Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

by Charles Hansen

 

Seattle
On Tuesday July 26, 2016 at 3 pm EST, the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is offering a free one-hour workshop webinar, DPLA for Genealogy and Family History.
The DPLA has recently formed a partnership with FamilySearch.org, the largest genealogy organization in the world. This workshop will introduce DPLA as a resource for family historians, genealogists, and anyone interested in learning about new research skills and the resource available through DPLA.
More information is available at https://dp.la/info/get-involved/workshops/
To register for this free workshop, go to https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8913853291819344898

Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

Seattle

JESS RAMEY HONORED AS VOLUNTEER OF THE QUARTER
The Board of Directors has named Jess Ramey as the honored Volunteer of the second Quarter of the year, in recognition of his extraordinary accomplishment of putting the SGS library’s collection of over 800 unidentified and uncataloged maps in order. Over many years the SGS built up this large collection, which was stashed in various places throughout the library.

Over a period of just eight months, Jess Ramey has processed this miscellany of maps, of widely varying size and date, to get them into the library catalog. Every map was unrolled and flattened, then identified by Jess and entered into an inventory. Finally, all the maps were reviewed, one by one, for inclusion in the library or for surplus. In all, 680 of the maps were designated for retention in our collection.

Jess then took the information from each map, assigned it a call number and entered it into the catalog. These maps have now all been labeled and are available to library patrons in the large map boxes. Our technology director is in the process of updating our online catalog. Once that major project is completed, the online SGS catalog will show these maps during a search.

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Serendipity Day

by Charles Hansen

*** YouTube: A Great Bet for YOU!

*** Reform School: Did Your Ancestor “Attend?”

*** Naps Restaurant, Hamilton, Montana

*** Is There Doukhobor In Your Ancestry?

*** Red Plush: Story of the Moorhouse Family

 

YouTube

“Are you taking advantage of all the videos posted on YouTube related to genealogy and family history research?” This question was asked in the UpFront with NGS blog back on June 8th.  Did you realize that just like TV channels (NBC, ABC, CBS, etc) you have genealogy channels on YouTube…… you have LOC (Library of Congress), NARA (National Archives), LVA (Library of Virginia), FamilySearch and Ancestry, just for some examples. The NGS posting-person continued:  “Something I like about videos is that I can listen to them in the background as I am doing other work. Then, if something catches my ear, I can pull up the viewer, rewind and then actually “watch” a segment of interest.”   Something new for us to consider.

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Did you have an ancestor who was sent to Reform School?  According to Wikipedia, “In the U. S., a reform school was a penal institution, generally for teenagers.”  In the United Kingdom such places were termed Industrial Schools. “Social reformers in America in the late 19th and early 20th century found fault with the ten-usual practice of treating juvenile offenders the same as adult criminals.” And so a system of Reform Schools was instituted and lasted well into mid-century. Bottom line, states the Wikipedia article, “for the most part, these institutions were custodial.”  Meaning, there was no effort at “reforming” a young person.  Did you have an ancestor who was sent to Reform School? We’d love to hear your story!

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THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News

by Charles Hansen

GFO1

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM’s Wednesday Evening E-News 13 July 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 July 2016, you’re in luck because we saved you a copy at http://www.gfo.org/insider/16-Jul.pdf.

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Transcriptions now! July 15th-17th

FamilyS

FamilySearch Worldwide Indexing Event Announcement
From July 15-17, FamilySearch International and supporting organizations are coordinating the single largest gathering of volunteers online from around the world to help in the noble effort to save, and increase access to, the world’s genealogically significant historical records. With a target of 75,000 online volunteers for the weekend event and a stretch goal of more than 200,000, you and your network of friends and colleagues can make a real difference. Remember, every historic record tells the unique story of someone’s ancestor and helps make a personal connection. Until that record is easily discoverable online, that ancestor’s story and their place in the family tree, remains untold.

Please visit https://familysearch.org/worldsrecords for information on the world indexing event and how you can participate this weekend.

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More Details About Ancestry Day — Sept. 23 & 24

by Roxanne Lowe

The Office of the Secretary of State and the Washington State Historical Society are partnering with Ancestry to bring a very special genealogical event to the Pacific Northwest.

Ancestry Day in Washington will be held in Tacoma on Saturday, September 24, and is expected to attract more than 1,000 family historians. Whether you are a new subscriber to Ancestry, an experienced genealogist, or just interested in finding out what genealogy is all about, this is the event for you!

Activities on September 23 will be held at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma and will include access to the museum and special presentations on outstanding genealogical resources in Washington.

