletter.pdf,V15 I5 MCGS Jan 2018 Newsletter.pdf Page 1, V15 I5 MCGS Jan 2018 Newsletter.pdf Page 1