Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

THOUGHT FOR THE SEASON – EMBRACING YOUR ETHNIC HERITAGE

Our immigrant ancestors had a tendency to cling to cultural traditions and religious faith.  But gradually, assimilation came after a few generations. Unfortunately, with assimilation comes a blurring and even loss of the rich traditions that are a part of us.

“What the immigrant generation knows and cherishes,
The second generation chooses to discard and forget;
It is the third generation who strives to piece it all together and to remember…”
Hansen’s Law –from Marcus Lee Hansen

Most of us are that third generation and we have an important job to do. During the holidays – interview your family members – Don’t miss this opportunity.

TIP OF THE WEEK – THE CLEVELAND NECROLOGY FILE

Here’s a find if you had ancestors in NE Ohio; about 800,000 paid death notices and local cemetery records, literally at your fingertips, dating back to as early as 1833.

Prior to 1976, the Cleveland Public Library staff clipped death notices from the local newspapers and maintained a file of these notices known as the Cleveland Necrology File. The Library has converted this file into an on-line database that is a breeze to search, readily accessible, and free to everyone.

It contains the complete full text of paid death notices as published in the following newspapers during the time periods listed:  •The Cleveland Plain Dealer – 1850-1975
•The Cleveland Herald – 1833, 1847-1848, 1876, 1878-1879
•The Cleveland Press – 1941-1975
Just go to :  http://newsindex.cpl.org  and enter your search criteria.

Seattle Genealogical Society News and Meetings

Seattle

PARDON OUR DUST

The Library is currently undergoing a revamping of the Washington section. As a result, the Washington section is in a bit of disarray. When completed, there will be two new sections in the Library: a section specifically for King County and a section specifically for Seattle. We look to have this rearrange completed by December 1st. Happy Hunting!

SGS CALENDAR OF EVENTS

All programs are at the SGS Library at 6200 Sand Point Way unless otherwise indicated. Please Check the SGS Web Site for additions, changes, and corrections. Programs may be cancelled or postponed due to inclement weather.

NOVEMBER

Saturday, November 21, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, IRISH INTEREST GROUP,
“Review of Irish Census records and Census substitutes. Leader: Jean A. Roth

Saturday, November 21, 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm,  GERMAN INTEREST GROUP,  “Bouncing Boundaries –the Main Problem with German Research.” Leader: Jean A. Roth

Sunday, November 22, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm, PROGRAM MEETING,   “Using Census Records- A major genealogical research tool.” Speaker: Janice Lovelace

Reminder – SGS will be closed for the Thanksgiving weekend, Thursday, November 26 through Sunday, November 29 Continue reading

Genealogical Forum of Oregon Upcoming Meetings and other News

GenForum

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM OF OREGON’S  Wednesday Evening E-News

11 November 2015

What’s Happening this Week at the GFO?

Genealogy Book Group – Saturday, November 14th, 11:45am – 12:45pm

We will be discussing The Parrett Migration: Their Story is America’s Story, by Dawn Parrett Thurston. Come joing the discussion!

Our next meeting will be January 9th. Harold Hinds has offered to discuss (and get extra copies of his book for us to borrow to read ahead of time), Crafting a Personal Family History, A Guide Plus a Case Study: Three Generations of the Hinds Family in New York’s Adirondack Mountains. We also have a copy in the GFO Library.

Writers’ Forum – Saturday, November 14th, 1pm – 3pm

Purpose: This is a peer group of genealogists, who meet to learn about writing and to share our writing with each other. Peggy Baldwin facilitates this group and can be reached at peggy.baldwin@family-passages.com or 503-916-9410.

Sunday Work Party – Sunday, November 15th, 9am – Noon

This upcoming work party will be focusing on labeling and stamping. As described above, we need all hands on deck to make sure we aren’t leaving our new books in the dust. Come out this Sunday to help us get these little beauties ready for the researchers’ ball! All are welcome…even evil step-sisters. Interested parties are encouraged to drop into the Library each Sunday anytime between the hours listed above to help out at their convenience.

DNA Q&A – Wednesday, November 18th, 1pm – 3pm

Lisa McCullough will be available to help answer your DNA questions, whether you are new and just getting started or have more involved questions.

Please NOTE: November’s Family Tree Maker Classes have been cancelled. Continue reading

Genealogical Forum of Oregon Upcoming Meetings and News

GenForum

THE GENEALOGICAL FORUM OF OREGON’S

 

Wednesday Evening E-News 4 November 2015

What’s Happening this Week at the GFO?

Virginia Group – Saturday, November 7th, 10am – 12pm

Peggy Baldwin will be discussing Mind Mapping, which is a process for organizing pieces of information into a more manageable format. It is a creative and logical means of note-taking and note-making that literally “maps out” your ideas.

We will also have a brick wall presentation and continue our discussion on solving those problems.

German Group – Saturday, November 7th, 1pm – 3pm

Tia Cobb and Bonnie Randolph will be talking about their recent trip to Germany and neighboring countries. Come to learn about how they got ready, some of their adventures and misadventures, and the information that they found about their families.

Learn and Chat – Wednesday, November 11th, 1:30pm – 2:30pm

Join us for a discussion of how to use Photoshop Elements to present your family history research, pictures and stories. We discuss scanning techniques, photo restoration, creating pages for presentation, resources and anything else participants want to know related to this topic. All are welcome, from beginners to more advanced users. Come, learn and share your ideas and questions. Taught by Sarah Holmes.

