Skagit Valley Genealogical Society Educational Program

by Charles Hansen

I’d like to let you know about an upcoming educational program we are offering on October 13, 2018 from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. in partnership with Skagit Valley Genealogical Society. The topic of the program is “Mapping Your Ancestors” and will be presented by Janet O’Connor – Camarata.

 

This event is free and open to the public. I’ve attached a flyer with more information. Please feel free to forward or post on any wall you wish! We appreciate your help in getting the word out, because we would like as many people as possible to benefit from our programs.
Please contact me with any questions or feedback. Thank you for helping us spread the word about these free and valuable community resources.
Hope to see you there!

SVGS 10.13.18 Meeting Flyer

 

Kathleen Headden, Reference Librarian

Burlington Public Library

820 E. Washington Ave.

Burlington, WA 98233

360-755-0760, ext. 7906

 

Whitman County Genealogical Society Mini Seminar

by Charles Hansen

Whitman County Genealogical Society

is hosting a FREE Fall mini-seminar

Bishop Place Independent Living Social Room, 811 SE Klemgard, Pullman, WA

Saturday, October 13, 2018

featuring:

“All About Heraldry and Its Use in Genealogy”

By Anthony (Tony) Durnford deGray Birch

 

“Digital Research – Tips, Tricks and Resources” By Lee Pierce

9:00 am: The doors open.

9:30 am-10:30 am: Anthony (Tony) Birch is a retired higher education administrator and long standing member of Eastern Washington Genealogical Society. He doesn’t claim to be a heraldry expert, but a family historian trying to make sense out of things he has inherited or found through research. His presentation will focus on heraldry, and how the genealogist/family historian can use heraldry to learn more about their ancestors. He will share examples of his ten-year search of his ancestors’ crests and coats of arms and what the many images, forms and colors mean.

10:30-10:45 Break and refreshments.

10:45 am-11:45 am: Lee Pierce is the archivist for the Eastern Region Branch of the Washington State Archives in Cheney, Washington. His mission is to collect, preserve and provide access to the records of local government agencies of the 11 furthest east counties of the state. He will be showing and telling about the digital archives and how best to use it, as well as other government resources that are available to researchers.

If you have any questions or need more information contact WCGS President, Sue Kreikemeier at:

aerocraft@completebbs.com or 509-635-1303. Please RSVP to Sue or whitmancgs@gmail.com

by October 6 to accommodate handouts & refreshments.

While the seminar is free, donations are welcome at the door.

Directions: Turn off Bishop Boulevard onto Klemgard Ave., follow Klemgard Ave. up the hill and turn left at the top. Do not go into the front entrance, but turn right, continuing up the hill and turn left at the white car ports. Find an appropriate parking place, enter the building through the main doors and go straight ahead to the Social Room.

BIOGRAPHIES OF FALL SEMINAR SPEAKERS

Anthony (Tony) Durnford deGray Birch’s biography includes the following:

  • BS and MS degrees from Oregon State University
  • MBA from University of Washington
  • 40 years working in higher education, including 16 years as administrative vice-president of Clark College in Vancouver, Washington
  • Selected by his community college peers as Outstanding Chief Business Officer for the four-state Northwest Region in 1996
  • Came with his wife, Janette, to the Inland Empire in 2006
  • Longtime member of Eastern Washington Genealogical Society where he and his wife are “greeters”
  • He and Janette were honored in 2015 as Washington State Outstanding Volunteers
  • He and Janette have done the following:

Compiled seven books about their ancestors

Volunteered with Find-A-Grave for many small cemeteries in the Palouse area

Enjoyed a number of weeklong trips to the Family History Center in Salt Lake City, Utah

Lee Pierce’s biography includes the following:

 

  • Been in the archival field broadly since 1997
  • BA in history from Eastern Washington University in 1998
  • MA in history from Eastern Washington University in 2000
  • Worked for the Arizona State Historical Society Museum’s archives at Papago Park in Tempe
  • Worked as a freelance researcher and a freelance processing archivist
  • Began working at Eastern Region Branch of the Washington State Archives in 2005
  • Currently the Archivist at Eastern Region Branch of the Washington State Archives
  • Enthusiastic historian of the American military experience, most especially the period of the American War of Independence and from WWII to present
  • Writes fiction in his “spare time”
  • Member of the City of Cheney’s Historic Preservation Commission

Preserve and Digitize Over-sized Items Workshop

by Charles Hansen

Washington State  Archives

Preserve and Digitize Over-sized Items Workshop

October is Archives Month and that means we have something great in store for you! Preservation is our specialty and we want to show you how to do it at home with your over-sized items, such as posters, panoramic photos, maps, certificates, diplomas, and more. We’re going to get hands-on! This won’t just be Power Point slides. Digital Projects Archivists Mary Hammer and Maggie Cogswell will get out old, tightly rolled items, show you how to flatten and scan them, then store for archival preservation. Everything we are going to show you will be relevant and replicate at home.

