Well it looks like vital records bill 1550 that was introduced into the Washington Legislature this year is dead. Click here to see the bill.
All bills had to be out of committee by February 11 or they died in the regular session, and House Bill 1550 never even had a hearing. It could come back if they have a special session.
Beginners
Genealogy Class
Tuesday, Feb.25
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Heritage Quest Research Library
Downtown Sumner
1007 Main Street
Sumner, WA
******
Please pre-register for class
space is limited
253-863-1806
Officials from Washington DC were in Seattle meeting with Puget Sound Native American Tribes: Click Here to read the whole story. https://mynorthwest.com/1715022/national-archives-tries-re-set-seattle-closure/
Meanwhile, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson continues to weigh legal action, and last week sent document requests to multiple federal agencies involved in the Seattle facility. Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman is leading an effort to identify alternatives to the priceless materials being shipped to California.
| THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News Edition February 6, 2020 |
| Curious about the status of your GFO Membership? We’d love to have you as a GFO Member! |
| gfo.org | 503-963-1932 | info@gfo.org Be sure to check the complete GFO CALENDAR. Also, don’t miss the current issue of The Forum Insider |
| We’d like to offer our deep thanks to Lynn Rossing for leading our Great Lakes Special Interest Group for several years. Lynn has now stepped down. The next meeting is this Saturday, Feb. 8, from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m., where guest speaker Dale Deatherage will discuss Taverns and Inns. He has found records for his ancestors by researching business licenses in the Great Lakes region, and will share his research journey so that we can all do the same. This is a topic with information that likely would be hard to find elsewhere. However, this will be the last meeting until someone steps up to help keep this group active. Would you be willing to facilitate this group dedicated to helping people find ancestors from the Great Lakes region? The group has met on the second Saturday of each month except in July, August, and December, but this can be changed. Please contact our president, Vince Patton, at president@gfo.org if you’d be willing to keep this group alive. |
| Join us for our 2020 Spring Seminar, “Solve Puzzles with DNA,” on April 4 & 5, to be presented by nationally-known genetic genealogy author and educator Karen Stanbary, CG®, MA, LCSW. |
| The Saturday, April 4 classes, will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.at Portland’s Center for Self Enhancement (SEI).
Karen will guide experienced beginners and above in learning how to
manage and interpret DNA evidence, then how to incorporate it into
existing documentary research and provide guidance on managing
conversations about unexpected DNA results. If you register now, the
cost for GFO members for this full day is just $45 and for non-members,
$50. The
Sunday half-day classes on April 5 will be held at the GFO from 9:30
a.m. – Noon. Deepen and expand your intermediate- to advanced-level
skills as Karen presents more complex genealogy puzzles requiring more
complex DNA evidence analysis. Early registration price for this
half-day is just $25 for GFO members and $30 for non-members. Download the Seminar Flyer for more details. Remember, we have Early-Bird Registration prices! On March 1, all prices will increase by $5. This is a great opportunity to learn more about solving those genealogy puzzles with the use of DNA. |
| From 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 23, join BCG Certified Genealogist Mary Kircher Roddy as she presents a hands-on guide for the experienced spreadsheet user using Excel to gain perspective on and to further your genealogy research. For a more complete description, download the seminar flyer. Seating is limited to 30 people! Everyone gets a spot at a table. Participants should bring their (fully charged) laptops pre-loaded with Excel. Mary is an active member of Seattle Genealogical Society, the Genealogical Speakers Guild, the Association of Professional Genealogists, and the National Genealogical Society. She has published articles in Family Chronicle, Internet Genealogy, and the National Genealogical Society Quarterly. The fee is $35.00 for GFO Members and $40.00 for non-members. |
