Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

by Charles Hansen

Tip of the Week – Legacy Family Tree Webinars 2017

A webinar is an online seminar/class that you watch from your computer. All you need is an internet connection and speakers. If you are watching a live presentation, you may also be able to type in questions for the presenter.

What is the cost? Here’s the great thing at Legacy Family Tree Webinars, there is no charge to register and view a live webinar! If you cannot make the live event, recordings are usually available to watch for free during the 7 days immediately following the live event!

After that time period, webinars are available to download for $9.95 each, or as part of a monthly or annual membership. At the beginning of 2017, there will be more than 450 classes in their webinar library.

Check out the list of upcoming Legacy Family Tree Webinars or the titles in their webinar library at :

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Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

“THERE ARE SEVEN DAYS IN THE WEEK and
SOMEDAY ISN’T ONE OF THEM” – unknown

The beginning of a new year is often the time people take stock of their lives, their habits, and their goals. If there is one regret I have in my genealogical research journey, it’s that I didn’t begin sooner, when my grandparents were still alive. What a wealth of knowledge I missed out on.

So NOW would be the time to interview your oldest living relatives.  Go through all those old family photos with them. Document and label who’s who. You’ve been meaning to visit elderly Aunt Minnie, right? Schedule that activity SOON. Listen to her family stories, ask questions about the family history, and write it down.  Is there a family Bible or family memorabilia?  Who has possession of them?  These are a few frequently asked questions.

Another thing is, with the advent of DNA testing, experts now recommend you test your oldest generation while you still can.  Get these things on your schedule. Better sooner than later; don’t delay.

SGS RECEIVES NEW TWO-YEAR GRANT
 FROM 4CULTURE

SGS’s application for a two-year Heritage Sustained Support grant from 4Culture has been approved. We’ll receive $3,500 per year in 2017 and 2018. Since membership dues cover less than 40% of SGS’s overhead expenses each year, these grants are vital to us.  We’ve received such grants annually since 2010.

4Culture is a tax-exempt public development authority (PDA) run by King County. Their mission is to make our region stronger by supporting citizens and groups who preserve our shared heritage, and create arts and cultural opportunities for residents and visitors.  A portion of Lodging Tax revenues collected in King County provides all of the funding for the Heritage grants.

WANTED – PAST ISSUES OF SGS NEWSLETTER

SGS Plans to digitize all past issues of the SGS Bulletin and the SGS Newsletter and place them on the website.

We’re missing issues of the Newsletter and want to make the collection complete. Contact Reiley Kidd at: secretary@seattlegenealogicalsociety.org if you have issues you can loan or give to SGS for this project.

“Black Sea German Ancestors” lecture  at SGS by
 Carolyn Schott, author and travel blogger
JANUARY 22, 1:00 P.M.

Carolyn Schott, a lifelong traveler, has visited Germany, Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, and Poland in pursuit of her family heritage. Along the way, she’s sampled Zwiebelkuchen (onion tart) at a German village festival; hiked through rural cemeteries with a broken foot; and found herself in a protest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Her talk will describe how she’s located her ancestral towns and made the most of opportunities to visit them.

A native of Seattle, Carolyn Schott has been actively involved in researching her Black Sea German ancestors for about 20 years. Her book, “Yes You! Yes Now! Visiting Your Ancestral Town”, is designed to help others learn from her experiences. Carolyn is one of the founders of the Black Sea German Research Community (www.blackseagr.org). She belongs to a number of genealogy societies that focus on German in Eastern Europe, and she was formerly a board member of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society (GRHS) and editor of the GRHS Heritage Review.

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 is closed from Saturday, December 24th through Monday, January 2nd.

JANUARY

Tuesday, January 3, 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, January 7, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Canadian SIG, David Robert, leader

Sunday, January 8, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm, Scandinavian  Interest Group, at this meeting Kathi McGinnis will be demonstrating several tools for researching your Norwegian ancestors – come see demonstrations of Digitalarkivet, DIS-Norge, Norgeskart, and Norway Heritage.

Saturday, January 14,  1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Family Tree Maker Users Group,  members helping one another with FTM,  led by Reiley Kidd and Betty Ravenholt; email Reiley at secretary@seattlegenealogicalsociety.org  for more info.

