I’m writing to let you know that MyHeritage DNA kits are now on sale at 50% off the regular price!
This low price is a great opportunity for anyone who hasn’t purchased a MyHeritage DNA kit yet to do so. This special discount will only be available through July 17, so be sure to take advantage now and spread the word so all your friends and followers can, too!
Read more about the sale on our blog, and feel free to use the graphic below.
Enjoy
Daniel Horowitz
Genealogy Expert
MyHeritage Ltd., P.O.Box 50, 3 Ariel Sharon Blvd., Or Yehuda, Israel 6037606, Israel, +972-3-6280000
Born in 1924 and approaching his 100th birthday, I’d bet that many of us have had the privilege of sitting at his feet and learning from the best historian/genealogist there is (my opinion!). Author of dozens of books, many on specific state-genealogy, I’d also bet that we’ve had and learned from those text books.
My favorite lecture was one he presented in 1992 at a National Genealogical Society conference. Coming to the lectern in the costume of a Civil War-era town clerk, he proceeded to teach us how to research in counties with burned courthouses in his unique fashion.
As “Carter,” the clerk, he welcomed us and thanked us for coming to the town meeting. “Many of you are tired, having been out late on the bucket brigade last night,” be began, “but we must keep on with county business as best we can.” He thanked all for helping carry boxes of records out of the burning courthouse but “so much stuff was lost.” He continued, “Our meeting today is to try to re-construct our records so to keep our county going!”
“Carter” urged us to bring in our documents and re-register them. Our deeds, marriage certificates (“if your marriage is worth it, he quipped) and any other similar county-important papers. “We’ll get our county going again; a burned courthouse won’t slow us down.”
“Carter” then switched to Dr. Schweitzer and began to explain to us what records existed OUTSIDE of the courthouse that we might turn to for our research.
Title companies – this office has records of all deeds and land grants in the county
Judical records – West’s Decennial Index lists cases that have ben appealed from the county
Law offices – files of cases and client work exist, including wills, mortgages, appeals, etc.
Cemetery – tombstones have names and dates and there are on file deeds to cemetery plots
Church records – some churches kept good “people records” and others not so much
Fraternal Societies – Masonic, DAR, Woodmen of the World, Elks, Eastern Star, GAR, UCW, etc.
Funeral director – lots of files!
Newspapers – always full of obits, accidents, marriages, anniversaries and “run-away wives”
School records – schools received state money based on student attendance, so records were kept
Dr. Schweitzer, once again as “Carter,” town clerk, finished his talk with this: “We’re gonna save what wasn’t burned but where are these records today? We’re gonna re-construct the records and you’ll discover there ain’t hardly nothing in the burned courthouse that’s plum GONE.”
The Union Pacific Railroad had a must easier time of it due to the flat midwestern terrain. A large 20-car work train crawled along the newly-laid tracks to bring supplies and support the army of workers. This train was a combination of factory, hotel, restaurant, hospital and administrative center. It required two locomotives to pull it along. Some cars were divided into offices, storerooms, blacksmith shop, carpenter shop, saddler shop. The rail hands boarded in huge sleeping cars packed with 144 bunks and fed in massive 75-foot long dining cars. Food was good and plentiful: bread, meat and coffee being the staples.
The Central Pacific had less mileage to cover but the Rocky Mountains were extremely difficult to conquer. Remember, all the work was done by blasting with TNT and then with the workers’ hands. At first, labor was scarce and expensive and unemployed immigrants were quickly snapped up by railroad recruiters. “The solution to this labor shortage lay not across the Atlantic but the Pacific,” wrote David Norris in his publication, History of Railroads. China provided thousands of men willing to travel over the ocean to work on the railroad; Chinese recruiting began in 1865 and soon grew to over 10,000 men…… who, being Chinese, were paid $31.00 per month instead of $45.00 for whites.
The worst part of the route for the Central Pacific was the Summit Tunnel over Donner Pass. This project took two full years and in the winter the workers had to dig through tunnels of deep snow just to reach the work site.
The sunny May day in 1869 when the two rail lines finally converged at Promontory Summit in Utah was indeed a milestone and reason to celebrate but the photos of the day omit the details of the full story. In those historic photos, you’ll see no Black or Chinese faces….. these ethnic workers were given no credit for their sacrifices on that auspicious day.
Jumping ahead, the Pullman sleeper car was the brain child of George Pullman who, after being “tormented during a jolting and uncomfortable ride in an overnight passenger car,” turned his mind to a solution and came up with a way to improve overnight rail travel. By 1869, his Pullman sleeper cars were running coast to coast on the new combined Union & Central Pacific Railroads.
Some of our regular monthly events are paused for the summer so be sure to check the Program Updates section below for the latest news.