Attendees will get a preservation starter kit! Bring your own over-sized item — there will be Q&A, and chances to share and show off.

Plus, we are going to have a guest speaker from the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.

Schedule
10:00 a.m. — 12:30 p.m.: Preserving and digitizing over-sized items with Digital Projects Archivists Mary Hammer and Maggie Cogswell. They are going to demonstrate how to preserve and digitize your private collections with the actual equipment we use.

12:30 — 1:00 p.m.: Lunch break (there are nearby eateries, or you may bring a lunch – we have a fridge)

1:00 — 2:00 p.m.: Guest speaker Conor Casey, the Labor Archivist from UW, will share about the collections at the university’s archives, and activism in Washington.

There will be light refreshments. Parking is free. An email with more info will be sent the day before the event. Please register each individual separately.
Date & Time Start:
10-06-2018 10:00 AM
Date & Time End:
10-06-2018 02:00 PM
Location
1129 Washington St. SE
Olympia, WA 98501

Tuesday Trivia

by Charles Hansen

When was the last time you munched an Aplet or Cotlet or any of the wonderful fruit-nutty products made only in Cashmere? I stopped there on my way across the state on Hwy 2 and took their free tour..what a treat! The company was founded by two brothers almost 100 years ago and is still family-owned and in the same town. This little facility turns out a million pounds of candy every year. That’s impressive.

The tour begins with seeing huge vats of boiling syrup:

The syrup is next poured onto cooling trays and becomes gummy-like:

Next its cut into squares and dusted with sugar:

Then workers sort and pack the yummy pieces into boxes:

After the tour, you can shop! And shop! And taste and shop!!

 

Tuesday Trivia

by Charles Hansen

How would you define the term blog? How about:  A blog is a regularly updated website or web page, typically one run by an individual or small group, that is written in an informal or conversational style.

There are now over 800 of you regularly reading the WSGS blog! We’re busting our buttons with pride and pledge to you to keep up the good work. We do it happily for YOU.

We welcome your comments, kudos and even complaints.

Monday Mystery

by Charles Hansen

Today let’s check our memories to answer some Washington “mystery” questions:

  1. Where does I-90 begin and end?
  2. What are the three cities comprising the Tri-Cities?
  3. What were, and where were, the “kettles” on the Columbia River?
  4. What’s the biggest lake in Washington?
  5. Where is the Hoh River?
  6. Have vampires ever lived in Forks?
  7. How did Deception Pass gain its name?
  8. What mountain was known as Mt. Baldy until 1912?
  9. Are there still Spotted Owls in Washington?
  10. What county boasts to be The Potato Producing Capital of the state?

See how many you can answer, with or without Google’s help. Test yourself!  Answers next week…..

 

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

by Charles Hansen

TIP OF THE WEEK –
COUNTY LINES ON GOOGLE MAPS 

In the eyes of genealogists, a shortcoming of Google Maps is that they do no display county lines. A few days ago, in Dick Eastman’s blog titled “Displaying County Lines on Google Maps”, he introduces a couple of tools by Randy Majors to overcome the problem. The first will overlay county lines on Google Maps for the US, UK, or Ireland. The second is a tool that will display historical county lines on a Google Map for locations in the US, as of a certain date that you provide. Check out these tools for yourself at :
https://www.randymajors.com/p/countygmap.html
https://www.randymajors.com/p/maps.html

Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

WATCH YOUR MAIL …
2018 FALL SEMINAR BROCHURE IS
COMING TO YOUR MAILBOX VERY SOON!

We are excited, honored, and very fortunate to be hosting Cyndi Ingle as the speaker for our 2018 Fall Seminar. Cyndi is the owner and creator of Cyndi’s List of Genealogy Sites, a categorized index of over 336,000 online resources. Her award-winning site helps millions of visitors worldwide.

 

Mark your calendar for Saturday, October 20, 2018. The seminar will be at Fairview Christian School, 844 NE 78th St, Seattle, WA from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Cost: $55 for SGS members, $65 for all others.  Lunch will be available by pre-order. Fill out your seminar brochure right away and get ready to enjoy a fascinating series of lectures by one of genealogy’s prominent teachers.
There are two ways to register. Fill in your registration form and mail it back, or you may Register online for the SGS 2018 Fall Seminar

SGS MEMBERSHIP MEETING,
OCTOBER 13, 2018
1:00 PM – 4:00 PM 

Please join us for our October Membership Meeting! Hear from the SGS Board. The business meeting will be followed by a presentation from our Second Saturday Series.