| It’s time for a genealogy conference in your backyard–one which doesn’t cost a dime! Save these dates for the 2020 GFO Genealogy Open House: March 13-22. Over these 10 days, the library is free to the public and everyone is invited to all classes. Of particular note, we have an Evening with Special Guest John Schmal on Mexican Ancestry, a Beginners Day, DNA Day, Software Day, and Irish Day. |
| Save your favorite classes on your calendar! No registration required for any events. 42 events in all! It’s like having a free genealogy conference in your own backyard. Join us! |
| News from the Library |
| New Books • An informal history of the German language: with chapters on Dutch and Afrikaans, Frisian and Yiddish • Cheapside before the Great Fire • Divorce records for Washington County, Indiana, 1814-1921 • Early marriages in Indiana • Historical Shaniko tales • History of the Sierra Nevada • Newport, Oregon: 1882-1982: centennial magazine • Pathways to Michigan’s Black heritage • Preceding the Mayflower: the Pilgrims in England and in the Netherlands • Searching for Black Confederates: the Civil War’s most persistent myth • Slavery remembered: a record of twentieth-century slave narratives • Textiles in America 1650-1870: A dictionary based on original documents, prints and paintings, commercial records, American merchants’ papers, shopkeepers’ advertisements, and pattern books with original swatches of cloth • The families of County Donegal, Ireland: over one thousand entries from the archives of the Irish Genealogical Foundation • The guarded gate: bigotry, eugenics, and the law that kept two generations of Jews, Italians, and other European immigrants out of America • The life of Mark Twain: the early years, 1835-1871 • The Minutemen and their world • Time on the cross: economics of American Negro slavery • Time on the cross: evidence and methods, a supplement • When women didn’t count: the chronic mismeasure and marginalization of American women in federal statistics New Digital Content • Bulletin of the California Central Coast Genealogical Society • Genealogical Goldmine (Paradise, California) • Quicksilver Diggin’s (Santa Clara County, California) • San Diego Leaves and Saplings • San Francisco Historical and Genealogy Bulletin • The Sonoma Searcher |
| U.S. is Hiring Census Workers |
| Genealogists depend on the census. Some of our ancestors were census enumerators, collecting the information we value so much. Now you can do the same. The Census Bureau is hiring through the first week of March. They are seeking census takers to work flexible hours, earn $18-$20 per hour, and receive paid training. Apply Online: 2020census.gov/jobs For more information or help applying, call 1-855-JOB-2020. |
| Will You Be Our Valentine? |
| Shop at smile.amazon.com and AmazonSmile donates to Genealogical Forum Of Oregon at no cost to you! |
| Take a step back in time to 1866 and see what Muskingum County, Ohio looked like 154 years ago. The GFO library is retiring this reprint from 1973 as a nicer copy was donated. Its full title is Atlas of Muskingum Co., Ohio From actual Surveys by and under the direction of F. W. Beers, assisted by Beach Nichols and others. It was published by Beers, Soule & Co. of New York. |
| As a library copy, it has library marks inside the front and back covers and a label on the spine. Otherwise, it is in excellent condition. Its 48 pages include maps of townships and cities, and it includes some illustrations of prominent buildings at that time. |
| As an atlas, it’s large, measuring 14“ by 14″. Our price to pickup at the GFO: $28 Price to ship to you: $38 If you’d like to buy it, please email booksales@gfo.org. |
| Survey Results: Vintage Family Photos |
| Here are the results of our question about old photos in your collection. Twenty-five percent report having photos that are pre 1860, and 34.4% have photos that date from 1850 to 1860. |
| We also asked how you dated your photo. Many reported that the images they had were wedding photos—and they had the marriage date. Some used hairstyles and clothing styles, some used children in the image, and others knew the date of death. Here are just a few of the many replies: |
| •
My third great grandmother – a young woman with hair and dress from
1860s. She was born in 1827 and drowned crossing a river in 1883. • It is a photo of my third great-grandfather Ishmael G Smith, taken in Joliet, IL about 1865. The date is from a tax stamp on back of the photo. |
| Tintype image courtesy of Laurel Smith •
