Seattle Genealogical Society News

Seattle

UPDATE ON THE SGS KING COUNTY COURT CASES INDEX

The SGS King County Court Cases Index, 1881-1980 (KC3I for short) is a wonderful database of King County court cases spanning one hundred years. This index includes every divorce and probate case in King County during this time span, and is a valuable new tool for local researchers.

SGS just completed its first year of providing this service. In this period, we completed 181 lookups for 81 different individuals. Roughly two-thirds of the searches produced one or more “hits.” Turnaround time was less than two days in the vast majority of requests.

This service is free for SGS members, and members accounted for most of the requests. Requests by non-members generated $335 in revenue for the Society in the first year.

If you are researching in King County, Washington and have not yet checked the KC3I, visit our web page, http://seattlegenealogicalsociety.org/kc3i for more information about its contents, and how to make use of this valuable resource. We’d love to check it for you!

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.
DECEMBER Continue reading →

Beverly Bakos Named Outstanding Volunteer in 2015

Dec16 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.

Today we’re introducing Beverly Bakos of Freeland, Washington who was nominated by the Genealogical Society of South Whidbey Island (GSSWI). She was recognized for her commitment and enthusiasm to educate society members.

Beverly Bakos

Eager to share her knowledge and expertise, Ms. Bakos has taught “The Basics of Genealogical Research” which has attracted more than just beginners. In fact, some of the society’s long-time members attend Ms. Bakos’s class to re-familiarize themselves and learn new techniques and resources. Ms. Bakos also has made herself available for one-on-one mentoring with new members.

Ms. Bakos hosts a study group featuring award-winning genealogical researcher and author Thomas Jones’s book Mastering Genealogical Proof. She has also been on the GSSWI Board of Directors as director of publicity for a number of years.

Ms. Bakos enjoys passing on her knowledge to others and is always approachable and enthusiastic about genealogy. Because of these qualities and all she does for the GSSWI, she richly deserved being a recipient of a 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.

Lewis County Genealogical Society Ulster Historical Foundation Conference

Dec15 by Charles Hansen

The Lewis County Genealogical Society presents…
Researching Your Irish & Scots Ancestors

Ulster Historical Foundation, Belfast, Northern Ireland,
Featuring Fintan Mullan & Gillian Hunt
Monday, March 14, 2016, 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Bethel Assembly of God Church
132 Kirkland Road, Chehalis, Washington 98532

The Lewis County Genealogical Society website, www.walcgs.org is fully updated with our Ulster Historical Foundation conference information.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Leslee Dunlap

LCGS

“Our” Jerri Thorpe McCoy’s article in the Mayflower Descendant

Dec14 by Charles Hansen

Mayflower

Our own Jerri Thorpe McCoy, who has been active with the Washington State Genealogical Society and many other related societies, is a published author!

I was recently in the Family History Library doing some documenting work on my several Mayflower lines and came upon a reference in The Mayflower Descendant, Winter 2 008, Vol. 57, No. 1, “Huldah Gross, wife of Jehiel Gates of East Haddam and Litchfield, Connecticut.” This was a ten page article with 107 source citations. I was most impressed.

Jerri is currently the historian for the Washington State Chapter of the Mayflower (Descendants) Society. If you think you are (or know you are) a Mayflower descendant, and would like to join this group, here is the official link:

http://www.washingtonmayflower.org/04-application.html

We are proud of you, Jerri Thorpe McCoy.

Kittitas County Library Team Named 2015 Outstanding Volunteer Team

Dec13 by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized more than 450 outstanding volunteers, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers and teams 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.

Today we’re introducing the Kittitas County Library Team, who was nominated by the Kittitas County Genealogical Society (KCGS). The team was selected for its dedicated volunteer efforts to maintain and promote the society’s library and services.

Erik Bakke

Marilyn Brown

Judy Clayton

J.C. Howard

Kathy Kelly

Julie Large

Karen Spellman

Bob Wieking

Mary Christensen

Tuck Forsythe

The Kittitas County Genealogical Society Library team includes Erik Bakke, Marilyn Brown, Mary Christensen, Judy Clayton, Tuck Forsythe, J.C. Howard, Kathy Kelly, Julie Large, Karen Spellman and Bob Wieking. This team of committed volunteers maintains the society’s unique collection of print materials of interest and value to researchers, as well as computers with subscription databases. The society’s efforts to inform and educate the community about the value of pursuing the study of genealogy would be severely limited if it could not rely on the support and dedication of these vital volunteers who keep the doors open on a consistent basis.

The members of the KCGS Library Team deserve being recognized with a WSGS Outstanding Team Award for making themselves available to the serious researcher and just curious; a personal service not found online.

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.

2016 Northwest Genealogy Conference Announced

Dec10 by Charles Hansen

2016 Northwest Genealogy Conference Announced

2016 Northwest Genealogy Conference
August 17 – 20, 2016
The Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society is excited to announce the 2016 Northwest Genealogy Conference to be held at the Byrnes Performing Arts Center in Arlington, Washington. The conference theme will be “Family Secrets Uncovered – Lost History Found”.

