Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

Seattle

 

TIP OF THE WEEK – ABOUT RETIRING FTM

Many people are upset with Ancestry.com “retiring” the desktop application “Family Tree Maker” aka FTM. The thing to remember is don’t panic.  There is time to explore your options as  Ancestry.com has pledged to support the program through January 1, 2017 and you can actually continue to use it after that for as long as your computer’s operating system will allow. Just be aware that after January 1, 2017 it won’t sync your online tree or do other things that interface directly with Ancestry.com.

Since this is a widely used application we will be visiting the issue again and again. SGS members have made suggestions and pointed to articles they found helpful.

For starters read Keith’s article  at GenealogyTools.com .  It was recommended by Dick Eastman and provides a good overview to the novice of what a “gedcom” file is and how to scrub your data to become “gedcom” compliant.

Find the article here :

Family Tree Software Alternatives, Part 1: How to Scrub Your Data (Updated 16 May 2018)

Seattle Genealogical Society Newsletter

Seattle

THE SGS LIBRARY – ONE MEMBER’S EXPERIENCE

Lisa Chan is the SGS member that leads the “Seattle Genealogical Society Networking” group on Facebook as well as shares her interest and enthusiasm for genealogy, including some useful tips and tricks, via her on-line blog.

She recently wrote about exploring the shelves at SGS.  Wouldn’t you, too, like to treat yourself to an afternoon at the SGS Library doing one of the things you enjoy most, researching your genealogy?

Here’s an extraction from Lisa’s blog to whet your appetite.  To read the story in its entirety you can find her blog at http://genealogy.grippingyarn.com.    If you are a Facebook member, consider joining the “Seattle Genealogical Society Networking” group.

NEHG and MARYLAND : EXPLORING THE SHELVES OF SGS

By Lisa Chan

This afternoon, I was greeted by the lovely desk attendant Chris. A volunteer with Seattle Genealogical Society for many years, she delights in helping intrepid researchers find just what they’re looking for among the stacks, and often resources of value that they weren’t expressly seeking.

Dangerously, I hadn’t set out this early afternoon with specific research goals. However, I did have a general desire to browse and see what goodies could be found amongst the Maryland section, maybe find something to inform my RHODES of Maryland research.

Before settling in, I stopped at the open seating area just inside the door of SGS. Comfortable chairs face a welcoming coffee table adorned with local society bulletins, Dick Eastman’s Online Genealogy Newsletter (Plus Edition), and various journals.

Prominent and tempting, The NEHG Register: Winter 2015 (produced by the famous New England Historic Genealogical Society) called out for a casual thumb through. Curious about the overall-size of SGS’s collection, I wandered over to Chris and she graciously directed me to the treasure trove. 3 full shelves of products produced by NEHG!

“Is The NEHG Register collection all there?”

Chris explained that it was almost complete. I found Vol. 1-60 looking great, but then around Vol.s 70-96 things got a little dicey. I can imagine that at some future point, those small voids will get filled. But after Vol. 96, I believe the collection looked solid (I didn’t count every single one).

“And how do I find things?”

Chris pointed out several bound volumes representing the printed indexes. Overwhelmed, I wondered out loud if there might be an online searchable database.

There is! Continue reading →

TriCity Genealogical Society February Meeting Announcement

The TriCity Genealogical Society will meet at 7 pm at Charbonneau located at 8264 W Grandridge Boulevard in Kennewick on February 10, 2016.

Stacia Gunderson will provide a cemetery awakening, but don’t expect zombies at this meeting. Her presentation will enlighten, or awaken, her audience to the importance of symbolism used on OCTphoto_cemeteries2cemetery headstones. She will discuss much more than fraternal symbols placed on headstones. Stories will unravel as she goes into the detail of why certain flowers were used in decorative grave markers and explain the use of certain wording patterns used when providing information about the deceased.

The TriCity Genealogical Society is honored to have Stacia speak at their February meeting. Stacia will tell anyone who asks “history is in my blood,” giving examples of her parents and previous ancestor’s roles in historical preservation. She has a Bachelor’s degree in history, has worked as an interpreter ranger for both national and state parks, and was the resident pre-Hanford historian for the former CREHST museum.

To get to our new meeting location enter the main door at Charbonneau. Continue through the foyer and past the dining room. Our meeting room is the first room on the left.

For more information contact Susan Davis Faulkner at 509-554-1050 or denmother4@hotmail.com

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM OF OREGON’S Wednesday Evening E-News

GenForum

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM OF OREGON’S Wednesday Evening E-News

13 January 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 last month’s newletter, the Insider, you’re in luck because we saved you a copy at http://www.gfo.org/insider/16-Jan.pdf. Look for the February 2016 Insider coming soon! Check our website for the link on our Newsletter page.

Reminder about the January Monthly Program

GFO proudly presents Stephen Hanks, author of Akee Tree, Saturday, January 16th, 2pm – 4pm.

This event is free to the Public…so no excuses!

Come spend the afternoon with us as we indulge in a talk by fellow genealogist and author, Stephen Hanks, who spent over 10 years tracing his paternal African American family line. He will be discussing the research behind his most recent book, Akee Tree: A Descendant’s Quest For His Slave Ancestors on the Eskridge Plantations.

