Blog Banner Photos Wanted

by Roxanne Lowe

Have you noticed the Blog banner changes every time you visit? The photos are submitted by readers like you. We’re always looking for scenic photos of our beautiful state for the rotating photo gallery on the blog banner.

Mount St. Helens. Photo taken 10 Nov 2018 by Roxanne Lowe.

Guidelines for the photos are few:
•Landscapes, landmarks, and scenery photos are preferred. If, however, you have a perfect photo that includes people, please obtain their permission to post the photo.
•Photo must have been taken in Washington State (this is the Washington State Genealogical Society blog, after all!).
•Photo will be cropped to 1100 x 250 pixels, so keep that in mind. If in doubt, send it to us & we’ll figure it out.
•You may submit as many photos as you want.
•Final decisions on suitable photos will be made by the awesome WSGS Blog Team.
•There’s no prize if your photo is chosen – just the satisfaction that your photo is being showcased on a blog viewed by hundreds of enthusiastic genealogists.
•There’s no firm deadline to submit photos, just keep ‘em coming. We want to rotate lots of photos to keep the blog fresh.

To submit your photo, please email the image (jpg only, please); what, where, when, and by whom the photo was taken to WSGSBlog@wasgs.org.

Got questions? Email the blog team at WSGSBlog@wasgs.org.

Tuesday Trivia

by Charles Hansen

I think it was said in days of yore, “if it ain’t in the Sears Roebuck catalog, you don’t need it.”  I’m old enough to remember pouring over a S&R catalog, especially the toy catalog at Christmas time! Bet you did too.

I bought this little paperback for 25-cents at a roadside junque sale. It’s been such fun browsing the pages……..but only in strong light and with a magnifying glass for it’s teeny print/pictures.

This 1909 catalog offered everything:  Pianos, corsets, guns, sofas, typewriters, rocking chairs, “quick cures for dyspepsia,” violins, diamond rings, watchmakers’ tools, shoes (ohmygoshthewomensshoesAWFUL), and “the highest grade steel range” for $22.43 (plus postage? and you know how HEAVY they were).

Did I mention fishing hooks, men’s shirts, lamps, dishes, crucifixes, “Parisian depilatory” (for 58 cents), blacksmith tools…………… well,you get the idea.

A genuine stroll-through-time as I browse those 900-pages of goods offered in 1909 by Messrs. Sears and Roebuck.

Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State DNA Successes

by Charles Hansen

Dear Genealogy Friends,

 

You are invited to attend our upcoming free genealogy event, on
Monday evening, December 10, 2018.

 

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State is pleased to present our December meeting program

 

“DNA Successes–Despite Endogamy!”

presented by Lara Diamond, Genealogist/Blogger/Speaker

 

DATE: Monday, December 10, 2018

LDS Factoria Church Building
4200 124th Ave SE

Bellevue, WA 98006

(just off I-90 and I-405)

  • Doors open at 6:30 p.m., for all to enjoy the extensive JGSWS Library’s genealogical resources and, available again, the LDS Family History Center computers and database programs!
  • Free Wi-Fi available and come early to network with other attendees
  • Presentation starts promptly at 7:15 p.m.
  • Free admission and refreshments

 

ABOUT OUR PROGRAM: “”DNA Successes–Despite Endogamy!””

Genetic genealogy is much more complicated when dealing with endogamous populations than the general population, and many people get frustrated when trying to identify actual relatives from the mass of genetic cousins, who are actually related in many ways quite far back. Learn how you can have success when dealing with endogamy by examining stories from the speaker’s own family’s DNA, which include reuniting with branches thought killed in the Holocaust.

 

ABOUT OUR SPEAKER

Lara Diamond is President of Jewish Genealogical Society of Maryland and has been researching her family for 25 years. She has traced all branches of her family back to Europe and most multiple generations back in Europe using Russian Empire-era and Austria-Hungarian Empire records. Most of her research is in modern-day Ukraine, with a smattering of Belarus and Poland. She leads JewishGen’s Subcarpathia SIG, is on the Ukraine Sig board and also runs several town-focused projects to collect documentation to assist all those researching ancestors from common towns. She blogs about her mostly Eastern European research at http://larasgenealogy.blogspot.com.

 

 

Please    by clicking on
https://www.facebook.com/Jewish-Genealogical-Society-of-Washington-State-548090815567964/

 

 

Please visit our website at http://www.jgsws.org to join or to donate to JGSWS to help support the incredible speakers and workshops we bring to you, to view library listings, download handouts, or for more information.  JGSWS is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization. Membership dues and donations are tax deductible.

