Let’s Talk About: A Spring Poem

by Donna Phillips

“The little brown bulbs went to sleep in the ground,

In their little brown nighties they slept very sound.

And winter he raged and he roared overhead,

But never a bulb turned over in bed.

But when spring came tip-toeing over the lea,

Her finger on lip, just as still as could be,

The little brown bulbs at the very first tread

All split up their nighties and jumped out of bed.”

This little poem came from a scrapbook kept by Laura Stuart’s mother; John and Laura Stuart are long-time EWGS members but due to age, cannot attend anymore. I recently helped Laura go through some of these scrapbooks………. and this poem, written by a friend of her mother’s, was unimportant to Laura. But not to me!

NOTE TO THE WISE:  Don’t just toss grandma’s scrapbooks until you go through them page by page, watching for treasures. 

Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society Deciphering Old Handwriting

by Charles Hansen

Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society Monthly Educational Meeting

Tuesday, May 9th from 6:15 pm to 8:00 pm

Zoom and In-Person, Parkland-Spanaway P.C. Library 138th and Pacific Ave S

Please join us for our monthly meeting.  If you have ever been stumped by a word or phrase while doing research, you’ll want to hear our Speaker Dawn Carlile‘s presentation on Deciphering Old Handwriting. Dawn is a native of Oregon and has been doing genealogy research for more than 20 years. 

Our meetings are held monthly except for July and August starting at 6:00 PM, Zoom comes live about 6:15 PM.

Attend in person at:

Parkland/Spanaway Branch of Pierce County Library

13718 Pacific Ave S.

Tacoma, WA 98444

Attend virtually via Zoom:

Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

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

Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZIqduGpqjgsHtBNs9zc8CGna6R-KHlcz5so/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGuqToiG9CWth2DRpwAB4j4WevwiHZdgrd_sgy8GSMLQST4N7Rwf5lXHNvK

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86718143644?pwd=S0FjYU5acVVKbDEyamdXWWZVekFjdz09

Meeting ID: 867 1814 3644

Passcode: 630507

One tap mobile

+12532050468,,86718143644#,,,,*630507# US

+12532158782,,86718143644#,,,,*630507# US (Tacoma)

Dial by your location

        +1 253 205 0468 US

        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

Meeting ID: 867 1814 3644

Passcode: 630507

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society US Church Records

by Charles Hansen

On May 19, 2023 BIGS Presents

At 10AM, Friday, May 19, 2023,

A Zoom Virtual Event,

Sunny Morton will present:

Intro to U.S. Church Records: Why We Care Where Grandma Went to Church.

U.S. church records of many denominations can reveal ancestors’ vital events, family relationships, overseas birthplaces and other residences and religious lives. From the co-author of the acclaimed book How to Find Your Family History in U.S. Church Records, learn what these records may look like, how to identify an ancestral church, locate extant records and access them.

Sunny Jane Morton is an internationally known genealogy speaker and award-
winning writer and editor. She is a longtime Contributing Editor at Family Tree
Magazine; Contributing Editor and Content Manager for YourDNAGuide.com; frequent contributor to FamilySearch’s blog; and past Editor of Ohio Genealogy News. She has twice received prestigious awards from the National Genealogical Society, most recently for her book How to Find Your Family History in U.S. Church Records, co-authored with Harold Henderson, CG. Her book, Story of My Life: A Workbook for Preserving Your Legacy, is now in its 2nd edition.

So, please join us on May 19th at 10AM on Zoom for this informative presentation. A Zoom link will be posted on our website the day before the event.

Everyone Welcome! No membership necessary.

Let’s Talk About: WPA Projects…Even in Hawaii

by Donna Phillips

In February, 2023, we were blessed to be in Maui, Hawaii. Walking in downtown Lahaina, I spotted this memorial stone-marker. It really made me pause and think. I knew about Roosevelt’s WPA projects, and the CCC corps, but only thought of it within the 48 states. But no, there were projects in all 50 states!

