Wednesday Nostalgia

by Charles Hansen

Among many others, I’ve been “Scribing” or helping to index Washington records with SCRIBE, the indexing program of the Washington State Archives. As I’m working, I cannot help but think “what happened to THAT family, to THOSE people?” Recently I indexed the family of Leander Monson who in 1904 and 1906 (according to the school censuses) lived in Langley, Island County, Washington. Doing a little Ancestry supplemental research I learned about the Monsons.

Leander Otto Monson (1854-1908) and his wife, Emma Johansson (1861-1934) were both born in Switzerland; they married near Chicago. He was a farmer and ended up in Langley having Esther, Elvira, Arthur, Ernest, Florence and Carl.

The stories of our ancestor’s migrations are wonderful to imagine and/or to find and read.


New Blog Banner Photos Posted

by Roxanne Lowe

Have you noticed the Blog banner changes every time you visit? The photos are submitted by readers like you — and Sue Schack Jensen, Library Director at the Seattle Genealogical Society. Sue recently sent us two beautiful scenic photos:

  • Puget Sound and the Olympics from Myrtle Edwards Park, Seattle.
  • Olympic Mountains from the top of Capitol Hill, Seattle (pictured at right).

We’re always looking for scenic photos of our beautiful state for the rotating photo gallery on the blog banner. It’s easy — just send a Washington State jpg image to wsgsblog@wasgs.org with a description of the photo. The blog masters will take care of the rest!

Okanogan County Gen Soc Uses Their Innovative Grant

by Roxanne Lowe

 The Okanogan County Genealogical Society recently completed their Book Repair and Preservation project funded, in part, by WSGS’s Innovative Grant program.

On December 31, 2018, OCGS member Phil Brown completed repairs of the “Tonasket Times Newspapers” years 1913 – 1952.  Each of the 22 oversized books, which are located at the Okanogan County Historical Society, took five rolls of a specialized archival document repair tape.

The restoration project began in December 2017 and took almost 200 volunteer hours and 1,230 volunteer miles.

Besides the Okanogan County Genealogical Society, the four other successful 2018 grant winners were:

More information about the Innovative Grant program, including deadlines, will be available soon.

Kudos to WSGS Regional Rep Patty Olsen

by Roxanne Lowe

WSGS Regional Representative Patty Olsen has been working with the Columbia Gorge Genealogical Society to revitalize their society. In the most recent issue of their “Tales and Trails” newsletter, the society thanked her for her energy and enthusiasm. 

Thank You, Patty Olsen! Our society would like to thank Patty Olsen from the Washington State Genealogical Society for her help in the past year.  She has brought new ideas and energy to our group. We are a small society with various hurdles to leap from time to time and she gave us some new insight for a more productive society.  She really knows her stuff!! Thank You, Patty!

For more information about Regional Representatives, click here.

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society Family Search Wiki

by Charles Hansen

The Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society (BIGS) presents Family Search: WAYS WITH THE WIKI on Friday, January 18 2019, at 10am to noon at the Bainbridge Island Pubic Library.  The presenter is Joleen Aitchison, BIGS member, noted Puget Sound researcher and expert on the Family History Library. Learn how best to use the FHL WIKI to navigate the internet and further your genealogical research. Free to members, a $5.00 donation is suggested for nonmembers. For more information go to https://bigenealogy.org/. BIGS is a 501c(3) non-profit organization. Parking available in the Madison Ave lot and the High School Road lot.

Tuesday Trivia

by Charles Hansen

Did you know that Washington’s Mount Baker holds the U.S. record for the most snowfall in a single season??? Yepper, back in the winter of 1998-1999, some 95 feet of snow fell in that one winter! That would cover your house, right?

(Thanks to the Essentials of Geology, 2003, by Lutgens, Tarbuck and Tasa.)

Monday Mystery

by Charles Hansen

As the New Year begins, I wish to thank all of you, dear readers. It’s a continuing “mystery” and source of wonderment to me that you still think my ramblings are worth your time.

Here’s a big Thank You Cake (non-calorie, gluten-free) for each of you! Thank you, thank you!!

GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News

by Charles Hansen
THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News Edition January 3, 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
You’re Amazing!
We Made Our Fundraising Goal! We can’t thank you enough. The GFO needed big support, and you came through! We needed to raise $25,000, and you made it happen before the turn of the new year. Our costs continue to rise yet member dues cover only 24% of our budget. Donations literally make the difference in whether we can keep going.
Thank you! Preserving and Sharing Heritage since 1946.
We Got the Gold!
We are pleased to report that the GFO has now achieved the Gold Seal of Transparency from GuideStar. GuideStar is the world’s largest source of information on nonprofit organizations. We are committed to transparency. By adding information about our goals, strategies, capabilities, achievements, and progress indicators, we are highlighting the difference we help to make in the world.
Mac Users Learn Your Apple Apps
The Portland Macintosh Users Group is excited to meet at the Genealogical Forum of Oregon LIbrary. Join us on Wednesday, January 9, 2019. The class will be about the trio of applications (Pages, Numbers, & Keynote) which are included on all current Apple operating systems.
This class is FREE for PMUG members and GFO members who use Macintosh computers.
• Learn how to use Apple’s free apps for creating written documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
• The Pages App is an easy-to- use word processor and comes with great-looking templates for creating business cards, flyers and newsletters.
• Use the Numbers App to manage your information and perform automatic numeric calculations.
• The Keynote App makes beautiful slideshows and many other kinds of presentations.
• These apps also make it easy to export and share with others who use the Microsoft Office family of applications. To register: Call 503-228-1779 or email: college@pmug.org.
4 Speakers, 1 Conference, No Travel Needed
Would you like to attend a DNA Genealogy conference without the expense of travel? Family History Fanatics are offering a full-day Winter DNA eConference available online, including Tim Janzen, a familiar speaker at our GFO DNA Special Interest Groups. You’ll SEE the difference in this conference as your presenters will open the live chat throughout their sessions and turn on their cameras. Register by Jan. 18th for a discount.
Strike it Rich with Connections 2 Discoveries
The 2019 International German Genealogy Conference is a unique three-day event June 15-17 in Sacramento. Discounted conference registration ends in two weeks, after January 15, 2019. Details on the conference, online registration, and hotel accommodations are on the International German Genealogy Partnership website. An all-star cast of presenters from the United States, Germany, Austria, Australia, Israel, and Brazil will share their expertise in German genealogical research techniques, tools and more. This conference is hosted by the Sacramento German Genealogy Society (SGGS) and supported by a consortium of Germanic Genealogy Societies across the Golden State. The International German Genealogy Partnership (IGGP) comprises more than 100 organizations around the world. IGGP’s mission is “… to facilitate German genealogy research globally as the internationally-recognized federation of German genealogy organizations.”
A “living” German Guidebook
Here’s a great resource for German research. Under the title “Woher stammt meine Familie?” (English: Where does my family come from?) the Foundation Flucht, Vertreibung, Versöhnung in Berlin has published a German language PDF document as a guide to research that can be downloaded at their website. This “living” guidebook is in German, but it provides so many links to online sources, hints, current addresses, and so on—it should be on people’s radar. While the focus is on Germans displaced in the 1940s, the archives and resources provided may be useful to many.
This week at GFO …
SATURDAY, January 5th Virginia Group 10 a.m. – noon Land Records – Part II For this session, we will focus on deeds records and the benefits of using them for genealogy. We will discuss the types of deeds and the language of deeds. Over time, laws were enacted pertaining to real property and inheritance; knowing about those laws will help to interpret the deeds we find. We will discuss the value of using land records, and have many examples of how to use them for your research. For more information see our blog: “Virginia Roots and Vines”. Research in Virginia can be difficult, with the complication of burned counties, as well as the ordinary difficulties of using historical documents. But it is not impossible. We discuss the history of Virginia and explore various methods to do sound genealogy research. We hope to foster collaboration among our many Virginia researchers and work on our varied research problems, our brick walls, together. Each month we will have a discussion or presentation on a topic related to our research. There will also be time each meeting for discussion, suggestions, and perhaps research on individual research. We’ll also explore the settlement of Kentucky, the Carolinas and Tennessee. Facilitators: Judi Scott and Carol Surrency can be reached at Virginia@gfo.org. German Group 1 – 3 p.m. Topic: #1. Lew Ebner has a wonderful German video to show us along the Rhine River.
Topic #2. It’s a new year. Think of one place you are researching, and let’s all help each other fill in the pieces or at least a piece of the puzzle. Hoffentlich! / Hopefully! The German Interest Group was formed in the spring of 2011. It is intended to be a source of information and inspiration for anyone with German speaking ancestors. One goal is to provide information on a variety of topics related to Germanic history and migration. We also will provide time for members to share their research journeys and connect with others who may be researching the same region or time period. The group meets at the GFO Library on the 1st Saturday of every month. Questions? Email the group facilitators at German@gfo.org. SUNDAY, January 6th 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, January 7th 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 some 49,000 items. Don’t miss out! TUESDAY, January 8th Beginners’ Boot Camp 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (Registration is now closed.) Laurel Smith leads a day of beginning genealogy. There will be sessions about the census, vital records, immigration and naturalization, discussions about genealogy software and database use, organizing your research and more — all geared toward beginners. WEDNESDAY, January 9th PMUG College 6 – 8 p.m. Apple Apps: Pages, Numbers & Keynote See all the details above for this week’s class! To register: Call 503-228-1779 or email: college@pmug.org. Bring your Mac to participate with instruction. If you would like additional information for attending this class, please email us at college@pmug.org.
(Note, updates may be sent for interruption of services due to weather, etc.)