Barbara Jeanne Gorham Johnson 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.

Barbara Jeanne Gorham Johnson

Today we’re introducing Barbara Jeanne Gorham Johnson of Sedro Woolley, Washington, who was nominated by the Skagit Valley Genealogical Society (SVGS). She was recognized for the organizational skills she willingly exhibits and shares at the local society.

Ms. Johnson is an active member of the SVGS known for her teaching expertise, most recently in the emerging, complex field of genealogical DNA. She has shared her DNA interest at society programs and as a lecturer at other seminars. She has served as SVGS vice president and secretary, spending eight years on the board of directors. In addition, she has been an active member of the seminar planning committee for several years, including being chair of the successful 2015 event.

Ms. Johnson is a true example of what an outstanding volunteer is, and 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.

Puget Sound Genealogical Society January Meeting

by Charles Hansen

 

Puget Sound Genealogical Society

Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.

Sylvan Way Library, 1301 Sylvan Way, Bremerton, WA 98310

 

“Difficult Women: How Women’s Name Changes Confound Our Research”

 

Free program: Janet Camarata will teach us strategies and techniques, using case studies, to correctly identify our difficult to find and understand female ancestors. Janet’s talk precedes the monthly meeting of the Puget Sound Genealogical Society. Visitors are welcome to attend the lecture and stay for the business meeting. For more information call Genealogy Center during library hours: 360 475-9172.

 

 

Heritage Quest Research Library January Seminars

by Charles Hansen

January 2017

As a courtesy, please do not wear perfume or heavy cologne to class.

Due to the possibility of inclement weather, please include your phone number when making a reservation.

Tuesday, January 17th 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. $15.00

Surname Distribution Maps with Janet O’Conor Camarata

Though this class will focus on the Germanic area of Europe, where our family surnames appear, these maps are available for other countries as well. Surname maps are created from population lists, e.g. censuses, electoral rolls, taxation records and telephone directories. The maps “graphically display locations where surnames occurred at different periods.” The location can be a starting point for research in the birth country.

 

Saturday, January 21st 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. $15.00

Adoption – Secrets Revealed with Dee Haviland Fournier

Adoption records are often marked closed or sealed. Yet, they may contain the secret to your identity. Do you want to find your birth parents or help someone find theirs? Are you a birth parent looking for your child? Are you doing family history and find an adoption in your family? This class will help you get started.

 

 Saturday, January 28th   1:00 –3:00   FREE

This is an all new class for 2017.

“Beginning Family History Research,” 

with Dee Haviland Fournier

Join Dee in a FREE class and learn how to begin the search for your family history. You will learn how to find and use birth, marriage, and death records, along with a discussion on how to use census records to further your research and some genealogy hints. Everyone is welcome and you may attend this class as many times as you like.

Tuesday, January 31st 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. $15.00

The ABC’s OF DNA with Janet O’Conor Camarata

What is DNA? What types of DNA tests are used for genealogy? What are the strengths and weaknesses of various companies? How do I know which test to take? If you have asked yourself these questions, then this presentation is for you. This class is designed to answer questions using a non-technical genealogy-oriented approach.

 

*3 ways to sign-up:*

1. In person at HQRL, 1007 S. Main St., Sumner, WA. The sign-up notebook is at the Front Desk.

2. E-mail HQRLinfo@gmail.com  provide name, telephone number and your HQRL membership number, if you are a member.

3. Telephone HQRL at 253-863-1806 between 10:00 am – 4 pm, Monday
through Saturday. Provide you name, telephone number and HQRL membership number, if you are a member.

Tuesday Trivia

by Charles Hansen

Do you know the difference between the two words

QUERY and QUESTION?

They are both nouns and according to Grandma Google, they are pretty much synonymous. Think of a query as a question of inquiry and a question as a sentence asking for information. Does that help? Maybe?

Why do I ask that today?  Well, TA-DA!

As of today, the WSGS blog will gladly accept and happily post (for all to see!) YOUR queries (or your questions?) pertaining to your Pacific Northwest ancestry.

Maybe your query will be like this: “John Peter Oswald died in the 1940s in the Seattle area but I cannot find his cemetery location….help?”  Or even this:  “My father served at Fairchild Air Force Base in the 1950s…could anyone in the area get on base to take a photo of the house where they lived?” Or this: “Are there any records for Point Roberts, Washington, which is accessible only through Canada?”

So whether you have a query or a question about any aspect of your Pacific Northwest ancestry, send them my way!  Donna243@gmail.com   (P.S. We may set up a specific email for this; stay tuned.)

Alice Whitman Chapter DAR January Meeting

by Charles Hansen

 

Saturday – 21 Jan 2017

ALICE WHITMAN CHAPTER

DAR is “Historic Preservation – Education – Patriotism”

Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, 1115 13th St, Clarkston WA

Potluck at 12:00 Noon —  Please bring salad or dessert

Meeting begins at 1 p.m

More information on January and February meetings

20170121 – AWC DAR – Jan 2017 mtg announcement final

 

Northeast Washington Gen Society News

by Charles Hansen

Welcome to 2017! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. It was certainly a white one here!

This Wednesday (the 11th) is our first meeting of the year. The computer group will meet at 10:30 a.m. in the meeting room down the hall from the Family History Center at the LDS church on Juniper. Karen Struve will be sharing information about how to use Pinterest to assist you in your genealogy research. Be sure to download her handout that you will find in the Members section of our website, under Secure Download, Computer Meeting Handouts.

After a break for lunch, we will return to the LDS church for our afternoon meeting at 1:30 p.m. After a short business meeting, the afternoon meeting will be a sharing session that we invite all of you to take part in. Come and share your latest finds. Perhaps it will be a new ancestor or one that has eluded you for a long time, or maybe it is a new resource that you found particularly helpful. Whatever success you have had, we want to hear about it!

Well I am off to deal with last night’s snow and hope I can dig out by Wednesday! See you then … Susan

Serendipity Day

by Charles Hansen

*** Museums in Washington State

*** Needing a High School or College Yearbook?

*** The Rewards of Apathy 

 

As an education project for the WSGS, I would like to assemble a list of museums in Washington state. I realize this could be a 500-page compilation but I think it would be quite interesting and possibly useful to vacationers and travelers. Would you help me, please?  I can ask Grandma Google and get the big museums and/or historical societies but you know of those smaller ones in your area. Care to make a list and send it to me?  Donna243@gmail.com     I would appreciate your help.  (This pix is of our MAC museum here in Spokane.)

***********************************

I was working on a project last year to help better document the sailors who went down with the U.S.S. Arizona on December 7, 1941, in Pearl Harbor. Pictures of these young men were what was wanted. With Grandma Google’s help, I discovered E-Yearbook.com.  For $20, I had one year’s full access to any yearbook I needed! You search by state and then name of school….. the list of school (divided into high school and college) would print out several pages long for there ARE that many available. When you click on the school of choice, you’ll see the years that yearbooks are available and, of course, some years are missing. Go look for yourself, your partner, your parents, even your teachers! It’s fun. 

********************************** Continue reading →

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News

by Charles Hansen

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News 04 January 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 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).

***

Start the year off with a bang! January’s GenTalk is around the corner!!

WHEN Jan 21, 2017 at 2 pm
WHERE: the GFO Library
WHAT Lone Fir Cemetery

Continue reading →