In Lahaina, it was a WPA project to develop the downtown Banyan Tree Park. Other Maui projects were Lahaina’s  Sea Wall, the highway between Lahaina and Wailuku (and the airport) and the Hala Pa’ahao Prison……. which was first built in the 1850s and restored several times since as a historic site in Lahaina. 

A project many of you will recognize, having driven it perhaps more than once, is the Haleakala Road, built as a WPA project between 1933-1944 at a cost of nearly $500,000 (nearly $12 billion today). This is was a ten-year project as Haleakala summit lies at 10,000 feet and is about a15-mile very serpentine road. 

As you probably know, there were WPA/CCC programs and projects in all 50 states, and it was YOUR ancestors (as young men) who were involved in those programs and projects. Records of the many and various work camps in each state are available; ask Google.

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week Elephind

by Charles Hansen

TIP OF THE WEEK – DO YOU REMEMBER THIS ELEPHIND TIP?

Elephind, is a the Search Engine for Historical Newspapers. Many genealogist love the Library of Congress –  Chronicling America – historical, digitized newspapers website, but have you heard of Elephind.com? Their goal is to search all the world’s digitized, historical newspapers from one place at one time; it’s similar to the idea behind Travelocity.com with the airline industry.

Elephind currently is at over 200 million items from over 4,300 newspaper titles worldwide. That is far more than what you will find at Chronicling America.  In fact, Chronicling America is one of the sites Elephind has covered. Also like Chronicling America, Elephind is adding volume almost daily.

At the website for elephind,  start with the Search Tips.

The “proximity search” is particularly useful.  An example, using this syntax  “Jane Doe”~4 in Search will find for you : 

•Jane Doe
•Jane E Doe
•Jane Elizabeth Doe
•Elizabeth Jane Smith, nee Doe

But it will exclude something like “Jane and Sally found a young, frightened doe in the woods”.

Elephind.com will be a good addition to your arsenal of historical newspapers websites and someday it might become the only one you will ever need.

Visit: https://elephind.com

Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

SGS100 PRESERVATION SEMINAR
with DENISE LEVENICK, THE FAMILY CURATOR
JUNE 17-18, 2023

To commemorate our 100th year, SGS is putting on a special seminar. It will be four lectures presented over two days. 

The dates and times : 

  • 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM on Saturday, June 17
  • 1:00 PM –   4:00 PM on Sunday, June 18 

The lectures : 

  • Preserving the Past: Archiving and Digitizing Your Family Keepsakes
  • Selecting and Preparing Images for Family History Projects
  • Archival Storage Strategies and Solutions
  • Family History Projects for the Digital Age

This seminar is free to SGS members. Non-members will be charged a small fee. This will be an online seminar via Zoom. Registration is required. Registration will open in May 2023. Watch for it on the SGS website. 

The Family Curator, Denise Levenick, is the author of How to Archive Family Keepsakes and How to Archive Family Photos. Her roots are in Kansas, Illinois, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Germany, and she loves researching in old courthouses and town halls.

The seminar will be recorded and the video will be available on the SGS website for a period of time after the seminar.  SGS members and paying registrants of the seminar will have access to the video.

SGS MEMBERS, DID YOU REMEMBER TO VOTE?

The SGS 2023 Election is April 1-30! Vote on SGS Board Members for 2023-24 and Changes to Bylaws

For 2023 Election information click hereGOOD SHEPHERD CENTER ELEVATOR UPDATE

The manager of the Good Shepherd Center has informed SGS that the elevator will likely be out of service well into May, and quite possibly until the end of May. The major hurdle at this point is getting all the permitting and reviewing required by Seattle and King County government done. Our apologies for the continued inconvenience. 

100 years ago: 25 April 1923

If one is looking for aerial maps of Seattle from 1923, you are probably in luck. Three articles in two days noted the fact that two army planes had been in Seattle taking aerial photographs of the City for mapping purposes. “photographers had to take 750 snap shots to get her all in…” The article further explains “The pictures were taken to form a mosaic of the city… The map is being prepared for the army, but copies will also go to congressional committees to enable them to visualize the harbor and
development problems of Seattle.”

