Tuesday Trivia

by Charles Hansen

Did you know that way, way back in 1909 some 79 people (including famed photographer Asahel Curtis and several women in LONG SKIRTS) made the 3-week trek to the top of Mt. Rainier?? Members of the fledgling group, the Mountaineers, they spent an hour on the summit on that June day and posted a flag for the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition which was being held in Seattle at the time.

Can you imagine climbing Mt.Rainier in a LONG SKIRT? Or going camping in what today we might call “Sunday dress?” And our ancestors did!

Monday’s Mystery

by Charles Hansen

Guess we stumped you all last week but good….. or at least Charles Hansen’s “mystery” stumped you. Nobody got the correct answer. But no never mind, here is today’s mystery:

How many dams are there on the Columbia River?? 

Do remember that the Columbia originates up in Canada. 🙂

First correct answer gets a Digital Cupcake and their name in print!

 

 

Genealogical Forum of Oregon Special Parking E-News

by Charles Hansen

Special Parking E-News
a recap from GFO’s Parking Forum GenTalk yesterday

THE PARKING SCOOP
As many of you have already heard, the three Ford Building parking lots (see map below for locations of the East, West, and South Lots) became PAY-TO-PARK on Monday, February 13th.

Since our GFO members, patrons, and volunteers have enjoyed a significantly long history (since 2011) of free parking, this change has been met with much interest and a little anxiety. To give everyone an opportunity to present their concerns and ideas in a safe and cooperative environment, the GFO’s monthly GenTalk was set aside as an open Parking Forum for our members and other interested parties.

We’d like to let you know what was presented and discussed at yesterday’s meeting.
A few great ideas presented at yesterday’s GenTalk…
Since so many of you already skip the many woes of parking by utilizing public transportation to get to the GFO, we thought it might be time to do a good ole fashioned knowledge-share!

ONE. If you use Trimet to get to the GFO and have tips for the rest of us, we’d like to post them to the GFO website if you can send your “Route Tips” to info@gfo.org.

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Monday’s Mystery Answer

by Charles Hansen

We all think about today when we should be thinking about the time our ancestors were living. I was listening to one of the RootsTech online talks and the speaker was telling about putting off research on one of her ancestors because it was a very common surname, I know I have done that also, but when she looked for the person in the time she was looking there were hardly any in the location she lived. So in last weeks Monday Mystery

I had posted about the Seattle City Directory page I had digitized and asked how many people were in the Seattle City Directory for the surname Jones. Well the answer is 2, and both were ladies which were fairly uncommon in city directories in the 1800s.

We did not receive a single answer so I guess it was too hard.

Family Search British Isles Research Seminar

by Charles Hansen

 

British Isles Research Seminar

 

British Isles Research Seminar
In order to attend these classes you must register. To attend in person click here. If you are going to attend online click here. When registering please check ALL of the days that you wish to attend. We will use Eventbrite to process your registration. Your information will be processed in accordance with their privacy policy located at Eventbrite’s privacy policy.   IN PERSON CLASSES ARE GOING TO BE HELD IN MAIN FLOOR CLASSROOMS B & C.
TIME Monday, 13 March Tuesday, 14 March Wednesday, 15 March Thursday, 16 March Friday, 17 March
9:00-9:50 AM MDT NO CLASSES THIS HOUR Tracing Irish Roman Catholic Ancestry
10:00-10:50 AM MDT NO CLASSES THIS HOUR Finding Ancestry in Ireland Civil Registration Records
11:00 – 11:50 AM MDT NO CLASSES THIS HOUR Ireland Census & Census Substitutes
1:00-1:50 PM MDT Blessings and Curses of Tracing Welsh Ancestry How to Trace England Ancestry Online Scotland’s ‘Lost’ Other Half: Tracing Difficult Ancestral Lines in Scotland’s Non-Parochial (Church) Registers Turning the Tables on Tracing Elusive Ancestry in England/Wales Civil Registration Records: How to Trace Ancestry Using Online BMD Indexes The Scots-Irish: Plantation and Settlement of Ulster in the 17th Century
2:00-2:50 PM MDT Welsh Naming Patterns and Customs Tracing Non-Church of England Ancestry Using Church of Scotland Parochial Registers to Trace Scots Ancestry England Resources for Family History at findmypast Key Websites for Tracing Ancestry in Ireland

Class Descriptions

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Serendipity Friday

by Charles Hansen

*** British Isles Research Seminar…FREE

*** BYU Family History Library Teaching Videos….FREE

*** What the FHL will and will not accept; guide for all?

*** QuirKy Genealogy….new to us here in Washington

*** Gotta love the Quaker marriage records 🙂 

 

The Family History Library is presenting a British Isles Research Seminar from 13-17 March 2017 at the FHL in Salt Lake City. Classes include topics for England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. AND IT’S FREE! If you can attend in person, super. But if you cannot, you can attend via webinar. Use this link to register:  http://bit.ly/2hYNra4* .  “All handouts will be made available digitally and will be made available for download at: http://bit.ly/2hZKOqi .  (Yes, those are crazy looking web addresses.) The brochure I’m looking at lists 13 classes from which to choose…. 

