Seattle Genealogical Society News

SGS LAUNCHES SGS TV!
Are you unfamiliar with all the Seattle Genealogical Society Library has to offer? Are you planning your first trip to our library, and want to know what to expect?Take a look at our YouTube video postings. In this new initiative, Sue Jensen, Director of the SGS Library, gives you a quick tour, pointing out the features of our library holdings. In another short video, Heidi Mair, Director of Volunteers, outlines some of the many ways to become engaged with the Society. Stay tuned for future videos which will highlight our unique holdings and how to use them.
Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa9HwzVg-5JKX_rEhjcUJdw , or go to YouTube (free, no registration necessary) and search for Seattle Genealogical Society..

RARE BOOK FIND!“Panthermen” I Salute You, written by Major General H.F. Kramer is a rare find that was donated to our Library this summer. It is a compilation of the “40,000 Black Panthers of the 66th Infantry Division” of the US Army during World War II. It includes a brief history of the Panther Veteran’s Association with photos and then a long list of infantrymen that were part of the historic missions against Hitler during the war with Germany. As far as we know, the only other available copy is at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. This book has found a home in our rare book cabinet and is available for your inspection. Stop by and ask to see it.”Panthermen” I Salute You – by Major General H. F. Kramer

COMING BACK IN SEPTEMBER

Our popular Second Saturday Series will resume in September with the presentation “Beyond the Pie Chart: Making the Most of Autosomal DNA” by Karin Borgerson. Join us on Saturday, September 8th from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm at the SGS Library. While DNA testing companies emphasize bioregional (ethnicity) estimates in their marketing campaigns, but there is so much more to autosomal DNA than the pie chart! This talk will briefly address the benefits and limitations of bioregional estimates, but most of the presentation will focus on the more valuable part of the results—the DNA matches.

Also on the schedule that Saturday, from 10:15 am-12:15 pm, is (FTM) the Family Tree Makers User Group. They will meet in this second Saturday time slot every other month – Sept 2018, Nov 2018, Jan 2019, Mar 2019 – the odd months. Reiley Kidd and Jess Ramey are leading this group.

 

PHOTO DETECTIVE

 

Maureen Taylor, the nationally known “Photo Detective”, is coming to Bellevue on Saturday, September 15, 2018.

Her three presentations will help you date old photographs and possibly identify the people in them. The cost is only $25 and registration before September 1st is highly recommended.

Following the presentations, and for an additional cost, private consultations with Maureen are available.

This Eastside Genealogical Society event will be held on Saturday, September 15, at the Vasa Park Ballroom, 3560 W Lake Sammamish Road SE, Bellevue, WA 98008. Free parking and doors open at 9 am with presentations from 9:30 am to 2:00 pm.

Additional info at :
https://eastsidegenealogicalsociety.com/save-the-date/
SAVE THE DATE

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. The SGS Library will closed September 2-4 for Labor Day.

AUGUST

Sunday, August 19, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm, “Digging Deeper Workshop: The Genealogical Proof Standard” with Jill Morelli, This intensive session will look at all five elements of the GPS, dissecting each one individually and then collectively to gain a better understanding of its application and benefit. Foundational vocabulary will be covered. This is an interactive workshop so bring a research question of your own to work on.  As this is a beta test workshop, we will stop in the middle of the session and have a debrief of the effectiveness of the exercises.

SEPTEMBER

Saturday, September 8, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, (FTM) Family Tree Users Group, Reiley Kidd & Jess Ramey co-leaders, this group will begin meeting on the 2nd Saturday of every odd month (Sept 2018, Nov 2018, Jan 2019, Mar 2019, May 2019). Family Tree Maker is the genealogy software long associated with Ancestry.com

Saturday, September 8, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, Beyond the Pie Chart: Making the Most of Autosomal DNA, presenter Karin Borgerson

Sunday, September  9, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm, Scandinavian SIG, with Karen Knudson

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

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

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!

Wednesday Nostalgia

Goiter. Ever heard of this condition/disease? A goiter was a non-malignant growth on the thyroid gland. It was only ugly and not a problem unless it grew large enough to impinge on the esophagus or windpipe. Nobody has goiters today….. know why?

This photo, ca 1900, was of a lady living in Wisconsin. She obviously has a horrendous goiter. Here’s the story, as I understand it:

People living along the seacoasts ingested plenty of iodine….. salt water, salt spray, etc. But those living in the Midwest had no such natural source of iodine and it was iodine deficiency that caused goiters. That’s why today we have iodized salt.

Now you know.

Tuesday Trivia

Hot weather summertime trivia to share with family and friends:

Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.

He who laughs last, thinks slowest.

A day without sunshine is……………night.

Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.

If the shoe fits, get another one just like it.