“Aviators Snap Seattle From Dizzy Height, City Has Pictures Taken Yesterday From Army Planes; to Make
U.S. Army Maps,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 24 Apr 1923, p H 13, col 8.

“Army Planes Leave Seattle,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 25 Apr 1923, p H6, col 4.

“Seattle Majestic Queen City, Revealed by Aviators,” Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 25 Apr 1923, p H7, col 1.

* Watch each eNews! issue for “100 years ago”, our new anecdotal series. We will be running it for the duration of 2023, our centennial year. 

CALL FOR CONFERENCE PROPOSALS

The Pacific Northwest Historians Guild invites proposals for presentations at its biennial conference on Saturday, September 23, 2023, at the downtown Seattle Public Library.

This year’s conference title is “Revisit and Reimagine Pacific Northwest Histories.” What and how we research, how facts are interpreted, and how history is written are changing. How do broader perspectives inform our understanding of old stories and provide insight into new ones? How can history inform, repair and recast contemporary issues? Join us to share how you have revisited or reimagined a facet of regional history.

Proposals are due May 15, 2023

For more information, please visit: 

https://pnwhistorians.org/guild/index.php/pacific-northwest-history-conference/2023-history-conference/

SAVE THE DATE

Fiske Genealogical Library,  
Spring Classes 2023 – Virtual, 
Wednesdays, 
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Pacific Time

The program for May 3 is “Recreating Your Ancestor’s World” with Mary Kircher Roddy. The programs for May 10 and May 17 have yet to be announced. Check the Fiske Library website for updates: 
https://www.fiskelibrary.org/

Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State, 
usually 2nd Monday meetings
usually 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM Pacific Time

JGSWS meets on the second Monday of each month, from Sept-June. Doors open at 6:30 PM unless noted otherwise. The next meeting is May 8, 2023, and the program is “Three Minutes in Poland” with Glenn Kurtz. 

http://www.jgsws.org/meetings.php

International German Genealogy Partnership 2023 Conference,
June 9-11, 2023
Fort Wayne, Indiana 

This is a conference not to be missed by anyone doing German genealogy research anywhere in the world. Attend in person or online. For more info and registration visit:
https://iggp.org

SGS CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Good Shepherd Center, Suite 302
4649 Sunnyside Ave N
Seattle, WA 98103
206 522-8658

New Hours :  Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
10:00 am – 3:00 pm ** Please call ahead to make sure our library will be open. We are short on front desk volunteers. *** The elevator in the Good Shepherd Center will be out of service for the next several weeks. 

Masks are recommended  inside the Good Shepherd Center. Due to COVID the events listed below continue to be virtual, online via Zoom. Always check the SGS Website Calendar of Events for the meeting links, registration, or for last minute updates or changes to the schedule. Be advised you may need to register in advance to join a meeting. 

NOTICE: SGS has imposed more security on our Zoom meetings. Some meetings will begin with a waiting room.  The host must take action to let people into each meeting.  The host will try to open the waiting room about 10 minutes ahead of time. Please be patient.

All times listed are Pacific Time unless otherwise noted

Monday, May 1, 2023, 10:00 am-11:30 am,  Brags & Bricks Social Interest Group (Virtual), Join us for an informal social gathering. Share your recent genealogical successes and challenges, or just come to hang out with other genealogists.

Saturday, May 6, 2023, 10:15 am- 12:15 pm, FamilySearch SIG, with Lou Daly. Discover many ways to use the FamilySearch website in your research. Meeting includes instruction and time for Q&A. Email Lou to get on the email list: loudaly@nwlink.com 

Sunday, May 7, 2023,  1:00 pm-3:00 pm, DNA Workshop, with Cary Bright and Craig Gowens. To participate you need to be on the SGS DNA Interest Group email list. Contact Cary Bright at SGSDNASIG@gmail.com to join. 

Monday, May 8, 2023, 10:00 am-11:30 am,  Brags & Bricks Social Interest Group (Virtual), Join us for an informal social gathering. Share your recent genealogical successes and challenges, or just come to hang out with other genealogists.

