Our meetings are held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month from 7:00 pm until 8:30. Links to the reoccurring Zoom Meetings are located at the bottom of this page, one for the 1st Tuesday and one for the 3rd Tuesday of each month.
The first half of each meeting we will work thru training videos, watching, and then pausing to talk about the section we just watched before moving on to the next section. The second half will be used for open discussion of topics related to using Legacy. This could include any questions or problems we are having with the program or tips and features we have discovered. If you think of something you would like to bring up, please write it down so you can share it with the group.
Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society Meeting Tues May 10th at 6:30 pm
The Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society invites you to attend our May meeting. At approximately 7pm, Jessica Jones, Reference Archivist for the Washington State Archives, Puget Sound Branch, will present an introduction to the Puget Sound Regional Archives. She will also give an overview of records frequently used by genealogical researchers and provide helpful information for those interested in the process of researching in person or submitting remote requests for records. You’re welcome to bring your questions.
Our meeting this month is virtual via Zoom and if you would like to attend we ask that you email VP-Programs@tpcgs.org to request the meeting login.
ELECTIONS – MAY 21 The SKCGS Nominations Committee is pleased to announce the following candidates for election at the May 21 Annual Membership Meeting:
For Vice President: Alexis Scholz – Alexis is currently SKCGS Vice President and has agreed to stand for election. This year, she’s involved with the Five-year Planning project and has done a presentation on wills and probate for the SKCGS General Meeting. For Secretary: Melanie Hinds – Melanie currently assists SKCGS with calendaring activities and moderating the society’s community forum on Groups.io. She regularly participates in SKCGS general meetings, SIGs and chats via Zoom from her residence in Illinois.
Nominations are still open and will remain so up to the election on May 21. To nominate someone, please contact m.strickland@skcgs.org.
MAY – EARLY JUNE 2022 MEETINGS & EVENTS
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PROGRAM UPDATES
All meetings are virtual except the in-person Research Group
Live transcription (captioning) is available during our Zoom meetings by request
Tuesday, May 3, 2022, 6:30pm PT SKCGS Board of Directors Meeting (virtual) All SKCGS members are invited to attend; only Officers and Directors may vote. Write to Board@skcgs.org for the meeting link.
Friday, May 6, 2022, 12:30 – 2:30 pm PT EGS German Interest Group: “Separating Same Name Ancestors with German Parish Records” by Carol Whitton CG® Do parish records contain elements to help distinguish same name persons? These may include witnesses, occupations, parents’ names or a combination. Visitors welcome and can request Zoom link no later than May 4th at https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/contact/
Saturday, May 7, 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, May 9, 2022 ⋅ 1:00pm – 3:00pm PT Genetic Genealogy/DNA Interest Group (virtual) Keeping Track of DNA Matches On a tree? In your genealogy database? Spreadsheet? Specialty software? Join for meeting invitations and discussion: https://skcgs.groups.io/g/Genetic-Genealogy
Monday, May 16, 2022 ⋅ 1:00pm – 3:00pm PT
Technical User Group (virtual) Leveraging Ancestry, FamilySearch and one more site See: The Power of One Little Detail:
Friday, May 20, 2022, 1:00pm – 3:00pm PT Research Group (in-person) For SKCGS members Kent Family History Center 12817 SE 256th St., Kent, WA Seating is limited RSVP REQUIRED to Winona at w.laird@skcgs.org
Saturday, May 21, 2022, 9:30am PT social time; 10:00am – 11:30am PT program SKCGS Annual General Membership Meeting (virtual) Election of officers followed by Julie Miller “Carriers of News and Knowledge – Using the Records of the U.S. Postal Service” Post Office records are full of genealogical riches. This lecture will discuss Post Office records, their contents, and how to access these underutilized records.
Julie Miller, holds Certified Genealogist and Certified Genealogical Speaker credentials and is a fellow of the National Genealogical Society. She is a full-time professional researcher, speaker, and writer who lives in Colorado. Her articles have appeared in the NGSQ and NGS Magazine. Julie was the NGS interim Education Manager (2018). She was a member of the NGS conference committee for fourteen years and a volunteer at NARA-Denver for twenty-one years.
REGISTER IN ADVANCE After registering, you will receive a confirmation email from Zoom Save the email – it contains your link to join the meeting Link to register for this meeting:
Monday, May 23, 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
Friday, June 3, 2022, 12:30 – 2:30 pm PT EGS German Interest Group: “Mapping: Genealogy and Data Visualization, how to “see” your research roadblock with new eyes” by Annette Adams, a reference consultant at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Learn how to use maps and data visualization to better understand research obstacles and discover new strategies to answer those difficult questions. A case study will demonstrate how different “mapping” types can be employed to solve smaller data problems which are not readily visible. Visitors welcome and can request Zoom link no later than June 1st at: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/contact/
Saturday, June 4, 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.
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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.
