Volunteer Transcribers Needed

We were notified by Jeanie Fisher of the City of Seattle Municipal Archive about their project of transcribing City Records and their need of help: 

We have an online crowdsourcing project to transcribe early handwritten City of Seattle Records. Anyone who can read handwriting and is interested in joining the project is welcome! Some of our early petitions, letters, claims, and reports contain nuggets of gold for genealogists researching Seattle-area ancestors. The project encourages participants to discover and index names and other information in the documents, which makes them more accessible to everyone.

The project is available here: https://fromthepage.com/sma-archives. Volunteer transcribers can create a free account, pick a document, start reading and transcribe what they see.

Contact info on this project is: Jeanie Fisher, Reference Archivist at Jean.Fisher@seattle.gov
Thanks! Sue

Sue Schack Jensen
Library Directorlibrary@seattlegenealogicalsociety.orgSeattle Genealogical Society6200 Sand Point Way NESeattle, WA 98115206-522-8658

German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society

The German Interest Group of The Eastside GenealogicalSociety (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, March 6, 2020 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm

(Doors open at 12:10 pm for networking)

Where:  Relief Society Room of the Latter-day Saints Church

             10675 NE 20th St, Bellevue, WA 98004.     

Topic: “Friedrich Christian Eiler: Scoundrel, Bigamist and More” – Not all our ancestors are fine upstanding citizens, but Friedrich challenged all parameters of exemplary citizenship. But, who was Friedrich Eiler? The ability to combine fragments of identity to form a single individual is an important skill. This case study illustrates the techniques used to identify the unknown! 

A person sitting at a table in a restaurant

Description automatically generated

Presenter:  Jill Morelli, cg® lectures about her Midwestern, northern German and Scandinavian ancestors nationwide with a focus on intermediate and advanced methodologies, and unique records sets. After obtaining her credential as a Certified Genealogist, she began an online course sharing her experiences and demystifying the process of certification to all who are interested in going “on the clock.” She is presently the president of the Seattle Genealogical Society and a member of many others.

Visitors are always welcome.  More information: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/  .  

Heritage Quest Research Library Upcoming Events

Upcoming Events for February & March: Tuesday, February 18, 2020
10:30 AM Are you interested in helping with AUTUMN QUEST?
We will be talking about the WHO, WHAT, WHERE and HOW of putting on the annual Autumn Quest Seminar.  
Have you been before?  Would you like a say in what it is about?  
Then this meeting is for you!
SEE YOU THERE!
Beginning Genealogy
With
Dee Fournier
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
1:00 – 3:00 PM
Have you wondered where to begin? What documents to you need?  Where will I find them? Join our Education Chair as she takes you through the wonderful world of Beginning  Genealogy.
Let us get you started!
Downtown Sumner 
presents the
SPRING SIP N STROLL

and we love to participate with Sparkling Cider for all who come in to see who we are and what we do.  
Saturday, March 14, 2020 
4:00 – 7:00 PM
join us and we’ll talk Genealogy!

Jewish Genealogical Society March 2020 Meeting

Our upcoming free genealogical event that had been set for Monday evening, March 9, 2020, in Factoria/Bellevue, has been canceled due to the concerns raised by the Corona virus locally. 

In concert with best practices, we realized we should err on the side of caution and health of all our members and attendees.

Our speaker, Ron Arons, and his topic, “Sex, Lies, and Genealogical Tape” will be rescheduled to another date. 

Thank you very much,

Karen Campbell

JGSWS President/Publicity/Programs

president@jgsws.org

Seattle Genealogical Society News

SGS FLOOD RESPONSE TEAM,
VOLUNTEERS OF FALL QUARTER

While usually one SGS member is selected as Volunteer of the Quarter, this quarter the SGS Board was compelled to select three members for their heroic efforts during the SGS Library Great Flood of 2019. Referred to collectively as the SGS Flood Response Team,  Linda Fitzgerald, Kathi McGinnes, and Ann Wright are our Volunteers of Fall Quarter. These three members have a long history of volunteer service to SGS, and their quick reaction and tireless efforts during what could have been a catastrophic, expensive loss for the Society, definitely qualify them to be recognized for service  “above and beyond”. 

Linda was the first person to arrive at the library that morning, and immediately alerted the manager of the library’s building that there was water pouring into the library from above!  Kathi and Ann arrived shortly after Linda, and all three ladies began working to move books and equipment out of harm’s way as quickly as possible. Any dry items in harm’s way were temporarily relocated to other places around the library. All wet items were moved to a triage area. As much work as this was, it turned out to be the easy part.

Over the next few days, Linda and Kathi worked on the materials in the triage area to determine which items were too water damaged to repair, which were just slightly damp and could be easily dried by hand, and which needed more extensive drying using presses and silica gel. Once the books were dry, the silica gel had to be manually removed from the books before returning these repaired books to the dried shelves. Books that had not gotten wet, but were moved elsewhere for safekeeping, also had to be retrieved and returned to their original location. 

The process of preparing the books to dry, preparing them to be re-shelved, and returning all displaced materials to their proper location was an effort that spanned three weeks.