Monday, May 8, 2023, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm,  Board of Directors Meeting at SGS  (Virtual),  All SGS members are welcome to attend. Remember SGS has several board positions open. We need to fill them. Maybe you have the skills and time. 

Monday, May 8, 2023, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm, Write It Up! SIG (Virtual), Join this group  to share and discuss writing projects, resources, and ideas.  To join or learn more, contact Alaine Keisling at keisling@gmail.com 

Tuesday, May 9, 2023, 10:00 am-11:00 am, Tech Tuesday (Virtual), informal consultation time on DNA, genealogy software, or genealogy-related technical issues. All are welcome. No appointment necessary. Bring us your problem; we’ll try to help. 

Wednesday, May 10, 2023,  7:00 pm-9:00 pm, MAC Computer SIG,  Co-chaired by Lisa Marker and Diane Hettrick. Jointly sponsored by SGS and Fiske. Meetings address topics and resources for Macintosh (Apple) computers and the Reunion genealogy software program. Meetings are on the second Wednesday of alternating months. A link to login will be sent to the MAC SIG email list. If you would like to join, send an email to macusersig@seagensoc.org to be added to the email list. 

Saturday, May 13, 2023,  1:00 pm-2:30 pm, Second Saturday: Creating Keepsakes, with Mary Kircher Roddy. Please register in advance. 

Monday, May 15, 2023, 10:00 am-11:30 am,  Brags & Bricks Social Interest Group (Virtual), Join us for an informal social gathering. Share your recent genealogical successes and challenges, or just come to hang out with other genealogists.

Friday, May 19, 2023,  10:30 am-12:30 pm, Family Tree Maker SIG, the FTM by Software MacKiev user’s group  meets via Zoom on the 3rd Friday of each month. If you would like to attend and are not on the SIG e-mail distribution list, please send an e-mail to egsgenealogyhelper@yahoo.com no later than Thursday, May 18th to request the meeting ld.

Saturday, May 20, 2023, 10:00 am- 12:00 pm, IRISH SIG, with Susan McKee and Jim Ryan. See the SGS website Calendar of Events for further information. Notice there is a new Zoom link.

Saturday, May 20, 2023, 1:00 pm- 3:00 pm, German SIG, with Carolyn Schott See the SGS website Calendar of Events for further information. Notice there is a new Zoom link.

Sunday, May 21, 2023, 1:00 pm- 2:30 pm, Virtual Sunday: Something Old, Something New, Time-keeping: Calendars & Feast Days”,  with Jill Morelli. See the SGS website Calendar of Events for further information. Please register in advance. 

Monday, May 22, 2023, 10:00 am-11:30 am,  Brags & Bricks Social Interest Group (Virtual), Join us for an informal social gathering. Share your recent genealogical successes and challenges, or just come to hang out with other genealogists.

Tuesday, May 23, 2023, 10:00 am-11:00 am, Tech Tuesday (Virtual), informal consultation time on DNA, genealogy software, or genealogy-related technical issues. All are welcome. No appointment necessary. Bring us your problem; we’ll try to help. 

Monday, May 29, 2023, 10:00 am-11:30 am,  Brags & Bricks Social Interest Group (Virtual), Join us for an informal social gathering. Share your recent genealogical successes and challenges, or just come to hang out with other genealogists.

Sharon Neem Celebration of Life

by Charles Hansen

My dear friend Sharon Neem passed away on Wed. April 19, 2023 from heart disease.

There will be a celebration of life for Sharon on Saturday, May 20 at 11:00am in Stanwood at the 

Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center

27130 102nd Street 
Stanwood, WA 98292

Website: thefloydnorgaard.weebly.com

For more details you may contact her son Brian Ferguson:  brian.s.ferguson@gmail.com

Sharon was active in the Chief Whatcom Chapter of the D.A.R. and served in numerous leadership roles over the years and promoted the DAR with tremendous enthusiasm.

