Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

ROB SEXTON, VOLUNTEER OF WINTER QUARTER
  Each quarter, the Seattle Genealogical Society recognizes one member as our Volunteer of the Quarter. Our Volunteer for Winter 2022 Quarter is Rob Sexton. 

Rob has been a member of SGS for over five years and he was our Director of Operations from 2018-2021. 

Past SGS President, Jill Morelli, recalls she recruited Rob for the position of Operations Director over coffee at a national genealogical conference, by telling him the job consisted of a little vacuuming and emptying the waste baskets.  “Two floods, one new HVAC unit, COVID, all new furniture, and a major move later – it all went well beyond vacuuming and emptying the trash!” she says. 

“Rob has made the job of the next Operations Director easier and harder,” says Jill. “He brought everything up to date, but he also set a new standard. We all got spoiled by his attention – visible and invisible.” 

Jill is not the only one singing his praises. Karen Knudson, SGS treasurer says, “Rob went above and beyond in his tenure as Director of Operations. He was thoughtful and helpful to me with his banking experience. He was always willing to answer questions and help in any way. And he was dependable. I also enjoyed his sense of humor!”

Cecellia Rogers, SGS Director of Education, says she was “awed by Rob’s patient, diplomatic, and systematic handling of acquiring the new digs and choreographing the move, from soup to nuts. Buy that man a cape! No one deserves the recognition more than he.”

In addition to SGS activities, Rob volunteers as a registrar for a local chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) and serves on the Genealogy Committee of the National Society of SAR. When he’s not digging into family history research, he can be found digging in his garden. 

Thank you so much, Rob, for your years of service to SGS. 
SIGN THE PETITION TO REOPEN 
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES RESEARCH ROOMS!
SPREAD THE WORD!
It’s been almost 2 years since NARA closed the research rooms due to COVID, and understandably so. There’s now a campaign and petition to get the archives reopened. Many feel 2 years is long enough and NARA can safely reopen with some safety precautions in place. You can help by contacting your senator and representative; let them know this is an issue you care about. Remember the old saying “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”. To sign the petition or learn more about the campaign, visit:
https://www.change.org/p/incoming-archivist-of-the-united-states-reopen-national-archives-research-rooms
SGS MEMBERSHIP MEETING
SATURDAY, MARCH 12, 2022
12:30 PM – 1:00 PM 
ONLINE VIRTUAL 
SGS members please mark your calendars and plan to attend this membership meeting. The slate of officers for the 2022-2023 term will be presented. As always, check the Calendar of Events on the SGS website for the Zoom meeting id. 
NEED VOLUNTEERS FOR IRISH WEEK
Volunteers are needed to help man the SGS Booth at Seattle Center’s Irish Week Festal that takes place on Saturday, March 12 and Sunday, March 13, 2022. Ideally there will be enough volunteers that each will cover a 2 hour shift. There will be books on Irish, Scots-Irish, & Scottish genealogy to help people with the basics. For the most part, people are interested in what clan they belong to and the origin of their surname. It’s simple and fun. 

If you can help either day, please call or text Jean Roth at 206 295-6125.

* 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. Watch their website for details on the next meeting. 

The next regular meeting will be on Monday, Mar 14, 2022. Janette Silverman wil present a recap of her 27-day trip to eastern Europe.

Sunday, March 6, 2022 at 10:00 am, there will be a special meeting co-sponsored by the JGSBC and JGSWS. Megan Lewis of the US Holocaust Memorial Museum will speak. 

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

FamilySearch, 
“RootsTech 2022” 
March 3-5, 2022 

The world’s largest family history conference, RootsTech will be online virtual again this year and it’s free. What’s not to like. Registration is required so do so today:
https://www.familysearch.org/en/blog/rootstech-2022-registration


All Day Irish Workshop with 
Steven Morrison and Jean A Roth, 
Fairview Church, 
844 NE 78th St,
Seattle, WA 98115
Saturday, March 19, 2022

The Irish Heritage Club and SGS Irish SIG are jointly sponsoring this in-person event with Steven Morrison and Jean A Roth. Mark your calendars and check the Irish Heritage Club’s website for registration information. It should be available in about a week.  
https://irishclub.org


AppGenInstitute, 
Spring Semester Course Offerings, 
March thru May dates, 
Virtual Online

Two of the founders of the Applied Genealogy Institute are names that should be familiar to you from programs you’ve attended at SGS, Jill Morelli, CG, and Mary Kircher Roddy, CG. Jill prepared the message below  to introduce the upcoming classes that will be able next spring. 

