GSSWI has cancelled the Monday, Feb. 11, 2019 presentation about the DAR due to the weather conditions.
The DAR presentation will has been moved to March 11, 2019.
Hope to see you then.
Maureen MacDonald President, GSSWI
It’s Time to Recognize our Wonderful Volunteers!
Nominations for the WSGS Awards program opened on Feb. 1, 2019. Information on how to recommend a volunteer, team, communication or special genealogist are available on the WSGS website, www.wasgs.org . Applications for awards are open until March 30th.
Does Your Society need Financial Assistance?
Applications for Grants and Educational Assistance are now open! Details are available for both programs on the WSGS website, www.wasgs.org . Applications are open until March 30th!
Do you have a little something like this in the box of “old stuff” from Great Aunt Gertrude?? Any idea what it was used for?
All during the 1800s, women had long hair and when they brushed their hair, and long strands clogged the hairbrush, they’d pull it from the brush and stuff it into boxes like the one above. So what for, you ask?
During the 1800s, women would then take that hair and fashion it into astounding art such as the one above. Hair keeps its color but does become brittle with time. So such masterpieces were kept under glass.
Think of the time such intricate work took! And the ladies did not have those magnifying lights like we use today for crafts.
Greetings SVGS Member(s) and the Genealogy Community:
The SVGS board of directors has decided to cancel the Saturday,
February 9 monthly meeting at the Burlington Public Library.
Snow and icy conditions are predicted for Friday night (Feb. 8) and
Saturday morning (Feb. 9) creating potentially hazardous driving
conditions due to very cold overnight temperatures.
So we will now look forward to seeing you next at the Sat. March 9 meeting from 1-3pm at the Burlington Library for “I Remember Mama – I Just Don’t Remember Her Maiden Name.” Mary Kircher Roddy is the guest genealogist/speaker. She will discuss how to trace the female line in your family tree and how to get around the challenges of not knowing your female ancestor’s maiden name.
Until then, be safe out there on the roads and Happy Researching!
If you have questions you may contact me/Margie at: 360-757-6224 or
rootsproject@frontier.com.
Any dachshund lovers out there? We are legion!
My sweet little Tika has her own Facebook page (Tika Thinks) which she tends well even without thumbs to type. Her hero is Crusoe the Celebrity Dachsund whose YouTube videos are a hoot.
What has this to do with genealogy today? Absolutely nothing…….. BUT our doggers have enriched our lives since Day One. To that I’m sure you would agree. What sort of dear beastie did your ancestor have???
The companion bill to the Senate Bill 5332 on closing vital records is House Bill # 1550. The house has had the first reading of that bill and it does not have a scheduled date for public hearing. If you hit on comments and fill in your address it will bring up your representative and you can send him a comment on the bill.
Health Care and Wellness Committee members. I did not find their E-Mails, Sorry
Cody, Eileen (D) Chair 303 John L. O’Brien Building (360) 786-7978
Macri, Nicole (D) V Chair311 John L. O’Brien Building (360) 786-7826
Schmick, Joe (R)Minority Member 426B Legislative Building (360) 786-7844
Caldier, Michelle(R)AsstMinority Member122H Legislative Building(360) 786-7802
Chambers, Kelly (R) 426 John L. O’Brien Building (360) 786-7948
Davis, Lauren (D) 369 John L. O’Brien Building (360) 786-7910
DeBolt, Richard (R) 425A Legislative Building (360) 786-7896
Harris, Paul (R) 426A Legislative Building (360) 786-7976
Jinkins, Laurie (D) 320 John L. O’Brien Building (360) 786-7930
Maycumber, Jacquelin (R)425B Legislative Building (360) 786-7908
Riccelli, Marcus (D) 434A Legislative Building (360) 786-7888
Robinson, June (D) 332 John L. O’Brien Building (360) 786-7864
Stonier, Monica Jurado(D)331 John L. O’Brien Building (360) 786-7872
Thai, My-Linh (D) 424 John L. O’Brien Building (360) 786-7926
Tharinger, Steve (D) 314 John L. O’Brien Building (360) 786-7904
Perhaps this will be a “mystery solved” post for you all. Have you, like me, seen small stones places atop of tombstones or other grave markers? Know why that is and how the custom began? Apparently it’s an ancient Jewish tradition to put a small stone on a grave as a token of remembrance. Case in point, the grave of Oskar Schindler in Jerusalem:
When you next visit a cemetery and observe small stones on graves, or think to leave one yourself on the marker for a loved one, remember why this is. And perhaps remember Oskar.
| THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News Edition January 31, 2019 |
| 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 503-963-1932. Be sure to check the complete GFO CALENDAR. Also, don’t miss the current issue of The Forum Insider |
| What’s New at GFO? |
| What do Saxe Gotha Neighbors, North Carolina Wills, Lithuanian Jewish Communities, and Mayflower Source Records have in common? They’re all among 21 of our recent acquisitions. Our library committee regularly evaluates donated books, books available for trade, and those we might wish to purchase to enhance certain areas of our collection. Be sure to check out our “New Books” shelves to see the latest additions to the GFO Library. |
| GFO Stars: Endowment Committee |
| Marti Dell, Anita Lustenberger, Doug Henne, and Marty Krauter (left to right) Our newest GFO Stars are Marti Dell, Anita Lustenberger, Doug Henne, and Marty Krauter. All of the members of GFO’s Endowment Committee have served multiple terms. As part of their service, the Endowment Committee has done a wonderful job of managing GFO’s assets and growing the investments. For your many years of service and your continued stewardship, we thank you! |
| Seminar: Genetic Genealogy in Practice |
|
Our
friends at the Olympia Genealogical Society invite you to their 2019
Spring Seminar featuring genetic genealogist Blaine Bettinger. The seminar will be held on Saturday, March 30 in Olympia, Washington. Topics include: * Using Autosomal DNA for 18th and 19th Century Mysteries * Using Third Party Tools to Analyze Your Autosomal DNA * The Danger of Distant Matches * Mapping Your Chromosomes Using DNA Painter For more information go to the Olympia Genealogical Society website at https://olygensoc.org. |
| Only Surviving Arabic Slave Narrative in U.S. Digitized by Library of Congress |
| We know that a handful of slaves in the 1800s wrote autobiographies of their experience. Only one was written in Arabic in the U.S. and is known to survive to this day. According to Smithsonian Magazine, that Arabic memoir of a slave sold in Charleston, South Carolina, is now fully digitized and available at the Library of Congress. “Omar Ibn Said was leading a prosperous life in West Africa at the turn of the 19th century, devoting himself to scholarly pursuits and the study of Islam, when he was captured, carted across the globe, and sold as a slave in Charleston, South Carolina.” After being in America for 50 years, Said died in 1864, one year before slavery was legally abolished. “To have [the manuscript] preserved at the Library of Congress and made available to everyday people and researchers across the world will make this collection an irreplaceable tool for research on Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries,” says Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, one that she predicts will further “shed light on the history of American slavery.” |
| Womens’ Hats Could Help You Decipher Old Family Photos |
| Do any women in your old family photos wear hats? The Minnesota Historical Society has archived 717 hat styles that could help you figure out when the picture was taken. Hat tip to genealogy blogger Gail Dever for writing about this. You can read her full story here. Dever notes, “The hats range from straw hats worn in the 1860s to pink pussy hats women wore during women’s marches in 2017.” The society doesn’t have a page set up to find just hats, but they did provide this link with filters that will take you to a display of this hat collection. |
| This week at GFO … |
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SATURDAY, February 2nd Virginia Group 10 a.m. – noon From Institutes to Webinars: Genealogy Education Join
us for a discussion of educational opportunities to enhance your
genealogical experience. We all know that genealogy is much more than
adding names and dates to a list, but organizing, interpreting, and
analyzing the information we find can be a challenge. There are
educational opportunities to enhance any level of experience, and in all
price ranges, including no cost. We’ll explore many of those
opportunities, and have people available who have taken advantage of
