Today’s mystery is What Is This? And please don’t just tell me it’s a ( ) but tell me more about it and do you have any memories of such a thing??
Puget Sound Genealogical Society June Meeting
Puget Sound Genealogical Society
Saturday, June 24 10:30a.m. – 12:30p.m.
at Kitsap Regional Library. 1301 Sylvan Way, Bremerton
DISCOVER COUNTY HISTORIES ONLINE
with Janet Camarata. Learn about town, county, and
regional histories that are in print, where to find them
and how to assess their value.
Registration is required: call Genealogical Center
(360)475-9172
Thanks Jackie Horton, Publicity Chairperson
Quirky Genealogy Tip Sheet Newsletter
Nick names are always hard to figure out, and finding names in the census is fun also, as names sound different sometimes. This is the Quirky Genealogy Tip Sheet Newsletter
Serendipity Friday
*** Melons Costing $10,000?? (thanks to Charles Hansen)
*** Ancestry & Ancestry DNA: Two Sides To Every Family Story
*** Welsh Ancestry Has Its Challenges
*** Clam Digging: A Washington Activity
Charles shared a link to a website explaining that cantaloupes were developed in the 1700s in the Italian papal village of Cantalup. Watermelons were enjoyed in Merry Old England. Early explorers sometimes used watermelons as canteens. The most expensive melon in the world is the Yubari King, a kind of cantaloupe, grown in Japan. Recently two sold for $20,000! The Yubari is below…….. see much difference between it an the one you ate????
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Ancestry and Ancestry DNA are two sides to the same story, or so their advertising states. Here is the comparison:
ANCESTRY DNA ANCESTRY
* Discover your ethnic origins. * Start with a name and build your family tree
* Connect with cousins you never knew you had. * See how your ancestors lived in billions of
records.
* Find new ancestors—and take your family tree * Share your discoveries and connect with
to entirely new places. our community.
“Visit Ancestry.com to get started today!” So stated the ad in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly.
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During RootsTech 2017, I attended a presentation by Darris Williams on the topic of Welsh genealogy. He explained the” blessings and the curses of doing Welsh genealogy.” The Blessings: (1) More records are available online than ever before; (2) Even the Non-Conformity records are becoming available; (3) The National Library of Wales is a great resource; (4) Welsh probates are becoming available; (5) the patronymic system, once understood and if followed, it a great help. The Curses: (1) Common names are used endlessly! (2) You won’t find your answer in just one record; you must use all available records; (3) You must plan for no quick answers; plan to take plenty of searching time; (4) Patronymics is often difficult to understand and follow; (5) the Welsh language is impossible!
FamilySearch.org, in the Library Card Catalog, has plenty of records from Wales cataloged. All the pre-1850 probates are available and the post-1850 wills are indexed. Williams stressed that the Five Basic Record Sets to use for researching in Wales are: (1) Census (1841-1911 all indexed); (2) Civil registration for vital records; (3) Church records; (4) Probate records; (5) Cemetery records and tombstone inscriptions.
“Non-conformity,” Williams explained, “was a big deal. This meant that if your ancestor didn’t belong to the Church of England and those vital records will not be found in the Church of England parish registers. With the exception of marriage records. Between 1754 and 1837, any and all marriages had to be Church of England marriages.”
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If you’ve living in Washington for a long time, you probably have gone clam digging on the Washington coast. I remember driving from Spokane to Kalaloch to camp and dig those tasty clams in the late 1950s. I did not realize that clamming has been a way of life on the Washington coast for thousands of years; shell middens have been dated back to 5000 years ago. When the early settlers arrived in the mid-1850s they happily discovered a rich abundance of clams which they used for food and for commercial purposes. Commercial clamming was begun in 1898 and during the heyday (1920-1950) tons of clams were dug, canned and exported to the eastern U.S. and to Britain. By today, there is still a few days/weeks of clamming season but many difficult factors have severely restricted the appeal of these tasty shellfish. Do you have memories of clamming?? And do you remember what a clam gun was?
Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society June Special Meeting
TPCGS is having a special meeting on June 13, 2017
With special guest Elissa Scalise Powell
Elissa Scalise Powell, CG, CGL, is a Pennsylvania researcher and co-director of the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP). She is a past-president of the Board for Certification of Genealogists and coordinator of the IGHR “Professional Genealogy” course since 2007 She was an instructor for Boston University’s Genealogical Research Certificate course (2008-2016) and co-coordinator of SLIG’s 2013 “Credentialing: AG, CG, or Both?” course. She has also served as president of two local societies and has volunteered on society boards for over 25 years.
Fresh from the Southern California Genealogical Jamboree, Elissa will present an interesting program entitled Patriot or Not? – Using the GPS on a Closed DAR Line. This case study, concerning a man who is currently a patriot on a closed DAR line, goes through four questions in which the audience determines if the conclusions follow the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS). The Colglazier family was said to be of Pennsylvania, but were they? Following each step of the migration backward from where they settled in Indiana to Ohio to their origins through land, probate, military, census, and tax lists, each question is laid out and analyzed through several analysis techniques.
There will not be an early session, so this meeting will begin a 7 pm. However, you are welcome to come earlier and visit.
These meetings will be held in our usual location at Bates Technical College, South Campus, 2201 South 78th St, Tacoma, Building E.
Olympia Genealogy Society Genealogy Cafe
GENEALOGY CAFE Meet with Olympia Genealogy Society experts for personal help with your family history research. Olympia Timberland Library, 313 8th AV SE, on both Thursday June 15 and Saturday June 17 from 1-3 pm. 360-529-9813
Thank-you JOYCE OGDEN, Publicity
======================================================================= Joyce T. Ogden jtogden@comcast.net
THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News
THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s
Wednesday Evening
E-News
31 May 2017
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!
Also, if you missed your free copy of our monthly Insider for May 2017, you’re in luck because we saved you a copy HERE. NOTE: The Insider issues are now located under the “Learn” > “Our Publications” menu at our new website (still gfo.org).
Curious about the status of your GFO Membership?? We’d love to have you as a GFO Member!
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GFO’s German Interest Group this Saturday! June 3rd
1657 Jansson Map of Germany Germania – Geographicus – Germaniae-jansson-1657
Our meeting is Sat. June 3rd, from 1 – 3pm, at the GFO library (2505 S.E. 11th St., Suite B-18, Portland, OR)
Speaker: Lew Ebner
Topic: Searching for ancestors, partly travel log to Seelbach, Germany, and taking a closer look at the Arnstein Monastery (Kloster Arnstein) in the city of Obernhof, near Nassau.
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Don’t Miss Out! Register for the June 4th Workshop!
REGISTER for the CENSUS WORKSHOP
It’s a half-day Workshop all about those pesky US & UK CENSUS RECORDS!!
A full morning of learning the full scope of what you can glean from census records.
That’s right, folks. We’re Digging Deeper into Census Records!!
WHERE: GFO Library
WHEN: Sunday, June 4th, 9:30am – noon
WHO’s THAT NOW?? Speaker Kate Eakman
Join speaker Kate Eakman for this amazing chance to learn all about “DIGGING DEEPER INTO ENGLAND, IRELAND, SCOTLAND, & THE U.S. CENSUS RECORDS.”
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GFO’s May Star – Jerry Zimmer
Jerry has been the driving force for binding GFO’s periodicals for many years. He patrols the shelves looking for complete years or volumes of periodicals that need binding.
Lately, GFO has had an influx of binding requests, as our collection has been undergoing a re-cataloging and re-organizing project. But this hasn’t stopped Jerry!
Jerry also donates many of the supplies needed for the binding projects he undertakes!
We’re oh so grateful for all you do, Jerry. Thank you for your ongoing support!
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GENEALOGY IN THE NEWS – Ancestry & DNA
STORY 1. New York Times article shows the value of using DNA & historical records to aid research of extinct apples.
What’s this got to do with genealogy??
The article touches on the importance of understanding DNA (albeit plant DNA), giving insights into just how valuable DNA research can be when coupled with researching through those dusty historical documents.
The article is also set right in the Pacific North West! Read the full story HERE.
STORY 2. Ancestry.com denies exploiting users’ DNA test results. This just in from BBC News.
