Author Archives: Charles Hansen

Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society Family History Month

by Charles Hansen

Stillaquamish Valley Genealogical Society

October is Family History Month!

The Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society would like to help you preserve your family history.

Bring your family documents, old photos, negatives, slides, tapes, and home movies to the SVGS Library to get them digitized absolutely FREE!

Bring your own USB drive for documents, photos, negatives and slides and a CD for tapes and movies. (There will be thumb drives and CDs available for purchase at the library.)

We will be open all month long on Tuesday, Thursdays, and Saturdays from 10am to 4 pm.

It takes longer to digitize tapes and movies, so we request an appointment to make sure the equipment is available when you arrive. Please email info@stillygen.org Attention: LeAnne.

The SVGS Library is located at 6111 188th PL NE, Arlington. East of the airport and north of the Boys & Girls Club. Look for the Genealogy Library signs.

Hint: Digital copies of family memories make thoughtful gifts for the holidays!

For more information visit our website stillygen.org

Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society October 2025 Legacy Family Tree SIG

by Charles Hansen

Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society Legacy Family Tree SIG Meeting
Tuesday, October 7, 2025, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm virtual via Zoom

This month we will be reviewing a handful of short but useful free Legacy videos.

We meet monthly  to share tips & tricks, problems & solutions. Sometimes we will watch videos or share our screens to aide in learning more about using Legacy Family Tree software.

Everyone is welcome to attend and participate in the learning. If you are just thinking about trying Legacy for the first time, you’ve been using it for a year or two or you are an old pro with many years of experience using Legacy this is the group for you. If you have any suggestions for future topics, please send them in.

We look forward to meeting with you, every month on the First Tuesday at 7:00 PM Pacific Time
Download: Meeting invite with Links

Meeting Invite with Links in file attached below:

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.

Monthly Calendar Reminder: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZYpfuyuqDovHNwtBgxtQjWKOjDQ8k5Q9bPD/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGqqjIvHNKUtR-PRpwQBor4Z-7wpn5Ygo1KiD3iGzRiaDTdGehmA-p0RemJ

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82495661568?pwd=dy85YmluVzF5aEU4SzFTcTUrVDlTUT09

Meeting ID: 824 9566 1568
Passcode: 715731

One tap mobile:
+12532050468,,82495661568#,,,,*715731# US
+12532158782,,82495661568#,,,,*715731# US (Tacoma)

Dial by your location:
+1 253 205 0468 US
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

Meeting ID: 824 9566 1568
Passcode: 715731

Find your local number:
https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcphK19I1E

Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society October 2025 Writing Family History

by Charles Hansen

Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society Writing Family History
Wednesday, October 9, 2025, starting at 7:00 PM via Zoom

The Writing Family History Special Interest Group (WFH-SIG) supports TPCGS members in documenting, writing, and preserving their family histories—formally or informally. Monthly meetings will provide a mix of presentations, writing exercises, and peer reviews to help members make progress in their projects.

Meeting invite with links in file attached below

Date & Time: Every month on the Second Wednesday, starting at 7:00 PM Pacific Time

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/tZMoc-2qqDMjHNXnACfWJ0dop_pMeQXMRoYM/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGvqz8uGNKduR-GRpwEGY-gLOrwplxEgo1lkj7GBRd5Mgf5Jt1SH7dOKPXi

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87544268961?pwd=oNtdztP51tePuSn3bt45J3wuxnGXzl.1
Meeting ID: 875 4426 8961
Passcode: 328639

One tap mobile:
+12532158782,,87544268961#,,,,*328639# US (Tacoma)
+12532050468,,87544268961#,,,,*328639# US

Dial by your location:
• +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
• +1 253 205 0468 US
Meeting ID: 875 4426 8961
Passcode: 328639
Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kclCP1SsOV

Lower Columbia Genealogical Society Was Your Ancestor Really Gone or Just Hidden

by Charles Hansen

PAM VESTAL

Genealogist and lecturer

Was Your Ancestor Really Gone or Just Hidden in the Records

Speaker at the Lower Columbia Genealogical Society’s

October 9th Zoom meeting.