JULY – EARLY AUGUST 2022 MEETINGS & EVENTS
Be in the know! Receive notices for our virtual meetings, as well as the latest genealogy news and tips, by subscribing (free) to the online group at https://skcgs.groups.io
Skcgs.groups.io is the SKCGS online discussion and collaboration arena where:
we communicate and share information with each other
other than your email, you are not required to provide personal information
you can unsubscribe at any time
PROGRAM UPDATES
The in-person Research Group is cancelled for July and August
EGS German Interest Group is on summer break and will resume September 9, 2022
SKCGS monthly General Meetings with featured speakers will resume September 16, 2022
July and August SKCGS Board Meetings are cancelled
NEW! Genealogy Help (in-person) with SKCGS at the Auburn Library starts July 28, 2022
Saturday, July 2, 2022, 10:00am – 12:00pm PT Family Tree Maker Users Group (virtual) Question & Answer. Each month, we will learn about using the features of FTM. Go to https://skcgs.groups.io/g/FTMUG for meeting link, meeting reminders and discussion. Monday, July 11, 2022 ⋅ 1:00pm – 3:00pm PT Genetic Genealogy/DNA Interest Group (virtual) Triangulation – What is it, Why Should I Care, and How Can I Use It? Resources: Triangulation Resources In One Place: https://dna-explained.com/2020/12/16/triangulation-resources-in-one-place/ This group is for genealogists who use DNA data as part of their research. Join for meeting invitations and discussion: https://skcgs.groups.io/g/Genetic-Genealogy
TUG is for sharing knowledge and learning about technology tools, media, apps and websites. Join for meeting invitations and discussion: https://skcgs.groups.io/g/TUG
Monday, July 25, 2022 ⋅ 1:00pm – 3:00pm PT Genealogy Chat(virtual) Meet up and chat about genealogy subjects and topics. We have no agenda; we just like one another! For meeting invitations and discussion, join https://skcgs.groups.io/g/Society
Thursday, July 28, 2022 ⋅ 11:00am – 1:00pm PT Genealogy Help with SKCGS at the Auburn Library(in-person) Genealogy questions? SKCGS offers one-on-one help with a volunteer 1102 Auburn Way S Auburn, WA 98002 Registration not required. In-person event. Safety guidelines and current protocols followed. More information at King County Library, email kcls-auburn@kcls.org
Saturday, August 6 , 2022, 10:00am – 12:00pm PT Family Tree Maker Users Group (virtual) Question & Answer. Each month, we will learn about using the features of FTM. Go to https://skcgs.groups.io/g/FTMUG for meeting link, meeting reminders and discussion.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY
Volunteer needed for approximately one hour per month. Our new Secretary until recently posted and ensured the accuracy of our Groups.io calendars, which send out meeting invitations and reminders. She needs to step back from that job. Please volunteer by writing to president@skcgs.org. Training is provided.
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MEMBERSHIP: We welcome guests to our meetings and special interest groups, which are free. Naturally we hope that visitors will want to become members. Support like yours helps us to educate and engage with our community to foster interest in family and local history. Regarding our programs, even if and when we can meet again in person, we will continue with some virtual programs. You can find more information about membership at our website at http://skcgs.org/membership.
You are receiving this email because you have attended a SKCGS meeting and indicated you would like to receive periodic notice of events. If you would like to be removed from our list and stop receiving emails from us, send an email to skcgsfriends+unsubscribe@skcgs.org.
July 14, 1789 is the day that marks the symbolic start of the French Revolution. Bastille Day, celebrated on July 14th each year, is France’s largest national holiday. In honor of Bastille Day, FamilySearch has scheduled four back-to-back webinars on French genealogical research. Register through your FamilySearch free account. Here’s the schedule for Family History Library Bastille Day 2022:
8:00 AM MDT/7:00 AM PDT; Reading French Civil Registration Records (60 min) – This class will cover basic French paleography by teaching you how to read and navigate French civil registration records.
9:15 AM MDT/8:15 AM PDT; Accessing the Archives of France Online (45 minutes) – Every department in France has placed the records of greatest genealogical value online, freely accessible to all. This class will demonstrate some tips and tricks to help you navigate these websites.
10:15 AM MDT/9:15 AM PDT; How Geneanet Can Help You with French Research (45 min) – The website Geneanet.org is one of the best resources for French research. Not only does it contain thousands of family trees, it also houses indexed collections of genealogical society publications, books newspapers, and vital records. Learn how to access each of these collections and use them to optimize your French research.
11:15 AM MDT/10:15 AM PDT; Using the French Genealogy Website Filae (45 min) – Come learn the basics of navigating and searching on the website Filae. This site is a wonderful resource when searching your French ancestry.