Sharon Fowler, a dear friend of mine, just completed the FamilyTree course on Finding Your Scandinavian Ancestors and she graciously shared some of her notes with me for you all. (Family Tree University: Find Your Scandinavian Ancestors in Denmark, Sweden and Norway, $99.00. The text to accompany the course was The Family Tree Scandinavian Genealogy Guide: How to Trace Your Ancestors in Denmark, Norway and Sweden by David Fryxell, 2019.) Anyhoo. A most interesting bit of trivia was the 3-part list of common surnames in each country:
Denmark Norway Sweden
1-Jensen 1-Hansen 1-Johanson
2-Nielsen 2-Johansen 2-Anderson
3-Hansen 3-Olsen 3-Karlsson
4-Pederson 4-Larsen 4-Nilsson
5-Andersen 5-Andersen 5-Eriksson
6-Christensen 6-Pedersen 6-Larsson
7-Larsen 7-Nilsen 7-Olsson
8-Sorensen 8-Kristiansen 8-Persson
9-Rasmussen 9-Jensen 9-Svensson
10-Jorgensen 10-Karlsen 10-Gustafsson
In skimming this list, did it catch your eye that both the Danish and Norwegian surnames end with “EN” and the Swedish names end in “ON?” Interesting, no?
History: Early Scandinavian immigrants settled in Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania but set their sights on the Midwest as early as the 1830s. Why? The region offered opportunities and unclaimed land. Chicago became both a destination and a jumping-off point for the immigrants. Why did they come? Religious freedom, economic opportunity and simple survival. (The Irish potato blight in 1845 soon spread to Norway; I didn’t realize that fact.)
The Swedes headed to Michigan, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota
The Norwegians headed to Minnesota, Wisconsin, North/South Dakota…then on to
California, Washington, Oregon and Texas
The Danes headed to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas
They were a literate lot; all three groups had official state Lutheran churches. Scandinavian newspapers sprouted and flourished.
When we think of early New York City we think “Dutch” but the borough of the Bronx was actually named for a Scandinavian. Jonas Jonasson Bronck, a Swede, brought 90 immigrants to New Amsterdam in 1639. For this, he received a grant of 680 acres which became known as Bronck’s Farm, then Broncksland and ultimately the Bronx.
TIP OF THE WEEK – SALT LAKE TRIBUNE ONLINE 133 YEARS OF THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE are now keyword searchable and available to the the public online thanks to a partnership between the University of Utah – J. Willard Marriott Library, Newspapers.com, a division of Ancestry, and The Salt Lake Tribune. The site now covers the years 1871-2004 of the Salt Lake Tribune. There are over 6.7 million pages on this site and another 2 million pages will come online in the next two to three years.
The Tribune issues can be accessed through Utah Digital Newspapers, a collaborative project based at the J. Willard Marriott Library since 2001. Powerful searching options allow users to find terms in combinations or terms that appear in proximity to one another. Check out “How to Use Advanced Search” help here: https://digitalnewspapers.org/help/search_results
WRITING CONTEST WINNERS Congratulations to the winners of last fall’s “They Survived” writing contest!
Thank you to all who submitted pieces relating stories of challenging times, perseverance, and survival. Three submissions in particular stood out to our judges and they will be showcased in the upcoming Journal.
First place goes to Scott Kampen with his story about the Children’s Blizzard of 1888 in Dakota Territory. Scott will receive free entry to the SGS seminar of his choice as his prize.
The second place piece is by Julia Marconi, whose story includes the sinking of the SS Eastland in the Chicago River on July 24, 1915. Julia will receive a renewal membership to SGS.
And third place goes to Edward Swierczewski, Jr. who presents his family lines as seen through the lens of survivorship. Edward will receive a copy of “Walking with Your Ancestors” by Melinda Kashuba.
We hope these works will inspire and encourage you to sharpen your own pencils and get writing!
THE 1890 SEATTLE CENSUS SUBSTITUTE In the Fall of 2011, SGS formed a coordinating committee headed by member Chuck Richards to investigate the viability of producing an 1890 US Census substitute for the Seattle area. After several ups and downs, and the efforts of many SGS members, this database is now available on the SGS website. SGS is still working on a online searchable interface for this data, but for now it can be accessed via a research request; the same way you place a research request for the King County Court Cases Index (KC3I) and VFW members card databases. On the SGS website home page’s left-side menu, click on “Research and Databases”. Then you will see “Research Services” in the sub-menu that drops down; click on that “Research Services. Our plan is to have this database’s search function operational for our membership within the next few months. This census substitute is the result of many hours of work by many SGS volunteers. The initial project committee was chaired by Chuck Richards and included Chuck Richards, Jackie Lawson, Lynn Magnuson, Sue Melville, Mary Kircher Roddy, and Jan Walker. Over the many years it took to compile this dataset and prepare it for use, the following individuals helped in the effort: Dona Bubelis, Bruce Finlayson, Lyndall Foulds, Chris Hanley, Tina Hollingsworth, Kate Johnston, Kerri Keil, Michelle Khuon, JoAnne King, Donna Koerker, Marilyn McGuire, Virgil Morgan, Nancy C. Parks, Emily Phillips, Winifred Price, Ginny Sommarstrom, Judy Tomassene, Doug Whalley, Clarice Wilson, Charlotte Wixon, and Ann Wright.