On Saturday, September 24, Ancestry will take center stage at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center. They will be bringing their expertise, engaging speakers, door prizes, and Ancestry DNA kits to purchase.

There also will be vendors from around the state sharing their products and ideas.

Keep an eye out for upcoming registration information about this can’t-miss event.

Whatcom Gen Society Newsflash

by Charles Hansen
Hello, WGS Friends,

Our group called Ferndale Genies invites you to our July meeting where I will be talking about DNA along with fellow Genie Brooke Nixon.

Date:  Next Monday, July 18 from 1 until 2:30 or 3:30 at the new Ferndale Library in the large meeting room.  That’s at 2125 Main Street.
 
 We will start right on time at 1:00 skipping introductions.  I attached the handout for the meeting to give you a head start if you want.  It’s 12 pages long but don’t let that scare you.  It’s a resource that will take you into the future.
In Part 1 I will briefly review the intro to genetics and DNA testing that I presented last January.  Part 2 will focus on how to use Ancestry.com DNA and various other websites that process and report on your DNA and matches.  With questions and answers this will continue until 2:30.
From 2:30-3:30 we’ll have “hands on time” to explore the DNA results people have received so far.  You can use your own computer or a library laptop.  Everyone is welcome to stay, watch, and continue our discussion.  Don’t forget to bring your passwords.
We welcome everyone.  Don’t hesitate to call if you have questions.
See you soon,
 Judith Culver

FamilySearch Worldwide Indexing Event – SUPPORT NEEDED!

by Roxanne Lowe

From July 15-17, FamilySearch International and supporting organizations are coordinating the single largest gathering of volunteers online from around the world to help in the noble effort to save, and increase access to, the world’s genealogically significant historical records. With a target of 75,000 online volunteers for the weekend event and a stretch goal of more than 200,000, WE can make a real difference. Remember, every historic record tells the unique story of someone’s ancestor and helps make a personal connection. Until that record is easily discoverable online, that ancestor’s story and their place in the family tree, remains untold.

Please visit https://familysearch.org/worldsrecords for information on the world indexing event and how YOU can participate.

Recipe from our WSGS First Lady

by Charles Hansen

PIE

This is berry season in Washington state and that means berry pies!!

WSGS First Lady, Janet McKinnon, wife of President Mikal McKinnon shares the BESTEST EVER berry pie recipe for NO-BAKE BERRY PIE:

Mix:  3/4 c. water, 3/4 c. sugar, 2 1/2 TB cornstarch, and dash of salt in pan on the stove; bring to boil and add 1 c. berries; cook until thick.

In bowl, mix 8 oz. cream cheese with 1-instant pudding mix (with only 1 c. cold milk). Pour into larger-size graham cracker crust. Stir remaining 2 c. berries into the cooked mix, cool slightly and pour over cheese-pudding. Chill until serving time. Enjoy! And thank you, Janet!

(Picture was from Google. You could divide the berry mix top and bottom.)

Blog Banner Photo Challenge

by Roxanne Lowe

IMG_0095Summer’s in full swing and that means many of us are on the road, in the air, or on a boat visiting people, places, and things. It also means you’re taking lots of photos. So…we’re sponsoring a Blog Banner Photo Challenge, looking for a few good photographs to highlight in our Blog banner.

The rotating banner will feature a series of photos taken by you, our readers. The latest entry in the Photo Challenge is a photo of the waterfall at the bottom on Barker Canyon, down the west side of Banks Lake in central Washington near Coulee City. The photo was taken by WSGS Vice President (& Past President of Eastern Washington Genealogical Society) Donna Potter Phillips of Spokane. It’s a great example of the beauty of our Evergreen State — and makes a great blog banner.

Rules are few:
•Landscapes, landmarks, and scenery photos are preferred. If, however, you have a perfect photo that includes people, please obtain their permission to post the photo.
•Photo must have been taken in Washington State (this is the Washington State Genealogical Society blog, after all!).
•Photo will be cropped to 1100 x 250 pixels, so keep that in mind.
•You may enter as many photos as you want.
•Final decisions on suitable photos will be made by the awesome WSGS Blog Team.
•There’s no prize if your photo is chosen – just the satisfaction that your photo is being showcased on a blog viewed by hundreds of enthusiastic genealogists.
•There’s no firm deadline to submit photos, just keep ‘em coming. We want to rotate lots of photos to keep the blog fresh.

To submit your photo, please email the image (jpg only, please); what, where, when, and by whom the photo was taken to WSGSBlog@wasgs.org.

Got questions? Email the blog team at WSGSBlog@wasgs.org.