Date: March 21, 2026 (Saturday) Time: 1:30 PM (PT)Find Your Family in U.S. Catholic Church Records Presenter: Sunny Jane Morton
Description: Roman Catholic sacramental records often contain vital events, relationships, and overseas hometowns. They’re also confidential, so they can be tricky to access. Learn about Catholicism in the U.S., what’s in sacramental records and what they look like, how to identify an ancestral parish, and tips for accessing Catholic records.
Presenter: Sunny Jane Morton Sunny Jane Morton is a genealogy educator, editor and writer. She has expertise in U.S. records and history, and is co-author of How to Find Your Family History in U.S. Church Records, which received a book award from the National Genealogical Society, and Searching for Sisters: A Guide to Researching Catholic Nuns in the United States. She is Editor of NGS Magazine; Contributing Editor at Family Tree Magazine; an instructor at GRIP Genealogy Institute and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy; and past Editor of Ohio Genealogy News.
COUNTDOWN TO THE MEETING:
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Italian Interest Group (IIG) of the Eastside Genealogical Society P.O. Box 374 Bellevue, WA 98009-0374
Explore the Exceptional Genealogy Classes at HQRL! Join us online via Zoom or in person at HQRL and connect with fellow genealogy enthusiasts who share your curiosity and drive—together, we can explore the fascinating world of family history! Just a reminder of upcoming class March 5, 2026!Don’t miss out, sign up today! What is Your Name? Thursday, March 5, 2026 Virgina Majewski Join Virgina Majewski to learn about naming patterns. She will explain the use of four research concepts to improve your success when researching surnames and given names. (“Ginny” is a fourth generation Washingtonian and descendant of a WA Pioneer family.) Virginia has been involved in genealogy for the past 30 years. It all started with a couple of boxes of “junk” from her grandparent’s estate. She was bitten by the genealogy bug and it became one of her life’s passions. Virginia holds a Certificate in Advanced Genealogical Studies in both American Records and Methodology, from the National Institute of Genealogical Studies, Toronto, Canada. Her specialty is Mennonite Research. Currently, she is President of the Clallam Co. Gen. Society. Virginia is Past President of the WA State Gen. Soc., as well as a member of numerous other genealogical societies. She initiated the Pioneer Pursuit program with WA State. Click Here to Sign-up Click Here to See All of Our 2026 Classes!BONUS RESEARCH HOURS!!!Research SundayMarch 8, 202610am-4pm Heritage Quest Research Library will be open on Sunday, March 8th, from 10am-4pm allowing you to come in and work on your family genealogy. As always, our very skilled Librarians will be available to assist you, so don’t miss out on these special hours! Visit our blog for great tips & hints exploring your family story!HQRL.com /Classes & Events / Contact
Heritage Quest Research Library | 2102 East Main Ave Suite 105 | Puyallup, WA 98372 US
What can you do here? “Trace your roots for free with our searchable dtabase containing thousands of identified and mystery photos for genealogy enthusiasts looking for long-lost family.” Wowsers, indeed!
Did you catch the word “free?” And could you read the fine print under the photo? 23,659 surnames, 163,161 records.
At this really fun website (and it’s FREE to use, remember) you can search photos and post photos. I searched for the surname “Gurney,” and there was one entry, for baby Forrest Gurney. I don’t know where he fits into my tree, but I’ll be looking.
Do check out www.DeadFred.com. You’ll be glad you did.
One of my favorite things to do is, when I spot a nametag showing a most unusual name, I’ll ask that person, “How did your mother come up with such an unusual name?” And most usually they know! And are happy to share their story.
Besides the baby girl names listed above, Google helped me find rare baby girl names: Perach, Phannie, Salomi, Megara, Caliste, Lune, Zixuan and Darana. (Yes, these were really-used names.)
Baby boy names weren’t much better: “Nicodemo, Cathan, Finian, Prentice, Lazare, Sophus, Thorley and Negasi.
Google also found the best exotic baby boy names: Amari, Daxton, Kairo, Ryker, Zephyr, Bodhi, Jaxon and Koa.
Overall, would you choose one of these baby names: Akira, Averill, Sky, Cayson, Petronilla, Osbert, Vidura, Finrod, Ares, Jovan, Nyx or Caiman.
Personally, I’m watching out for names from Star Trek or Deep Space Nine: Odo, Kira, Nerys, Quark, Ezri, Nog, Dax, Dukat or Sisko.
So far my great-grandchildren have pretty standard names. What about YOUR grandchildren? And do you know the reason your mother chose YOUR name?
Did your ancestors mysteriously appear in Skagit County in the 1900 Census? Maybe they were in the Equality Colony. Join SVGS on Saturday March 14, 2026, at 1pm at the Burlington Public Library for“The Equality Colony of Skagit County” with Robert Burns, author of “Rebels in the Wild: The Equality Colony and the Taming of American Capitalism”. In the late 1890s a group of like-minded individuals came from around the country to establish a socialist colony in Skagit County. Find out who they were, what motivated them, why they chose Skagit County, and why the colony collapsed. Can’t make it to the Burlington Library, request a zoom link by emailing info@skagitvalleygenealogy.org.
Explore the Exceptional Genealogy Classes at HQRL! Join us online via Zoom or in person at HQRL and connect with fellow genealogy enthusiasts who share your curiosity and drive—together, we can explore the fascinating world of family history! Just a reminder of upcoming class February 19, 2026!Don’t miss out, sign up today! Midwest Genealogy Center Thursday, February 19, 2026 The Midwest Genealogy Center is one of the United States’ preeminent resources for family history, providing access to almost three-quarters of a million on-site materials. They have access to databases, scanning and digitization stations, oral history recording kits, microfilm reader scanners, and more. MGC features 52,000 square feet of space that houses all of the free resources needed to research your family history. Learn more about how to access and utilize their incredible resources. Click Here to Sign-up Click Here to See All of Our 2026 Classes!Visit our blog for great tips & hints exploring your family story!HQRL.com /Classes & Events / Contact
Heritage Quest Research Library | 2102 East Main Ave Suite 105 | Puyallup, WA 98372 US
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Presenter: Sunny Jane Morton
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Explore the Exceptional Genealogy Classes at HQRL! Join us online via Zoom or in person at HQRL and connect with fellow genealogy enthusiasts who share your curiosity and drive—together, we can explore the fascinating world of family history! 
