THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News

by Charles Hansen

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News 2 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!

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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It’s never too early to save a seat! GFO spring events are around the corner…

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Whoops! & Monday’s Mystery Winner

by Charles Hansen

The “whoops” is the correction to last Tuesday’s Trivia: Was enjoying a browse through an 1876 Monitor Guide to Post Offices & Railroad Stations in the United States and Canada. It was fun to search and find four Washington cities listed: Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia and Spokane Bridge in Stevens County. That raised my eyebrows because I remembered that Spokane County was formed from Stevens County in 1858. Humm. And that was the only listing for Spokane. How come the inaccuracy, I wonder?

Charles Hansen gave me/us the explanation: 

Donna  Spokane county was formed by the Territorial Legislature in 1858, but January 20, 1863 Stevens county was formed and attached to Spokane county. January 19, 1864 Spokane county was named Stevens County. October 30, 1879 Spokane county was formed out of part of Stevens county. So between 1864 and 1879 there was no Spokane County.  Charles

And since I shall be in Salt Lake City next Monday for RootsTech, may I proudly announce the winner of last Monday’s Mystery:

Gary Parfitt! He was the first reply to correctly answer that “World’s Fair” was what Seattle (1962) and Spokane (1974) had in common. Congrats and kudos on your knowledge of Washington history, Gary.

But we do thank all of you who puzzled the mystery and took the time to answer.

Kittitas County Genealogical Society Meetings February 6

by Charles Hansen

Monday Feb 6 2017 KCGenealogical Soc meeting

7 PM at 413 N. Main St, Suite L, Ellensburg WA

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REFRESHMENTS BY Linda Bissonette and Patricia Mittness are signed up for Feb. 6. The program by Bob Kibler, “Writing a Book on Local History.”

Monday, February 6
Kittitas County Genealogical Society  (Local society meetings)
7:00 pm
KCGS Library, 413 N. Main Street, Suite L, Ellensburg, WA
The Kittitas County Genealogical Society program on 07 Feb will be Bob Kibler discussing “Writing a Book About Local History” using his book about Desert Aire as an example. For more information, visit the KCGS website.

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

by Charles Hansen


Tip of the Week – Scottish Research Site

Have you heard of this site for Scottish research?  http://www.scottishindexes.com/

Here you will find access to indexes of historic documents in Scotland.  Some of the records sets covered and free to search are the 1841, 1851, and 1861 Scottish Censuses, Deeds, Mental Health Records, Prison Registers, and Paternity Cases.  How fun is this!  Check back often as they continue to add new resources.

Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

NEW PULL DOWN SCREEN INSTALLED

The new large pull down screen has been professionally installed at the SGS library. Many thanks to Sellen Construction and their guys, Dean and Roland, for their generosity and time. Our own “vertically challenged” Jean Roth commented, “It’s so easy to reach and operate.  I usually have a problem with that”.

BOARD CERTIFICATION DISCUSSION GROUP
 TO BEGIN MEETING

Fourteen individuals signed up for the Board Certification Discussion Group. Jill Morelli will lead the group and share her certification process experiences with everyone.  Since last month she has been notified that the Board for Certification of Genealogists has conferred upon her the title of Certified Genealogist. Congratulations, Jill. The group will begin meeting in February via Google Hangout.

COMING UP – SAVE THE DATES

O Canada: Children of a Common Mother
 Heritage Weekend and Genealogy Seminar
 in the Skagit Valley
 Friday thru Sunday, April 21-23, 2017

The Skagit Valley Genealogical Society invites you to enjoy a special heritage weekend. The O Canada theme is in honor of Canada’s 150th Anniversary of Confederation coming up July 1.

There are activities on Friday evening and Sunday morning to complement the full day seminar on Saturday. Plus, remember the valley will be ablaze in tulip color and the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival has activities that weekend that your family can enjoy while you attend the Saturday genealogy seminar and Sunday historic Burlington walking tour.

