Author Archives: Charles Hansen

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of The Week

by Charles Hansen

TIP OF THE WEEK –
 Do you know about GEDmatch.com?
 

GEDmatch is a free repository website for people who already have taken tests at any of the DNA testing sites such as Family Tree DNA, Ancestry, and 23andMe. While free, donations are appreciated.

Testers first register on GEDmatch with their email and create a password, then download a copy of their autosomal DNA raw data file from their testing sight such as Ancestry or FTDNA, then upload that file to GEDmatch where it is processed and added to the large database.

The best two reasons for uploading to GEDmatch is you’ll find additional matches with folks who tested at sites other than the one you did and GEDmatch has a number of data analysis tools.

For plenty of detail on the site, watch the “GEDMatch Basics” video at Youtube

When you’re ready to try your hand at the download and upload of your raw data file to GEDmatch, you can find a short video on that at YouTube also.  If you feel uneasy or intimidated by the process, stop by the SGS library on Technology Tuesday and talk to Lisa Chan.

Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

Seattle

NOMINATIONS, PLEASE!

The SGS election is several months away, but the nominations committee already is at work searching for candidates willing to serve on the Board of Directors. Consider stepping up to run for office as an opportunity, not a chore.  SGS exists because of the indispensable Board. These volunteers set the policy, manage the money, pay the bills, supervise the committees.  Simply put: No Board, no SGS. If you are willing to consider running for office, or know someone who might agree to be a candidate, please email the names to nominations chairman, Nancy Hevly, at nominate@seattlegenealogicalsociety.org   Committee members will contact possible candidates, answer questions and explain the duties of each office. The committee wants to get an early start, and so should SGS members.  It’s like shopping for holiday presents.  The sooner you begin the easier it is to get the job done on time.

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Puget Sound Civil War Roundtable Civil War Veteran Burial

by Charles Hansen

civilwar

 
CIVIL WAR VETERAN FUNERAL
James H. Powers, Jr.

The Puget Sound Civil War Roundtable, in conjunction with the Missing in America Project and the National Cemetery Administration, is planning a very special and unique event…the burial of a Civil War veteran, James H. Powers, Jr. and his wife of 57 years, Irene Powers.

James passed away in 1921 and Irene in 1928.  Since that time, their ashes have languished at a local funeral home.  Most recently, James and Loretta Dimond discovered their record and, working with the funeral home, the Veterans Administration and the family, received the release of the cremains and received permission to have them interned at Tahoma National Cemetery.

The event will take place on December 10, 2016 at noon.  Please assist PSCWRT in publicizing the funeral.  Links to Powers’ obituary, biography and the flyer announcing the funeral accompany this email.

Thank you for playing a role.

Whatcom Gen Society Newsflash

by Charles Hansen

whatcom-gsWhatcom Genealogical Society

PO Box 1493, Bellingham, WA 98227-1493

Website:  http://wagenweb.org/whatcom/WGS/wgs.htm

Facebook Page:  http://www.facebook.com/WhatcomGenealogicalSociety

Nov. 14th, 2 pm – “Crafting History – Creating Keepsakes to Preserve Family Memories” by Mary Kirchner Roddy.  We ask that you go to Mary’s Web site http://www.mkrgenealogy.com/lectures.html, go to her list of lectures, and print out a copy of the handout of this lecture to bring to the meeting. (Jill Peterson and Pam Shannon volunteered to bring treats.)

Genealogy Classes at Ferndale Library — Thanks to WGS member Judith Culver, assisted by Carol Signett, there are occasional genealogy classes being held at the Ferndale Library Meeting Room, 2125 Main Street.  Please contact Judith for more information:  judithculv@hotmail.com

Whatcom County Historical Society – meets second Thursday of the month at 7:30 pm at the Whatcom Museum Rotunda Room.  Free and open to all.  www.whatcomhistory.net

Nov. 10th – “Lake Samish Reflections, Historical Views, and Memories” by the Lake Samish History Group

Dec. 8th – “Annual History Holiday” – Open Mike Sharing and Holiday Gathering

Serendipity Day

by Charles Hansen

** Did your ancestors meet via a newspaper ad?

** Max Rockover: Is He In Your Tree? 

**Runes: Germanic/Viking alphabet

Dear sir or madam,
I am writing to ask whether any of the members of your genealogical society might be able to help me with some research.

I am a historian writing a book for a major U.S. publisher about the history of personal ads in America. To this end, I am trying to track down couples who met each other via a personal ad in a newspaper any time between about 1850 and 1950.
Perhaps you know someone whose grandparents or ancestors met their husband or wife via a personal ad? Or perhaps there was a story in your town that one of the neighbors once found love in this way?
If so, I’d be very interested to hear from you.  I can be contacted by email at francescabeauman@gmail.com. All information will be treated in the strictest confidence.
Many thanks.   Francesca Beauman.
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Jim Kershner’s This Day In History, is a daily column in our Spokane paper. On September 11th, he wrote this story. Seems one Max Rockower, age 26, a deck hand on the steamer Rapid Transit, got into a fight in Seattle and was hit over the head causing severe amnesia. Doctors tried everything, including trepanning of his skull, but nothing worked. He was sent to the U.S. Marine Hospital in Port Townsend. He did not recognize his mother who came down from Calgary, Alberta, to see him. She took Max to a movie show which happened to depict a man being struck on the head with a hammer. Max immediately placed his hand on his head and exclaimed, “Somebody hit me!” His memory of before the accident returned and doctors proclaimed “that he was showing every indication that the cloud which had obscured his mind had vanished.” Is Max Rockower, born about 1890, in your family tree?? I did not find him in the U.S. census for 1920.
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THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News

by Charles Hansen

GFO1

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News 9 November 2016

For more information visit www.gfo.org, contact us at info@gfo.org, or call our library at 503-963-1932. We love hearing from you!

