Happy 75th Anniversary Genealogical Forum of Oregon
Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week Beginning Genealogy Classes
TIP OF THE WEEK – EDUCATION FOR BEGINNERS
On the Family History Library Calendar for January 2021, there are numerous educational opportunities for the novice genealogist, or user new to FamilySearch.org. Like FamilySearch itself, these webinars are absolutely free. You are asked to pre-register for each online webinar you’d like to attend. It’s that simple. Here’s a sampling of what’s coming up:
- Using the FamilySearch Catalog (Beginner) – Mon, Jan 4, 10:00 AM MST
- The Research Process: An Introduction (Beginner) – Thu, Jan 7, 10:00 AM MST
- How to Use the Swedish National Archive Website (Beginner) – Sat, Jan 9, 9:00 AM MST
- Guiando tu educación: Usando el centro de aprendizaje de FamilySearch (Beginner) – Tue, Jan 12, 11:00 AM MST
- Introduction to US Military Records (Beginner) – Thu, Jan 21, 10:00 AM MST
Notice all times are listed as MST (Mountain Standard Time). Below is a link to the full January 2021 Calendar. You can register from there.
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Family_History_Library_Classes_and_Webinars
Seattle Genealogical Society News
HAPPY NEW YEAR AT SGS
Start out 2021 on the right foot, don’t miss the first Second Saturday Series of the new year, on Saturday, January 9, from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm.
In this presentation, Carolyn Schott, will be following the footsteps of the Billigmeier family, who left the Pfalz region after the “Year Without a Summer” to immigrate to Russia in search of a better life. After years of peaceful prosperity in the Beresan (Odessa) area, the fate of two branches of the family diverged. One branch went to Bessarabia and then on to homestead in North Dakota. The branch that remained in the Odessa region had their farms seized and collectivized, suffered during the famine genocide, and finally faced arrest and execution. Some family members were exiled to Kyrgyzstan.
The presentation blends historical events and the story of a specific family. It will also review the documents that were used to re-create the lives of this family, from church records. to local histories, to copies of KGB/NKVD files.
Carolyn Schott has researched her German ancestors for 20 years. She’s a founder of the Black Sea German Research Community, a former board member of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society, and author of the book, “Visiting Your Ancestral Town.”
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM OUR DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY
As some of you may have heard, the owner of the company that hosts our SGS website, EasyNetSites.com (ENS), has run into legal problems. The result is that ENS will only be hosting websites through the end of June 2021 (at best). Our Webmaster, Ann Wright, has formed a small team to identify a new host and plan a transition of our website to the new host. If you, or someone you know, has experience with current website technology and would be interested in consulting on this effort, please contact Ann at webmaster@seagensoc.org.
David Rimmer,
Director of Technology
SAVE THE DATE“A Post-Holocaust Genealogical and Family History Journey:
From the USA to Ukraine”, Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State,
Bellevue, WA
Monday, January 11, 2021
6:00 PM PST
Notice the time is earlier than normal. Visit their website for final info and to get the meeting id.
https://www.jgsws.org
RootsTech Connect 2021 (Virtual),
hosted by FamilySearch International
February 25-27, 2021
This 2021 virtual conference is free. They do ask that you register. Something for everyone, no matter your age or experience:
- Genealogy Classes
- Food and Cultural Demonstrations
- Mind-break Activities, Exercise and Relaxation
- Travel and World Heritage
Visit the website for more info and registration.
http://www.rootstech.org/?lang=eng
SGS CALENDAR OF EVENTS
* In consideration of COVID-19 social distancing recommendations, the SGS Library is closed until further notice and SGS in-person events have been replaced with online events.
** Go to the SGS Website Calendar of Events for the meeting links and for any last minute updates or changes to the schedule.
Saturday, Jan 2, 2021, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, FamilySearch Interest Group with Lou Daly, Discover the many ways to use Family Tree and FamilySearch. At each meeting a different aspect of the website will be featured. There will be time for Q & A. Want to join the mailing list? Email Lou: loudaly@nwlink.com
Wednesday, Jan 6, 2021, 11:00 am-12:30 pm, 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, Jan 9, 2021, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Family Tree Maker Users Group, Learn and share tips and tricks for using Family Tree Maker 2017 by Software MacKiev™ . Want to join this SIG? Email operations@seagensoc.org. Chaired by Rob Sexton.
Saturday, Jan 9, 2021, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Second Saturday Series:”From Church Archives to KBG”, presenter will be Carolyn Schott founder of the Black Sea German Research Community
Sunday, Jan 10, 2021, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Scandinavian Interest Group, chaired by Karen Knudson, Share information and discuss Scandinavian ancestral research.
Tuesday, Jan 12, 2021, 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 welcomed. No appointment necessary. Visit www.seagensoc.org Calendar of Events for the Zoom meeting link.