 

Thank you very much and we look forward to seeing you, your friends and family members!

Karen vanHaagen Campbell
Secretary & Publicity, Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State
www.jgsws.org

 

 

Monday Mystery

by Charles Hansen

Did you know that if Benjamin Franklin had had his way, the turkey would be our national bird and symbol and not the eagle? Quoting from HISTORY News post by Christopher Klein, 16 Nov 2016:

“The story that Franklin proposed the turkey as the national symbol began to circulate in American newspapers around the time of the country’s centennial and are based on a January 26, 1784, letter in which he panned the eagle and extolled the virtues of the gobbler to his daughter, Sarah. In doing so, though, he was not delivering a critique of the Great Seal but a new medal issued by the Society of the Cincinnati, an association of Continental Army veterans. “For my own part I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country,” he wrote. The Founding Father argued that the eagle was “a bird of bad moral character” that “does not get his living honestly” because it steals food from the fishing hawk and is “too lazy to fish for himself.”

“In contrast, Franklin called the turkey “a much more respectable bird” and “a true original native of America.” While he considered the eagle “a rank coward,” Franklin believed the turkey to be “a bird of courage” that “would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on.” While the private letter was a spirited promotion of the turkey over the eagle, Franklin never made his views public, and when the chance had been given to him to officially propose a symbol for the United States eight years earlier, his idea was biblical, not avian.”

How to Post Your News and Events

by Roxanne Lowe

Do you want to broadcast information about your local society, workshop, genealogical tip, or a research query? Just send it to the WSGS Blog and WSGS Meetings and Events! You can reach hundreds of genealogists from around the state. Just email a Word document, text file, PDF or graphic to WSGSBlog@wasgs.org and WebManager@wasgs.org  and we’ll do the rest!

We’re always looking to publicize local events and workshops, feature stories, updates from your society, and other genealogical information that might be of interest to our many subscribers and viewers.

We hope to hear from you soon! And don’t forget to encourage your Society members to subscribe to the Blog for the most up-to-date information from around the state.

You may manage your subscription options from your profile.

Olympia Genealogical Society’s December Meeting

by Charles Hansen

In keeping with our annual tradition, Olympia Genealogical Society’s December  program will consist of 10 minute presentations by several OGS members. This year’s topic is Genealogy’s Oddballs and Quirky Ancestors. It is always fun to hear these personal stories, and we’re sure to have some laughs!

=======================================================================
Joyce T. Ogden
jtogden@comcast.net

Friday Serendipity

by Charles Hansen

Shall we have some plain ole fun today? I gather pondering-points and so today share some with you:

“There is a relation between the hours of our life and the centuries of time.” (Emerson)

“Only in understanding the past an we interpret and use the present for history is not made but unfolded.” (Benjamin Ide Wheeler, 1854-1927)

“I didn’t exaggerate….. I just remember big!”

“I’ve been working on my brick walls and think I’ve chipped off a few bricks.”  (Donna Heine)

“When there is no one in the living world who remembers you, you disappear.” (movie Coco)

“All electronic devices hate people! But humans have the ultimate power….we can pull the plug!!” (Ron Tanner)

“We have intermarried all over the world…..so we are really a one-world family, so why not a one world family tree? We must realize this.”  (Ron Tanner, works for FamilySearch)

“Do you realize you share much the same DNA as a banana?  (Anna Swayne, formerly of Ancestry)

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

by Charles Hansen

TIP OF THE WEEK –
CAUTIONS ON SHARING DATA

It is easy to become lackadaisical and accept research data you have found in a public family tree at face value. Remember to treat information you get from someone else’s family tree as a helpful hint to aid you in your own research. No matter how credible their source citation looks, until you have examined a source yourself, it is just hearsay.

Likewise, don’t put speculative information in your public tree, where it can be perpetuated by others.  A good practice is to have two family trees. A tree you make public should only have substantiated data in it. Research you are still working on, not yet verified, should be in a private tree, your WIP (work in progress) tree, so to speak.

Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

*** NOTICE ***
SGS LIBRARY HOURS ARE CHANGINGBeginning on December 2, 2018,  the Sunday hours of operation for the Seattle Genealogical Society library are changing to 12:00 pm – 3:30 pm. Tuesday through Saturday hours will remain the same, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm.Additionally, the SGS Board has changed the hours for their monthly board meeting. Generally the Board will meet on the 2nd Tuesday of each month from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm.PUGET SOUND
ASSOCIATION OF PROFESSIONAL GENEALOGISTS
MEETING ON DECEMBER 1stPS-APG will meet on Saturday, December 1, from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the SGS Library. All are welcome to attend. Jill Morelli will be presenting a shortened rendition of “The Genealogical Proof Standard According to Sherlock Holmes” in the morning. This is also the Puget Sound – Association of Professional Genealogists’ holiday party. Come join in. Everyone is asked to bring a food item to share with the group.
DIGGING DEEPER: CIVIL WAR WIDOW’S PENSION

Do you have a pension file of your Civil War soldier? Ever wonder why the contents were collected and why your soldier didn’t collect sooner? We will cover the law and its impact on applications, typical contents, what the widow had to do to get the soldier’s pension, how to get the most out of the records by analyzing and correlating the information and how to obtain the pension records, if you haven’t yet. Briefly discussed will be other Civil War documents that may be available on your ancestor. This is a beta test and will be presented by Jill Morelli at the SGS Library on Sunday, December 9, 2018,  from 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm.

SAVE THE DATE
DNA eWorkshop: After the Test
Family History Fanatics
Humble, TX 
Nov 29 – Dec 6 – Dec 13

Family History Fanatics is conducting an online workshop the evenings of Nov 29, Dec 6, and Dec 13. Participants will learn about what they can do with their DNA results after the test and how to start using this powerful genealogical tool.  Six hours of interactive instruction for the early bird price is $24.99 through November 18th and $29.99 thereafter. More details and registration can be found at :  https://www.familyhistoryfanatics.com/dnaworkshop . Feel free to let any of your friends or family know about this workshop. Phone  (346) 704-1433

Japanese Genealogy Seminar,
sponsored by Seattle Genealogical Society,
February 2-3, 2019 

Registration will open December 1, 2018.  Registration is free, but the Seminar and the Train the Trainer sessions are limited to 40 individuals. The registration for the One-on-One sessions will open January 1, 2019. Lunch will be provided for a fee on the first day only.

For more information contact Jill Morelli, President of SGS, at  president@seagensoc.org

This program is generously funded under the Heritage Grant program by 4Culture, a King County arts support agency.

SGS CALENDAR OF EVENTS

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. The library will be closed from November 21-26, 2018 for Thanksgiving. The holiday closure in December will be from December 21, 2018 through January 1, 2019.

NOVEMBER

Saturday, November 17, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Irish SIG, with Jean Roth
Saturday, November 17, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, German SIG, with Jean Roth
DECEMBER

Saturday, December 1, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Canadian SIG, come join David Robert, group leader, for help researching your Canadian ancestors.

Saturday, December 1, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Family Tree Interest Group, Lou Daly is leader of this special interest group exploring all the features of the tool Family Tree on FamilySearch.org
Saturday, December 1, 10:00 am – 2:00 pm, Puget Sound – Association of Professional Genealogists, meeting and Holiday Party. Everyone welcome. A presentation, “The Genealogical Proof Standard According to Sherlock Holmes”, by Jill Morelli in the AM. Bring a treat to share with the group.

Saturday, December 8, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, SGS Holiday Social Gathering
ing
Sunday, December 9, 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm, Digging Deeper  Workshop: Civil War Widow’s Pension,  with Jill Morelli

 

GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News

by Charles Hansen
GFO Logo Halo 2 Large

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s

Thursday Evening

E-News Edition

November 15, 2018

Curious about the status of your GFO Membership?

We’d love to have you as a GFO Member!

For more information visit www.gfo.org, contact us at info@gfo.org, or call our library at 503-963-1932.

Be sure to check the complete GFO CALENDAR.
Also, don’t miss the current issue of The Forum Insider
***

Join GFO for #GivingTuesday!
GivingTueday 2018 v2

On #GivingTuesday, most non-profits are asking for monetary donations — and GFO would never turn those down — but this is our annual appeal for your TIME.

This year we’ll be attempting a partial inventory of our books. We want to discover what’s missing AND get the books in the correct order on the shelves. People will work in teams, and there will be some book labeling for those who can’t stand to do shelf reading.

Non-members can earn a free pass to the library so they can research on another day.

