Friday Serendipity

Apathy has a lot going for it.

It is easy to catch and is painless. You can ignore it and nothing happens. The stronger it gets the less you feel the need to do anything about it.

It becomes most noticeable when it begins to spread over a large area. When it does, the individual usually feels it belongs to someone else.

Another appealing thing about apathy is the warm glow of nothingness it gives.

The temptation is to leave it alone and hope it will go away. With this attitude, it may stay for a long, long time.

Apathy demands a special treatment for it will not go away alone.

The treatment starts with a good dose of involvement followed by long periods of action.

It may be had to get a confirmed apathetic to take the cure. And then, likely, it isn’t permanent.

Action must be rewarded while apathy is to be condemned. Since it is easier to condemn than to praise, it stands to reason that apathy is here to stay. It is needed by those who would rather condemn than act.

Apathy has a lot going for it, but action is more fun. It must be. Have you ever heard anyone say, “Let’s go where the apathy is??”

(Sorry, source unknown to me.)

GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News

Jul19 by Charles Hansen

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s

Thursday Evening

E-News, Edition

18 July 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.

For a complete GFO CALENDAR click here.

The current Insider newsletter awaits you HERE.

A GFO member’s ancestor inherited land in Kansas, sold it, and used some of the money to send his wife and children to California. They made it. He never arrived.

Was he murdered?
Did he die of pneumonia?
Did he take the rest of the inheritance and split on his own?

Learn what our experts found at this week’s Genealogy Problem Solvers. This free meeting is Saturday, July 21th, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the GFO library.

Remember, all our Special Interest Groups are free and open to the public!

Preserving Our Black History

“The physical vestiges of these communities are gradually disappearing.” The Washington Post reminds us of the importance the physical locations of African American homesteads have in our collective memory. Read the full article HERE.

What is DNA Research Missing?

This article by the Wall Street Journal explores both sides of DNA research for African Americans. Hot Tip: Don’t have a Wall Street Journal subscription? Search for “Wall Street Journal” at Multnomah County Library’s website, click on “Resource: Wall Street Journal,” then put in your Multnomah County Library card information to login, and search for the article title “For Some African-Americans, Genetic Testing Reopens Past Wounds” and finally, click on “Full Text” to read this article!

The Seattle Times’s Riveting Story of DNA Surprises

Read all about this case of how Ancestry.com provided an unexpected family reunion [HERE]. “The Affair, the Son and the Cousin Who Came to Dinner” brings to life the “flesh and bone” of genealogical inquiry.

You’ve probably heard of Cyndi Ingle and her invaluable website, Cyndi’s List.

Now come hear from the guru behind one of the most comprehensive reference lists there is online! GFO is proud to bring Cyndi Ingle in for our Fall Seminar November 3rd and 4th.

Topics include: Ten Resources I Use Every Day, Advanced Googling for Grandma, Unappreciated Treasures, Digital Research Plans, Google Maps & Google Earth and Online Resources for the Western U.S.

Register HERE now!

Elizabeth Stepp serves as an RA, provides content for the Bulletin, and has assisted with the Membership Committee. She stepped into the role of Fundraising Chair, served on our board, and was instrumental in developing successful campaigns such as the one for our electronic microforms reader.

Liz also got the Grants Subcommittee going, helped to establish our diversity and inclusiveness statements as well as other policy-making documentation.

Thank you, Liz! We are so happy to have you as one of our rock-star volunteers.

Rhonda Stone, one of our long-time Research Assistants (RA), has resigned her position with GFO, and it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye.

She began her duties as an RA when we were still located on Gideon Street (oh, the memories!), and has been a weekly Tuesday-morning volunteer since that time. She has worked on many projects while assisting patrons at the library, plus she was on the Board of Directors, representing our Membership Committee.

Rhonda is very active in area lineage societies, being the current Regent of her Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) group, Recording Secretary for the Oregon State DAR Society, and President of Willamette Chapter of the Colonial Dames XVII Century. She is a busy lady and wants to spend more time with her family.

Thank you so much, Rhonda! We will miss you and we wish you much happiness in your further ventures.

Several GFO members are acutely sensitive to fragrances. At a recent special interest group meeting, one person’s perfume or cologne was so strong that a member had to leave.

We ask for your help. Please avoid the use of fragrances before coming to the GFO for research, meetings or volunteer work.

The GFO is now on Twitter!

SATURDAY, July 21st

Genealogy Problem Solvers (GPS) 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.

See details of this month’s topic above!