Virtual meeting doors will open at 6:30 pm

The speaker’s program will begin at 7:00 pm

The public is invited to attend.

Please consider joining our society for $20/yr. 

For a link to join the meeting or to join the society contact lcgsgen@yahoo.com 24hrs prior to the event

Tri-City Genealogical Society FamilySearch’s Full Text Search

by Charles Hansen

  Please join us for Tri-City Genealogical Society’s October General meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, October 8.  The presentation will be at the Richland FamilySearch Center located at 1314A Goethals Dr.  Entrance is down the ramp from the parking lot that is to the north of Dairy Queen.  The presentation will also be on Zoom so you can join in from the comfort of your own home.  See below for the Zoom link.

   The October TCGS General meeting is entitled Secrets for Success: How to Harness the Power of FamilySearch’s Full-Text Search and will be presented by Julia A. Anderson.  Learn what FamilySearch’s full-text search capability can do for you! This class will provide you with tips and tricks for making the most of this innovation in genealogical research. We will cover various ways to search, how to use wildcards and other tools, ways to filter your results, how to read and save images and transcriptions, and what to do with the information you find in the records.  Key takeaways include revolutionary access to un-indexed records, smart search techniques that deliver results and seamless integration with FamilySearch family tree

  Julia A. Anderson, MA, AG®, AGL™ has a master’s degree in history and education and is an Accredited Genealogist® and Accredited Genealogist Lecturer™ with expertise in the United States Gulf South Region. She works as a full-time United States and Canada research specialist at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, Utah and teaches genealogy research and accreditation classes for Salt Lake Community College. Julia owns and manages Anderson Genealogical Research, LLC, serves as a commissioner on the board of ICAPGen, and is the conference chair for the Utah Genealogical Association.

Topic: TCGS General Meeting October 8 at 7 p.m.

Time: Oct 8, 2025 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85444036762?pwd=hZDBrKkX3qUwa4Ani2tRbaV6P9Z9Gf.1

Meeting ID: 854 4403 6762

Passcode: 290245

One tap mobile

+12532050468,,85444036762#,,,,*290245# US

+12532158782,,85444036762#,,,,*290245# US (Tacoma)

Join instructions

https://us02web.zoom.us/meetings/85444036762/invitations?signature=mB4Zrxl9P2gBSesBFTnwkUbg2AtTLJL9PQTtO52LdDc

Yakima Valley Genealogical Society Legacy Family Tree

by Charles Hansen

Yakima Valley Genealogical Society

1901 S. 12th Avenue

Union Gap, WA 98903

Phone: (509) 248-1328

Email: yvgs@yvgs.net

Yakima Valley Genealogical Society

General Meeting will be held in the library

Date: Saturday, October 4, 2025

Time: 10:00 a.m.

Judy Schuster will be giving a presentation on Legacy Family Tree. She will be talking about the basics of the program, how to enter data, how to download it for FREE, and how to transfer trees from a different program.

Italian Interest Group of the Eastside Genealogical Society Italian Military Records