We will bring in food to fortify us, so please give a few hours or make a day of it!
***

Come Learn How to Write Your Own Family Story!
GenTalk-Hallman-11-17-18

The job of the journalist and that of the genealogist are surprisingly similar: we both research the facts and the context of people. And then we tell their stories!

Genealogists tend to focus more on the research. So what do journalists bring to the table?? Journalists add the reporting element that can help genealogist share their stories with others.

Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Hallman, Jr., of The Oregonian knows a thing or two about journalism, and he is coming to the GFO to share his insights with us this weekend!

Join us for this amazing GenTalk at the GFO this Saturday, November 17th at 2 p.m.

All our GenTalks are free and open to the public.
***

Would you like to be a part of GFO’s Open House?
Open House Ford Building

GFO’s 2019 Open House is right around the corner. Mark you calendars for March 23rd through 31st!

We are looking for presenters to give 50-minute sessions on any topic that may be of interest to beginning genealogists.

Opening weekend: Saturday will be devoted to Irish research and is being planned by the Irish Special Interest Group. Sunday will be a Beginners’ Boot Camp.

The closing Saturday and Sunday will be DNA Days planned by Emily Aulicino and team and will feature a very special guest. Stay tuned for more information.

The theme on Wednesday will be finding biological family and additional participants are being sought. There will be panel discussions and presentations relating to questions about whether to search for biological family. There will also be resources available on topics such as how to make first contact. If you are an adoptee, a biological parent, or someone seeking a biological relation and would like to share your views or provide a presentation, please contact laurel.smith@gfo.org.

There are lots of presentation spots open on Monday and Tuesday, as well as some on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Again, if you can participate by leading a session at GFO’s 2019 Open House, please send a message to laurel.smith@gfo.org.

Presenters will be compensated with profuse gratitude! GFO will print and provide any handouts for attendees.

We don’t know of any other genealogical organization that provides a 9-day event, packed with content, absolutely FREE to all attendees. But we need your help to make it happen!
***

Support GFO with Your Holiday Shopping This Year
Amazon Smile Logo

Link up with these great Rewards Programs to donate to GFO when you shop!
FredMeyer-GFO

Through a one-time link, you can trigger an automatic donation to GFO every time you make purchases through the Fred Meyer Community Rewards Program, AmazonSmile, and Family Tree DNA.
FamilyTreeDNA Rewards Program

The best part is that linking your Rewards Programs will not diminish any benefits or rewards you already receive.

As always, thank you for all you do for GFO!
***

This week at GFO …
desk-calendar-12992149

SATURDAY, November 17th

Genealogical Problem Solvers 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.

GPS is a monthly support group where we help each other find information about a family line. We will learn to do a reasonably exhaustive search and develop research plans. The focus will shift depending on the needs of the group. Several experienced researchers have volunteered to help. Beginners and intermediate researchers are encouraged to submit problems to work on. For more information contact Katie Daly at GPS@gfo.org.

GenTalk 2 – 3 p.m.

Presenter: Tom Hallman, senior reporter for The Oregonian

On March 4, 2018, you may have read “Della’s Lost Letter,” and wondered about the methods Tom used to locate her, and the other principals in the story. Learn how reporters find people for their stories (sound familiar, genealogists?) and get some writing/storytelling tips from a Pulitzer Prize winner.

Tom Hallman Jr., a senior reporter for The Oregonian, was born and raised in Portland and graduated from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa in 1977. He’s worked at a car wash, a grocery store, a greyhound race track and was a volunteer at a VA hospital. He won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing.

SUNDAY, November 18th

Library Work 9:00 a.m. – Noon

There’s another work party at the GFO library today for those of you who can come. There’s lots to do and we’d love to have 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.

Family Tree Maker Users’ Group 1 – 3 p.m.

Join other users who want to work through the 2017 Companion Guide to Family TreeMaker. Bring your laptop with 2017 version of FTM installed – build 1-480 of FTM installed. Facilitated by Joyce Grant-Worley. Questions? Email FTM@gfo.org.

French Canada Group 3:30 – 5 p.m.

Sharing stories of our history. Come and join this group to learn more about French Canadian ancestry and Acadia. This group leader is Bob LaMarche. Send him a note at FrCan@gfo.org.

WEDNESDAY, November 21st

Library Closes at 1 p.m.

THURSDAY, November 22nd

Library Closed for Thanksgiving Holiday

Please note, our Thursday Evening E-News will be sent out on Friday.