Tuesday, January 17,  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.

Wednesday January 18,  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm, Mac Computer Interest Group, sponsored jointly by SGS, Fiske, and dBug, meets quarterly at the Fiske Genealogical Library, 1644 43rd Ave E, Seattle.  This group addresses topics useful to users of MacIntosh (Apple) computers and the Reunion genealogy program. Email Lou Daly at loudaly@nwlink.com or Diane Hettrick at dhettrick@earthlink.net with questions.

Saturday, January 21, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Irish Interest Group, an open session on Irish research using old and new resources   Leader: Jean A. Roth

Saturday, January 21, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, German Interest Group, an open session on German research using old and new resources   Leader: Jean A. Roth

Sunday, January 22, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Carolyn Schott, world traveler and author of “Visiting Your Ancestral Town”, a result of her passion for genealogy and travel, wants to share with you how to get the most out of a trip to explore your family roots. See featured article above for more info on Carolyn and her lecture.

Saturday, January 28, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm, the DNA Interest Group meets quarterly at Wedgwood Presbyterian Church, 8805 35th Ave NE, Seattle. For information contact SGSDNASIG@gmail.com  Co-chaired by Cary Bright and Herb McDaniel.

Clark County Genealogical Society Book Mending Workshop

by Charles Hansen


BOOK MENDING WORKSHOP
A Half Day workshop has been scheduled for Book Mending.
January 16, 2017      10am-2pm in the Annex.
If you missed the last workshop, please come anyway and we will teach you. You’ll learn how to spot a needed mend before it becomes a repair.  Let’s preserve our Library collection. Led by Linda Dawson.
If you want to see what we are doing log onto  gaylord.com  click resources then Preservation  and ope the pdf  Bookcraft repair manual.

LIBRARY CLOSURES
If you are planning a trip to the library on a day with bad weather, please call the library before you leave home to make sure they are open.  360 750-5688

NEWSPAPER CONTRIBUTIONS TO CCGS
If you have contributed newspapers to CCGS for clipping during the past year, please send an email to Dolly Merrick and Lethene Parks, so you can be recognized for your contributions. Thank you.
Lethene:   lethene @ comcast.net
Dolly:       dolly_m1 @ yahoo.com

LEGACY USERS GROUP
The Legacy group needs a new leader.  They meet on Mondays from 10-12.  If you are interested, please send an email to:
gensoc@ccgs-wa.org

Bainbridge Island Gen Society News

by Charles Hansen

The Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society (BIGS) will meet Friday, January 20, 2017, at the LDS church on Bainbridge Island, 8677 Madison Avenue, from 10:00 am – 12 Noon.  This will be a meeting for brainstorming to develop our New Year’s Resolution for Genealogy.  We will be collaborating to come up with new ideas to use to enhance and advance our research.  This is a very good time to visit if you are interested in becoming a member.  Come and be inspired!  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.

 

Thank you!  Sylvia H. Nelson,  Director of Publicity and Public Relations Bainbridge Island, Genealogical Society

Eastern Washington Gen Society News

by Charles Hansen
Saturday, January 7, 2017  —  12:30 pm to 3:00 pm
The Pearl Buffet, 21 E Lincoln Road Spokane WA 99208
Lunch at 12:00 followed by program. 
Welcome to the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum!! A gem in our area that perhaps you’ve overlooked visiting. Come hear director, Jayne Singleton, tell us all about this wonderful museum AND research station for the history of the peoples of Spokane Valley. 
Born in South Bend Indiana, raised in Redondo Beach CA, Jayne moved to Spokane 33 yrs ago and was educated at SFCC, Gonzaga and EWU.
She (with a group of others) established the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum in 2004 in the Opportunity Township Hall. She is now Museum Director & Valley Historian, presented programs to community, schools, clubs, groups and is a contributing author on historical events/people to magazines, newspapers etc.
 