I have a Daguerreotype in a metal frame, of a young woman in period
dress. With technology available at the time and clothing and hairstyle I
estimate this dates to 1860s, Civil War era. I do not know who it is,
but am working on it. • Approximately 1857/58. Ambrotype of my 2nd great-grandparents, James and Martha Smalley, holding their first born, Edna, my great-grandmother, born 1 May 1857. Edna looks to be between 6 and 9 months old in the photo, helping me date it. • Civil War soldier, a great-great-uncle, Andy Miller. A book on the GFO library about his unit noted his death and included a section on the unique uniforms his unit had which matched the photo and help identify him. Photo before July 1863 when he died at Gettysburg. • My oldest photo is of my husband’s grandmother in 1905, age 5. She wrote the date on the back. • Likely early 1860s. Two photos on glass in gold frames, handed down through the family, show my great-great-great aunt and her husband. These are ambrotypes, a form of photography that only lasted one decade into the early 1860s. |
| General James S. Jackson, photo dated 31 Dec 1861, image credit: Wikipedia • The
photo is from Dec 31, 1861. It is of my great-great-grandfather,
General James S. Jackson. He was a general on the Union side of the
Civil War. He was killed in 1862 in the battle of Gettysburg. I have his
actual photo, but there is a copy on Wikipedia. • About 1890. My great-great-grandparents and their first child. I identified my great-great-grandmother because of her uncanny resemblance to one of her daughters and then extrapolated the rest. It also helped that the photo frame indicated it was taken in Kamenets Podolsky, Russia. • I have several daguerreotypes from the 1850s to 1860s of my great-great-grandparents who lived in Massachusetts. They are in the little books and are identified by name, date and place. One is of my great-great-grandmother, Betsy Anne Richmond, who died in 1852. • The oldest photo I have is hand dated on the back from the 1850s of a 3rd great-grandfather, James M Hassler. I also checked the photographer’s insignia on the paper frame with information online showing that photographer was working in the same city and time of this ancestor’s dated photo._ |
| New Survey: Free Genealogy Websites We all love free genealogy websites—what’s your favorite? |
| Saturday, February 8th Great Lakes Interest Group 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. Guest speaker Dale Deatherage will discuss Taverns and Inns. He has found records for his ancestors by researching business licenses in the Great Lakes region, and will share his research journey so that we can all do the same. For more information contact Lynn Rossing at GreatLakes@gfo.org. Writers’ Forum 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Join this peer group of genealogists, who meet to learn about writing and to share their writing with each other. Peggy Baldwin facilitates this group and can be reached at writers@gfo.org. Sunday, February 9th Library Work Party 9:00 a.m. – noon Prepping periodicals for scanning is on the agenda, and we sure could use your help. Doors open at 9 and work usually wraps up around noon. Some people come for just an hour or so; others work the full time. You are welcome to do either. Any time you can share is valuable. Hope to see you there. Research Assistant Training 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. Training for GFO volunteer research assistants focused on procedures, OPALS, and Q&A. Wednesday, February 12th PMUG College: Browsers and Email 6:00-7:55 p.m. To register: Call 503-228-1779; Email: college@pmug.org. Bring your Mac/iPad to participate with instruction. If you would like additional info for attending this class, please email us. Free to GFO and PMUG members. GFO Library Open Late to 8:00 p.m. |
Our February Monthly Meeting is this coming Tuesday, February 11 at Bates Community College, South Campus.
6:00 pm Member Networking and Sharing6:30 – 8:30 pm Business Meeting and Program
Our speaker is Cyndi Ingle, and her topic is TIMELINES.
You will need a 2020 parking permit; so if you do not have one, we will have some extras at the sign in desk.
Hope to see everyone there!
TPCGS
monthly meetings are held September through June from 6 pm to 9 pm,
usually at Bates Technical College, South Campus, Building E, 2201 South
78th St., Tacoma.
Guests are always welcome, so bring a friend! For more information check our website at www.tpcgs.org.