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 Voting Records: Genealogy’s Best Kept Secret 2 – 3 p.m.

Presenter: Pam Vestal

Looking for a date of birth or death? The date and court of naturalization? Where your ancestor disappeared to, or where he came from? His political outlook? Even what kind of house he lived in? Voting records may have the answer. These often-overlooked gems can be packed with genealogical information, and you won’t believe what they can tell us about our ancestors!

Pam Vestal entered the field of genealogy after a 21-year career as a professional writer. She does genealogical research for clients, has articles published in the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly, and lectures up and down the West Coast.

SUNDAY, July 22nd

Library Work Party 9 a.m. – noon

There’s lots to do and we’d love to have your help! Our work party at the GFO library today begins 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 for Beginners 1 – 3 p.m.

Laurel Smith will be giving her quarterly session on Introduction to Family Tree Maker software. This is a beginning class for Family Tree Maker users and for those considering a purchase. Laurel gives a lively fast-paced description of the program and then takes questions. Our lab class, Family Tree Maker Users’ Group, dealing with the manual in detail will meet again on August 19th.

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

Jul19 by Charles Hansen

TIP OF THE WEEK –
THE BEST SOURCE FOR FINDING
PROBATE CASES & DIVORCE RECORDS
IN KING COUNTY, 1881-1980

The King County Court Cases Index, 1881-1980 (KC3I, for short) is an SGS database, created by SGS volunteers a decade ago.

This database contains every divorce and every probate case that occurred in King County between 1881 and 1980.

So if you have roots in King County, be sure to check this database! All you need to do is to request a search via our website; we typically respond within 24-48 hours.

See the SGS website at http://seattlegenealogicalsociety.org/kc3i for more information, or to complete a look-up request online. This service is free to current SGS members.

One caveat: Because of the source from which it was created, the SGS KC3I is a subset of the Superior Court Cases of King County. Our index was compiled using records collected by the Seattle branch of Chicago Title Company. They were required by law to record every court case that might affect a person’s right to clear title of property. Thus our index includes all probate cases, divorces, and mental competency hearings occurring in King County Superior Court; it does not contain criminal cases, marriages, adoptions, or other types of cases that have no bearing on one’s right to clear title of property.

Remember, too, that this is an INDEX of cases, not the case records themselves; those reside at the King County Court Clerk’s office.

Wednesday Nostalgia

Jul18 by Charles Hansen

You already know me to be a bit quirky (don’t agree too quickly!) but was reading an article about the evolution of the porch on early Colonial Dutch homes. A photo of the Van Cortland Manor House (in New York) looks so much like the Chief Factor’s House at Fort Vancouver, don’t you agree?

So does this prove anything? Well perhaps to a deeper-digging scholar than I am today. But oh so interesting.

Tuesday Trivia

Jul17 by Charles Hansen

Sorry, but this is pure, delightful trivia, especially for a doxie lover like me. Might can you identify??

Monday Mystery

Jul16 by Charles Hansen

Hugs and congrats to Bettie who knew that mystery heart-rock sculpture if to be found in Vancouver, WA. Thanks for reading.

Today’s mystery will have no answer. This is She Who Watches, or Tsagaglalal. She is a pictograph carved high on a basalt bluff off Hwy 14 on the north side of the Columbia. I was lucky enough to be on a group tour 20 years ago where we hiked up to it. Now the ONLY access is by reserved tour groups. Why? Stupid-people-vandalism.

The mystery I learned then is that Lewis & Clark sailed down the Columbia, right under She Who Watches’ watchful eyes but they apparently didn’t see it for no notice appears in their journals. Interesting.

Questions today for you: (1) Have you ever hiked up to see She Who Watches? (2) Know the difference between a pictograph and a petroglyph?

Seattle Genealogical Society News

Jul15 by Charles Hansen

WASHINGTON STATE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
RECOGNIZES REILEY KIDD

Thirty local genealogical society members were honored as Outstanding Volunteers at the Washington State Genealogical Society Annual Meeting in Vancouver, WA, on May 26, 2018.

Congratulations to Reiley Kidd, who was nominated by the Seattle Genealogical Society as our recipient of a 2018 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award! Reiley was selected for his steadfast support of numerous SGS projects.

Reiley has been a member of SGS for over 30 years. He served on our Board of Trustees, as both Secretary and Library Trustee. Under his leadership, the society’s policies and procedures were revamped and the hard files of the organization were placed “in the cloud”. Currently he leads the Family Tree Maker SIG, writes grant applications, and coordinates the KC3I (King County Court Cases Index, 1881 – 1980) queries, handling over 300 requests for case file information.