The genealogy DNA services with Ancestry.com says it is changing its terms and conditions after criticism about privacy concerns. Read the full story HERE and continue uncovering the history of your family tree with no fear!
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OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY LAUNCHES DIGITAL COLLECTIONS WEBSITE
The Oregon Historical Society is excited to announce the official launch of the OHS Digital Collections website, a ground-breaking step forward in providing broad access to the myriad collections held in the Research Library.
This new website allows online public access to a rich variety of materials from the OHS Research Library, including items from the manuscript, photograph, film, and oral history collections.
Check out OHS featured collections and see what’s new as the staff continues adding material!
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STILL MORE BOOK REVIEWERS NEEDED
We’re got ONE new title below, and still some leftover from last week. You know you want to help review these exciting materials!
Here’s our most current list of the books we have to be reviewed:
1. TIPS AND QUIPS for the Family Historian by Elizabeth Shown Mills and Ruth Brossette Lennon
2. QUICK SHEET, Citing Ancestry.com Databases and Images, Evidence Style, by Elizabeth Shown Mills
3. QUICK SHEET, Citing Online Historical Resources, Evidence Style, by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
4. Boyle, Joseph Lee. WHITE PENNSYLVANIA RUNAWAYS, 1769-1772. “much addicted to strong drink and swearing”.
5. Ports, Michael A. GEORGIA GENEALOGY RESEARCH. Genealogy at a Glance.
6. NEW McCartney, Martha W. & Rountree, Helen C. POWHATAN INDIAN PLACE NAMES IN TIDEWATER VIRGINIA.
Anyone interested in reviewing one of these books, please either contact Joan or come by the GFO to pick up their book-of-choice from the bookshelf between the two offices and fill out the clipboard form. There is also a book review form on the shelf that can be used. For further information, please contact Joan Galles at bookreviews@gfo.org.
If you’re currently reviewing a book, please let Joan know how it’s going and if you have questions!
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Go on! Click the calendar. I dare ya!!
SATURDAY, JUNE 3rd
Virginia Interest Group 10am – noon
Join us for our Virginia meeting this Saturday for a discussion about the colonial governors of Virginia and their impact on “The Old Dominion” and the formation of our country – presented by Carol Surrency. Everyone is welcome, as this is a free event, open to the public. See you Saturday for out last meeting of the season!
Group leaders are Judi Scott at judiscot@gmail.com and Carol Surrency at lcsurr@gmail.com.
German Interest Group 1 – 3pm
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. This month’s topic: searching for ancestors, partly travel log to Seelbach, Germany, and the Arnstein Monastery (Kloster Arnstein) in the city of Obernhof, near Nassau with speaker: Lew Ebner.
SUNDAY, JUNE 4th
Digging Deeper: US/UK Census Workshop 9:30am – noon
The Census: Digging Deeper into England, Ireland, Scotland & the U.S. Come spend the morning learning the ins and outs of census records in the U.S. and British Isles; where are these records located, how can you find your ancestor on a particular census, and how do you evaluate all the information it contains?
Kate Eakman holds a master’s degree in history, and is a Senior Researcher with Legacy Tree Genealogists. Register online HERE, or mail in the paper form…asap!
MONDAY, JUNE 5th
First Monday Free to Non-Members Hope to see you at the GFO Library this coming Monday, from 9:30am – 5pm!
The GFO Library is open for free (yep! none of that $7-day-pass stuff to worry about) the first Monday of every single month!! Come take advantage of our over 43,000 collection items among our analog materials, or pursue our various online database subscriptions on one of the many library computers. We also have a flatbed scanner and a digital microfilm reader for patron use.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 7th
Learn & Chat 10am – noon
Join us to talk about your genealogy questions and help provide support to others. Facilitated by Jean Quan.
Spotlight on the Twin Rivers Gen Society
The Twin Rivers Gen Society, located in Lewiston, Idaho, is just across the Snake and Clearwater Rivers conjunction from Clarkston, Washington. Guess who the towns were named for?
I was honored to be their program speaker back in March and found them to be an eager, active group…… and very proud of their area’s history and very engaged in preserving same. Patricia VanBuren arranged the day and at risk of saying a tired old cliche, a good time was had by all. Especially me!