‘Applied Genealogy Institute is excited to announce the next series of educational offerings to the genealogical community for our Spring semester. Whether you are educational addicts like we are or one who just wants to “do it right,” you will find a course for you in the Spring offerings. 

Five courses will be offered: “Foundations I: Using the Records,” “Advanced Swedish Genealogy,” “Advanced Genetic Genealogy,” “Catholic Records” and “Getting Lost in Ledgers.” Registration will open after the first of the year.

If you want to know more, check our website and sign up for the mailing list: https://appliedgen.institute   ‘

Olympia Genealogical Society, 
“DNA: Today’s Matchmaker” 
with Diahan Southard,
Saturday, April 9, 2022
8:30 am – 3:30 pm PDT

Diahan will speak on issues like :

  • Making sense of your DNA results
  • What to do if your matches don’t have family trees
  • Organizing your matches
  • Using female DNA to answer questions

For full details, visit: 
http://olygensoc.org

SGS 2022 Spring Seminar, 
“Lands and Maps and Deeds, Oh My!” 
Friday-Sunday, June 3-5, 2022

Attendees will have 3 registration choices:

  • All 3 days
  • Friday and Saturday only
  • Friday and Sunday only

As usual, SGS members will receive a discount on the registration fee. 

In the coming weeks, watch the SGS Calendar of Events, the SGS social media pages, and the eNews! for further details on this seminar featuring Cyndi Ingle, Angela Packer McGhie, Rebecca Whitman Koford, Melinda Kashuba, and Kimberly Powell. You won’t want to miss any of these outstanding speakers. 

SGS CALENDAR OF EVENTSTake note of the SGS Library’s new location, new hours, and new rules:
Good Shepherd Center, Suite 302
4649 Sunnyside Ave N
Seattle, WA 98103
206 522-8658

Monday, Tuesday, Friday, Saturday
10:00 am – 3:00 pm

Masks are required at all times 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, Feb 16, 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.

Friday, Feb 18, 2022, 10:30 am-12:30 pm, Family Tree Maker by MacKiev meets online via Zoom on the 3rd Friday of the month. Share and learn tips and tricks for this software. This SIG is jointly sponsored by the Eastside Genealogical Society and Seattle Genealogical Society. To join in you must be on the email list. Send you request to egsgenealogyhelpfer@yahoo.com 

Saturday, Feb 19, 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, Feb 19, 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, Feb 20, 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. This Sunday’s topic will be “Friedrich Eiler: Building an Identity from Scant Clues”.  

Tuesday, Feb 22, 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, Feb 23, 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, Feb 27, 2022, 1:00 pm, New! Japanese American SIG,  with Caitlin Oiye Coon. This is the second meeting of our new SIG. Please sign up if you would like to attend; send an email to family.history@densho.org 

Wednesday, Mar 2, 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, Mar 5, 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

Sunday, Mar 6, 2022,  1:00 pm-3:00 pm, DNA WORKSHOP (Virtual),  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.

Tuesday, Mar 8, 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, Mar 9, 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, Mar 9, 2022, 7:00 pm-9:00 am, 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, Mar 12, 2022, 12:30 pm-1:00 pm, SGS Membership Meeting, the slate of officers for 2022-2023 will be presented. This will be a virtual meeting. Check the SGS Calendar of Events. 

Saturday, Mar 12, 2022, 1:00 pm-2:30 pm, Second Saturday Speaker Series: Finding Records to Help Document Your Farming Ancestor with Lisa S Gorrell.

Wednesday, Mar 16, 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, Mar 19, 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, Mar 19, 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, Mar 20, 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. 

Tuesday, Mar 22, 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, Mar 23, 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, Mar 27, 2022, 1:00 pm, Japanese American SIG,  with Caitlin Oiye Coon. This is the third meeting of our new SIG. Please sign up if you would like to attend; send an email to family.history@densho.org 

Wednesday, Mar 30, 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.

German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society Understanding Culture, Places and Time Frames

by Charles Hansen

The German Interest Group of The Eastside GenealogicalSociety (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, March 4, 2022 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm PT– Virtually

Topic: “German Research – Understanding Culture, Places and Time Frames”

Discover the heritage of your German ancestors, what propelled them to come to America and how to find them in the old country.  Key pieces of US research that lead back to the home country.  Available research tools: online, printed, filmed and digitized materials.  Case studies that may provide insight into the research you have been reluctant to pursue.