FGS DIRECTOR’S AWARD GOES TO CDG SERIES

SGS president, Jill Morelli, was so pleased to have her Certification Discussion Group series recognized nationally by FGS (the Federation of Genealogical Societies). She was informed that the CDG series has been awarded a Director’s Award. “Totally unexpected”, she said.  Jill thanks all the people that helped make this possible – Angela McGhie, Cari Taplin, the SGS Board, Christine Schomaker, and others.

If you are working toward certification as a professional genealogist, or simply want to learn more about the CDG series, or want to put your name on the waiting list, visit:
theCDGseries.wordpress.com

SAVE THE DATE

“Using Online Historical Jewish Newspapers for Genealogical Research”,
Jewish  Genealogical Society of Washington State,
LDS Factoria Bldg,
4200 124th Ave SE,
Bellevue, WA
Monday, September 17, 2018
7:15pm

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.

“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.

 

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.

SEPTEMBER

Monday, September 24, 10:30 am – 7:00 pm, SGS Volunteer Recognition Day, the Board of Directors will host a Volunteer Appreciation Day for all 2017-2018 volunteers. Refreshment and a raffle. Stop by for an hour, or stay for the whole day! No need to RSVP.

Saturday, September 29, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm,  DNA SIG, this group meets quarterly at the Wedgwood Presbyterian Church, 8008 35th Ave NE, Seattle. Co-chaired by Cary Bright and Herb McDaniel. For more information
contact SGSDNASIG@gmail

OCTOBER

Saturday, October 6, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Canadian SIG, come join David Robert, group leader, for help researching your Canadian ancestors.

Saturday, October 6, 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, October 7, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, DNA Workshop, with Cary Bright, First hour focuses on questions that group members bring; second hour focuses on Genome Mate Pro

Saturday, October 13, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm, October Membership Meeting & Second Saturday Speaker Series, short business meeting, hear from the SGS board, followed by a presentation

Sunday, October 14, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm, Scandinavian SIG, with Karen Knudson, Swedish and Norwegian Workshop – bring your laptops and your research. We will have resources available to help you with your hunt for your Scandinavian ancestors.

Saturday, October 20, 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, “Sharpen Your Online Genealogical Sleuthing Skills”, with Cyndi Ingle of Cyndi’s List fame. This is the SGS Fall Seminar and will be held at Fairview Christian School in Seattle. The SGS library will be closed on this day so volunteers may attend the seminar.

Saturday, October 27, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Irish SIG, with Jean A Roth
Saturday, October 27, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, German SIG, with Jean A Roth

Saturday, October 27, 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm, Digging Deeper Workshop: Researching Washington’s World War I Honor Roll,  with Lisa Oberg, at the University of Washington

 

 

Olympia Genealogical Society October Meeting

by Charles Hansen

Thurston County Home front During World War 1″ will be the topic of Jennifer Crooks’ presentation to the Olympia Genealogical Society’s October meeting. She is a local historian specializing in early 20th century and History Writer for ThurstonTalk.com.  Join us on Thursday October 11 at 7 pm, Thurston County Courthouse, 2000 Lakeridge DR SW, Olympia in Building 1, Room 152.

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

GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News

by Charles Hansen
GFO Logo Halo 2 Large

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s

Thursday Evening

E-News, Edition

September 13, 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 our complete GFO CALENDAR.
Also, don’t miss the current issue of The Forum Insider
***

#AskAnArchivist is October 3rd – Let GFO know how we can help!
Personal Archiving Dec 2017

October is National Archives Month!

Got questions? Well, we’ve got answers!

Our Manuscripts Committee will be available all day on Twitter to lend you advice concerning your personal or professional archives.

We specialize in digitization of manuscript collections, rehousing tips, and more!

Tweet your questions to us at (@GenForumOregon) using the hashtag #AskAnArchivist all day on October 3rd and watch for replies.
***

GFO will be at this year’s annual Oregon Archives Crawl!
Archives Crawl 2018

Oregon’s Archives Crawl theme this year is about how archives are “Changing Attitudes” within societies.

Archival representatives from various repositories around Oregon will be at the following locations in downtown Portland, Saturday, October 20th, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

▪ City of Portland Archives & Records Center
▪ Oregon Historical Society
▪ Multnomah County Central Library

Our very own Manuscripts Committee from GFO will be at the Multnomah County Central Library. Come see some of our latest and greatest featured items!

This event is totally free and open to the public of all ages.
***

Lessen Your Parking Woes While at GFO
vintage-cars-14354154180UW

Did you know GFO has Daily Scratch-Off Zone G Parking Permits available for $1 each at our reception desk?

Can you imagine!? All-day parking for less than the cost of a cup of coffee! That’s a pretty sweat deal.