Committed to giving back to the society for the years of services he participated in, Mr. Kidd likes to “find things for people”, whether it is a King County Court case file number, or helping a prison inmate find the Civil War record of his ancestor.

Mr. Kidd is a respected and diligent member of the SGS, and so richly deserves this recognition. Again, congratulations to Reiley.
HELP WANTED! HELP NEEDED!!

SGS needs more volunteers to man the SGS booth at the 72nd Pacific Northwest Scottish Highland Games, Saturday & Sunday, July 28-29, in Enumclaw. If you can help, please contact Jean Roth, jeanaroth@juno.com or (206) 782-2629.

– COME LISTEN TO THE BAGPIPES – WATCH THE DANCERS –
– HELP SGS PROMOTE GENEALOGY –

ABOUT OUR LIBRARY AND BOOK SALES

The SGS Library has a wonderful team of volunteers doing various work in the Library, from binding books, sorting and cataloging periodicals, archiving donated genealogical collections to scanning and digitization work. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes at our Library every week.

We are fortunate that the Library receives many donations. Sometimes the books donated are duplicates of ones we already have in our collection. If SPL (Seattle Public Library) or Fiske Genealogical Library does not have them in their collection, then we send them to those libraries. If SPL and Fiske do have them, then we put them on our “Book Sale” shelves in the SGS Library for a very good price. This is an excellent way to increase your personal genealogical library by searching through our “Sale Books” shelves to see if there is something that you can use. We NEVER sell any books from our permanent collection, because we want you to be able to come to the Library to use them. Seattle Genealogical Society Library is a useful resource, come in and see us.

We also sell our duplicate books on eBay. Dona Bubelis is a trusted volunteer in the Library who is our eBay Sales Manager. She has generated over $200 year-to-date in sales for the Library. Not only does she put the duplicate books on sale on eBay, she also packages and mails them for us. She spends much time searching to see if these books will be good buys for people. Her work is much appreciated; thank you, Dona.

SAVE THE DATE

72ND Annual Pacific Northwest Scottish Highland Games,
Enumclaw Expo Center,
Enumclaw, WA
SATURDAY, JULY 28 – SUNDAY, JULY 29

Come Hear the Bagpipes – Watch the Dancers – Visit a Clan Booth – Visit the SGS Booth.

2018 Northwest Genealogy Conference,
Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society,
Byrnes Performing Arts Center,
18821 Crown Ridge Blvd,
Arlington, WA
August 15 – 18, 2018

Keynote speakers will be Beth Foulk, CeCe Moore, Peggy Lauritzen, and Amie Bowser Tennant.

Days 2-4 will be packed full of lectures and activities, such as post a surname on the “Cousin Board”; have fun connecting with other attendees you may be related to. On Friday, participate in the optional “Dress As Your Ancestor” day to honor your heritage.

As usual, the first day of this four day conference is designed for beginners and is free (registration required). .

For more details and to register, visit their website:
https://stillygen.org/cpage.php?pt=50
Unlock the Past in Seattle, the “land conference”
Seattle Public Library,
1000 4th Ave, Seattle, WA
Thursday, September 6, 2018

Have you heard of Unlock the Past Cruises, genealogy on the high seas? Their 14th conference cruise will be to Alaska, Sept 7-14, and sail out of Seattle. They have put together an all day, companion “land conference” for September 6. It will be held at the downtown Seattle Public Library and it is open to all – whether on the cruise, or not. Blaine Bettinger, Maurice Gleeson, Cyndi Ingle, and Wayne Shepheard will be the presenters.

If you are interested, see their website :
https://www.unlockthepastcruises.com/

“A Day of Discovery with Lisa Louise Cooke”,
Puget Sound Genealogical Society,
4131 Pine Rd NE (at the Bremerton Elks),
Bremerton, WA
Saturday, September 22, 2018
8:30am – 3:30pm

Cost is $50 for PSGS members / $55 for non-members. Lunch is included and will be catered by the Bremerton Elks. For more information and the registration form see www.pusogensoc.org/psgs/seminar2018

”Harvest Your Family Tree”,
The Kelowna & District Genealogical Society Conference 2018,
Kelowna, BC

Friday, September 28 – Sunday, September 30

There will be plenty to see and learn at one of Western Canada’s largest genealogy conferences – eleven speakers on 31 topics. Featuring Louis Kessler, programmer,
genealogist, member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and Genealogical Speakers Guild (GSG) will be speaking about Double Match Triangulation, the program he developed for autosomal DNA analysis. His program won third place at the 2017 RootsTech Innovator Showdown.