by Charles Hansen
Italian Interest Group (IIG)October 2025 Meeting
Italian Soldiers Click Here for meeting registration
You will get a reminder email with the same Zoom meeting link on October 10th and 17th.
Description: This presentation will cover the wealth of genealogical information available in Italian military records, which have existed since Italian unification in the 19th century and in some places as far back as 1792. The records discussed will include conscription lists (Liste di Leva) detailing biographical and physical information for all eligible males, and military service files (Fogli Matricolari) tracking a soldier’s service history, promotions, and assignments. Additionally, four other lesser-known Italian military records will be covered. Since these records are organized by military district and province rather than by town, they are especially useful for tracing ancestors whose specific hometown is unknown. The Presentation will guide researchers on accessing these records, whether by requesting them from a provincial State Archive (Archivio di Stato) in Italy, searching digitized records on sites like FamilySearch or Portale Antenati, or understanding the location of military archives based on the time period.”
Kerri Tannenbaum Speaker Bio: Joel Cole was born and raised in Padova, Italy. He has been involved with Italian Family History for over 30 years. He accompanied his father Trafford for his first genealogical research in Maniago, Italy, when he was 15 and since then he has been fascinated by family history. He has worked as a researcher for over 25 years, visiting almost every State Archive in Italy and almost 1,000 parish archives. He is familiar with paleography having taken several classes in Italy, and with Latin documents, having studied it for over 10 years. Joel has presented in many international genealogical conferences about Italian Family History and has worked for years for private companies performing research in all of Italy, consulting Civil records, Parish and Diocesan Catholic records, Notary records and many more sources. In 2015 he moved to Utah covering several roles for FamilySearch. He is currently the content strategist for Southern Europe, including Italy. Joel’s research specialties are: Italy, Southern Switzerland and Istria-Croatia. Expert at deciphering ancient Italian and Latin documents.
COUNTDOWN TO THE MEETING:
Days Hours Minutes Seconds
Eastside Genealogical Society
– Italian Interest Group
P.O. Box 374
Bellevue, WA 98009-0374

Skagit Valley Genealogical Society The Role of Convents and Monasteries in the 15th-19th Centuries

by Charles Hansen

Join Skagit Valley Genealogical Society Saturday, October 11, 2025, 1pm at the Burlington Public Library for “The Role of Convents and Monasteries in the 15th-19th Centuries and How They Affected Our Ancestors”with Milan Pohontsch, President, Federation of Eastern European Family History Societies. Learn about the social and economic impacts of monasteries and how the lives of those that lived and worked on monastic estates differed from peasants under noble rule.  Can’t make it to the Burlington Library, request a zoom link by emailing info@skagitvalleygenealogy.org. Thank you,

Puget Sound Genealogical Society Alienation of Affection: Divorce in the US

by Charles Hansen

Our monthly PSGS Program this month will be “Alienation of Affection:  Divorce in the US” with Christine Cohen.  It will be on Wednesday, Sep. 24 at 1pm. Social time starts at 12:30pm. The program will be hybrid with in person at the Sylvan Way Library and on Zoom.  The Zoom link will be posted the day before on our website (psgsociety.org) and our Facebook page.

Divorce is not just a 20th Century phenomenon. At first, granted by

the State Legislature and then by the Courts, these are public

records. The case files can include marriage date and place, names

and ages of children, current and former residences, and affidavits

by the spouses about their marriage and reason for divorce. Clues

are in the Census, City Directories, Military Pensions, County

Histories, County Courthouses & especially in Newspapers. This

could be the reason for a “lost spouse”.

Clallam County Genealogical Society The Joy of Genealogy Travel

by Charles Hansen

The Joy of Genealogy Travel will be the subject of a presentation by Sandra Ristow of the Clallam County Genealogical Society Saturday, September 27th at 10:00 AM. 

Sandra has studied her family genealogy for nearly 20 years, and has traveled through out the United States and parts of Germany and Poland to see their origins.  Most of her ancestors were German immigrants. Her English ancestors,  who arrived in 1660, and their participation in the American Revolution qualified her to become a member of the local Michael Trebert Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She is a lecturer and teacher, sharing her expertise in German Genealogy.

Her lecture will relate some exciting discoveries of both German and Polish ancestors that her travels have produced.  She has been to Germany five times, and to Pomerania, Poland where she has found living relatives.

The program will be presented, live, at the CCGS Research Center located at 403 E. 8th Street in Port Angeles or via Zoom.  To obtain the Zoom codes or get more information, please call the Society at 360-417-5000 or email your request at askus@clallamcogs.com  Tuesday through Friday from 10 am – 4pm.