You can find more information, the flyer, and online registration at:

www.SkagitValleyGenealogy.org

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JEFFERSON COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY Meeting February 18

by Charles Hansen

 

JEFFERSON COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY (JCGS)

PO Box 627

Port Townsend, WA 98368

Contact for this press release: Judy Tough 385-3065 or tough@olympus.net

FOR RELEASE: February 1 – 17, 2017

GENEAOLOGY DETECTIVE

Being a genealogy detective involves scanning newspapers for information not found elsewhere. Mary Roddy, Jefferson County Genealogical Society (JCGS) speaker this month will present “Read ‘Em or Weep”. Her program involves finding free and pay newspaper sites online and will show us a method to do a ‘thorough searching in every newspaper every time’. Public is welcome! Free. Donations are gratefully accepted. Saturday, February 18, Tri-Area Community Center, 10 West Valley Road in Chimacum. 9:30-10 a.m. ‘meet & greet’; 10-11:30 includes brief announcements and the presentation. Visit JCGS website <wajcgs.org> for more information.

Mary Roddy

Mary Roddy is a Certified Public Accountant who has earned a certificate from the Genealogy and Family History Program at the University of Washington. She is an active member of the Seattle Genealogical Society and speaks frequently to groups in the Seattle area. Her background in accounting has influenced the way she uses spreadsheets and forensic research in her genealogy. Mary is a regular contributor to YourGenealogyToday and Internet Genealogy magazines as well as a webinar presenter with Legacy Family Tree Webinars.

LOWER COLUMBIA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY Meeting February 9

by Charles Hansen

 

 

History for Genealogists

How to use historical societies

Please join us for this great presentation by

HANNAH ALLAN, A byu FAMILY HISTORY AND GENEALOGY GRADUATE, AND CURRENTLY ON SITE GENEALOGIST FOR THE OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY IN PORTLAND, AMONG MANY OTHER PAST AND CURRENT GENEALOGY RELATED ACTIVITIES.

LOWER COLUMBIA GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~walcolgs/

SOMERSET RETIREMENT APARTMENTS

2025 TIBBETTS DRIVE, LONGVIEW

DINING ROOM 7:00 PM

Feb 9, 2017

VISITORS ARE WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND.

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society (BIGS) Meeting Friday, February 17

by Charles Hansen

 

The Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society (BIGS) will meet Friday, February 17, 2017, at the LDS church on Bainbridge Island, 8677 Madison Avenue, from 10:00 AM.  Mary Kircher Roddy, a genealogist, lecturer and writer, will be speaking on “A Decree of (Temporary) Divorce – My Life Without Ancestry.com.”  Free to members, a $5.00 donation is suggested for nonmembers.  For more information go to http://www.bigenealogy.org, or call 206-842-4978.  BIGS is a 501c(3) non-profit organization.

 

Patricia Olsen Awarded 2016 Outstanding Volunteer Honor

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized almost 500 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2016 award recipients and learn why they received the 2016 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Patricia Olsen

Today we’re introducing Patricia Olsen of Chehalis, Washington, who was nominated by the Lewis County Genealogical Society (LCGS). She was recognized for her commitment to provide quality educational programs for the society.

For the past two years, Ms. Olsen has single-handedly arranged for meeting program speakers with no assistance. Traveling to various genealogical events around Washington and Oregon so she is up-to-date on new research techniques, technologies, databases, and presenters, she evaluated speakers and subjects based on what she thought would be the most popular and useful to the LCGS’s members. After agreement by the society, she would finalize arrangements, including logistics, resulting in a diverse group of speakers and topics.

Ms. Olsen’s attention to detail and commitment to educating LCGS’s members in the field of genealogy illustrate that she richly deserved being a recipient of a 2016 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Roxanne Lowe, Recognition Chair, at Roxanne@thekeeffes.com.

Tuesday Trivia

by Charles Hansen

Was enjoying a browse through an 1876 Monitor Guide to Post Offices & Railroad Stations in the United States and Canada. It was fun to search and find four Washington cities listed: Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia and Spokane Bridge in Stevens County. That raised my eyebrows because I remembered that Spokane County was formed from Stevens County in 1858. Humm. And that was the only listing for Spokane. How come the inaccuracy, I wonder?

 

Walla Walla onions. Everybody knows and admires Walla Walla Sweet Onions. My sister-in-law in Missouri once hauled home a #30 bag of them! Did you know they were developed by an Italian family? Immigrants from the Lombardian village of Lonate Pozzolo in Italy (now a suburb of Milan), came to the Walla Walla area in 1857. By 1900 there were two thriving colonies of Italians living near Walla Walla. The iconic Walla Walla Sweet Onion emerged in the 1920s but the name wasn’t coined until 1960. They are unique because they have the highest moisture content and they are now a gourmet export onion. (Thanks to Columbia magazine for this.)