Jane Irish Nelson, TPCGS Webmaster
The Northwest Genealogy Conference (NwGC2020) is now OPEN FOR REGISTRATION.
This is the premier genealogy conference in the Northwest being held Aug. 12-15 in Arlington. This year will offer 15 speakers with over 40 sessions. The keynote speakers are Thomas MacEntee, Kathleen Kaldis and Anna Swayne. Register today at www.nwgc.org and receive the “Early Bird” discount – valid until April 15th. You can now fly direct from Spokane to Paine Field in Everett – check it out! Watch this blog weekly for more details….
|
Steven W. Morrison Saturday, February 8, 2020 |
|
SESSION 1: 10:00 AM
Fact Checking Your Family Traditions
Some families are lucky, they have “family
lore”. But is this story true? With new online collections we can now
double check to see how it holds up to the light of some original
records. Only then will you know if it’s a keeper or just fools gold. A case study of colonial Virginia entrepreneur Isaac Perkins/Parkins.
$ 20.00 per Session members $ 25.00 per Session non-members Session 2: 11:30 AM Using Hinshaw and Other Finding Aids to Locate Original Quaker Records During the past century, Quaker historians and clerks have been busy copying old meeting records and have created a wide variety of finding aids. In the 1930s, Willard W. Hinshaw began publishing six volumes of his historic Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, with Willard C. Heiss following with six volumes for just Indiana. We will learn how these tools can shortcut your search for original Quaker records. $ 20.00 per session members $ 25.00 per session non-members To reserve a place please call 253-863-1806 or drop by the library to sign up. AFTER RESERVING A SEAT, IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND, PLEASE CALL SO THAT OTHERS MAY ATTEND. All of our classes are held in the HQRL Classroom. |
SGS Members, please attend the spring membership meeting on Saturday, March 14, 2020, 12:30 pm – 1:00 pm, and meet the nominees for the Board of Directors and Officers. At the meeting, nominations from the floor will be allowed provided the person nominated is present at the meeting.
The meeting will be held at the SGS Library, 6200 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115. Immediately following the meeting, Lori Lee Sauber will give her Second Saturday Series presentation, “Do You Trello and Kanban?”.
WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE IN YOUR FAMILY HISTORY WRITER’S CORNER!
Each month throughout 2020 we will share women’s stories from 100 or more years ago, including brick walls that elude even the most diligent genealogist. Stories might be brief – one or two paragraphs – or longer – and will appear on our web site: https://seagensoc.org/.
Finding female ancestors can be challenging, especially if they lived before accurate vital records were kept. Women with unknown parentage present an additional hurdle to the genealogist. Hopefully, our project will help you discover the stories of your own female ancestors. And that you will enjoy reading the stories of others.
We begin with the story of Amelia:
https://seagensoc.org/upload/menu/Discovering_Amelia.pdf
RESULTS OF THE LIBRARY SURVEY FROM THE LIBRARY TRUSTEES – by Sue Jensen
Thank you to everyone who took the time to answer our questions in the recent Survey. The number of responses was low, but we received some very good suggestions about resources for the Library. Some of the things that you were interested in we already have in the Library including:
Through
a generous corporate donation, we recently acquired newer workstations
and replacement chairs. This allows us to provide more working area for
our patrons around the computers. New lighting in the computer area is
scheduled as well.
For those that inquired about additional databases, thank you, but unfortunately, they are cost prohibitive:
The
Seattle Genealogical Society is almost 100 years young and has been an
all-volunteer, donation-based society for the entire time. A large
portion of our library collection is from donations, so we have many
areas that have interested our members over the years. We try to add to
the collection the items that appeal to our membership, although we
focus on Seattle, King County, Washington state, and the Pacific
Northwest: Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska. We will be announcing any
new acquisitions to the Library in the eNews! on a monthly basis
beginning this month, so please look for it.