Wednesday, Jan 13, 2021, 11:00 am-12:30 pm, 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, Jan 13, 2021, 7:00 pm-9:00 pm, MAC Computer Interest Group (Virtual), Chaired by Lisa Marker and Diane Hettrick, these meetings address topics and resources helpful for those using MacIntosh (Apple) computers and the Reunion program in their genealogy research. The link to logon will be sent to the MAC SIG email list. People wishing to attend should email dhettrick@earthlink.net to be added to the mailing list.
Wednesday, Jan 20, 2021, 11:00 am-12:30 pm, 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, Jan 26, 2021, 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 welcomed. No appointment necessary. Visit www.seagensoc.org Calendar of Events for the Zoom meeting link.
Wednesday, Jan 27, 2021, 11:00 am-12:30 pm, 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, Jan 30, 2021, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm, SGS DNA Interest Group workshop , will be meeting via Zoom.To be included you need to be on the SGS DNA Interest Group email list. Contact Cary Bright at SGSDNASIG@gmail.com to join. Link to be sent to the email group prior to the meeting along with the pdf handout.
MyHeritage Year in Review
Throughout an exceedingly difficult year, family history became an increasingly important outlet for people and helped them remain connected to their loved ones. At MyHeritage we worked hard to fill that need by developing new features, adding historical records, and giving back to the community. Read more about what we did in 2020 in our year in review blog post: https://blog.myheritage.com/2020/12/2020-myheritage-year-in-review/ Please feel free to share the link to the blog post, and the following info graphic, with your followers.
I wish you and your family the best for this coming 2021!
Happy New Year!
Daniel Horowitz
Genealogy Expert
| MyHeritage Ltd., P.O.Box 50, 3 Ariel Sharon Blvd., Or Yehuda 60250, Israel 60250, Israel, +972-3-6280000 |
Rogue Valley Genealogical Society Civil War Classes
Happy New Year! January 8, the Rogue Valley Genealogical Society hosts the first of two virtual classes, “Was My Ancestor in the Civil War?” Renown genealogist and speaker, Brian Rhinehart, will show participants how to discover if their ancestor participated in the Civil War. Attached is a photo of Brian. We would appreciate it if you will share this with your members, and possibly post on your website and in your newsletter.
Thank you for your support! If you need more information, please contact Pat Jenkins at 541-415-0465, or pjenkins2364@gmail.com.
Pamela Sasseen, Publicity & Public Relations
Rogue Valley Genealogical Society
541-608-8091
********************************************
Do you know if your ancestor was in the Civil War?
Brian Rhinehart, graduate of Boston University’s Certificate in Genealogy Research course, and professional genealogist and speaker, is a direct descendent of six Civil War soldiers. He specializes in Civil War, and War of 1812, records at the National Archives in Washington DC. January 8, Brian will teach the first of two classes on researching Civil War records, “Was My Ancestor in the Civil War?” It is possible, as about 9% of the US population fought in the Civil War in the 1860s. In this class, Brian will share tips on how to determine if your ancestor was in the Civil War, using (mostly) free resources.
January 8, 1:30-3:00pm, $20 for non-members, $10 for members. To register for this virtual presentation, go to https://rvgslibrary.org/FormPage.asp?FormID=10. Once you’ve completed your registration, you will receive an email the day before the presentation with your Zoom link.
Happy New Year
Happy New Year
Been an interesting year, never had to post so many seminar and meeting cancellations, but eventually we learned to have our meetings online on Zoom, Web-ex, Google and even Facebook. That allowed us to join meetings in other states without travel, motels, parking and traffic. The only bad part was we all miss meeting our friends in person. Lets hope we can get back together in 2021, but still have the ability to listen in to seminars a long way from our homes. We are learning to work together in ways we never dreamed we could so lets expand that and help all the Washington genealogical societies. I also post a lot of seminars on the WSGS Facebook Page, because it goes out immediately not once a week like the WSGS Blog, check it out.
I have been asked how am I doing by a lot of people, and I am doing fine, I like peace and quiet and do not like crowds, my favorite volunteer job was doing research in a quiet archive, and I got to do that for eight years at the county courthouse in the auditors archives. That ended when all the records were digitized and the originals were moved to the Washington State Regional Archive in Cheney Washington. They then moved the Law Library in the space that used to have the auditors records.
I am also a volunteer with Scribe and by the end of the year I will have digitized 92,000 names in 2020 and 370,000 names since they started counting, but that was many years after I had started. At first we got a 3.5 inch floppy disk and paper copies to digitize records.
Eastern Washington Genealogical Society January Luncheon
Saturday, January 9, 2021 Annual Luncheon and Officer Installation (EWGS Meetings) 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm Meeting via Zoom
We will have a “virtual” luncheon, meaning prepare your own favorite dish for lunch and why not include a fun beverage 😉 We will acknowledge past presidents and install new officers for 2021.
Janice Fritsch, PLCGS will present on the Civil War
Bio: What began as the task of completing a family tree for a family reunion turned into a lifelong passion. Over 25 years ago Janice Fritsch began her genealogical journey with her mother, sister Lynda Keenan, and her twelve year old daughter. It has been quite a journey taking her places she had not anticipated.