For a complete GFO CALENDAR go to www.gfo.org/calendar.htm.

Also, if you missed your free copy of our monthly Insider for November 2016, you’re in luck because we saved you a copy at http://www.gfo.org/insider/16-Nov.pdf.

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Serendipity Day

by Charles Hansen

** Mount Rainier

** Is your society contributing to the WSGS blog?

** “Weather Forecasting Game to End in N.W.”

** Snoqualmie Pass closed for 30 days???

 

 

Did you know that the highest point in Washington is our Mount Rainier. This peak was named for Peter Rainier (1741-1808), a British soldier who fought AGAINST us in the Revolutionary War. Anybody but me wonder why HIS name was chosen for this majestic mountain?????

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Most genealogical societies within our region do submit information to us about their upcoming meetings, seminars, workshops, etc. Does yours? If you are a regular reader of this blog, have you noticed posts about your society’s doings? Perhaps you might ought to ask your Board about this? Why turn down such wonderful free publicity???

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On September 22, 1947, this article appeared in the Tacoma News Tribune: “Harried, heckled and much maligned meteorologists along the Puget Sound who have borne the brunt of long-range weather miscalculations for lo! these many years are breathing great sighs of relief.

The head men in the weather bureau in Washington, D.C., announced that its new forecast center at Seattle would probably begin operations about Nov. 1st.

This means that the Pacific Northwest will not have to depend henceforth on San Francisco for its long-range forecasts, which has been the case for more than the 35 years Tacoma Observer Ross O. miller has been in the service.

Miller, who has always felt that the San Francisco forecasts were not any too accurate for Puget Sound if only because of the distance involved, sees a definite improvement in the business of weather prediction with the advent of the new center in Seattle.

“Puget Sound weather has always been difficult to forecast at best,” Miller pointed out. “The state is too big for accuracy in the blanket predictions that have been coming from the Bay City.”

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According to a Seattle newspaper for November 23, 1959: “Snoqualmie Pass, the state’s major 4-lane route through the Cascades, will be closed for a minimum of 30 days (and could be up to a year) due to the rampaging south fork of the Snoqualmie River.”  Can you imagine that happening today??? Right before Thanksgiving?????? 

 

 

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News

by Charles Hansen

GFO1

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News 2 November 2016

For more information visit www.gfo.org, contact us at info@gfo.org, or call our library at 503-963-1932. We love hearing from you!

For a complete GFO CALENDAR go to www.gfo.org/calendar.htm.

Also, if you missed your free copy of our monthly Insider for October or November 2016, you’re in luck because we saved you a copy of each at http://www.gfo.org/insider/16-Oct.pdf and at http://www.gfo.org/insider/16-Nov.pdf.

***

They’re FLYIN’ off the shelves!! Book Review Updates:

flying

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Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

by Charles Hansen

Seattle

 

TIP OF THE WEEK –
 No Such Thing as a Free Lunch, but …

If you’re not familiar with the LDS annual Washington Family History Fair, it’s an entire day of free classes taught by qualified instructors.  The day consists of five one-hour sessions. You have several classes to choose from for each session. There are approximately 40 classes in all, plus an Exhibitor Gallery. Classes run the gamut from beginner to advanced. Registration, classes, and parking are all free!  Sounds almost too good to be true, but I attended last year and was impressed.

Pre-registration is encouraged and available on-line. If you want a printed syllabus or a boxed lunch, those are available for a nominal fee and you order those during pre-registration. Classes are on a first come, first served basis. Pre-registering will help them plan for the size of the room they need for each class as well as the number of syllabuses to print.

Our new SGS President, Jill Morelli,  and SGS members, Jean Roth, Mary Kircher Roddy, and Steve Morrison will be presenting.  Refer to the “Agenda and Schedule” on the website to check out the class descriptions and/or information on any of the numerous instructors.

This year the Family History Fair 2016 is at the Bellevue South Stake Center, behind the temple at 15205 SE 28th Street, Bellevue, WA 98007, on Saturday, November 12, from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm.  Doors open at 8:00 am for check-in or day-of-event registration.

Full details are available on the website for :

•Registration
•Agenda and Schedule
•Instructor Biographies
•Class Descriptions
•Exhibits
•FAQ

Here’s the link to the website :

wafamilyhistory.com/2016/index.html

**  note that LDS members abstain from coffee use and out of respect for that belief, coffee will not be served at the event

Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

Seattle

 

OUR NEW SGS PRESIDENT,
 JILL MORELLI
 

The Seattle Genealogical Society Board is happy to announce that Jill Morelli has agreed to assume the role of President of the Society for the remainder of the 2016-2017 year. You may know Jill from her role as Publications Director of the Society from 2012 to 2015, as well as the many programs she has been involved with and the numerous presentations she has given to the Society. She has devoted the interim time to writing her portfolio for certification as a certified genealogist which has only recently been submitted for review. While the outcome is yet unknown, she is now free to devote her time to the Society and the needs of the membership. The position has been vacant since the election last spring. Please welcome Jill.

“Washington on the Western Front”
WW I Exhibit Hosted at UW in the Allen Library

Currently on display in Special Collections at the Allen Library on the UW campus  is an exhibit concerning World War I titled “Washington on the Western Front: At Home and Over There”.  On Friday, November 11, Armistice Day (Veterans Day), Special Collections will be having an Open House from 1:00-5:00pm.  All are welcome to attend and parking is free that day.

A Color Guard from Ballard Eagleson VFW Post 3063 will open the event. In addition to guided gallery walks of the exhibit, two documentaries about the influenza epidemic of 1918 and the creation of American cemeteries in France will be shown.

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