So come on down, and don’t let the pressures of paid parking keep you from the biggest genealogical library collection in the Pacific Northwest!
***

Water Leak Spurs Fast Action at GFO Library
IMG 6459

It’s a good thing we are open until 8pm on Wednesdays. Torrential rains overwhelmed the Ford Building’s pipes after 6pm last night. Water started gushing out of a pipe in the ceiling, hitting the floor, but not our equipment or valuable collection. Fast action by Judith, Laurel, and Barbara helped protect our microfilm scanner from splashing. Special thanks to Jane, our Disaster Preparedness chair, for having plastic sheeting in the emergency supply kit!

Planning matters!
***

Board Member Recruitment Committee Needed by October 9th
GFO Needs You

GFO’s Board of Directors needs your help!

To help us prepare for new terms starting next July, we need to have a dedicated Recruitment Committee to help us find the best candidates for the upcoming available seats. Our bylaws require non-board members to serve in this role.

Seats coming available: Vice President, Director-At-Large, and Treasurer.

We also have need for one, maybe even two, new Endowment Committee members.

Actual board member nominations are due by the March 2019 All Members Meeting. As part of the Recruitment Committee, you’ll help find just the right candidate nominations to fill these positions.

Interested? Inspired? Know you can find the absolute greatest people to fill these rolls? Email president@gfo.org today!
***

Save $$: Renew Your GFO Print Membership Before January 1
New GFO Website Design Surprise

Publication Printing Cost To Raise Some Membership Dues

GFO’s Board of Directors recently learned that we are losing money on members who elect to receive our publications in print. While they pay more for their annual dues, it’s still not enough to cover the cost of publishing and postage.

GFO individual digital membership currently costs $45 per year, which includes emailed copies of the GFO’s monthly publications.

Until now, print members have paid an additional $12.

The Board has voted to increase the extra fee for print members to $20 starting January 1, 2019.

This will allow us to break even on those who receive print copies of The Forum Insider and the Bulletin.

If you’re a print member and you’d like to avoid that price hike, we encourage you to renew early, before January 1, 2019. After that date, individual print member dues that will rise from $57 per year to $65 per year.

In another vote, the Board has decided that all Student Members may now receive all our digital publications with their memberships.
***

This week at GFO…
desk-calendar-12992149

FRIDAY, September 14th

Mexican Ancestry Group 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Find your Hispanic ancestors from Mexico, Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California! This Special Interest Group (SIG) pertains specifically to Mexican ancestors from Mexico and the American Southwest (New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and California).

Beginning and intermediate researchers are welcome. Some subjects will include online parish records, Hispanic genealogy societies, Family History Library/FamilySearch.org. Ancestry.com, solving genealogical problems, methodology for organizing your research, etc. Of course this group will also be about sharing our research experiences, and having fun.

If you know of any other people interested in Hispanic genealogy, tell them about the group. They don’t have to be a GFO member to participate. For questions or comments, please email Vince at sw@gfo.org.

SATURDAY, September 15th

Analyze Your Ancestor’s Handwriting 2 – 3 p.m.
Presenter: Joyce Brizendine

What personality traits may your ancestor’s handwriting reveal? Do two signature samples belong to the same person? This presentation will use the handwriting of famous people to illustrate principles of handwriting analysis. Attendees are encouraged to bring samples of their own ancestors’ handwriting for our expert’s opinion.

Joyce Brizendine is a professional handwriting analyst, certified by the International Graphoanalysis Society and by the American Handwriting Analysis Foundation. She has taught and lectured about handwriting analysis, and appears periodically on AM Northwest.

SUNDAY, September 16th

Library Work Party 9 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. We begin work at 9 a.m. If the front door is not unlocked, please come around to the side door and knock. 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.

This month, Geoff Smith leads our lesson in how to use FTM sources and citations.

Join other users who want to work through the 2017 Companion Guide to Family TreeMaker. Bring your laptop with 2017 version of FTM installed or build 1-480 of FTM installed.

Questions? Please email Joyce Grant-Worley at FTM@gfo.org.

French Canada Group 3:30 – 5 p.m.

We will share our major ancestral lines and also play “Saints and Sinners,” discussing some of our more colorful and noteworthy ancestors. If you have French Canadian and/or Acadian roots please join us! You are likely to meet some cousins there. The group leader is Bob LaMarche.

WEDNESDAY, September 19th

Learn & Chat 10 a.m. – noon

Lori Washburn presents: “Know Before You Go: Bring Cash!” Changes in access to public records, the effect of digitalization and budgets. What’s available and where? Are there fees?

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.

DNA Q&A 1 – 3 p.m.

Lisa McCullough leads a discussion on various DNA related subjects, with each meeting focused on a particular subject. General questions are welcome at the end of each planned discussion. Send questions or comments to Lisa at dna_lm@gfo.org.