The Washington State Genealogical Society (WSGS) has restarted its awards programs and five SGS members received awards this year. Four SGS members received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer award. This award is given by WSGS based on recommendations from local societies. The SGS recipients are:
Kathi M and Rob Sexton (team award) were recognized for their efforts in planning and executing the move and restructuring of the SGS library.
Cary Bright was honored for her many years of running the SGS DNA Special Interest Group.
And accolades go to Christine Schomaker for being, in essence, the SGS Swiss army knife, doing whatever is needed, and doing it well, for so many years.
Created in 2015, the WSGS President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement is not given out each year. It was designed and is reserved to single out that rare individual, society, or organization who has demonstrated exemplary service, above and beyond expectations. For 2022 this award was given to SGS’s past president, Jill Morelli. Everyone who knows Jill also knows that she has earned this award for her many efforts, not only within SGS, but within the genealogical community at large.
Our congratulations, and thanks, to all the award recipients!
A MESSAGE FROM THE SGS PRESIDENT
What Should We Be Doing?
At the July meeting of the SGS Board we will be having a discussion of what we should be doing over the next year or so. Our time these past couple of years has been consumed by responding to COVID-19, the move to the Good Shepherd Center, and the library restructuring project. So, now what?
ANOTHER REMINDER TO RENEW OR JOIN THE SEATTLE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
For Members – to renew online log in at Members Home, go to your Member Profile, and then click the green “Renew Membership” button. If you’d rather renew by postal mail, click print a membership application and send it together with your dues payment to SGS. Or better yet, stop by the SGS Library and renew in person!
Not a member yet? Join online today and enjoy discounted class and Seminar fees, free research requests, special interest groups, and access to exclusive SGS publications and databases. Find out more about membership at Join SGS.
Take part as SGS enters it 100th Year!
Help wanted! A few more volunteers are needed to man the SGS booth at the Scottish Highland Games & Clan Gathering, Saturday, July 23, or Sunday, July 24. Volunteers will get a free entry ticket to the games that day. Also we have one volunteer from the Northgate area who needs a ride to the games. If you can help in the booth and/or provide a ride, call or text Jean Roth at 206 510-5202. Please make that call today. Thank you.
SAVE THE DATE
Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State, 2nd Monday meetings usually 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM PST
JGSWS meets on the second Monday of each month, from Sept-June. Doors open at 6:30 PM unless noted otherwise.
Pacific NW Scottish Highland Games & Clan Gathering, Enumclaw Expo Center, Enumclaw, WA Friday, July 22, 2022 – Sunday, July 24, 2022
Mark your calendar and show up for plenty of fun at the 75th Annual Pacific NW Scottish Highland Games & Clan Gathering. For full details visit: https://www.sshga.org/daily-event-schedule/
SGS CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Good Shepherd Center, Suite 302 4649 Sunnyside Ave N Seattle, WA 98103 206 522-8658 New Hours : Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
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
Wednesday, July 6, 2022, 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.
Sunday, July 10, 2022, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, Scandinavian Interest Group, Jill Morelli will speak about Scandinavian Handwriting at this meeting. Hosted by Karen Knudson.
Tuesday, July 12 2022, 10:00 am-11:00 am, Tech Tuesday (Virtual), back by popular demand, the informal consultation time on DNA, genealogy software, or genealogy-related technical issues. All are welcome. No appointment necessary.
Wednesday, July 13, 2022, 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.
Wednesday, July 13, 2022, 7:00 pm-9:00 pm, MAC Computer SIG, Jointly sponsored by SGS and Fiske Genealogical Library, this group meets every other month from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Meetings are open to the public and address topics and resources helpful for those using MacIntosh (Apple) computers and the Reunion program in their genealogy research. Meetings are virtual via Zoom until in-person meetings can resume. The link to logon will be sent to the MAC SIG email list. People wishing to attend should email macusersig@seagensoc.org to be added to the mailing list.
Saturday, July 16, 2022, 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.
Sunday, July 17, 2022, 1:00 pm-2:30 pm, Virtual Sundays: Something Old, Something New, Jill Morelli is the host. Visit the SGS website Calendar for details and updates. Please register in advance. Topic this month is “150 Years of Burned Records: Parents for Elna Johansdotter”.
Wednesday, July 20, 2022, 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, July 26, 2022, 10:00 am-11:00 am, Tech Tuesday (Virtual), back by popular demand, the informal consultation time on DNA, genealogy software, or genealogy-related technical issues. All are welcome. No appointment necessary.
Wednesday, July 27, 2022, 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.
We have some fantastic free webinars from Legacy Family Tree Webinars in July, plus a free genealogy conference AND a new benefit for your society members. Check out the details below and let your audience know about July 2022’s live webinars:
The Madness of ‘Mc’ Surnames by Carol Baxter
What’s New at DNA Painter by Jonny Perl
Exploring Your Ethnicities on MyHeritage by Gal Zrihen
Montana Genealogy Treasures by Janet Thomson, Ed.D.
