TRi City Genealogical Society Finding Grandpa the DNA Connections

by Charles Hansen

  Please join us for Tri-City Genealogical Society’s February General meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 8.  The meeting will be held on Zoom.  See below for the link.  Michelle Hedgepeth will be presenting on Finding Grandpa – The DNA Connections

  Planning continues for further speakers in 2023 with the intention to have the presentations continue to occur on the second Wednesday of the month at 7 p.m.  Currently planned for March 8 is a presentation by Richland Family History Center director Wayne Ross on the FamilySearch Wiki.  This presentation will be in person at the Richland Family History Center.  Please mark your calendar.

  Everyone is encouraged to join and / or renew their membership in TCGS.  The links for renewal are on the TCGS web site at http://tricitygenealogicalsociety.org/q/join/join_renew/ or http://tricitygenealogicalsociety.org/q/wp-content/uploads/TCGSBrochure.pdf

Topic: TCGS February 8 General Meeting

Time: Feb 8, 2023 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

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Clark County Genealogical Society Six Free Basic Genealogy Classes

by Charles Hansen

Six Free Genealogy Basics Classes at Clark County Genealogical Society

Before spring comes around and gardens need tending, awaken the winter doldrums by adding a few ancestor leaves to your family tree. Increasingly, people are getting their DNA tested and looking for answers, say, about that two percent of Basque origins that shows up. But where to start the search? Turn to your local genealogical society for help. Beginning February 7, the Clark County Genealogical Society is offering a series of six FREE one-hour, in-person basic genealogy strategies classes.  Each class will focus on a different topic for digging into the roots of your family tree. All of the teachers are experienced local genealogists who will offer useful hints and practical tips whether one is interested in beginning a search or just wanting to refresh their skills. For more information and to pre-register, stop by CCGS at 3205 NE 52nd Street, Vancouver (check the website for hours: https://www.ccgs-wa.org) or call CCGS at 360-750-5688.

The classes and topics:

Feb 7,2023 –  Basic Genealogy Strategies – The Beginning

Feb 14, 2023 – Basic Genealogy Strategies – Organize with Purpose

Feb 21, 2023 – Basic Genealogy Strategies – Where Are Your People Located?

Mar 7, 2023 – Basic Genealogy Strategies – History and Your Family

Mar 14, 2023 – Basic Genealogy Strategies – Using the Ancestry Website Effectively

Mar 21, 2023 – Basic Genealogy Strategies – Family History Clues in Probate Records

Diane Gundersen Named One of 2022’s Outstanding Volunteers

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing Carolyn Gundersen of Peshastin, Washington, who was nominated by the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS).

Diane is one of WAGS’s Outstanding Volunteers for 2022 for her work restructuring the WAGS library. She joined WAGS about five years ago. Not long after, she volunteered in the WAGS library, working one day a month and editing indexes a few hours a week from home. As her interest grew, so did her time commitment, and soon she found herself a member at-large on the WAGS Board, moving up to the head librarian position in 2019.

Diane Gundersen

With board approval, Diane began to look for ways to make the library a more welcoming place for patrons to do their research, and a more efficient place for volunteers to do their work. With courage, boundless energy and considerable organizational skills, she first studied what jobs were being done where in our library and made plans to move or replace existing furniture with more modern accoutrements. She is boldly going forward with removing old paper resources that are now online. Under her leadership, WAGS is consolidating their North Central Washington resources into one area.

Diane is revitalizing WAGS’ 50-year-old library, creating a bright, versatile space that will serve us for the next half-century and beyond.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award.”

Let’s Talk About….Teddy’s Bear

by Donna Phillips

There is so much history swirling around the town of Vicksburg, Mississippi! Doubt one could have time to read all the books that have been published about this river town through the decades. One story concerns Teddy Roosevelt. 

TR (1858-1919), was a politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist and naturalist and was America’s 26th president. He was a cousin to Franklin D. Roosevelt. TR’s biggest love was anything outdoors and he especially loved the sport of hunting. Hoping to get some good publicity, Mississippi’s governor, Andrew H. Longino, invited Teddy on a bear hunting trip in 1902 near Onward, Mississippi.

The hunting party went off in great spirits, but after several days they had not yet even seen a bear. One of Roosevelt’s assistants, led by Holt Collier, a born slave and former Confederate cavalryman, corned and tied a black bear to a tree. They summoned Roosevelt and suggested he shoot it. Viewing this as extremely unsportsmanlike, Roosevelt refused to shoot the bear.

The story of “Teddy’s Bear” flashed quickly across the country and everyone loved the tale. A political cartoon of the day shows Roosevelt in his Rough Riders garb refusing to shoot a loveable-looking little bear. 

This image inspired a couple in Brooklyn, who were making stuffed toys, write to Roosevelt asking his permission to make “Teddy’s Bear.” Hearing a yes reply, the couple set to making stuffed little bears and nowadays teddy bears are everywhere. Fun to think the worldwide popularity of teddy bears can be traced back to Theodore’s fateful hunting trip in Mississippi in 1902.