Key speakers will be:
Blaine Bettinger, The Genetic Genealogist,
Lisa Louise Cooke, Genealogy Gems
Claudia Breland, Writer and Researcher

We invite you to save the dates. Registration will begin February 15, 2016; mark your calendar to register. Visit www.nwgc.org for more information on the conference and watch for the announcement of other speakers.

Genealogical Forum of Oregon Wednesday Evening E-News

Dec9 by Charles Hansen

GenForum

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

9 December 2015

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 last month’s newletter, The Insider, you’re in luck because we saved you a copy at http://www.gfo.org/insider/15-Nov.pdf.

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Suplus Books are 50% off now through December 24th! Did someone say Holiday shopping?

Looking for the perfect gift this holiday season? All of our Surplus books are 50% off now through December 24th.

Search our available titles on our website here!

To find just the item you’re looking for, please remember that our Surplus Books List is organized by geographical location. For faster searching, however, users may want to try holding down the “Ctrl” key on their keyboards and tapping the “F” key and then type in a search term, such as “England”, “Soldiers”, “Passengers” or “Dutch”.

To order books from the list, please email booksales@gfo.org, and include the ID, title and price. Payments may be made on PayPal or by check.

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Fiske Genealogical Library MAC Interest Group

Dec7 by Charles Hansen

SPECIAL GIFTS….FOR YOU OR?

The new iPad Pro or watch,

some professional research time

or maybe a professional family video?

We will have speakers on all of these topics and more

Hope to see you at the…

Mac Interest Group

Wednesday evening 7:00 p.m.

December 9th, 2015

Fiske Genealogical Library

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Mac Group

is a special interest group of

the Fiske Genealogical Library

1644 43rd Ave E, Seattle 98112

http://www.fiskelibrary.org/

dBug Mac Users Group

http://dbug.org/

Seattle Genealogical Society

http://seattlegenealogicalsociety.org/

Lou Daly, Chair loudaly@nwlink.com

Diane Hettrick, Co-Chair dhettrick@earthlink.net

Lisa Marker, Reunion Guru lmarker@earthlink.net

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Genealogical Forum of Oregon Newsletter

Dec3 by Charles Hansen

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

2 December 2015

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 last month’s newletter, The Insider, you’re in luck because we saved you a copy at http://www.gfo.org/insider/15-Nov.pdf.

That’s right, you heard it here: Genealogy in the News!

Ever wonder what use handwritten letters might have in the future?

Will anyone want to cherish these scraps of paper the way you feel they should be cherished? Will anyone care at all to read and study the tales of family history contained in their ink-stained pages?

An article from The Guardian, November 08, 2015 shows just how valuable long lost letters can be, both to scholars of general history, but also to genealogical research.

Did someone say census data??

Portland State Univesity has created a wonderfully insightful and interactive collection of maps and graphs showing “Oregon’s Road to 4 Million” via census records data from 1859 to current. Researchers with Oregon genealogy in their history can find some very telling information just by viewing the trends in population growth and migration changes over the last 150 years.

Announcing, not one, but TWO new indexes at the GFO!

Try to contain your excitement, folks, but not too much, because the GFO’s Friday Morning Data Extraction Team needs a huge three cheers of thanks.

Because of the hard work of the Extraction Team, we now have two new indexes of Oregon State Divorce records.

The new indexes are available at $10 each and may be purchased as eityher a CD or on a USB drive.

Come get them while they’re still hot:
•Volume 1: Oregon State Divorces 1925-1929
•Volume 2: Oregon State Divorces 1930-1934
•

The team is currently working on divorces from 1935-1939 (expected index availability is 2016) and is in the early stages of working on divorces from 1940 – 1945. Continue reading →

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

Dec3 by Charles Hansen

TIP OF THE WEEK – DEMYSTIFYING THE CENSUSES
1790 TO 2000

In 2002, Jason Gauthier of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Economics and Statistics Administration produced a 148-page document called Measuring America: The Decennial Census from 1790 to 2000. It explains, in detail, exactly what the census takers were told to do for each and every U.S. Census from the first census in 1790 through the twenty-second census of 2000.

This document will prove invaluable. Besides a good, clear image of each census form itself, you’ll find an expanded definition for every column on the form. No more straining your eyes or guessing.

Reading the instructions to the enumerators tells you what terms such a “housekeeper” vs “keeping house”, “farmer” vs “planter”, or “inmate” meant in the context of the census. And why “indians not taxed” weren’t included in the enumerations. Were you even aware there was a separate questionnaire for “Indian Population” in many of the censuses?

There is just a wealth of information in this document. Check it out. It’s available to read on-line, or to download, absolutely free, at: https://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/pol02-ma.pdf