Sharon moved to Blaine, WA in the early 1990s. She immediately became active in the Blaine Senior Center and spearheaded

many activities to benefit seniors in the community. She was the essence of a positive, can-do attitude. 

She was also a former president of the Whatcom Genealogical Society and enjoyed serving as the society’s newsletter editor before moving to Stanwood in 2022.

Sharon was the first person I met when I moved to Skagit County in 1987. We quickly became close friends, celebrating weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and travels to the LDS Library in Salt Lake City for genealogy conferences, etc. Sharon got me interested in genealogy and also sparked my interest in reactivating my membership with the DAR.  I will miss her deeply in my life. Sharon celebrated her 82 birthday on March 1, 2023…the last time I spoke with her. 

Her sons asked that anyone who has connections with the organizations Sharon enjoyed being involved in to help by notifying them of her passing. Thank you.

With sadness,

Margie

Tri-City Genealogical Society Facial Recognition Programs

by Charles Hansen

  Please join us for Tri-City Genealogical Society’s May General meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 10 at the East Benton County Historical Society Museum (EBCHS).  The EBCHS is located at 205 W Keewaydin Dr, Kennewick, WA 99336.  Ryan Bennett, EBCHS Museum photo archivist and local historian, will demonstrate MyHeritage and Google Photos visual and facial recognition programs and will discuss other paper and digital tools for attendees who may not be familiar with the family search resources of the museum.  See below for additional information about the Museum.

  Also upcoming will be a talk on June 14 by Margie Belden on Taking the Next Step in Your Genealogical Research – location to be announced.  Please mark your calendars.

Fun Nights Ahead at the Museum at Keewaydin

East Benton County Historical Society (EBCHS) Museum at Keewaydin and the Tri-City Genealogical Society (TCGS) will be joining together to host a lecture on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at 7pm to discuss some tools for those who are interested in family history.

MyHeritage is a web-based and phone-based genealogical app that has robust family search tools in addition to DNA testing. They also have great photo tools that use the power of artificial intelligence to colorize and animate photos giving life to old photos.  

Ryan Bennett, EBCHS Museum photo archivist and local historian, will demonstrate MyHeritage and Google Photos visual and facial recognition programs and will discuss other paper and digital tools for attendees who may not be familiar with the family search resources of the museum. 

It is a goal of the museum to see increased partnership with organizations like TCGS. Individuals interested in recording and saving their family history greatly enriches the community’s historical knowledge.  

This lecture will be just one part of the “Say Yes” exhibit that will look at wedding dresses and wedding related items from the museum’s permanent collection.  Wedding photos, stories and oral histories from local families will also be available.

This wedding dress exhibit will close out with a special movie night on Friday, June 23rd at 7 pm, featuring the Fred Astaire classic film Royal Wedding. This great movie from 1951 is a fun musical romp that is very loosely based on the life of Fred Astaire and his real-life sister Adele who married Lord Charles Arthur Francis Cavendish in 1947.  

—

Heritage Quest Research Library Between a Rock & a Hard Place

by Charles Hansen

Tina Beaird is the owner of Tamarack Genealogy and is a Genealogy & Local History librarian at the Plainfield Public Library in Plainfield, IL. She holds a Masters of Library and Information Science degree with a specialization in Archives/Preservation from Dominican University. Tina has won multiple research and digitization grants to preserve and digitize historic documents and photographs.
Between a Rock & a Hard Place:
Overturning Every Stone to Break Through Your Brick Wall.

Whether due to a courthouse fire, natural disaster or late records collection date; each of us has that one ancestor, place or era where the records remain steadfastly elusive. Tina will share success stories and offer tips and strategies to break through that brick wall and find that elusive ancestor.

When:
Thursday, May 4, 2023
Where:
via ZOOM
Cost:
$20 Members
$25 Non-members
Sign-up & Payment:
Go to hqrl.com
then proceed to
HQRL Store
(sign in as a member to get the discount)
A link will be sent to your email the Tuesday before the class.
Please check your spam and promotions files for emails.
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