A water event of this nature is second only to a fire in terms of potential unrecoverable damage to a library. Given the number of truly irreplaceable documents and books in the SGS Library, a lot of damage can be done in very short order. The immediate and long-term actions of Linda, Kathi, and Ann minimized the damage. Only a few books were lost. Thank you so much , Linda, Kathi, and Ann.  Without their efforts things could have been a lot worse.   VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Time:  Saturday, March 14, 2020,  12pm-6pm 
          Sunday,   March 15, 2020,  10am-6pm 
Place: Seattle Center Armory, Seattle, WA 

As it normally does, SGS will have an information booth at the Festal:Irish Festival, Seattle’s Irish Heritage and St Patrick’s Day celebration weekend. The booth will have a genealogy display and maps for Irish and Scots-Irish research. We need volunteers to help out in the booth for two hour shifts both days, especially from 1:00 pm-2:00 pm while Jean Roth is giving the Irish Genealogy lecture. This is one of our major outreach events and is a great way to meet people interested in Irish Genealogy.

Contact volunteers@seattlegenealogicalsociety.org to sign up for a shift! Thank you.  

For more information about Irish Festal, see http://www.seattlecenter.com/…/featu…/festal/irish-festival…IRISH GENEALOGY WORKSHOP
COMING IN MARCH

The Irish Heritage Club, along with the SGS Irish Interest Group, is having an all day Irish and Scots-Irish genealogy workshop on Saturday, March 21, 2020, as part of the Seattle’s official Irish Week activities. The speaker is Dr. Tyrone Bowes of Galway, Ireland. Dr. Bowes is a noted biotechnologist who specializes in biology, history, and geography. He is founder and CEO of Irish Origenes and its extensive databases. 

The theme is “Putting the Gene In Your Genealogy”. Learn to use the latest technology and your DNA results to discover clues to your Irish and Scots-Irish ancestral origins. At Fairview Christian Church, 844 NE 78th (enter parking lot from 79th), Seattle, WA, from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. Doors open at 8:30 am for check-in 
Fee: $50. Box lunches available for $15; please order before March 13th.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/irish-genealogy-putting-the-gene-in-your-genealogy-tickets-92973075973

Additional information available at the Irish Heritage Club : 

https://www.eventbrite.com/o/irish-heritage-club-7871179248
  or contact Jean A Roth at 206-782-2629 or jeanaroth@juno.com

SAVE THE DATE
Spring 2020 SGS Seminar 
with Fritz Juengling,
Fairview Christian School,
844 NE 78th St,
Seattle, WA

Saturday, May 16, 2020   Mr Juengling is the German, Dutch and Scandinavian Research Specialist at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. SGS is happy to have Fritz as the presenter for our spring seminar.   SGS CALENDAR OF EVENT   Unless otherwise indicated all programs will be at the SGS Library, 6200 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle. Check the SGS Web Site for additions, changes,  and corrections. Programs may be canceled or postponed because of inclement weather. 
FEBRUARY
Saturday, February 15, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Irish  SIG, with Jean Roth Saturday, February 15, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, German  SIG, with Jean Roth 
MARCH
Sunday, March 1, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, DNA Workshop, with Cary Bright. Q&A first hour, while focus second hour in on Genome Mate Pro.

Saturday, March 7, 10:15 am-12:15 pm, FamilySearch  SIG, with leader Lou Daly, discover the many ways to use Family Tree & FamilySearch.org. Each meeting will feature an aspect of the FamilySearch website.  There will be time for Q&A.  

Wednesday, March 11, 7:00 pm-9:00 pm, MAC Computer SIG, co-chairs Lisa Marker & Diane Hettrick. Meets every other month at the Fiske Genealogical Library in Madison Park, 1644 43rd Ave E, Seattle, WA. Jointly sponsored by SGS & Fiske. Open to the public. Focuses on resources for users of Macintosh/Apple computers & the Reunion Program.
Saturday, March 14, 10:15 am-12:15 pm, Family Tree Maker Users Group, with leaders Reiley Kidd and Jess Ramey, Learn and share tips and tricks for using Family Tree Maker 2017
Saturday, March 14, 12:30 pm -1:00pm, SGS Spring Membership Meeting, business meeting, meet the Board and Officer nominees. 

Saturday, March 14,  1:00 pm-3:00 pm, Second Saturday Series: “Do You Trello and Kanban?”, presenter will be Lori Lee Staub. learn how these can aid you in your genealogy research. 

Saturday, March 21,  1:00 pm-3:00 pm, Digging Deeper: Researching Women’s History, this presentation is at the University of Washington, Allen Library. Join in for a hands-on workshop to learn how archives are arranged and locate information which might be of interest to you when researching women’s history.   Parking on the UW campus is free on the date of our workshop. Attendees will meet at the Allen Library breezeway since the library is officially closed for spring break: https://www.washington.edu/maps/#!/alb  Although this event is free, it requires advance registration. Please register by following this link: https://forms.gle/oB5wU5Lv6wLsjw8p8 Maximum attendees: 25 Presenter: Lisa Oberg Lisa is the Associate Director and the History of Science and Medicine Curator for Special Collections in the UW Libraries.    This workshop is part of the Seattle Genealogical Society’s lecture and workshop series: Women’s Suffrage in your Family History. We thank the Washington State Historical Society for their grant in support of our project. For more information, see https://www.suffrage100wa.com/.   

Olympia Genealogical Society’s March 2020 Meeting

Olympia Genealogical Society’s March meeting will feature OGS member Dee Bright and her talk “Who is Dorothy Bright?” Dee’s mother Dorothy was born in 1909, adopted as an infant, but did not know she was adopted until she was an adult. Dee will tell us about the steps she has taken to search for her mother’s birth parents – her progress, successes, and failures.  Join us on Thursday, March 12 at 7 pm at Thurston County Courthouse, Building 1, Room 152.   2000 Lakeridge DR SW, Olympia WA. 360-349-2493
=============================================================
Joyce T. Ogden
jtogden@comcast.net