Color Your World

by Roxanne Lowe
Roxanne Lowe's Birthplace Pedigree

Roxanne Lowe’s Birthplace Pedigree

In case you’re more of a “visual” person than a paper person,  try your hand at color coding your five-generation ancestor birth charts using the Excel spreadsheet created by Spokane’s own Miriam Robbins. Her blog post and downloading instructions are available here.

Inspired by J. Paul Hawthorne of GeneaSpy, Miriam’s take on the visual representation of her ancestors’ birth places is making the circuit on Facebook and other social media sites. It’s easy — join the fun!

Time Running Out to Reserve Your Room at WSGS Conference

by Roxanne Lowe

The Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society is hard at work on the upcoming WSGS Conference — June 17 and 18, 2016 at the La Quinta Inn and Suites, 1425 East 27th St, Tacoma, WA. A limited number of rooms are available at a special conference rate. Unreserved rooms will be released SOON! Call the La Quinta at (253) 383-0146 to book your room now.

And while you’re thinking about it, don’t forget to register for the conference! Paula Stuart-Warren! We are so lucky to have this amazing expert! Check out her blog at GenealogybyPaula.com.

And if you want to start the conference off right, register for the Friday evening Meet-and-Greet with Paula and Cyndi Ingle (creator of Cyndi’s List). The Meet and Greet (which includes a dessert buffet) is limited to the first 50 registrants, $10 each. Pre-registration is required.

Serendipity Day

by Roxanne Lowe

Blogger’s note: Donna’s on another exciting vacation, but she just couldn’t leave without passing on her musings. Enjoy!

In this edition of Serendipity:

  • Facebook Likes Promote Society Pages
  • Life is good for Seenagers!
  • Why Search Engines Cannot Find All Your Online Genealogy Information
  • Free new resource on WikiTree — Genealogist-to-Genealogist Q&A
  • Google’s Boomerang Helps Schedule Emails

Just learned a great new thing! Does your society have a Facebook page? Have you encouraged your members to visit the page and LIKE the page? A member of the Clallam County Gen Society (where I visited last weekend) was explaining that we all need to visit the Facebook page of our favorite society and LIKE that page so as to help it come up in searches. Apparently, until a Facebook page gets 100 LIKES it does not come up. So, first, click on the Washington State Genealogical Society’s Facebook page and click LIKE and then visit your society’s page and follow suit. Great thing to do, eh?
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Subject: Life is good because I am finally a Seenager !! (Senior teenager)Photo

I have everything that I wanted as a teenager, only 60 years later.
I don’t have to go to school or work.
I get an allowance every month.
I have my own pad.
I don’t have a curfew.
I have a driver’s license and my own car.
I have ID that gets me into bars and the whisky store.
The people I hang around with are not scared of getting pregnant.
And I don’t have acne.
Life is great.

I have more friends I should send this to, but right now I can’t remember their names.

My sister-in-law in Missouri shared this with me and I just had had had to share it with you.
Continue reading →

Clallam County Genealogical Society Summer School

by Charles Hansen

Clallam
GENEALOGY SUMMER SCHOOL
Saturday, May 21, 2016
GENEALOGY SUMMER SCHOOL  (Special event)
8:30 am to 3:00 pm
Port Angeles Presbyterian Church, 139 West 8th
Come join us and learn from the experts about Navigating the Paid Data Bases. The morning session will feature Jim Johnson reviewing Ancestry and various newspaper archives, and Ginny Majewski reviewing Mocavo. The afternoon session will feature Ginny reviewing World Vital Records, and Rod Fleck reviewing Fold 3 and the military records available through the National Archives. Heritage Books will be there too.

REGISTRATION FEES: CCGS Members- $25.00
$30.00 after May 18th
Non-members – $30.00
LUNCH – Please bring your own bag lunch to enjoy during the one-hour break between the Morning and Afternoon sessions.
Download: Registration form

Heritage Quest Research Library Upcoming Meetings

by Charles Hansen

The current HQRL Newsletter is now available on the HQRL website

Don’t forget to like us on FACEBOOK!

