Help Make More Records Available — From Home!

by Roxanne Lowe

October is Family History Month! Did you know that October is also American Archives Month?

Celebrate with the Washington State Genealogical Society by joining us as we index Washington State records so that genealogists everywhere can search the Digital Archives online.

The Washington State Archives has many records that are relevant to genealogists and other researchers. Their indexing tool, Scribe, allows you to become an honorary archivist by transcribing and indexing records. You choose what you want to index and Scribe keeps track of how many records you complete.

To make the celebration more fun, The Board of the Washington State Genealogical Society would like to challenge you to join us in making more records available. The “Scriber” with the most records completed in October will be featured on our blog.

Non Profit Training for Genealogical Societies

by Charles Hansen

Looks like the December 5 and December 7 webinars should be viewed by every genealogical society in Washington
Nonprofit Essentials Toolkits

You care about your mission and want to make sure your organization does what it needs to do to succeed. That is why we created DIY learning toolkits that include short videos, kit materials, key documents, and more. Click on the images below for more information!
Boards in Gear
Why, What, and How of Boards to Better Achieve Mission

Connection to cause
Roles & responsibilities
Board development
Board operations
Fundraising
Finance Unlocked for Nonprofits
What Every Board Member Needs to Know about Finance

Balance Sheets
Income Statements
IRS Form 990
Giving
Oversight
Let’s Go Legal
The right road to compliance and protectionState law
Federal law
Fundraising
Employment law
Intellectual property
Strategic Planning in Nonprofits
Your Step-by-Step Guide to Achieve Your Mission

Prepare
Listen
Envision
Plan
Execute
Evaluate
We know that you want to learn about other topics as well. Visit the Washington Nonprofit Institute website for archived webinars on many other topics, including fundraising, risk management, equity, and communications. If you can’t find what you are looking for, contact us!
Opportunities to learn

You also need opportunities to learn with others. That’s why we are offering a full schedule of workshops and webinars designed to give you what you need to strengthen your board. Upcoming board-related events include:

10/12 SEQUIM: Finance Unlocked for Nonprofits
10/26 SPOKANE: Inland Northwest Conference for the Greater Good
11/1 ONLINE: Changes to Washington Leave Laws
11/2 KENNEWICK: Boards in Gear
11/2 MOUNT VERNON: Boards in Gear
11/3 YAKIMA: Boards in Gear
11/9 CALL: What you need to know to serve on a nonprofit board
11/9 KENT: Understanding the 501(c)3 Application Process
11/15 SPOKANE: Boards in Gear
11/15 SHELTON: Boards in Gear
12/5 ONLINE: Finance Unlocked for Nonprofits webinar
12/7 ONLINE: Nonprofit Legal Checklist

There are many more nonprofit learning opportunities to join! Visit the Washington Nonprofits calendar (by clicking the icon below) and the 501 Commons featured training and networking events listing.

Tuesday Trivia

by Charles Hansen

Just read a new term……….. remember how folks tongue-stumble to explain adopted family, real family (which I HATE), birth family, etc. Here is a new and seemingly proper term:  Umbilical line. Cannot argue with that, eh?

Tri-City Genealogical Society Research Logs

by Charles Hansen

Heather Murphy wrote an interesting blog post on Research Logs.

Have I Been Here Before? How Research Logs Keep You From Going in Circles

With shaking leaves and record hints showing up in many websites it is easy to hop from link to link looking for more records.  How often do you take a couple extra minutes to note the record collections you search so you don’t find yourself looking at the same thing a few months later?  Research logs aren’t one of the “fun” parts of research, but if you spend a small amount of time creating them you can save yourself time in the future.

Monday’s Mystery

by Charles Hansen

(PLEASE NOTE: Due to my traveling schedule, I sometimes do the posts for this blog weeks ahead. If you wanna answer the Mystery question, please refer to the DATE it was posted. Big thanks!)

Last week’s mystery and photo was of FDR’s special wheelchair that he used when he came to view the completed Grand Coulee Dan in 1937. I photographed it at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitors’ Center.

Today’s Monday Mystery is this: What Washington town, dedicated on July 4, 1957, celebrates each Fourth with a huge cherry pie…. 8-foot square pan with 100 gallons of pie cherries, 200 pounds of sugar…takes 3 hours to bake and another 4 hours to cool. (Humm…do they still do this??)

National Archives Virtual Genealogy Fair

by Charles Hansen

 
FREE NARA 2017 Virtual Genealogy Fair (save the date — 25 October 2017) #genfair2017
From our friends at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)!  An always great opportunity to learn about federal records and just how valuable they can be to your genealogy research.
WHAT: The National Archives will host a live, virtual Genealogy Fair via webcast on YouTube. Participate in our biggest genealogy event of the year! Sessions offer advice on family history research for all skill levels. Topics include Federal government documents on birth, childhood, and death; recently recovered military personnel files; Japanese Americans during World War II; 19th century tax assessments; and a “how to” on preserving family heirlooms. For the schedule, videos, handouts, and participation instructions, visit the Virtual Genealogy Fair online.
WHEN: October 25, starting at 10 a.m. EDT
WHO: Archivist of the United States David S. Ferriero and records experts from National Archives’ facilities nationwide.
WHERE: Anywhere! Participate during the Fair while it is live streamed on the US National Archives’ YouTube channel
Captioning: Live captioning will be available online. If you require an alternative or additional accommodation for the event, please send an email to: KYR@nara.gov or call 202-357-5260 in advance.
Background: The National Archives holds the permanently valuable records of the Federal government. These include records of interest to genealogists, such as pension files, ship passenger lists, census, and Freedmen’s Bureau materials. See “Resources for Genealogists and Family Historians” online.
Follow the National Archives on Twitter @USNatArchives and join the Genealogy Fair conversation using #genfair2017.
Do you plan to attend?
What federal records group would you most like to learn about?

Sharon Liebert Named Region 8 Representative

by Roxanne Lowe

Sharon Liebert

Sharon Liebert of East Wenatchee has been appointed the WSGS Representative for Region 8 by President Virginia Majewski. Besides being a member of WSGS, Sharon is a member of the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society.

Region 8 includes Chelan, Douglas, Grant, and Okanogan Counties. There is still a vacancy for Region 1 South which includes parts of Island and Snohomish Counties. For more information about the responsibilities of the Regional Representative, click here.

Sharon will be featured in a future “Meet the Board” story. Welcome to the Board, Sharon!

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society October Meeting

by Charles Hansen

  The Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society (BIGS) will meet Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, at the LDS church on Bainbridge Island, 8677 Madison Ave, from 10:00a.m. – 12 noon. Noted researcher and guest presenter Janet O’Conor Camarata will be speaking on “Location In Context“. Free to members, a $5.00 donation is suggested for nonmembers. For more information go to http://www.bigenealogy.org or call 206-780-8009. BIGS is a 501c(3) non-profit organization.

Monday’s Mystery

by Charles Hansen

(PLEASE NOTE: Due to my traveling schedule, I sometimes do the posts for this blog weeks ahead. If you wanna answer the Mystery question, please refer to the DATE it was posted. Big thanks!)

Today’s Mystery is a question: Who built Maryhill (on the Columbia River) and how, in the beginning, did he get his workers?