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As long as we’re on the topic of webinars, here is another opportunity for FREE genealogical learning. The BYU Family History Library offers  about fifty different videos on their YouTube channel that offer free genealogical learning to you. Click to www.YouTube.com and search for the BYU Family History Library channel. (Didn’t know that YouTube had channels? Yep, just like TV, it does!)

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Any society library has faced this situation: a member passes on and their relative bring in boxes of their research…which they profess not to want and it may be organized or messy. In any case, most time a genealogical society will sadly turn down such a donation. Does your society need guidelines for donations? The Family History Library has a one page Gifts, Donations and Loans policy sheet. Google these words:  donations genealogy. This will take you to the FamilySearch WIKI; then click an embedded link to the above title. Good, bottom line, advice.

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Evelyn Roehl, APG member, and one “who has been hunting for ancestors as a livlihood since 1995” is offering “a monthly info-sharing service for you by Kin Hunters, Seattle, Washington, USA.” The February 2017 edition (two pages) gave a tip for finding names in the census and the quirks for same: “When is a surname not a real surname?” She says that next month’s topic will be “Field of dreams…”   Evelyn’s email is kinhunters@gmail.com.  Send her a quick message and request to be added to her mailing list for her QuirKy Genealogy Tip Sheet of the Month. You won’t be sorry you did.

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Browsing through the Minutes of the Philadelphia Monthly Meeting I came upon this entry, dated 7 Oct 1685:  “Edmond Bennett and Elizabeth Potts appear the second time and declare their intentions of marriage, all things appearing clear, friends left them to their liberty for consummating the same.” 

NW Genealogy Conference Registration Continues

by Roxanne Lowe

“Where does your story begin? That’s the theme of the 2017 Northwest Genealogy Conference, featuring nationally acclaimed speakers Kenyatta Berry, Daniel Earl and Diahan Southard. August 16 – 19 in Arlington, Washington.

Don’t miss this top-notch conference, full of classes, vendors, networking and more! Register today: full three-day conference -$160, single day – $80. For more information and registration, visit the NWGC website.

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

by Charles Hansen

TIP OF THE WEEK  – HAVE A PLAN!

Have an intractable problem? Have a real genealogical brick wall? Consider writing up a research plan. State what you are trying to accomplish or find, and then write up what you know. Revisit all the records while you are writing it up.  Then list 5 resources you haven’t looked at–probate, obituaries, vital records, newspapers, land records etc. Now start the search,  but with deliberation–write up the citation for each source you investigated and record your findings, even if nothing. Fresh eyes and a fresh initiative will often cause that wall to come tumbling down!

Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

VERDA R. HANSBERRY
August 19, 1919 – February 5, 2017

A life member of the Seattle Genealogical Society, Verda Romayne Hansberry, died on February 5, 2017, in Seattle. Verda, a librarian by profession, worked at the  Seattle Public Library for much of her career.  She worked in the Mobile Outreach Department, headed the the Circulation Department, and ultimately was Deputy City Librarian in charge of the Central Branch, as well as acting City Librarian in 1975. She also was president of the Washington Library Association in the early 1980s and was active on committees of the American Library Association.

Verda was the driving force in publishing three genealogy books about her father’s family, her mother’s family, and her husband’s ancestors. She is survived by her two sons, Russ (Kitty) Hansberry of Keller, Texas, and Doug (Patti) Hansberry of Beaverton, Oregon, and by her daughter, Anne Hansberry of Seattle, Washington.

A celebration of her life took place on February 10th. The family requests any donations in her memory should be made to the Seattle Genealogical Society or the Seattle Public Library Foundation.

You can read her full obituary or sign the guest book at:

http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Verda-Hansberry&lc=4176&pid=184018647&uuid=3874a665-00db-48b0-a8ff-e983a37dd290

“Tracking Down Granddad” at SGS Library

Joyce Lindsey O’Keefe recently wrote a complimentary story about her experience at the SGS Library and the help she received from volunteers, Christine Shomaker and Jean Roth. This story was published in the February edition of  the local magazine, Northwest Prime Time.  The magazine can be found at King County Library locations as well as on-line. Check it out at :

http://northwestprimetime.com/news/2017/jan/29/tracking-down-granddad

Thank you, Joyce.  We appreciate the recognition.

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THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News

by Charles Hansen

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News 15 February 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!

For a complete GFO CALENDAR click here.

Also, if you missed your free copy of our monthly Insider for February 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).

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TAKE US TO YOUR CANDIDATES! We still NEED YOUR HELP for candidate suggestions for March’s elections!

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