Her experiences include:
Serving as the president of the Illinois State Genealogical Society 2010-2012
Served as a board member of the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2011-2016
Formed “It’s Relative”, a research/lecturing business with Jane Haldeman
Certification from National Institute of Genealogical Studies in American Records & Methodology in Aug 2009
Hundreds of research road trips throughout the U.S and Ireland
Days spent in cemeteries, libraries and archives
January with South King County Genealogical Society
Saturday, January 2, 2021, 10am-noon PT
Family Tree Maker User Group
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. This is a virtual meeting with closed captioning available. Dial-in (audio only) is also available.
Monday, January 4, 2021, 1pm-3pm PT
Persons of Interest #Research Opportunity
Join us to help tackle the brick walls in your family tree! Go to https://skcgs.groups.io/g/Research-Group for meeting link, meeting reminders and discussion. This is a virtual meeting with closed captioning available. Dial-in (audio only) is also available.
Tuesday, January 5, 2021, 6:30pm-8:30pm PT
Board Meeting
SKCGS Board Meeting. All SKCGS members are invited to attend; only Directors may vote. Write to Board@skcgs.org for the meeting link.
Friday, January 8, 2021, 12:30pm-2:30pm PT
German Interest Group (EGS)
Topic is: “The Anabaptists and Finding My Brallier Roots in Alsace.” Speaker Paul Brallier will discuss how wars, politics and religion led to the formation of the Anabaptists and how his ancestors played a part. Visitors are always welcome. Request an invitation at least 4 days before the meeting: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/
Monday, January 11, 2021, 1pm-3pm PT
Genetic Genealogy/DNA
“How to Get Started with Your New DNA Results.”
Go to https://skcgs.groups.io/g/Genetic-Genealogy for meeting link, meeting reminders and discussion. This is a virtual meeting with closed captioning available. Dial-in (audio only) is also available.
Saturday, January 16, 2021, 9:30am PT Social time, 10am-Noon Program
General Meeting & Speaker
“Armchair Mysteries Solved at Home with Old School Communication and New School Technology” presented by Patti Gillespie, B.A., M.S., of Family Lines & Stories.
Learn tips, tricks and techniques to successfully resolve ancestor mysteries using both online sites and offline sources for information.
For meeting link and meeting reminders, go to https://skcgs.groups.io/g/society
This is a virtual meeting with closed captioning available. Dial-in (audio only) is also available.
Monday, January 18, 2021, 1pm-3pm PT
Technical User Group
“Google Photos for Identification of Mystery People.” Go to https://skcgs.groups.io/g/TUG for meeting link, meeting reminders and discussion. This is a virtual meeting with closed captioning available. Dial-in (audio only) is also available.
Monday, January 25, 2021, 1pm-3pm PT
Genealogy Chat
Meet up and chat about genealogy subjects and topics. We have no agenda; we just like one another! Go to https://skcgs.groups.io/g/Society for meeting link, discussion and meeting reminders. This is a virtual meeting with closed captioning available. Dial-in (audio only) is also available.
Legacy Family Tree 2021 Webinars
Here is the URL for the list of the 2021 Legacy Family Tree Webinars
Very impressive lineup of speakers.
Family History Fanatics Winter Virtual Conference
We wanted to let your group know about the 3rd annual A Winter of DNA virtual conference coming up on Saturday, 30th January 2021 The past virtual conferences were very successful and had great attendance.
Speakers will be talking about the following:
DNA & Law Enforcement – Marian Woods
GEDmatch Basics – Kitty Cooper
Tracing Ancestral Lines in the 1700s Using DNA – Tim Janzen
A Guide To Chromosome Browsers & DNA Segment Data – Michelle Leonard
The online sessions will begin at 10am Eastern Time on Saturday, 30th January 2021. Some answers to common questions that people have asked us:
1. Yes, the sessions are live. These are not pre-recorded, so if you have questions, then please ask them in the chat during any of the sessions and we’ll get them answered.
2. Yes there are door prizes.
3. No, you don’t have to be watching the live presentations to win (although we hope you do), everyone who is registered will be eligible to win the door prizes.
4. Yes, recordings of the sessions will be available for 30 days after the virtual conference so even if you can’t make the live session, register so that you can watch the recordings.
5. Yes we use our webcams. You don’t have to watch slides all the time. You also get to see people.
6. Yes, this event is open to anyone who wants to register. No need to travel or even change out of your pajamas if you don’t want to.
As with past events there will be a 5th hour panel discussion where you can ask questions about any of the topics or even anything else related to genealogy and research. Early bird registration is only $19.99 until January 22nd. The regular registration price is $24.99. Learn more at the website (https://www.familyhistoryfanatics.com/winterdna) and register today.
Feel free to post this information on your website or Facebook page and let your members know. If you would like graphics to post, let us know and we can send them to you.
Thanks,Andrew & Devon Noel Lee
Family History Fanatics Humble, TX | 346-704-1433familyhistoryfanatics.comYouTube: Family History Fanatics | Twitter: @FHFanatics Facebook: Family History Fanatics | Twitter: @FHFanatics |