Thank you again for your help:
Sue Jensen, Director of the Library
Library Trustee Board
NEW ACQUISITIONS FOR JANUARY 2020, found in the New Acquisitions Bookcase at the SGS Library:
Families: “A History of The Jarnagin Family in
Iowa (1856-1996)” and “Where the Waters Part, A Family’s Search for
Freedom and Authenticity: Nine Generations of Wards, Early Settlers of
Augusta County, Virginia, and Their Descendants.”
Germany: “Dictionary of German Names by Hans
Bahlow (English Version)”; “Die Familiennamen Der Juden in Deutschland/
The Family Names of Jews in Germany”; “Germanic Genealogy A guide to
worldwide sources and migration patterns”; “Historical Guide to Erfurt,
Gera and Suhl Germany – Historischer Fuhrer Bezirke Erfurt, Gera, Suhl”;
“Register zu dem Reformierten Kirchenbuch der pfarrei Lambsborn/
Register to the Reformed Church Book of the Lambsborn Parish 1689-1798
and 1747-1798”
Ireland: “The History and Antiquities of the
Diocese of Kilmacduagh”; “Memorial Atlas of Ireland 1901”; “Galway Roots
Clanna na Gaillimhe” and “A Genealogical and Historical Map of Ireland”
Seattle: “For the Least of These From the
Seattle Council of Catholic Women to the Association For Catholic
Childhood”; Yearbook: “University of Washington Civil Engineering:
1898-1998 One Hundred Years of Excellence in Education”
Washington: Yearbook: “Tahoma, Stadium High School Yearbook: Pierce” and “The Cruiser Eatonville, WA High School”
Other States:NH: “Index to Genealogies In New Hampshire Town Histories”; NY: “Inventory of the Church Files In New York City, LUTHERAN”; NJ:
“Mark Newby The First Banker in New Jersey and His Patrick
Halfpence/Early Settlers in Newton/Local American History Newton
Township and Its Environs in the Revolution/Letters of George
Washington/Battle of Chestnut Neck etc” and TN: “The Middle Tennessee Journal of Genealogy and History”
SAVE THE DATE
Spring 2020 SGS Seminar
with Fritz Juengling,
Fairview Christian School,
844 NE 78th St,
Seattle, WA
Saturday, May 16, 2020
Mr
Juengling is the German, Dutch and Scandinavian Research Specialist at
the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. SGS is happy to have Fritz
as the presenter for our spring seminar.
SGS CALENDAR OF EVENT
Unless
otherwise indicated all programs will be at the SGS Library, 6200 Sand
Point Way NE, Seattle. Check the SGS Web Site for additions, changes,
and corrections. Programs may be canceled or postponed because of
inclement weather.
FEBRUARY
Saturday, February 8, 10:15 am-12:15 pm, FamilySearch SIG, with
leader Lou Daly, discover the many ways to use Family Tree &
FamilySearch.org. Each meeting will feature an aspect of the
FamilySearch website. There will be time for Q&A.
Saturday, February 8, 1:00 pm-3:00pm, Second Saturday Series: “The Price of Love: American Women, the Cable Act and Lost Citizenship”, American
women proselytized and protested for more than 70 years to finally win
the right to vote. And yet, the victory wasn’t complete with the
ratification of the 19th amendment in 1920. Come learn more. With Lisa
Oberg.
Saturday, February 15, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Irish SIG, with Jean Roth
Saturday, February 15, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, German SIG, with Jean Roth
MARCH
Sunday, March 1, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, DNA Workshop, with Cary Bright. Q&A first hour, while focus second hour in on Genome Mate Pro.
Saturday, March 7, 10:15 am-12:15 pm, FamilySearch SIG, with
leader Lou Daly, discover the many ways to use Family Tree &
FamilySearch.org. Each meeting will feature an aspect of the
FamilySearch website. There will be time for Q&A.
Wednesday, March 11, 7:00 pm-9:00 pm, MAC Computer SIG,
co-chairs Lisa Marker & Diane Hettrick. Meets every other month at
the Fiske Genealogical Library in Madison Park, 1644 43rd Ave E,
Seattle, WA. Jointly sponsored by SGS & Fiske. Open to the public.