Presenter:  Susan LeBlanc

Susan began researching her family history about fifty years ago.  She is a native of Portland, Oregon.  In 2010, she became an Accredited Genealogist through ICAPGen in the New England region.  She graduated from Brigham Young University in 2005 with a BGS Degree with a focus in Family History and in 1985 with an AA degree in Spanish.  For over twenty years she has volunteered in the LDS Family History Centers in Oregon.  In her work she gained extensive experience in using the LDS Family History Library and working in online databases.  Working to create accurate and complete family histories is one of her specialties.  She enjoys helping others research and teaching classes.  She has been associated with ICAPGen, Association of Professional Genealogists, the Genealogical Forum of Oregon, Daughter of the American Revolution, Scappoose Historical Society and the Columbia County Museum Association.

More information: Visitors are always welcome and may request the Zoom link no later than March 2nd at https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/contact/   

Heritage Quest Research Library DNA Tools

by Charles Hansen
DNA TOOLS
Emphasis on Ancestry’s Tools
Discussion and examples of several tools that are currently available to assist you in using your DNA results to advance your genealogy research.  Tools that will be discussed will be DNA Painter, GEDmatch, Ancestry’s matches and groups, as well as ThruLines.

Do you have matches on Ancestry that do not have a tree or the tree is private?  We will walk through how you can use the data with others to help identify the possible relationship/DNA connection.
February 24, 2022

11:00 – 12:00 PM

ZOOM

$20 Members – $25 non-members

Come in to:
HQRL at 1007 Main Street in Sumner
OR
Call 23-863-1806
OR
Go to: hqrl.com and sign up on line LOG IN TO YOUR MEMBER ACCOUNT AND REGISTER THROUGH THE HQRL SHOP TO GET THE MEMBER PRICE! Copyright © 2022 Heritage Quest Research Library, All rights reserved.
You have told us that you want to receive our news and updates from our library.

Our mailing address is:
Heritage Quest Research LIbrary
1007 Main St
Sumner, WA 98390-1412

Clallam County Genealogical Society Spring Seminar Lisa Alzo

by Charles Hansen

Clallam County Genealogical Society Spring Seminar Saturday, April 9, 2022   Lisa Alzo  will be the speaker at the CCGS Spring Seminar Saturday April 9th.   Lisa Alzo, M.F.A. is an author of several genealogy Books and hundreds of Magazine articles.  She is a contributing editor of Family Tree Magazine and a noted Webinar speaker.  She has spoken at international conferences, webinars, historical and genealogical societies.  An avid genealogist for more than 30 years, she specializes in Eastern European genealogical research, writing your family and using history to trace female and immigrant ancestors.  We are pleased to be able to host such a notable speaker and genealogist!   Schedule and Topics: 9:15 am       Registration 9:30 am       Introductions, Announcements 9:45am        Session I     Crossing the Pond: Successful Strategies for Researching Eastern                                                 European Ancestors 11:00 am     Session II     Immigrant Cluster Communities: Past, Present and Future 12:45pm      Session III    Murder, Mayhem, and Town Tragedy   The conference will be by Zoom.  All are welcome to watch at the CCGS Research Center: 403 8th Street, Port Angeles, WA, or Zoom it at home.   Cost: $40 for CCGS members.  $50 for non-members and at the door.  Registration closes Tuesday, April 5th.  Checks should be made out to CCGS and sent to the Research Center. Credit Cards can use the “Paypal” app available on the website.  Passcode and Meeting Nos. will be sent out via Email upon receipt of funds.   For more information, call CCGS Tues-Fri:10am to 4pm or Saturday; noon to 4pm at 360-417-5000 or visit our website:  www.clallamcogs.org.

Clallam County Genealogical Society Irish Research

by Charles Hansen

Clallam County Genealogical Society   Saturday, March12, 10:00 AM meeting with            MICHAEL BROPHY & IRISH RESEARCH   Michael Brophy is a nationally known, professional genealogical researcher, heir search specialist, and lecturer. A specialist in New England and Irish genealogy, he was featured on the Irish TV series Dead Money, a genealogy TV show about heir searchers. In 2010, Mr. Brophy was hired to conduct research for the NBC television program Who Do You Think You Are?  for the episode dedicated to the family history of actress Gwyneth Paltrow. He has lectured at the National Genealogy Society’s Annual Conferences and many other venues. He returns to Clallam County by popular demand.     IRISH RESEARCH Irish research has unique challenges.  Mr. Brophy will offer his expertise to explain some of the unusual methodology that must be learned to be successful for researching Irish roots.  Making connections with Irish immigrants provides valuable lessons in genealogical and historical research.   This presentation will be presented on Zoom.  All are welcome to watch at the CCGS Research Center:  403 8th Street, Port Angeles, WA, or Zoom it at home.    To obtain the Zoom meeting number and passcode call CCGS Tues-Fri: 10am to 4pm, or Saturday: noon to 4pm at 360-417-5000  or e-mail us at clallamresearcher@gmail.com. For more information Visit our website: www.clallamcogs.org.   There is no cost to attend.