And that’s the rest of the story…………….. this is an original Teddy’s Bear, now in the Smithsonian.

Library Relocation & Refocus Team Named One of 2022’s Outstanding Teams

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing the Library Relocation and Refocus Team that was nominated by the Seattle Genealogical Society (SGS). The team was comprised of Kathi McGinnes and Rob Sexton.

The Board of Directors of the SGS determined in 2020 that a combination of financial challenges and generational changes in genealogy required them to both find a new home for their library and to redesign the focus of the library on today’s genealogy.  While the entire Board and many other SGS members participated in this year-long project, Kathi McGinnis (SGS library director) and Rob Sexton (SGS operations director) were key to making this operation work.

Kathi worked on reducing the library from over 15,000 items to just over 4,000 items, shifting the focus from the entire world to the Pacific Northwest and finding homes for the items being removed. Rob oversaw all aspects of the move itself, finding the new space, scheduling the move activities, and making sure it all worked. While there were the inevitable hitches, Kathi and Rob made sure that the move nailed the landing.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award.”

Let’s Talk About…. Weyerhaeuser, IA TO WA

by Donna Phillips

We here in the heavily timbered land of the Pacific Northwest have certainly seen and heard the name of Weyerhaeuser Company and know it has something to do with the timber and lumbering industry. We’d never have guessed that Frederick Weyerhaeuser (1834-1914) began his company in the Mississippi River town of Davenport, Iowa, but he did.

The company was founded in 1900 by Frederick Weyerhaeuser who had emigrated to the U.S. from Germany when he was 18. He worked first as a laborer in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he met and married Elisabeth Bladel. In 1856, the young couple moved to Rock Island, Illinois (across the river from Davenport). Weyerhaeuser found work in a sawmill and lumber yard, eventually becoming foreman and arduously began saving his money. Weyerhaeuser was a workaholic and by the mid-1860s he had purchased the mill and was buying pine tracts in Wisconsin, expanding into Minnesota, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

By 1903, Weyerhaeuser owned more than 1.5 million acres of land in Washington even though he kept his residence in St. Paul. He was survived by seven children; his son, John P. Weyerhaeuser, succeeded him as president of the company. Demands for lumber during World War I led to a substantial increase in the company’s business. The military demand for lumber was so high that the Army sent soldiers to work as lumberjacks in Weyerhaeuser’s forests to increase production. By 1941, industry executives joined John P. Weyerhaeuser and Washington Gov. Arthur Lang in dedicating the nation’s first tree farm near Montesano.

And it all started with a hard-working German immigrant in a small Midwestern town.

(Thanks to www.historylink.org for the information on Weyerhaeuser.)  If you want all the details of his life, click to Google.

International German Genealogy Partnership Conference June 9-11, 2023

by Charles Hansen
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Register now to save on IGGP’s
2023 German genealogy conference
Registration for the hybrid International German Genealogy Partnership conference June 9-11, 2023, is off to a great start. Save money by registering to attend virtually or in-person through March 3, when the fees will increase.

Although our name is “German genealogy,” it’s not just about Germany. German-speakers leaving Europe went east, west, north and south, and their descendants live on just about every continent today. Then there were those ancestors who stayed in Europe and lived through the changing borders of what we call Germany. Our speakers and other activities try to reflect that diversity of experience. For example, we’ll have a traveling exhibit on 1700 Years of Jewish Life in German-Speaking Lands from the Leo Baeck Institute.

The full list of speakers and topics will be announced well before early-bird registration ends. Don’t forget our Connection sessions, where you can talk directly with other attendees on specific topics such as regional research in Germany, DNA, and locating records. And Whova, our conference app, will allow you to find and connect on your own with attendees who share your interests.

This is just to say … wherever your ancestors lived, we welcome you to attend the 2023 conference!

While you’re registering, you might want to buy the USB drive where all the available recorded presentations will be preserved for your personal use. Only attendees can buy it and only until the conference ends.
Register here

Going Virtual Team Named One of 2022’s Outstanding Teams

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing the Going Virtual Team that was nominated by the South King County Genealogical Society (SKCGS). The team was comprised of MaryLynn Strickland and Valorie Zimmerman.

In March 2020 at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, SKCGS had only a beginning virtual foundation, using Groups IO as a member-and-friends forum to communicate topics of interest. SKCGS also had access to the free non-profit version of Google Enterprise and the board of directors had discussed implementing some features. 

To capitalize on these assets and jump to complete virtual, MaryLynn and Valorie immediately began experimenting with Google Meet. Within two months, the society was meeting online for board and monthly general meetings, special interest groups for Family Tree Software Users, Genetic Genealogy, a new monthly Genealogy Chat and signup study group. Training was “immersive” – learn by doing, as MaryLynn and Valorie coaxed members along and enlisted others to help.

MaryLynn’s and Valorie’s enthusiastic, can-do attitude buoyed this effort from the beginning. Their give-and-take as virtual co-facilitators has inspired a lively, collaborative, participative approach in SKCGS meetings, with members/attendees from many different states. 

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award.”