Focuses on resources for users of Macintosh/Apple computers & the
Reunion Program.
Saturday, March 14, 10:15 am-12:15 pm, Family Tree Maker Users Group, with leaders Reiley Kidd and Jess Ramey, Learn and share tips and tricks for using Family Tree Maker 2017
Saturday, March 14, 12:30 pm -1:00pm, SGS Spring Membership Meeting, business meeting, meet the Board and Officer nominees.
Saturday, March 14, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, Second Saturday Series: “Do You Trello and Kanban?”, presenter will be Lori Lee Staub. learn how these process/project management tools can aid in your genealogy research.
Saturday, March 21, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, Digging Deeper: Researching Women’s History, this presentation is at the University of Washington, Allen Library. Join
in for a hands-on workshop to learn how archives are arranged and
locate information which might be of interest to you when researching
women’s history.
IMPORTANT UPDATE FROM SGS PRESIDENT
CALL TO ACTION: SAVE OUR NARA!
We need your help and it takes just a few minutes to make a difference.
This week the Public Buildings Reform Board (PBRB) voted to sell the
NARA-Seattle building located on Sand Point Way. (For the complete
report, see PBRB at https://www.pbrb.gov.
The records at NARA-Seattle are primarily for the states of Washington,
Oregon, Idaho and Alaska. They are PNW records and need to be accessible
to PNW researchers.
We and our Attorney General and AGs of other affected states recognized
that the process was flawed: the comment time was not of a mandated
length, inspections were conducted “on the sly” and the Board voted
before the comment period was completed. This is a legal matter and is
being handled at that level.
Here is what you can do…
The strategy has now shifted from keeping the Northwest records at the
Sand Point facility to keeping them in the Puget Sound area. There are
several reasons for this:
The Society is doing its part and it urges you to contact the
individuals below to express your concern, and perhaps outrage,
concerning this move of this valuable resource.
Submit your comments to the PBRB at fastainfo@pbrb.gov
Call 1-86-NARA-NARA (1-866-272-6272) or contact them at archives.gov/contact
Write to our senators: (They have sent their letters of protest to PBRB
and FASTA but they need to know that we are backing them.)
Patty Murray (202) 224-2621
https://www.murray.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contactme
Maria Cantwell
Contact: www.cantwell.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/email-maria
(202) 224-3441
Contact your U.S. Representative
https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
Write WA Attorney General Bob Ferguson: (https://www.atg.wa.gov/contact-us)
Mayor Jenny Durkan: (jenny.durkan@seattle.gov )
Dow Constantine, King County (https://www.kingcounty.gov/council.aspx )
City Council (https://www.seattle.gov/cityclerk/agendas-and-legislative-resources/city-council-agendas/contact-the-city-council)
Feliks Banel originally broke the news about the closure on KIRO 97.3 FM
and has been posting updates on MyNorthwest.com and Facebook. He is
also the editor for Columbia Magazine for the Washington State
Historical Society. You might want to follow his blog or his Facebook
page. He is working on a story based on an interview with Bob Ferguson
that may come out before this memo reaches you.
SGS member Trish Hackett Nicola has been instrumental in coordinating
efforts with agencies and other interested parties. Thank you, Trish.
If you have already contacted these governmental agencies and
individuals—do it again! We know that it is the “weight” of the
communications, not the discrete number of individuals. If you belong to
other groups that should weigh in and haven’t, please pass this
communication on to them.
Thank you for your support.
Jill Morelli, CG
President of Seattle Genealogical Society
During
January 1st through March 31st, 2020, new members may join the Seattle
Genealogical Society with a membership that extends through May 31,
2021. Dues are $60 individual, or $75 dual (two people in the same
household). That’s a year and a half of free research requests,
discounted class and event registration fees, and access to exclusive
SGS publications and databases. Read more…
Join Online Now