We thank all of them for their efforts.
SGS MEMBERSHIP MEETING NOTICE The next SGS Membership Meeting will take place Saturday, June 11, 2022, at 12:30 PM. This will be a virtual meeting via Zoom. The results of the upcoming SGS election will be announced. The Second Saturday presentation by Elizabeth Swanay O’Neal will follow at 1:00 PM.
Preregistration is required. After registering, you will be able to join the meeting immediately from the registration window. You will also receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. One registration will work for both the membership meeting and the Second Saturday presentation.
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.
On Monday, May 9, 2022, “JRI-Poland: Exploring Your Roots in the Russian, Prussian, and Austrian Empires” will be presented by Robinn Magid & Howard Zakai. The meeting will open at 6:30 pm for networking. The presentation will start at 7:00 pm. Registration is required.
Beginning in May, our library will be open on Wednesday, too.
New Hours : Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Good Shepherd Center, Suite 302 4649 Sunnyside Ave N Seattle, WA 98103 206 522-8658Masks are recommended inside our library at the Good Shepherd Center. Due to COVID the events listed below continue to be virtual, online via Zoom.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 posted are Pacific time unless otherwise noted. Saturday, Apr 30, 2022, 10:00 am- 12:30 pm, DNA SIG with Cary Bright and Craig Gowens.To participate you must be on the DNA SIG email list. Contact Cary at sgsdnasig@gmail.com to join.
Sunday, May 1, 2022, 1:00 pm- 3:00 pm, DNA Workshop with Cary Bright and Craig Gowens.To participate you must be on the DNA SIG email list. Contact Cary at sgsdnasig@gmail.com to join.
Wednesday, May 4, 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.
Saturday, May 7, 2022, 10:15 am-12:15 pm, FamilySearch Interest Group with Lou Daly (Virtual), Discover the many ways to use FamilySearch. At each meeting a different aspect of the website will be featured. There will be time for Q & A. Want to be included on the mail listing? Email Lou: loudaly@nwlink.com
Monday, May 9, 2022, 7:00 pm -8:30 pm, Write It Up SIG (Virtual), This new group will discuss and share writing projects, resources, and ideas. Group contact is Alaine Keisling.
Tuesday, May 10, 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, May 11, 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, May 11, 2022, 7:00 pm-9:00 pm, MAC Computer Interest Group (Virtual), Jointly sponsored by SGS and Fiske for users of MAC (Apple) computers and the Reunion genealogy software. Co-chairs Lisa Marker and Diane Hettrick. You must be on the MAC SIG email list to join the meeting. Email macusersig@seagensoc.org to be included on the list.
Saturday, May 14, 2022, 1:00 pm-2:30 pm. Second Saturday: Giving Our Female Ancestors a Voice, with Stephanie O’Connell. The absence of women in historical records often makes our research challenging. Using social history to create rich biographical sketches allows us to bring our female ancestors out of the shadows of the law or their husbands. This presentation offers a narrative lineage set in 19th century Ireland, England, and the U.S., which uses historical context to bring the unique stories of women to life. Please register in advance.
Sunday, May 15, 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 will be Orphan Train Rides.
Wednesday, May 18, 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.
Saturday, May 21, 2022, 10:00 am- 12:00 pm, Irish SIG is back! With Susan McKee and Jim Ryan. See the SGS website Calendar of Events for further information. Saturday, May 21, 2022, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, German SIG is back! With Carolyn Schott. See the SGS website Calendar of Events for further information.
Sunday, May 22, 2022, 1:00 pm, Japanese American SIG, with Caitlin Oiye Coon. This is one of our new SIGs. Please sign up if you would like to attend; send an email to family.history@densho.org
Tuesday, May 24, 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, May 25, 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.
Autosomal DNA Matches You have a beginning understanding of DNA terminology and what it all means. You have taken a look at the possible tools that you can use to do your DNA testing and what they each can do for you. Maybe you have taken the next step to actually get tested and you are beginning to see matches in your DNA.
Now what? What can you learn from the matches? What can you do to learn? Take Judy’s class and find out!
Thursday, May 5, 2022 11:00 – 12:00 PM zoom Cost: $20 members $25 non-members Come in to the library or sign up at hqrl.com or call 253-863-1806 After you have signed up, be sure to check your spam or promotions folder if you do not receive your link to the zoom meeting.
Members must log into the member page and then proceed to the hqrl store in order to obtain the member discount.
You are free to copy articles to any non-commercial web site or message board or printed publication you wish. Don’t bother to ask permission, just do it.