Flashlight: A case for holding dead batteries.

The things that come to those who wait, may be the things left by those who got there first. 

God give us toes as a device for finding furniture in the dark.

Jefferson County Genealogical Society News

August 2018 finds a number of JCGS volunteers gearing up for several educational events that will occur in the Fall. We are offering a Beginners Class starting the 1st of October. However, the  registration deadline is in September. Speaking of September, September’s monthly program on Saturday, the 15th  for members and the public will be “Bagging a Live One: Reverse Genealogy in Action” given by Mary Roddy. In November, a large and exciting event will be presenting CeCe Moore, Genetic Genealogist, in a full day of lectures at a spacious venue in Fort Worden State Park in Port Townsend. (A limited number of  tickets are still available.) See our website <www.wajcgs.org> for all the latest information.

Friday Serendipity

I quite enjoy learning trivia bits of history….. especially Washington state history…. especially as pertains to old towns and ghost towns.

Ever heard of Hylebos? (1925, Pierce Co) Kamilche? (1929, Mason Co)  Day Island? (1919, Pierce Co)  Manette?  (1910, Kitsap Co)  Monitor? (1917, Chelan Co) Ronald? ( 1902, near Roslyn, Kittitas Co)

These were all real towns….. for a short period of time…. and some still exist, having been incorporated into larger towns.

What about “real life” ghost towns? This colorful map is posted on the website, www.ghosttownsofwashington.com. It’s an interactive map, meaning if you click on a county, up will pop the map of that county with all sorts of little…….now ghost….. towns. Only 18 counties are linked as having ghost towns and Spokane has none.

If you want to spend a hot afternoon hour having some clicking-around fun, click to the link above. Have a cold drink handy.

GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Thursday Evening E-News

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s

Thursday Evening

E-News, Edition

August 9, 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.

***

Did You See Us On TV? KATU News Profiles GFO

Did you catch the great story about the GFO on Portland’s Channel 2 on Monday? They did a great job showing what we do and gave us more than three minutes of air time!

KATU picked a good day to visit us. They had lots of action for their camera last Wednesday during our volunteer book relabeling blitz.

The news team of Special Projects Producer Stuart Tomlinson and Photojournalist Bob Foster interviewed GFO President Vince Patton, Library Chair Laurel Smith and Education Chair Kristin Parks. If you missed it on the air you can watch it here online.

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Those GPS Gumshoes are at it again! – Saturday, August 18th, 9:30 a.m.

James Harvey Knapp was an educator who founded the Knapp School in Pettis County, Missouri, but his parents remain unknown.

James’s census records say he was born in New York and family theory states he was abandoned, or perhaps became an orphan and was raised by a relative. So far, the records show that James was born in New York in 1826, married in Michigan in 1848, and buried in Missouri in 1883.

Join the Genealogy Problems Solvers on Saturday, August 19th, at 9:30 a.m. in GFO’s Multipurpose Room and learn the team’s skills at navigating multiple state records as they try to track down the elusive Knapp parents.

This event is free and open to the public.

***

August GenTalk Addresses End Of Life Planning at GFO

As genealogists, we love end-of-life records: death certificates, probate/estate paperwork, cemetery records, obituaries, etc. But in our own lives, have we truly prepared for when we’re the ones who are leaving?

Full-time professional genealogist Leslie Brinkley Lawson tackles this important topic at this month’s GFO GenTalk.

Learn how to plan for the inevitable, for the sake of your genealogy research and for your loved ones. It doesn’t have to be expensive, and it doesn’t have to be difficult, let Leslie show you how.

Saturday, August 18 at 2pm at the GFO library.

This event is free and open to the public.

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CIA Cardiff Wales 001

Ever wish the online history of your cultural heritage could be preserved before we all have to be dug up by an archaeologist thousands of years from now?

Well, the Welsh Government have recently made steps toward such assurances.

“The decision by the Welsh Government to archive the dual-language websites and Twitter accounts will digitally preserve the Internet heritage of the Welsh nation.”

Read the full article HERE and be inspired!

***

What’s hot in local genealogy??

New GFO Website Design Surprise

South King County Genealogy Society – Fall Seminar 2018

Speaker: John Philip Colletta, PhD
When: Saturday, September 22nd, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Location: Salish Hall at Green River College, 12401 SE 320th Street, Auburn, WA 98092
Topics: Archives and the Immigrant Experience
Register: http://skcgs.org/2018-seminar.html

LCGS September General Meeting – “Salem Witches”

Speaker: Jerri McCoy
When: Thursday, September 13th, 7 p.m.
Location: Somerset Retirement Apartments, 2025 Tibbets Drive, Longview, WA 98632 (in the dining room)

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SUNDAY, August 12th

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. 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.