Monday, April 11th 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. $15.00
Using Flip-Pal & Photoshop Elements    Instructor: Jim Johnson
Join us as Jim Johnson demonstrates the use of the Flip-Pal, including stitching. He will also demonstrate Adobe’s Photoshop Elements, a great program for editing digital photos. Learn how to enhance and prepare your digital photos for adding to your family tree. The concepts you learn today should be useful in using other photo programs.
Friday, April 22nd, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. $15.00
Newspaper Research     Instructor: Dee Haviland Fournier
Dee Haviland Fournier talks about Newspaper Research and how it can enhance your family history, including digital newspaper websites.This is a class not to be missed. Turn your ancestor’s statistics into a once living character.
Monday, April 25th 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.$15.00
Texas “The Lone Star State”     Instructor: Jim Johnson
Texas “The Lone Star State” is also home to Jim Johnson. Join us as he talks about researching in Texas. He’ll have some websites that will advance the search for your  ancestor. Remember Texas shares borders with Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Mexico.
Monday, May 9th, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. $15.00
Iowa: The American Heartland     Instructor: Dee Haviland Fournier
Iowa is Dee Haviland Fournier’s home state. Join us as she discusses researching genealogy in in Iowa.Learn about sources and where they are available along with some great websites.She also will discuss the situation at State Historical Society of Iowa in Des Moines (and Iowa City), which has been making headlines lately. The Midwest Genealogy Center in Independence, Missouri will also be included.
Tuesday, May 17th 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. FREE
Join us in a free class about Heritage Quest Research Library (HQRL). This class will help you in your search for your ancestor, by learning 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 as many times as you like.
3 ways to sign-up:
In person at HQRL, 1007 S. Main St., Sumner, WA. Sign-up Notebook is at the Front Desk.
E-mail HQRLinfo@gmail.com – provide full name, telephone number and your HQRL Membership Number, if you are a Member.

Telephone HQRL @ 253-863-1806 between 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Provide full name, telephone number and HQRL Membership Number, if you are a Member.

For the benefit of everyone in the library, please DO NOT wear perfume, colognes or heavily scented products to classes.

You are receiving this email, because you are a member of the Heritage Quest Research Library or you have requested to be notified of HQRL events. If you have received this email in error or you wish to be removed from the list, please reply to the email and type “Remove” in the subject line and you will be removed immediately.

 

 

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM OF OREGON Wednesday Evening E-News

by Charles Hansen

GenForum

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM OF OREGON Wednesday Evening E-News 6 April 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, you’re in luck because we saved you a copy at http://www.gfo.org/insider/16-Apr.pdf.

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Come one, come all! This Saturday, April 9th, is the kick-off to our week-long Open House!

GFO

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Muriel Neely Named Outstanding Volunteer in 2015

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized more than 450 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 2015 award recipients and learn why they received the 2015 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Muriel Neely

Muriel Neely

Today we’re introducing Muriel S. Neely of Mount Vernon, Washington, who was nominated by the Skagit Valley Genealogical Society (SVGS). She was recognized for her dedication and commitment to her local society and community.

When the need arose for someone to assume the job of SVGS secretary, Ms. Neely, who had previously held the office, graciously agreed to return to the position. Demonstrating her commitment to the society, she has been re-elected twice. She has also generously given of her time and expertise in assisting with SVGS’s community education classes and recording of cemetery databases.

In addition to her commitment to SVGS, Ms. Neely is a great community volunteer. She serves on the boards and governance committees of multiple community organizations, including the Skagit County Historical Museum, Friendship House and helping at the local blood bank.

Ms. Neely is supportive of the objectives and goals of SVGS in every circumstance and richly deserved being a recipient of a 2015 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.

FREE CASH for Societies!

by Roxanne Lowe

The deadline for applying for a WSGS Innovative Grant has been extended to May 1, 2016.

The grants, up to $100, are designed to support the inventive and creative efforts of WSGS-member societies and organizations. The awards do not have to be repaid — they’re FREE MONEY to support worthy projects. Up to five grants will be awarded in 2016.

Last year’s grant awards were made to:

  • Chelan Valley GS for the purchase of a computer at the local library for the exclusive use of accessing Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.
  • Northeast Washington GS for the removal of diseased trees at a local pioneer cemetery.
  • Skagit Valley GS for the purchase of a new computer for society presentations and transcription of documents at the regional archives.
  • Tri-City GS for promotion monies to support the society’s “Archives Records Contest” and augmentation of the prize pool.
  • Wenatchee Area GS for the purchase of specialized software to manage the society’s extensive genealogical holdings.

The simple application is only ONE page and is available here. Additional guidance on the program is here.

For more information, contact Roxanne Lowe, WSGS Recognition Chair.