Please NOTE: November’s Family Tree Maker Classes have been cancelled. Continue reading

Eastern Washington Genealogical Society November Meeting

ewgsheader Saturday, November 7
The Greatest Generations  (EWGS Meetings)
12:30 pm to 3:00 pm
Spokane Public Library Auditorium, Downtown

Who are we?  The GI Generation, The Silent Generation, The Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z?…….

History tells us the “Greatest Generation were those in America, born between 1901 and 1945….but what about those born after 1945; including the newest baby just born last evening in Sacred Heart or Deaconess.

Join our speaker, Brusan Wells, Director The Foundation – Rockwood Retirement Communities as we explore each generation and dare to ask the question….”Could today’s newest generation, born after 2007 …be The Greatest Generation?”

Brusan Rhoda-Wells is a Montana native. After completing her schooling in Spokane she enlisted in the US Army and retired as a First Sergeant. After graduating from Eatern Washington University with a degree in Home Economics she volunteered for Girl Scounting then became a staff member culminating in serving as it’s Assistant Executive Director in 1995. After a short jaunt working in Seattle she came home to Spokane. Brusan is looking forward to retirement and having a chance to continue pursue genealogical research in partnership with her mother, Betty Rhoda.

Cookies and social time: 12:30 p.m.  Meeting starts at 1:00 p.m.

International Conference on Jewish Genealogy Save the Date

iajgs2016_logo

 

Topic tracks include:

The Sephardic Experience in the United States
European Migrations
South American, Australian and South African Branches
Westward Ho! Jews in the Western US
Coming Home to Israel

Program organizers welcome proposals for lectures, workshops and panel discussions on all aspects of Jewish genealogy, though the focus will be on these five topic tracks. Attendees are expected to span the full spectrum of expertise from novice to veteran and professional researchers; thus, a wide range of paper topics is encouraged.

The conference will be held in downtown Seattle from August 7 to 12 at the conveniently located Seattle Sheraton.

Proposals should be submitted through the official conference website www.iajgs2016.org. The deadline for submission is midnight, December 15, 2015. For information about proposals and submissions, please contact the Program Committee at program@iajgs2016.org.

Early registration will open in January 2016 through the conference website.

For more information about the conference, contact the conference co-chairs Janette Silverman, Phyllis Grossman, and Chuck Weinstein through the conference website www.iajgs2016.org.

 

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

Seattle

 

TIP OF THE WEEK – THE LEGAL GENEALOGIST’s BLOG

The Legal Genealogist is Judy Russell, a well-known genealogical speaker, educator, writer and lawyer.  She was the featured speaker for our Spring Seminar in 2013.

Ms. Russell writes a daily column, The Legal Genealogist, that is almost always informative and educational, and is usually amusing or interesting, on some topic or event of genealogical interest. These columns are brief and entertaining, and they are free.  While the common theme for most of her columns is some legal issue, there’s much more to them – they illustrate how to research problems, how to source or document your research, and reveal new approaches to problem solving.

To receive these articles by email, just sign up at http://www.legalgenealogist.com/blog/ by clicking on Subscribe By Email on the right margin of this web page.

If you’re unsure, and would like to sample several of her recent columns first, go to her home page at http://www.legalgenealogist.com/.

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Seattle Genealogical Society News and Meetings

Seattle

WHO WILL LEAD SGS IN 2016??
In this, the fourth installment about the unprecedented number of Board vacancies that SGS will be facing in the coming year, we highlight the position of President.

The SGS President is in essence the Captain of the ship. More than any other officer or director, the President charts the course of the society. He or she is the face and the official spokesperson for the Society. and sets the agenda for the Board of Directors. The President provides leadership and guidance to each member of the Board, and ensures that each fulfills their responsibilities.

The SGS President is also akin to the conductor of an orchestra, an all-volunteer orchestra, coaching, leading and directing individuals of varied backgrounds, personalities and abilities to work together harmoniously toward common goals.

Marilyn Rose, our current president, is in her third and final term; our Bylaws prevent her from continuing on in this position. Many members may not know this, but in 2013 the SGS Nominating Committee could not find a candidate to run for President. Fortunately for SGS, a few members wrote in Marilyn’s name, after one long-time friend asked for her permission. She met the requirement that the president must have previously served in a Board position. In the past, Marilyn had been the Director of Education, Secretary and Vice President and had been President from 2005-2006. She accepted the call. Thus a crisis was narrowly avoided three years ago.

We are approaching a similar but much worse crisis now, with the potential for multiple vacancies on the Board. It is hard to imagine how SGS could continue in the future, if we’re unable to recruit and elect a capable president, and fill the other Board positions as well. Our goal is to have a full slate of candidates by early March 2016 at the latest.

These are challenging times, and we need your help. If you’d like to be considered for this or any other Board position, or would like to suggest the names of someone else, please contact the Nominating Committee at SGSNominate@gmail.com.

Another Interesting Publication Found In Our Library

Do you have a “ghostly” address for one of your ancestors? You know, a place that doesn’t show up on current maps or a town that was completely abandoned.

That was a problem tackled by the Alberta (Canada) Genealogical Society. Discover how they approached this problem as reported in their publication, Relatively Speaking, 1983, Vol. II, No. 3, p. 22.  Come by.  You can find this publication in the Canada Section of the SGS Library. Continue reading

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society Meeting

Bainbridge Island
For Immediate Release

The Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society (BIGS) will meet Friday, November 20, in the Bainbridge Island Public Library Meeting Room from 10:00 AM until noon.  The topic is, “Telling Our Family Stories” – BIGS members will share how they are researching their families, and why they decided to share their research.  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

PR and Public Relations Director

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society