For more on this conference, visit their website :

https://kdgswix.wixsite.com/kdgs

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.

JULY

Saturday, July 21, 10:15am – 12:15pm, Irish SIG, with Jean A Roth
Saturday, July 21, 1:00pm – 3:00pm, German SIG, with Jean A Roth
AUGUST

Sunday, August 12, 10:00 am – 2pm, “Ask the Experts” Event, led by members of the Puget Sound Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (PS-APG). See the article in the June 30, 2018 eNews! for more info. Registration required. Please sign up by Sunday, July 29 using this link: https://goo.gl/forms/voi5DqEZQLFzcjI13

SGS MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL – IT’S NOT TOO LATE!
Join or renew your SGS membership for 2018-19. The fastest way is to use our new onine form and pay with a credit/debit card here: Online SGS Membership form

Or, print out a copy of our membership form and send it with your check to Seattle Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 15329, Seattle WA 98115-0329. Here’s the link: Printable SGS Membership form

Thanks for supporting SGS!

Friday Serendipity

Jul13 by Charles Hansen

This will open your eyes……….. to the sad truth. According to the May/June 2018 issue of Family Tree Magazine, article titled “Heirloom Hand off” by Denise May Levenick, here is a list of

The 10 Least Wanted Heirlooms:

“brown” furniture
china
crystal
silver-plate serve ware
table linen
collectible figurines
collectible teapots, teacups and spoons
chafing dishes and large serving ware
pianos
grandfather clocks

And can you guess why? I think it’s because most of today’s millennial’s do not entertain the way their parents and grandparents did….. big fancy table, cut-work tablecloth, crystal and silver, candlesticks with bobeches and multi-pot-bowl dinners. To entertain that way, you needed the stuff on that list. Who does that sort of entertaining now-a-days? Yes, some but not most.

So if you’ve got great-grandma’s crocheted tablecloth and/or silver knives and forks and/or Limoges china, use it! And if it stains or breaks, oh well. Your kids don’t want it anyway.

GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News

Jul12 by Charles Hansen

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s

Thursday Evening

E-News, Edition

12 July 2018

For more information visit www.gfo.org, contact us at info@gfo.org, or call our library at 503-963-1932. We love hearing from you!

For a complete GFO CALENDAR click here.

Also, if you missed your free copy of our monthly Insider for May 2018, you’re in luck because we saved you a copy HERE. Simply scroll down at THIS page and click on the Insider 2018 May issue.

Curious about the status of your GFO Membership?

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

VOLUNTEER BLITZ! Can you help?

This is an all-hands-on-deck day to get GFO Library’s renumbering project on track. It’ll make the library much easier to use once we are done.

The library will be closed all day Wednesday, August 1st, so we can make some stupendously HUGE progress. We will provide beverages and snacks and laughter and genealogical tidbits throughout the day, completely free!

Won’t you join us and bring a friend? Join us and help whip our library into the best shape it’s ever seen!

Seminar Fall 2018 Ingle-CyndiSm

https://gfo.org/learn/fall-seminar-2018.html

You’ve probably heard of Cyndi Ingle and her invaluable website, Cyndi’s List. Now come hear from the guru behind one of the most comprehensive reference lists there is online! The GFO is proud to bring Cyndi Ingle in for our Fall Seminar November 3 and 4.
Topics include: Ten Resources I Use Every Day, Advanced Googling for Grandma, Unappreciated Treasures, Digital Research Plans, Google Maps & Google Earth and Online Resources for the Western U.S.
Register [HERE] now!

Our hearts go out to our colleagues at the Grays Harbor Genealogical Society in Washington. They lost their library in a devastating fire.

We wanted to help them, so we offered them their pick from our surplus books. They advised they really needed items directly related to their county and only one of our surplus books fit that bill.

However, we also noticed they had a $1,000 fundraising goal online.

We are pleased to report that the GFO Board voted to donate $100 to their fundraising effort, and our contribution put them over the top of their goal. Best wishes to them as they recover!

If you’re an Amazon Prime member, there’s a big day of Prime Sales on Monday and Tuesday, July 16th and 17th.

This would be a great time to make sure you shop through smile.amazon.com. Your shopping makes a big difference!

Amazon donates to Genealogical Forum Of Oregon Inc when you shop Prime Day deals…IF you make sure to name GFO as the organization you want to support.