The Lewiston Public Library is currently in an old hardware store, in the basement, where dirt sifted through the old wooden floors down onto the books. Members of the TRGS were (happily) given permission to remove the genealogy books and they are now (March 2017) stored in boxes in a member’s home. There is no levy support for a library so things for the Lewiston Public Library look bleak. Before the LPL, the TRGS collection was housed in the Heritage Room of the Nez Perce Historical Society temporarily (before being ousted from there too). Members of the TRGS are hopeful that their genealogy collection will be placed in the newly remodeled Family History Center in Lewiston.
The biggest annual event of the TRGS is their July 4th Walking with Ancestors which they have done for several years. The group picks stories from the biggest/oldest cemetery, Normal Hill, and in costume tell those stories. The event is free to the public and last year they had an attendance of about 75 folks (not bad for a society of about 25 folks).
Lewiston was incorporated as a town in 1861; that is the year the Civil War began! After much conflict with the Nez Perce tribe and boundary shifts, Lewiston, Idaho, (along with partner across the river, Clarkston, Washington) are thriving places.
The WSGS mantra was again proven true: You will never know unless you go. While attending the March 25th seminar in Lewiston, Myrna came up to me asking a question. She lives in Grangeville, Idaho (some 40 miles away in Idaho County). Myrna explained that the small group of genealogists in that town had saved boxes of old county marriage records from being tossed from the courthouse. These records date from the 1930s to 1969. Myrna wanted to know what should be/could be done with these records? My answer was that FamilySearch would most likely jump at the chance to come digitize these records. We talked to Lee and RaeVon, the directors of the local Family History Center, and (wowsers!) they knew of an LDS person in the area who was already on a mission there to find and digitize just such records! Don’t we consistently find that miracles do happen in family history??
Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week
TIP OF THE WEEK – SANBORN FIRE INSURANCE MAPS
Sanborn Maps were originally created in the 1860’s for assessing fire insurance liability in urbanized areas. The maps include detailed information about buildings in approximately 12,000 US towns and cities. They are a very useful resource for historical research, genealogical research, and they are the most frequently consulted maps in public libraries.
The good news is The Library of Congress has already placed 25,000 of these maps online and they are in the process of adding more maps monthly. The goal is to have all the maps (approximately 500,000) available online by 2020.
While still hit and miss, maybe the map you need is already online. Check it out at:
https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-17-074/?loclr=fbloc-new
Seattle Genealogical Society News
INVITATION TO SUBMIT
RESEARCH FOR SGS PUBLICATION
The SGS Editorial Board invites contributions to be considered for publication in our 2017-2018 bi-annual journal. We are always happy to receive articles, which should include documentation and citation of sources. The editors will consider works that pertain to any type of subject within the larger range of genealogical research. Examples of compositions that have been included in the Bulletin in the past can be seen in the Publications section of the SGS Website, along with advice and suggestions for preparing your manuscript for submission. Please email your contributions to publications@seattlegenealogicalsociety.org to be considered for 2017-2018.
JUNE 3RD MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Jill Morelli, president, will review the past year for SGS and announce and introduce the SGS officers for the coming year. Stay for the presentation “The Great War and Its Stories: Jacob Schomber “, a step-by-step look at how to research your WWI soldier. Bring any artifacts you have of the Great War to End all Wars, only later called WW I, as we celebrate the 100th year of the US entry into the conflagration. 1:00-2:30 pm at the SGS Library.
COMPLIMENTS ON THE SPRING SEMINAR
Hope you had a chance to attend the Spring Seminar. It’s always helpful to get feedback on a program and we appreciate that attendee, K Tsujii, took the time to give us her assessment.
She wrote, “The Spring 2017 Seminar was the best ever! Lisa Alzo’s passion about telling our stories and her wise insights inspired me to do 6 hours of online research the next day. I found multiple sources of information about my grandparents and where they lived and worked, using Lisa’s vast online resource tools. I am especially excited to start writing the stories of my female ancestors. I appreciate the hard work of the Seattle Genealogical Society seminar organizers. The seminar was a highly rewarding way to spend a sunny Saturday.”
