Patricia Deutsch 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 Deutsch

Patricia Deutsch

Today we’re introducing Patricia Deutsch of Seattle, Washington, who was nominated by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State (JGSWS). She was recognized for her organizational skills to improve access to the JGSWS holdings.

The JGSWS owns a collection of over 200 resources, including books, research guides, methodologies, atlases, histories and maps of particular interest to Jewish genealogists. This collection had previously been unavailable to members of the society having been stored in boxes at the Jewish Community Center and in one of the society member’s garage. Ms. Deutsch moved the collection to a more advantageous location, and made them available for members to use. She arranged the books on shelves for easy browsing and devised a system for the items to be loaned out to members for their use at home. These efforts have given the JGSWS members an additional way to improve their knowledge of research methods and resources and to further their own efforts to trace their families.

Ms. Deutsch’s efforts to improve access to their resources were much appreciated by the JGSWS, thus proving 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.

WAGS Library Open an Extra Day

by Roxanne Lowe

Take advantage of the Wenatchee Area Genealogical Society (WAGS) Library’s extra day open next week! WAGS doesn’t usually have a membership meeting in December, so their librarians took matters into their own hands, and decided to open their library an extra day. Stop by on Monday, December 12, anytime from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Even in the midst of all your December busy-ness, here is an opportunity to do a bit of quiet research. Be sure to check out their new digital preservation equipment, and see how this technique might fit your goals for preserving and sharing your family’s genealogy!

The WAGS Library is located in the Museum Annex Building, 127 South Mission Street, Wenatchee (corner of Mission and Yakima). Besides this extra day, their regular library hours are 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., Tuesday and Saturday. Call the Library at 509-888-6246 or visit their website for more information.

Serendipity Day

by Charles Hansen

*** Jacobus’ TAG article still good advice.

*** Swedish/Norwegian/Danish meatballs

*** DNA Quicksheets

 

Back in 1954, The American Genealogist (TAG) published an article by Donald Lines Jacobus, M.A., F.A.S.G. titled Tricks In Using Indexed Genealogy Books. He began his article with a touch of humor:

“Intelligent and experienced readers will, I fear, feel insulted to be told things they long have known. Those who are sure they know all the tricks that can be employed in handling the indexes in family histories are therefore requested to skip this page with a sniff of disdain.”

From the article I outlined his points for you:

** Many old family histories are just not indexed but somewhere along the line some group may have compiled an index.

** Many older family histories have a series of indexes and unless you pay attention and peek at only one, you won’t find much.

** Some family histories have indexes at the front and some in the middle…. “one 7-volume set has an index plump (sic) in the middle of the 7th volume!”

**Some family histories have a total, every-name index but some only the main surnames and not the married-in surnames.

** Some index these married-in surnames only by surname, not first name.

**Some list surnames with a string of pages numbers, rather than breaking the listing down by first name.

** Some names are indexed under spellings that you would never guess.

** Some index all spellings: Wooster/Worchester;  Gaylord/Gaillard.

Jacobus ended his article with this: “Those who use the indexes in genealogical books must bear all the above factors in mind….. many (of these indexes) have been compiled by inexperienced people, some by careless people, and some by doctrinaires who followed their own eccentric—even bizarre–notions. The best and most experienced indexers are occasionally guilty of some oversight or of a lapse in judgement. The moral is for the searcher not to give up too easily……”

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THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News

by Charles Hansen

GFO1

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News 30 November 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!

For a complete GFO CALENDAR go to www.gfo.org/calendar.htm.

Also, if you missed your free copy of our monthly Insider for November 2016, you’re in luck because we saved you a copy at http://www.gfo.org/insider/16-Nov.pdf.

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Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

by Charles Hansen

Seattle
 TIP OF THE WEEK –   Family Tree DNA Tests on Sale

During the entire month of December, Family Tree DNA (FTDNA.COM), is having a substantial sale on their most popular DNA tests. Family Finder, the autosomal DNA test, is on sale for $59; this is a $40 savings from the regular $99 price.  The mtDNA Full Sequence test is marked down to $179, a $20 savings,  and the Y-DNA37 test is marked down $30 to $139.  Some of the combination tests for male or female lines are also on sale. The Family Finder + mtfullSequence has been reduced to $228, a $70 savings, and the Family Finder + Y37 is now $188, an $80 savings. Sale prices will be in effect until 12/31/2016.

Seattle Genealogical Society Announcements and Calendar

by Charles Hansen

Seattle

LISA CHAN, VOLUNTEER OF THE FALL QUARTER

The Board of Directors has chosen Lisa Chan as SGS Volunteer of the Fall Quarter. Her contributions as the first technology director, and currently as chair of the technology committee, have hugely benefited the society. Lisa introduced us to Google Apps for Non-Profits, a suite of applications and cloud storage provided at no cost to the society.  SGS files have been moved from hardcopy or storage on individual computers to a common SGS Drive where they can seamlessly be accessed by all board officers.  She has made many SGS Library IT improvements including internal networking and patron computer upgrades. Plus she has been overhauling the SGS website which is so vital to our community outreach efforts.