TUESDAY, August 14th

GFO Board Meeting 6:10 p.m. – 8:10 p.m.

Come see what makes GFO so great at our monthly Board Meetings. These meetings take place on the 2nd Tuesday of every month. All are welcome.

WEDNESDAY, August 15th

Irish Interest Group 6 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Focus: This month Barb Schrag will present “Using the Irish Censuses.” Members of the GFO as well as their guests and any interested members of the public are welcomed to attend the Irish Genealogy SIG. One hour of each two-hour meeting will be spent on presentations about Irish history, genealogy, and resources while the second hour will focus on Irish Brick Wall questions.

The Irish group meets on the third Wednesday of the even months February,April, June, August, and October (there will be no meeting in December). Contact Irish@gfo.org for more information.

German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society Meeting

The German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society (EGS) will meet on Friday, Sept 7, 2018, from 1 to 3 pm in the Relief Society Room of the LDS Church at 10675 NE 20thSt, Bellevue, WA 98004 with doors opening at 12:45 pm for networking. Visitors are always welcome at our meetings.       

Topic: Find Your Germanic Ancestor’s Village on Maps

You have the name of the village for your Germanic ancestor from any of many sources, like genealogical records, family stories, etc.  Now how do you locate that village on a map?  It could be a challenge.  So come learn some tips.

Presenter: Dorothy Pretare started collecting family history in 1995 and is active in 2 local genealogical societies, leader of the EGS German Interest Group and a member of 3 societies in Minnesota.  In 2008, she visited her ancestral villages in old East Germany and present day Poland.

For more information, kindly visit our website .  

NWGC Starts Wednesday

It’s not too late to register for one of the premier conferences in the region! The Northwest Genealogy Conference opens on Wednesday, Aug. 15.

Here’s some of what’s in store:

Wednesday, August 15:

  • FREE Beginning Genealogy Class starts at 1:00 p.m. Amie Bowser Tennant will help beginners (and not-so-beginners) learn how to get started (or restarted). If you plan to attend, but forgot haven’t registered, please register here. The class is free, but organizers need a count to insure there are enough materials.
  • Meet & Greet Taco Bar from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m.  at the Gleneagle Golf Club. Available for full conference attendees. Registration is $5. No host bar available. If you plan to attend but forgot to register, please go to www.nwgc.org to register.

Thursday, August 16:

  • Registration opens bright and early at 7:30 a.m. at the Byrnes Performing Arts Center, 18821 Crown Ridge Blvd., Arlington. The conference organizers have been hard at work for months and months to ensure you have a great time.
  • A full day of classes, including three keynote sessions with CeCe Moore. WSGS will also be holding a society management class in Room 113 during the lunch period. Come listen to WSGS Vice President Donna Potter Phillips talk about “How to Lasso a Good Speaker” for your society meetings.
  • Vendors and Information Tables. Make sure you visit the vendors and informational tables in the common area and classrooms.
  • A Night on the Town in downtown Arlington. Fifteen local businesses will stay open until 8:00 p.m. to allow conference attendees to browse and shop. Many shops will have appetizers and door prizes.

Friday, August 17:

  • A full day of classes, including three keynote sessions with Peggy Lauritzen. Also, Ginny Majewski, WSGS President, will conduct a class called “So, Now You’ve Been Elected” for society society officers and members. The class will be in Room 113 during the lunch period.
  • Dress as Your Ancestor Day. Rent/buy/make a costume to honor an ancestor or your heritage. Every year more attendees are taking part in this fun activity. There are consignment shops downtown Arlington that have costumes also.
  • Conference Banquet with CeCe Moore. Listen to CeCe talk about making history with genetic genealogy. The banquet requires pre-registration and, at last report, was almost sold out. No tickets will be sold at the door. If there’s still room, you can register here.

Saturday, August 18:

  • Our last full day of classes, learning, shopping and networking. Beth Foulk will be the keynote speaker for two sessions.
  • Heirloom Jewelry. Is it trash or is it treasure? Bring some of your heirloom jewelry items with you and find out. We will offer FREE expert analysis on Saturday during lunch. Sign-up at the Info Desk anytime during the conference to reserve your time…limit of 3-4 pieces please.

Don’t miss this conference! You can register for all three days, just one or even at the door. Click here for more information.

Skagit Valley Genealogical Society & Burlington Library On Google for Genealogists

I’d like to let you know about an upcoming educational program we are offering on September 8, 2018 from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. in partnership with Skagit Valley Genealogical Society. The topic of the program is “Google Tools for Genealogists” and will be presented by George Ridgeway. 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!

 

Kathleen Headden, Reference Librarian

Burlington Public Library

820 E. Washington Ave.

Burlington, WA 98233

360-755-0760, ext. 7906