Lower Columbia Genealogical Society Make Your Story Come Alive

by Charles Hansen

Mary Stone, author, award winner, blog writer, teacher, counseling, and

Keynote Speaker.

The Lower Columbia Genealogical Society

Will have as their MARCH 10th 2022 guest speaker

The topic she has chosen is

MAKE YOUR STORY COME ALIVE

The meeing will be a Zoom meeting opening at 6:30 for announcements, visiting. Meeting to start at 7:00 pm

Visitors wishing to join the free meeting please contact

lcgsgen@yahoo.com for a Zoom link

Free webinar: “Stump the Archivist”

by Charles Hansen
Free webinar: “Stump the Archivist”
Washington State Archives will present another iteration of “Stump the Archivist,” a Q&A webinar for researchers of all experience levels, on Feb. 18 at 10 a.m.
Bring your questions and a notebook, and chat with Research Archivist Tracy Rebstock! Learn how to use state and local government records in your historical research or family history.
New records are added to our collections all the time. Updates to vital records means more access to birth, death, marriage, and divorce collections. Rebstock will talk briefly about naturalizations, as promised during last month’s webinar, then take your questions so you can dig deeper into your research.
Register here. It is free to attend this event.
Visit our YouTube channel to view past webinars.

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society Are You Ready for the 1950 Census ?

by Charles Hansen

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society (BIGS)

February 7, 2022

For WSGS:

On February 18,2022, at 10AM on Zoom, Thomas MacEntee will present:

“Are You Ready for the 1950 Census?”

If you are new to genealogy in the past 9 years you’ve never lived through the release of a new U.S. Census. If you’ve been at it longer than that you know it hasn’t always been a smooth process at the outset. Either way, you are probably anxious to learn what has happened to some of those folks you traced to the 1940 Census.

The release is scheduled to happen in less than 2 months, on April 1, 2022. It will likely be some months after that before the major online genealogy services have indexed the data so that you can find 1950 census information as easily as you can now search other online data. So, join us and get up to speed on how and why the 1950 US Census form is radically different than pervious forms, and how you can go about accessing the data immediately on and after the release date.

Thomas will cover how you can prepare now to hit the ground running on April 1.

It’s free, and the public is most welcome! Pick up your Zoom link at our website, the day before the meeting, April 17, at http://www.bigenealogy.org under “Events.”

                                                                        #######

Thank you!

Larry Noedel

Publicity

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society

NGS Conference

by Charles Hansen
Registration Is Now Open for the
National Genealogical Society’s
2022 Family History Conference Program Dear Friends at Eastern Washington Genealogical Society,

Registration is now open for the NGS 2022 Family History Conference, Our American Mosaic, 24-28 May. This year NGS is offering registrants three ways to participate: In-Person in Sacramento, California, 24-28 May; Online at Home, 27-28 May; and On-Demand, 1 July through 31 December 2021. Please feel free to share this information with members of your organization in your newsletters, on your website, or via your own emails.


Stanford Historian
Gordon Chang
is Keynote Speaker
for NGS 2022 Family History Conference Register Now This year’s conference celebrates America’s diverse heritage. The full program features more than 150 lectures and special programs In-Person, 15 lectures Online at Home, and 60 On-Demand. Details about On-Demand lectures will be available at a later date. To stay apprised of conference news, be sure to subscribe to our conference blog.
 
Discounted Early Bird registration ends 18 March. Online and postal registration closes 18 April.
 
If you are planning to register for our In-Person conference, be sure to review our COVID-19 Policy.
 
For registration assistance, contact registrar@ngsgenealogy.org. Founded in 1903, the National Genealogical Society inspires, connects, and leads the family history community by fostering collaboration and best practices in advocacy, education, preservation, and research. We enable people, cultures, and organizations to discover the past and create a lasting legacy. The Falls Church, Virginia, based nonprofit is the premier national society for everyone, from the beginner to the most advanced family historian.