On the first and third Tuesday of each month from 12:30-3:00 pm, Lisa offers her popular “Technology Tuesday” with discussions on technology, genealogical software, genetic research, internet resources and much more. Be sure to check the eNews! or the SGS website calendars for the webinars Lisa occasionally presents at the SGS library.

Lisa’s interest in genealogy began in 2014 after an autosomal DNA test from 23andMe led her to research the hundreds of matches received. She interviewed her maternal grandmother and learned about her maternal grandfather’s family in southern Illinois, discovering fifth great grandparents buried there, as well as third great grandparents from Ostfriesland, Germany. Relations are still living in the Illinois community the family had helped to settle. Her grandmother entrusted her with records passed down in the family, and Lisa has solved a good number of the “brick walls” going back seventy or more years in family members’ research. Last summer about ten family members met in Illinois  near the burial area of shared ancestors Alexander Rhodes (1787) and Elizabeth Poteet (1790).  With the help of autosomal DNA analysis Lisa was able to discover her biological father and found that she had both a living half brother and paternal grandmother, as well as many newly found cousins. Her interests in family history led her to join SGS, though her first ancestors in our area were second great grandparents who moved here in the 1940s. Lisa reports that these genealogical discoveries she has made over the last two years have been immeasurably enriching.

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Forgotten Civil War Veteran To Be Honored

by Roxanne Lowe

Due to the dogged commitment of a Kent couple, with a passion for searching for remains of veterans lying in unmarked graves and obtaining proper headstones for them, a Civil War veteran and his wife will be buried with full military honors on 10 Dec at the Tahoma National Cemetery near Kent.

Read more about the amazing journey of James Powers and his wife Irene who died in 1921 and 1928, respectively, in this Tacoma News Tribune article.

More information about the burial is available in this blog article.

Gift Idea: Washington Pioneer Certificate

by Roxanne Lowe

pioneerIf your ancestor was one of the 350,000 people who lived in the Washington Territory when it became the nation’s 42nd state on 11 Nov 1889, you may be eligible for a Washington Pioneer certificate. Or if your ancestors arrived a little later — before 31 Dec 1900 — you can get a First Citizen certificate. What a great gift for yourself and your family members!

We began the Washington State Centennial Pioneer Certificate Program in 1984 in anticipation of the state’s centennial admission to the union in 1889. The initial certificates were issued to applicants who could prove their ancestors were in Washington Territory prior to 11 Nov 1889. Those descendants’ names, almost 18,000, were printed in a two-volume set of firstcitizenbooks entitled “Washington Pioneers” in 1992. A third volume, published in 1993, included Pioneers and First Citizens (those in the state on or before 31 Dec 1900). The three original volumes are out of print, but an index is available here. WSGS members have access to family lineages in the Members’ Only section of the website.
Pioneer and First Citizen Certificates are still being issued, although they are published only on the WSGS website at this time. If you can prove your ancestor was in Washington prior to 11 Nov 1889, you may be eligible to purchase a Pioneer Certificate. If your ancestor was in Washington on or before 31 Dec 1900, you may be eligible for a First Citizen Certificate. More information, including resources to prove residency, is available in the Pioneer and First Citizen Program brochure. An application and instructions are available here.

Society Award Deadlines Set

by Roxanne Lowe

Local genealogical societies:

The deadlines for WSGS awards to local societies have been set. We are encouraging you to promote your society’s activities and accomplishments by submitting a nomination.

Outstanding Communication – The WSGS Outstanding Communication Award is awarded to a local society that promotes its society and/or genealogy and family history to its members and/or the public. The award includes all forms of communication, including websites, social media, newsletters, lectures, videos, podcasts, etc. The nomination deadline is 01 Feb 2017. The application is available here.

Outstanding Project – The WSGS Outstanding Project Award is awarded to a local genealogical society or organization in recognition of exceptional genealogical or historical projects implemented during the past year. The nomination deadline is 01 Feb 2017. The application is available here.

President’s Award: The WSGS President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement is designed to single out that rare individual, society or organization who has demonstrated exemplary service above and beyond expectations. The nomination deadline is 15 Feb 2017. The nomination form and additional details are available here.

For more information, contact Roxanne Lowe, Chair, Recognition Committee at roxanne@thekeeffes.com.

Bainbridge Island Gen Society Newsflash

by Charles Hansen

bainbridge-island

 

November 28, 2016

The Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society (BIGS) will meet Friday, December 16, at the LDS church on Bainbridge Island, 8677 Madison Avenue, from 10:00 AM until 12 noon, for our annual “Holiday Show and Tell” gathering of members sharing ancestral tales, treasures, and research aids (e.g., pictures, letters, bibles, trinkets, etc) and/or tell about a discovery, progress, a breakthrough or other highlight of the year.  After a brief sharing, there will be an opportunity to walk around to see each other’s treasures, to visit, and to share a holiday treat.  This is a very good time to visit if you are interested in becoming a member.  For more information go to 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