Whatcom Genealogical Society

PO Box 1493, Bellingham, WA 98227-1493

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

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

NEWSLETTER…… March, 2016

WGS President:  Barbara Lynch – ward.in.barb@frontier.com; Susan Nahas, Vice President and Webmaster; Sharon Bishop, Secretary; Carol Signett, Treasurer;  Linda Lawson, Publications; Nancy Parker, Membership; Cindy Harris, Education; Merrily Lawson, Research; Sharon Neem, Publicity and Newsletter Editor; Barbara Lynch, Sylvia Willis, “The Bulletin” Committee

Programs for WGS Meetings:

Please silence your cell phones, or put them on vibrate during our meetings. They are quite disruptive to our speakers.  Thank you!

March 14^th – “Finding Female Ancestors in Court Records” with Janice Lovelace……..Cindy Harris and Lorene Hofstrand have volunteered to bring snacks for the March meeting.

April 11^th – Program for organizing your research will be presented

May 9^th – “Genealogy in the Computer Age” with Claudia Breland

Other Events:

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

March 10^th – Deb Morgan will present a program on the history of the Sumas Rodeo.

April 14^th – Dave Tucker will give a presentation on his book “Geology Underfoot in Western Washington.

Skagit Valley Genealogical Society – meets at 1 pm at the Burlington Senior Center, 1011 Greenleaf Ave.  They do not meet July, August or Dec.

www.skagitvalleygenealogy.org

March 12^th – “The Silent Stones Speak – Gravestones and Icons” with Margie Wilson

April 9^th – TBA with Dave Obee

May 14^th – “How to Research People and Property in the National Register of Historic Places” with Martha Collins

Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society – meets 2^nd Tuesdays from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at Hadley Hall, Arlington Boys and Girls Club, 18513 – 59^th Ave. NE, Arlington.  www.stillygen.org

May 10th – “Supplemental Census Records” by Winona Laird. Ms. Laird has written a book entitled, Have You Ever Lived in a Mining Town, about her grandmother’s life.

Upcoming Seminars

March 26, 2016 – Genealogical Society of South Whidbey seminar featuring Gary Zimmerman, President of the Fiske Library.  Useless Bay Country Club, 5725 S. Country club Lane, Langley, WA.  http://www.gsswi.org/seminar.shtml for more information.

April 9, 2016 – Olympia Genealogical Society Spring Seminar 2016 – “The Power of Your DNA” presented by CeCe Moore, “Your Genetic Genealogist”.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~waogs/seminars.htm for your information.

May 4-7, 2016 – National Genealogical Society Conference, Ft. Lauderdale, FL   http://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/

June 18, 2016 – WSGS Conference, Tacoma, WA.  Paula Stuart-Warren will speak on “Your Anytime Library:  Success in the Virtual Stacks”, “Railroad Records and Railroad History:  Methods for Tracking”, “Untrod Ground:  Sources You May Not Have Encountered”, “Controlling Chaos:  Organizing Your Genealogical Materials”.  Cyndi Ingle Emcee.  Space is limited.  www.tpcgs.org/seminar.html

Aug. 17-20, 2016 – Northwest Genealogy Conference 2016, sponsored by the Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society, Arlington, WA.  www.stillygen.org for more information.

Aug. 21 – Sept. 3, 2016 – Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference, Springfield, IL

http://www.fgs.org/cpage.php?pt=43

Oct. 15, 2016 – Whatcom Genealogical Seminar.  More information to come….

Whatcom Genealogical Society Bulletin

For 20 years WGS Member Merrily Lawson published the Society’s quarterly publication “The Bulletin” and finally resigned from the job a couple years ago.  There were no Bulletins published for quite some time until Roland Signett volunteered to do the job.  Healthwise he is no longer up to it, and he tells us that he believes we should form a committee to work on The Bulletin as it is far too much work for one person.

We already have two volunteers who are willing to be on the Committee:  Our President, Barbara Lynch, and new member Sylvia Willis.  The Board is looking for more people who would be willing to get together to discuss how to proceed.  The more people, the less work for everyone.  It would be a fun way to get to know other people in the Society.

Barbara will be bringing the subject up at the March meeting, and will have samples of previous Bulletins so you can see what they include.  We hope you will consider the opportunity to participate.  Thank you!

Upcoming Legacy Family Tree Webinars

To learn more about these free webinars and to watch them, go to the following Web site and register.  You will receive a reminder through e-mail when it is time to watch.

http://familytreewebinars.com/upcoming-webinars.php

Wed., March 16th, 11 am – “The Private Laws of the Federal and State Governments” with Judy G. Russell.

Wed., March 23th, 11 am – “Introduction to German Parish Records” with Gail Blankenau

Wed., March 30^th, 11 am – “Proof Arguments – How to Write Them and Why They Matter” with Warren Bittner

Wed., April 6th, 11 am – “Getting to Know Findmypast – Your Source for British and Irish Ancestry” with Jen Baldwin

Fri., April 8^th, 11 am – “Confirming Enslaved Ancestors Utilizing DNA” with Melvin J. Collier

Genealogy Hints of the Month

• If after your ancestor died his widow married a Civil War veteran, her pension
  application may mention that first husband and provide information on him. This
  application for Mary Butler gives the date of her first marriage and the date
  and burial place of her first husband’s death in 1876–before that state kept
  marriage records.
• It is a good idea to occasionally review the material you have gathered on a certain individual. Sometimes there are clues that you missed the first time around.

Free Genealogy Web Sites of the Month:                                                (or what else do you have to do with your time?)

www.archive.org – This site offers free public access to millions of public domain books, along with music, film, photographs and other archived historical records.  Resources include items from the Allen County Public Library and the Brigham Young University Library, among others.  You will be amazed at what you can find here.

www.familyhistorydaily.com – How-to stories and research.  A great learning site.

Looking for help with your genealogy research?  Remember there is help for you every Wednesday throughout the year from 10 am to 2 pm at the Bellingham Public Library in the genealogy room at the back.  Our current volunteers are: Barbara Lynch, Cindy Harris, Judith Culver, Judy Bayless, Evelyn Darrow, and Sharon Neem.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!