many of them to answer any question you might have. For more information see our blog: “Virginia Roots and Vines” Questions? Email the facilitators, Judi Scott and Carol Surrency, at Virginia@gfo.org. German Group 1 – 3 p.m. Speaker: Emily Aulicino Topic: How she was able to trace her ancestors back to the 1500s. Index: A. German 16 states: #2 Bavaria B. Valentine’s Day German recipes C. Online heritage books / Ortsfamilienbücher D. Update on the 2020 census E. Conferences, etc. SUNDAY, February 3rd Manuscripts Work Party 9 a.m. – noon Explore our manuscript, personal papers, and Bible collection while we organize, scan, and create finding aids. Drop by at the time that works for you. Questions? Send a note to manuscripts@gfo.org. MONDAY, February 4th Free First Monday! 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Come visit our research library each first Monday of every month and splurge on all GFO’s wonderful resources for FREE. Explore our online databases like Fold3, Ancestry World Library Edition, Newspapers.com, and many more. Our analog and microfilm collections total over 50,000 items. Don’t miss out! WEDNESDAY, February 6th Learn & Chat 10 a.m. – noon At Learn & Chat some of the learning comes from speakers with particular expertise, but most of it comes from the sharing of experiences and knowledge of attendees who have developed methods that work for them. And if you have been doing genealogy for any length time, you have likely experienced the wonderful moments of exhilaration, the successes that you then share with others and that drive you to continue researching. Unfortunately, those times can be few and far between. Join us to talk about your genealogy questions and help provide support to others. Facilitated by Jeanne Quan and Sandy Alto. DNA Q&A 1 – 3 p.m. Lisa McCullough will be available to help answer your DNA questions, whether you are new and just getting started or have more involved questions. Questions? Send a note to the group’s leader at dna_qa@gfo.org. |
JEFFERSON COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY (JCGS)
Contact for this release: Judy Tough 360-385-3065 or tough@olympus.net
FOR RELEASE: February, 2019
FAN Club
Are you a member of a FAN Club? The FAN Club (Friends, Associates and Neighbors) was coined by Elizabeth Shown Mills as a way to search those who ‘clustered’ around your ancestor. Learning more about an ancestor’s FAN Club is a great way to discover new information about your direct ancestry, as these people are often listed together in deeds, wills, newspaper articles, church records and more.
The public is invited to attend this FREE presentation at the Jefferson County Genealogical Society (JCGS) on Saturday, February 16, 9:30 – 11:30 a.m. at the Tri Area Community Center, 10 W. Valley Rd, Chimacum. Donations are welcomed and appreciated.
Our presenter, Diane Young, is a member of JCGS, has a B.A. and M.S. in Business. She taught at the college and university levels for over 30 years. She has been working on her own Swedish and Czech ancestry and her husband’s Scottish ancestry for over 40 years.
GREAT NEWS FOR SGS!
4Culture has renewed our Sustained Support Grant for the next two years. 4Culture is a tax-exempt public development authority (PDA) run by King County. Sustained Support grants assist with the day-to-day needs of arts, heritage, and preservation organizations such as Seattle Genealogical Society. A portion of the lodging tax revenues collected in King County provides all of the funding for the grants.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR SGS MEMBERS
The SGS Board has recently reviewed the Bylaws and found a need for some updating. Bylaw changes require a vote of the membership. Below is a link to the proposed changes – we will be asking the membership for a vote on these changes sometime before the next election period. Please take a moment and look them over and stay tuned for more information regarding your vote!
Proposed Bylaws Changes 2019
SGS MEMBERSHIP MEETING
SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2019
12:30 PM
The SGS Spring Membership Meeting will be Saturday, March 9th at 12:30 PM, right before the 2nd Saturday Speaker Series presentation.
We will once again review the proposed changes to the Society’s ByLaws and also discuss the slate of nominees for the Board of Directors in 2019-2020.