Congratulations and many thanks to Sandra Stark, seminar chair, and the entire SGS crew who helped to make this seminar a success.
CERTIFICATION CLASS – ONLINE
Want to know more about certification as a genealogist? Contact Jill Morelli at jkmorelli@gmail.com to be placed on the list for the next series of online classes that will start in July. SGS members have priority for this discussion group. Watch for more online classes in the future.
SAVE THE DATES
The New England Historic Genealogical Society presents
A Day with NEHGS: Researching Early New England Ancestors,
Bellevue Club,
11200 SE 6th St,
Bellevue, WA 98004
Saturday, June 10, 2017 9am – 6:30pm
Registration includes five lectures, lunch, and an evening reception. Learn from these experts in early American genealogy. Understanding migration patterns, as well as using land & probate records are a few subjects that will be covered.
More info and registration at:
https://shop.americanancestors.org/products/a-day-with-nehgs-researching-early-new-england-ancestors
Washington Museum Association,
Annual Conference,
Moses Lake, WA
June 21 – June 23, 2017
Details on the offerings of this three day conference can be found at :
http://washingtonmuseumassociation.org/
Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS),
2017 Conference – “Building Bridges to the Past”,
Pittsburgh, PA
August 30 – September 2, 2017
Ready for a road trip? This conference is open to anyone with an interest in family history. FGS is teaming up with the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society to put on this four day events. There will be various tracks to suit the individual researcher; beginner to experienced.
For more info visit : fgs.org
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 library will be closed June 18 for Father’s Day and July 4 for Independence day. The Irish, German, and Canadian Interest Groups do not meet in June, July, or August; they will return to their regular schedule in the fall.
JUNE
Saturday, June 3, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm, Annual SGS Membership Meeting, WWI presentation as well as “Show and Tell”; bring your WWI artifacts. Meet the new SGS officers.
Sunday, June 4, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, DNA Workshop, Led by Cary Bright with first hour on a specific topic, and the second hour open for sharing DNA issues with focus on GenomeMate Pro.
Tuesday, June 6, 12:30 pm – 3:00 pm, Technology Tuesday, Bring your laptop or mobile device, and enjoy discussions centered around technology and genealogy – software, genetic genealogy, internet research and more. Hosted by Lisa Chan.
Saturday, June 10, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Family Tree Interest Group, Lou Daly, leader of this new special interest group exploring all the features of the tool Family Tree on FamilySearch.
Saturday, June 10, 1:00 pm- 3:00 pm, Family Tree Maker (FTM) Users Group, members helping one another with Family Tree Maker (FTM) the tool long associated with Ancestry.com; Reiley Kidd and Betty Ravenholt are the leaders. This week topics will include an update on the delayed release of FTM 2017, and the new features it contains, including new Tree Hints from Familysearch.org, and links to them.
Sunday, June 11, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm, Scandinavian Interest Group, What’s new? Kathi McGinnis will review 1875 Norwegian census and other tips to searching Digitalarkivit. Karen Knudson will review new Swedish records available on Ancestry.com and Arkivdigital.
Tuesday, June 20, 12:30 pm – 3:00 pm, Technology Tuesday, Bring your laptop or mobile device, and enjoy discussions centered around technology and genealogy – software, genetic genealogy, internet research and more. Hosted by Lisa Chan.
JULY
Saturday, JULY 8, 1:00 pm- 3:00 pm, Family Tree Maker (FTM) Users Group, members helping one another with Family Tree Maker (FTM) the tool long associated with Ancestry.com; Reiley Kidd and Betty Ravenholt are the leaders.
Sunday, JULY 9, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm, Scandinavian Interest Group, Karen Knudson, leader.
Tuesday, July 18, 12:30 pm – 3:00 pm, Technology Tuesday, Bring your laptop or mobile device, and enjoy discussions centered around technology and genealogy – software, genetic genealogy, internet research and more. Hosted by Lisa Chan.
Saturday, July 29, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm, DNA SIG, this group meets at the Wedgwood Presbyterian Church. For more information contact SGSDNASIG@gmail.com. Co-chaired by Cary Bright and Herb McDaniel.