The book is written as a narrative, so readers can experience the “thrill of the hunt” and follow along with Hanks’ research methodology to get a peek at the records he discovered in his search for ancestry in the United States as well as Africa.

Save the Dates for October 15 – 16, 2016

We understand that planning ahead is important, and we’d love to be first on your list of exotic places to visit, especially since we have the best views, activities, events, and of course the best company! Continue reading →

Genealogical Forum of Oregon Wednesday E-News

GenForum

 

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM OF OREGON’S  Wednesday Evening E-News

6 January 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 last month’s newletter, the Insider, you’re in luck because we saved you a copy at http://www.gfo.org/insider/16-Jan.pdf. Look for the February 2016 Insider coming soon! Check our website for the link on our Newsletter page.

Don’t miss the January Monthly Program!!

Akee

GFO proudly presents Stephen Hanks, author of Akee Tree, Saturday, January 16th, 2pm – 4pm.

Free to the Public

Come spend the afternoon with us as we indulge in a talk by fellow genealogist and author, Stephen Hanks, who spent over 10 years tracing his paternal African American family line. He will be discussing the research behind his most recent book, Akee Tree: A Descendant’s Quest For His Slave Ancestors on the Eskridge Plantations.

The book is written as a narrative, so readers can experience the “thrill of the hunt” and follow along with Hanks’ research methodology to get a peek at the records he discovered in his search for ancestry in the United States as well as Africa.

Digital historical resources for all; all 180,000 of them!

Explore turn-of-the-century New York City apartment floor plans, or see what your ancestors’ Fifth Ave of New York City looked like in 1911.

NY

The New York Public Library announced yesterday that they have released some 180,000 out-of-copyright items from their Digital Collections as high resolution downloads. These resources are free for all to use, no permissions needed as the Library’s confirmed these are all now in the public domain.

January Seminar – “Discover Your House History”

Come hear our very own Connie Lenzen, author, researcher and board-certified genealogist, teach about the histories of houses.

Have you ever wondered who lived in your home or building before you? Have you ever wondered when your house was built, and maybe WHY?? Connie will lead us through the process of researching the history of your house. While her examples will begin from Multomah and Clackamas County, the principles are applicable to any location you might be curious about.

You should really hurry up and register quickly, as this session is limited to 50 attendees! Click here for a registration form.

What’s Happening this Week at the GFO?

Illinois Group – Saturday, January 9th, 9:30am – 11:30am

All interested researchers are welcome to join us. Just drop in and share the workshop when you can and when you’re interested. Meetings include handouts and/or worksheets for each topic we cover. We focus on the state of Illinois, but the research techniques can be used in all states. The group leaders are Kristy Gravlin and Harlene Patterson. For more information call (630) 621-5166 or email hannah@teleport.com.

GFO Book Group – Saturday, January 9th, 11:45am – 12:45pm

Author Harold Hinds will lead the discussion about his book Crafting a Personal Family History. A Guide Plus a Case Study: Three Generations of the Hinds Family in New York’s Adirondack Mountains. Please call the front desk (503-963-1932) to ask if copies are still available at the GFO, as they’re goin’ fast!

Writers’ Forum – Saturday, January 9th, 1pm – 3pm

This is a peer group of genealogists, who meet to learn about writing and to share our writing with each other. Peggy Baldwin facilitates this group and can be reached at peggy.baldwin@family-passages.com or (503) 916-9410.

Library Work Party – Sunday, January 11th, 9am – noon

There’s another work party at the GFO library today for those of you who can come. There’s lots to do and we’d love to have your help. Doors open at 9 a.m. and work usually wraps up around noon. Some people come for just an hour or so and you’re welcome to do the same. Any time you can share is valuable. Hope to see you there.

Announcement, announcement – Class hours have changed!
Don’t let the printed version of the January Insider fool you. There have been some changes.

Firstly, the “Photoshop Elements” classes for this month have been postponed until February. Keep an eye out for more updates soon!

Secondly, our “Learn & Chat” sessions with Connie Lenzen, held on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month, will now be held the same days as our “DNA Q&A” classes with Lisa McCullough. So come spend the day, we dare you! Start with Connie’s class from 10 a.m. to noon, and move right into Lisa’s class from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and feel free to pop on upstairs for a snack in between.

©2015 Genealogical Forum Of Oregon | 2505 SE 11th Ave., Suite B-18, Portland, OR 97202

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society Monthly Meeting

Bainbridge Island

January 5, 2016

 

The Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society (BIGS) will meet Friday, January 15, in the Bainbridge Island Public Library Meeting Room from 10:00 AM until noon.  This will be a meeting for brainstorming to develop our New Year’s Resolution for Genealogy.  We will be collaborating to come up with new ideas to use to enhance and advance our research.  This is a very good time to visit if you are interested in becoming a member.  Come and be inspired!  Free to members, a $5.00 donation is suggested for nonmembers.  For more information go to http://www.bigenealogy.org, or call 206-842-4978.  BIGS is a 501c(3) non-profit organization.