Names of nominees being accepted. If you have a suggest contact nominations@seattlegenealogicalsociety.org
CALL FOR SGS BOOTH VOLUNTEERS FOR
MARCH 16 & 17
Volunteers are needed to staff the SGS Booth, pass out brochures, and answer questions at the Irish Week Festival at Seattle Center Armory on Saturday, March 16 & Sunday, March 17. Each volunteer will be scheduled for a 2 hour stint in the booth. If you can help on either day, please contact Jean Roth at 206 782-2629 or jeanaroth@juno.com
While you are down there, you’ll have time to enjoy some of the cultural exhibits and the Irish dancing. This festival is fun for the entire family and a great way to spend St Patrick’s Day.
SAVE THE DATE
FREE JAPANESE GENEALOGY SEMINAR
with Linda Harms Okazaki
February 2-3, 2019
Seattle Public Library,
1000 4th Ave, Seattle, WA
SGS is proud to sponsor one of the first seminars in the region to assist those interested in learning how to research Japanese-Americans heritage. While the program is free, registration is required. Hurry, sign up now.
Entry level family historians are encouraged to attend Saturday’s all-day program “Exploring Our Nikkei Genealogy” geared toward novice researchers.
Intermediate and advanced level researchers are encouraged to attend Sunday morning’s program “Japanese American Research for Genealogists”.
Click this link to register online: Register for SGS Japanese Genealogy Seminar
Strategies for Breaking Down Brick Walls,
With Mary Kozy,
Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State,
LDS Factoria Church Building
4200 124th Ave SE
Bellevue, WA 98006
Monday, February 11, 7:15 pm
Doors open at 6:30 pm for all to enjoy the extensive JGSWS library’s genealogical resources. Free Wi-Fi, admission, and refreshments. Come early to network with other attendees. Presentation starts promptly at 7:15 pm.
Beyond the Basics in Irish Genealogy,
Fairview Christian School,
844 NE 78th St,
Seattle, WA 98115
Saturday, March 23, 10:00 am
An all day seminar with speakers Steven Morrison and Jean A Roth. Information and registration will be through the Irish Heritage Club of Seattle website :
The ABCs of DNA Genealogy,
With Janet O’Conor Camarata,
Mercer Island Library,
4400 88th Ave SE,
Mercer Island, WA
Thursday, March 28, 7-8 pm
Genealogist Janet O’Conor Camarata provides tips and tools for selecting and interpreting DNA results from a variety of health and ancestry DNA providers, like Ancestry, FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe and more. Designed for the non-technical, genealogy oriented audience. Please register. Sponsored by the Friends of the Mercer Island Library, in partnership with Mercer Island Historical Society.
Registration link: https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/events/5c350f9b48fd702a009916d9
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.
FEBRUARYSaturday, February 2, 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
Sunday, February 3, 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, February 9, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, Second Saturday Speakers Series – “Using Manuscripts and Family Records for Genealogical Proof” with Steven Morrison
Saturday, February 16, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Irish SIG, Jean Roth, leader
Saturday, February 16, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, German SIG, Jean Roth, leader
MARCHSaturday, March 2, 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
Sunday, March 3, 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 9, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, (FTM) FAMILY TREE Maker Users Group,
co-leaders Reiley Kidd & Jess Ramey, meets on the 2nd Saturday of
every odd month (Jan 2019, Mar 2019, May 2019). Family Tree Maker is the
genealogy software long associated with Ancestry.com
Saturday, March 9, 12:30 pm-1:00 pm, Seattle Genealogical Society Membership Meeting, important meeting – discuss proposed bylaw changes and board nominees
Saturday, March 9, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, Second Saturday Speakers Series – “Finding Your Female Ancestors” with Lisa Oberg
Saturday, March 30, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm, DNA SIG , this group meets quarterly at Wedgwood Presbyterian Church, 8008 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115, co-chaired by Cary Bright & Herb McDaniel. For more info contact SGSDNASIG@gmail.com