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News

by Charles Hansen

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News 28 December 2016

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 January 2017, you’re in luck because we saved you a copy at 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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Continue reading →

WSGS Bids Adieu to 2016

by Roxanne Lowe

As 2016 comes to a close, we want to reflect on the accomplishments of the Washington State Genealogical Society over the past 12 months. While there’s always more to do — and we’re going to continue working on improvements — we still celebrate what we’ve done and are getting ready to be bigger and better in 2017.

Here are a few of our most important accomplishments.

  • Successful partnership with Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society to host the highly successful WSGS Conference and awards ceremony in June.
  • Our blog continues to get active readership. 465 (and counting!) posts were sent to more than 500 blog subscribers. We had 284 seminars and meetings posted throughout the year — up from 112 in 2015! Most popular posts were “Tip of the Week” and Donna Potter Phillips’ “Serendipity.”
  • We have 369 proud members of WSGS – highest membership in years.
  • Offered complimentary memberships to all local societies.
  • Updated the Board’s Standing Rules.
  • Outstanding Volunteers/Teams awards were presented to 20 individuals and 4 teams with 20 members from 17 local genealogical societies.
  • Innovative Grants awarded to:
    • Jefferson County Genealogical Society – upgrade software designed to index and preserve more than 400,000 local records.
    • Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society – event promotion to “adopt” coyote sculpture. See 28 Dec 2016 blog feature.
    • Whitman County Genealogical Society – assist with the purchase of a new society computer, 22” monitor and portable hard drive to ensure back-up of files.
  • President’s Award deservedly presented to Margie Wilson of Skagit Valley Genealogical Society.
  • Created the Education Assistance Fund to support local societies’ abilities to provide quality genealogical educational events.
  • Pioneer and First Citizen Certificates remain one of our most popular programs. Since its inception in 1984, more than 27,000 certificates have been issued. Check here for the index of early Washingtonians.
  • In our continuing effort to promote transparency and involvement, the Board minutes and society’s financial reports are now posted in the members’ area of website.
  • Website updated, with a special emphasis on the home page and publicizing local societies’ events and meetings.
  • Staffed WSGS information table at four events where we promoted WSGS, answered questions, and enrolled new members.

 

Wenatchee Area GS Adopts Coyote Using Innovative Grant

by Roxanne Lowe

WAGS Coyote

Hello, Mr. Coyote, how do you fare
Sitting and reading on the museum stair?
You are so handsome—really, quite dapper
Completely absorbed in your candy wrapper.

This excerpt of a poem written in 1996 by Mrs. Ella Dillon, a local writer and poet, was the perfect coda at the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society’s (WAGS) recent “adoption ceremony” of “Coyote Reading a Candy Wrapper.” Renamed the WAGS Coyote, the sculpture by renowned Northwest artist Richard Beyer, was originally installed in 1995 by Art on the Avenues, a non-profit promoter of the arts in the Wenatchee Valley. That same year, the coyote was voted Wenatchee’s favorite sculpture, purchased by the city and placed on the steps of the Museum Annex at 217 S. Mission Street — the home of the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society Library.

Since 1996, Coyote has been “fostered” by Terry and Suzanne Sorom, supporters of the Art on the Avenues program. At the adoption ceremony, the Sorom’s were delighted to officially transfer to WAGS their baton of care and concern for WAGS Coyote.

Using their 2016 Innovative Grant, WAGS hosted the not-so-serious adoption ceremony and celebration as the WAGS Coyote became their official mascot. The event was also an excellent opportunity to promote WAGS and its resource library with approximately 600,000 pieces of information. Local dignitaries, including the Mayor of Wenatchee, attended the unique event and toasted the occasion with Tree Top apple juice, a local favorite.

The WSGS Innovative Grants, up to $100, are designed to support the inventive and creative efforts of WSGS-member societies and organizations. Up to five grants will be awarded in 2017.

In addition to WAGS, last year’s grant awards were made to:

• Jefferson County Genealogical Society – upgrade software designed to index and preserve more than 400,000 local records.
• Whitman County Genealogical Society – assist with the purchase of a new society computer, 22” monitor and portable hard drive to ensure back-up of files.

The deadline for the Innovative Grant application is March 1, 2017. The simple application is only ONE page and is available here. Additional guidance on the program is here.