Colonial Spanish & Mexican Censuses & Census Substitutes by Henrietta Martinez Christmas
Les nouvelles collections belges sur MyHeritage (French) by Marie Cappart
Ancestors’ Religions in the U.S. by Carolyn L. Whitton, CG
Our hour to master your camera settings by Jared Hodges
MyHeritage’s Latest Photo Innovations by Tal Erlichman
Treat yourself to a genealogy conference Saturday, July 23! Join us at www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com/conference to enjoy five, completely FREE, pre-recorded classes on the topic of Military Research. No registration is required.
Be sure to spread the news far and wide so your friends and followers don’t miss out on this fantastic FREE content! You can use the graphic above.
New benefit for your society members
I know of the challenge of recruiting new members for your society and hoping that your current members will renew. We’ve now created a new membership benefit that you can offer to your members and potential members that I think will help solve these challenges.
In addition to the free webinars at Legacy, the complete back-library of 1,700+ webinar recordings is available with a webinar membership. As a new membership benefit for your society members, you can now offer them a first-year 50% off discount for a webinar membership (regular pricing is $49.95, the discount would make it $24.98, valid for new memberships only). Included in the membership are:
Anytime access to the recorded webinars (currently 1,798 classes)
Anytime access to the instructor syllabus (currently 6,643 pages)
Anytime access to the chat logs of the live webinars
Bonus members-only webinars
Lots of other goodies
Please write to Geoff Rasmussen at Geoff@LegacyFamilyTree.com to obtain your society’s unique coupon code or if you have any questions. He has also prepared a draft announcement you can share with your group. Sounds like a great opportunity.
Best regards!
Daniel Horowitz
Genealogy Expert
MyHeritage Ltd., P.O.Box 50, 3 Ariel Sharon Blvd., Or Yehuda, Israel 6037606, Israel, +972-3-6280000
A quick note from over the border here at Surrey Libraries Family History… We have two FREE online Eastern Europe research programs in August, on the heels of our really popular Eastern Europe program earlier this year. Are you able to promote to your gen folks? I’d be grateful for whatever you are able to do. Posters are attached, and blurbs are below.
Genealogy: Eastern Europe Border Changes
ONLINE program
Tuesday, August 16
10:00 – 11:30am PDT
Anyone researching their family history in Eastern Europe probably has faced the challenges that changing borders present. In this program, Edie Adam will use findings from her family history research to demonstrate the key factors — time and place — and how to use them to your advantage.
The ability to search for birth, marriage and death records in regions now in Poland has enabled genealogy research most of us never thought possible. However, to many these resources are a perplexing maze of random searches. This presentation will provide a brief overview of two primary databases which reveal parish and civil registry records in Poland encompassing many Polish, German and Jewish residents of in the 19th – early 20th centuries: Geneteka and Metryki.Genealodzy.PL
Carmen Merrells, BA, MLIS | Information Services Librarian
Cloverdale Branch, Family History Department
5642 – 176A Street, Surrey, BC, Canada V3S 4G9 T 604.598-7447 | F 604.598-7321 | www.surreylibraries.ca [1]
_Discover something new at Surrey Libraries!_ [2]__
_Surrey Libraries recognizes that our work takes place on the ancestral, traditional, and unceded territories of the SEMYOME (Semiahmoo), q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), q̓ʷɑ:n̓ƛ̓ən̓ (Kwantlen), qiqéyt (Qayqayt), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nations and on the ancestral and traditional territory of the sc̓əwaθən məsteyəxʷ (Tsawwassen) First Nation._
I’m excited to tell you that MyHeritage has just completed an additional update to the data for our ultimate genetic genealogy tool, Theory of Family Relativity™!
In case you’re still unfamiliar with Theory of Family Relativity™, this feature pulls together billions of data points from across all the family tree profiles and historical records on MyHeritage to bring you theories about how your DNA Matches may be related to you. The calculations are run on a periodic basis, and since our last update, countless new DNA kits, family tree profiles, and historical records have been added to MyHeritage.
This means that the number of theories, the number of DNA Matches that include a theory, and the number of kits that have a theory have all increased significantly — and so have your chances of getting a new theory! As a result of this new update 25,636,711 Theories of Family Relativity™ were added.
Check out our blog post to learn more about this update, and feel free to use the graphic below and spread the news.
Best regards!
Daniel Horowitz
Genealogy Expert
MyHeritage Ltd., P.O.Box 50, 3 Ariel Sharon Blvd., Or Yehuda, Israel 6037606, Israel, +972-3-6280000
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