 

Thank you!

 

Sylvia H. Nelson

Director, Publicity and Public Relations

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society

www.bigenealogy.org

206-842-4978

 

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

Seattle

 

Tip of the Week – Improve Your Google Search Results

As promised in the last edition here are some examples on using “*” as well as the “site:” operator.

The “*” is known as a wild card in searching. Use “*” to match one or more words in a phrase (enclosed in quotes).  For example,  “Google * my life”  tells Google to find pages containing a phrase that starts with “Google” followed by one or more words, followed by “my life”.  Phrases that fit the bill include : “Google changed by life”, “Google is my life” and “Google helps me with my life”.  Can you see yourself using this when you’re not sure of the exact title of a book, or the entire adage you are trying to recall, or someone’s full name?

The operator called “site:” is used to when you only want results from certain sites or domains.  Likewise with the  “–site:”,  you can exclude a particular site or domain.  Some examples,    “James Brown” site:ancestry.com  or  “James Brown” site:familysearch.org   tells Google  find me all the James Brown pages in Ancestry.com or all the James Brown pages in Familysearch.org, respectively.  Likewise, “James Brown” –site:Youtube.com  says find me all pages for James Brown, but ignore any at Youtube.com

Don’t worry about memorizing the syntax for every operator or punctuation we’ve discussed because you can also use the Advanced Search page to create these searches.   If you search often, try adding advanced search to your favorites:   https://www.google.com/advanced_search

Seattle Genealogical Society E-News

Seattle

CHECK OUT THE  RECENT ACQUISTIONS SHELF

The money earned from seminar book sales and raffles, as well as library book sales and e-bay sales all go into the Library Fund and this is used for acquisition of new material for the SGS Library.  We’ve acquired some really good reference materials that have made their way to the new acquisitions shelf.  Come by and check out what’s *New*.

*New*   The Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder

Nine volumes in three. A repository of genealogical data on Maine unequaled by any other work on the subject, The Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder is back in print in a handy three-volume edition. The work consists of a multitude of articles covering every conceivable facet of Maine genealogy, with special emphasis on town and church records, biographies, family histories, and cemetery inscriptions. Typical contents include articles on religious and ethnic settlements; early pioneers; army musters; land grants and claims; births, marriages, and deaths; historical sketches; wills; censuses; and town histories. Each of the nine volumes is separately indexed, the names alone numbering nearly 15,000 altogether.

*New*   North Carolina Historical and Genealogical Register

This short-lived periodical contains the best collection of genealogical source records for the Old Albemarle region of North Carolina. Chief among its contents are abstracts of land grants, court records, conveyances, births, deaths, marriages, wills, petitions, military records, licenses, and oaths. The abstracts derive from records from present-day counties of the Old Albemarle region: Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Halifax, Hyde, Martin, Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, and Washington and the Virginia counties of Surry and Isle of Wight.   Continue reading →

Kittatas County Gen Society News Flash

 

KCGS_logo

Kittitas Co. Genealogical Soc. Meeting, Monday Jan 4th 2016 at 7 pm, AT 413 N Main, Ellensburg (our library)

 Program “A Walk Among the Ancestors” by Ellensburg’s Bill Bowden.  Two of his lines, Bowden and Buckler were in Newfoundland (1/2 way from New York to Greenland)—long before it became part of Canada.  Some of his archival techniques show us how to succeed with our easier problems.  Canadians now say “NewFOUNDLand” not USA-talk “NEWfundlund”

Please bring 15 dollars for dues (20 family); paying by check would help a lot, since Tuck can’t write out cash receipts fast enough.

 Already paid 2016 dues: Alexander, Bakke, Burrows, Clayton, Large & Schneider.

The Lewis County Genealogical Society Irish Seminar

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The Lewis County Genealogical Society presents…
Researching Your Irish and Scots-Irish Ancestors

Ulster Historical Foundation, Belfast, Northern Ireland,
Featuring Fintan Mullan & Gillian Hunt
Monday, March 14, 2016,   8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Bethel Assembly of God Church
132 Kirkland Road, Chehalis, Washington  98532

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Want to discover
your Irish and Scots-Irish Ancestors?

Fintan

Gillian

Many people believe that researching Irish ancestors is impossible because of the destruction of the Public Record Office in 1922. While many records were destroyed, others survived and have come online in recent years.

Join experts Fintan Mullan and Gillian Hunt from the Ulster Historical Foundation to learn how to get the most out of Irish resources and records, gain strategies for breaking down brick walls, and grasp important historical context that may help fill in gaps in your research. Whether you are just beginning your Irish research or have been at it for years, you won’t want to miss this workshop!

With sixty years’ experience of serving Irish people everywhere, let the Ulster Historical Foundation help you discover your family’s story.
Although the Foundation is based in Northern Ireland, the information presented will be of interest no matter where in Ireland your ancestors came from.
Presented by
The Lewis County Genealogical Society
PO Box 782, Chehalis, WA  98532-0782

Complete information:  www.walcgs.org
Society Email:  wa.lcgs@hotmail.com
Conference Chair: Patricia Olsen,      patricia1944a@gmail.com