And don’t forget, this works all year long. Make a habit of going to smile.amazon.com for any of your shopping and GFO will benefit too. Best of it is, this doesn’t increase the prices you pay!

Thank you, as always, for all your continued support!

During the German Special Interest Group (SIG) session last week at GFO, guest speaker Fritz Juengling shared with the attendees that the Community Groups section at FamilySearch.org is now out of beta testing and is live for all to participate. (Free login required.)

These Community Groups can be accessed by going to the HELP menu in the upper right corner of FamilySearch.org’s home page and clicking on COMMUNITY. After signing in you can choose which group(s) you wish to join by going to MORE and clicking on GROUPS. This brings up a list of a little over a hundred groups. We know that’s a small number compared to Rootsweb lists, but the FamilySearch Community Groups currently offer three advantages.

1.	Most importantly they actually function.

2.	Fritz indicated that the Family History Consultants in Salt Lake are also participants. That means some significant expertise for receiving answers to your most challenging questions.

3.	You can post an image of what you are asking questions about.

FRIDAY, July 13th

Mexican Ancestry Group 11:30am – 1:30pm

This Friday we will continue to explore DNA testing, including our experiences with the tests and the results.

In our last meeting, everyone seemed to be very interested in this subject. If you have tested please bring your results, or if you want to share resources (books, websites) on DNA testing, please do. The group’s leader has bookmarked the major websites such as AncestryDNA, MyHeritageDNA, FamilyTreeDNA, and a new site he’s just started to explore called GEDmatch. We’ll go through the process of downloading the raw data from AncestryDNA (if you have tested with them) and then uploading to FamilyTreeDNA, MyHeritageDNA, or GEDmatch. Each will give a different result.

The group leader will also share two resources, books, for intermediate to advanced Hispanic research: Northern New Spain, A Research Guide, and Genealogical Encyclopedia of the Colonial Americas. The latter is available at the GFO library.
For questions or comments, please email Vince at sw@gfo.org.

SUNDAY, July 15th

No Work Party this Sunday Morning! See you the Sunday after.

Grays Harbor Fire Update

Jul11 by Roxanne Lowe

Members of the Grays Harbor Genealogical Society, a hearty bunch for sure, are picking themselves up by their boot straps and putting together a plan to restore their Research Library. The library was destroyed in a 3-alarm fire on Saturday, June 9, 2018. Besides the research library, the fire at the Aberdeen Amory also devastated the Aberdeen Museum of History, Coastal Community Action and the Aberdeen Senior Center. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Click here for next day news coverage by the Aberdeen Daily World.

A temporary location at the Hoquiam Regional Library has been secured. Under the leadership of GHGS President Gary Parfitt and a small committee (of a small society), plans are being made to purchase everything from computers and a copier to pencils and paper clips. Generous financial donations from local genealogical societies and individuals from around the state have been humbly accepted. In addition, many societies have offered donations of Grays Harbor-related books and family researches. GHGS is particularly interested in early Polk Directories, telephone books, obituaries, funeral records, identified photographs or family histories (with ties to Grays Harbor or Chehalis Counties). Anyone with materials to donate or reproduce can contact Gary Parfitt at gjparfitt@msn.com. Financial donations can be sent to the society’s Research Library Go Fund Me page or directly to the Grays Harbor Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 916, Aberdeen, WA 98520.

A personal message to all: We are so thankful for the generosity of so many — some known to us, others strangers. We would never want this catastrophe to happen to any individual or society, but if it did, we hope you would experience the kindnesses we have. Sincerely, Roxanne Lowe, Proud member of the Grays Harbor Genealogical Society

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s

Thursday Evening

E-News, Edition

18 July 2018

Curious about the status of your GFO Membership?

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

Remember, all our Special Interest Groups are free and open to the public!

Genealogy in the News…

You’ve probably heard of Cyndi Ingle and her invaluable website, Cyndi’s List.

Register HERE now!

GFO’s July Star – Liz Stepp

Thank you, Liz! We are so happy to have you as one of our rock-star volunteers.

Thank you Rhonda

Fragrances Can Interfere

SATURDAY, July 21st

SUNDAY, July 22nd

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s

Thursday Evening

E-News, Edition

12 July 2018

Curious about the status of your GFO Membership?

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

If you’re an Amazon Prime member, there’s a big day of Prime Sales on Monday and Tuesday, July 16th and 17th.

Thank you, as always, for all your continued support!

FRIDAY, July 13th

SUNDAY, July 15th