Let’s Talk About: Windmills!

Jul9 by Donna Phillips

In April 2024, I was blessed to spend two weeks in Holland on a Viking riverboat cruise. Besides learning that Gouda cheese is “wunnerful,” I eagerly soaked up lots of Dutch history. Since many family historians find that they have a family line going back to the Netherlands (proper name of that little country), I thought I’d share some of the Dutch history bits that I learned.

I learned that over half of this little flat country, right on the North Atlantic, would be underwater if the windmills (and modern pumping stations) didn’t keep pumping. I was told that with rising ocean levels and glacial melting increasing the rivers’ flow through Holland, it’s a constant battle of man against nature.

I heard this wag more than once: “God made the world but the Dutch made Holland.” The industrious Dutch constructed dykes and dams and pumped the water out (into the ocean) and the resulting polders provided rich farmland for a growing vegetables (and tulips!) for a growing population.

The original windmills had a keeper-miller who lived in the base of the tower with his family. He needed to be a good judge of weather. It was his job to keep the blades turning, and the water pumping, but not endanger the structure. The top of the structure rotated as needed by hand to get the blades in best wind-catching position.

I visited a restored windmill and was amazed at the strength and work it took to move those big wooden blades into position, often several times in a 24-hour period.

Windmills were not invented until the 1700s and didn’t come into widespread use until into the 1800s……… before this time, when much of Holland was flat, mushy land, the cities were confined to higher points where they could be found. Before windmills, the early inhabitants built dykes to keep the water from their homes. (Amster was the town began on the Amster’s Dyke.)

Fascinating topic; one could read a big book and not learn all there is to know about Dutch windmills.

Let’s Talk About: Spruce Trail in Clallam County

Jul9 by Donna Phillips

Today: The Spruce Railroad Trail is a 4-mile paved walking/biking trail along the north shore of Lake Crescent in Clallam County, just a few miles west of Port Angeles. It’s now part of the 134-mile Olympic Discovery Trail and hundreds walk this trail regularly.

History: Built near the end of World War I, the Spruce Production Division was organized to build a railroad line to transport spruce wood from the western Olympic Peninsula to the nearby lumber mills and ultimately to aircraft manufacturing plants in the east. The railroad was completed in 1919, a year too late for its intended purpose; it was abandoned in 1951.

Why spruce wood? And why Clallam County?

Spruce wood was the best for constructing airplanes………. and remember that World War I era planes were made of wood………..for it would not splinter, shatter or snap. And it was light and strong, perfect for the job.

Demand for aircraft in Europe during World War I soared. The Aircraft Production Products Board of the U.S. wanted 3,000,000 board feet of lumber per month.

(Here is a pix of 7,000,000 board feet……. it’s a wonder there are any spruce trees left!)

Sitka spruce was the ideal wood and was found mainly in WA, OR, CA and Alaska. The largest source was in Clallam County. Harvesting of the wood began in July 1918 and provided all sorts of jobs, especially loggers and lumbermen. By the end of the war, nearly 100,000 people worked harvesting spruce wood for warplanes but the need was gone by the time the project was fully underway. The day after the armistice was signed (12 Nov 1918) the Spruce Production Division shut down and the many workers went home to find other jobs.

The project cost $10,000,000 and did produce 88,000,000 board feet of wood which was enough to manufacture 12,000 warplanes.

Clark County Genealogical Society Finding Your Ancestors Immigration

Jul8 by Charles Hansen

South King County Genealogical Society July 2024 Happenings

Jul6 by Charles Hansen

NOTE FROM YOUR PRESIDENT
My term as SKCGS President ends in May 2025. If you are interested in stepping up to lead this Society, now is the time to volunteer, and get involved with the Board. I would love to talk with you, and explore your ideas about the future, and answer your questions.
Thank you, Valorie
Write to: president@skcgs.org to get the dialog started.

Volunteer Opportunity: Volunteers needed for Black Diamond Miners Day on Saturday, July 13. Setup starts at 8am, and we’ll be there until 4 pm. Come for an hour or two, or all day! Write to outreach@skcgs.org to let us know when you can help out.

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Be in the know! Receive notices for our virtual meetings, as well as the latest genealogy news and tips, by subscribing (free) to the online group at https://skcgs.groups.io

Skcgs.groups.io is the SKCGS online discussion and collaboration arena where:

we communicate and share information with each other
other than your email, you are not required to provide personal information
you can unsubscribe at any time

PROGRAM UPDATES

All meetings are online except Genealogy Help at the Auburn and Federal Way Libraries
The in-person Research Workshop will not meet in July or August
Live transcription (captioning) is available during our Zoom meetings by request
Online meeting participants need to register for SKCGS Zoom meetings. Register at our website skcgs.org. Upon registration, Zoom will send a confirmation email with instructions on joining the meeting.

JULY – EARLY AUGUST 2024 MEETINGS & EVENTS

Monday, July 8, 2024 ⋅ 1:00pm – 3:00pm PT
Genetic Genealogy/DNA Interest Group (online)
Topic: WATO Success (What Are the Odds?)
Plus: A New Upgrade to the Classic Tool
https://www.yourdnaguide.com/ydgblog/wato-plus
https://www.reddit.com/r/Genealogy/comments/wrz1jy/wato_tool_hypotheses/
Volunteers show how they have used WATO successfully, or share data and tell us your research question.
Register at https://www.skcgs.org
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Subscribe to the free SKCGS Genetic-Genealogy email list for announcements and discussion: https://skcgs.groups.io/g/Genetic-Genealogy

Saturday, July 13, 2024 ⋅ 9:00am – 4:00pm PT
Black Diamond Miners Day Street Fair (in-person)
32627 Railroad Ave, Black Diamond, WA 98010, USA (map)

Setup from 8am-9am; Fair 9am-4pm; Cleanup 4pm-4:30pm.

Monday, July 15, 2024 ⋅ 1:00pm – 3:00pm PT
Technical User Group (online)
Topic: Publishing your book on Kindle Direct Publishing presented by Winona Laird.
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/
Register at https://www.skcgs.org
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Subscribe to the free SKCGS Technical User Group email list for announcements and discussion: https://skcgs.groups.io/g/TUG

Monday, July 22, 2024 ⋅ 1:00pm – 3:00pm PT
Genealogy Chat (online)
Meet up and chat about genealogy subjects and topics. We have no agenda; we just like one another!
Register at https://www.skcgs.org
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Subscribe to the free SKCGS email list for announcements and discussion: https://skcgs.groups.io/g/Society

Thursday, July 25, 2024 ⋅ 11:00am – 1:00pm PT
Genealogy Help with SKCGS at the Auburn Library (in-person)
Genealogy questions? SKCGS offers one-on-one help with a volunteer
1102 Auburn Way S
Auburn, WA 98002
Registration not required. In-person event. Safety guidelines and current protocols followed. More information at King County Library, email kcls-auburn@kcls.org

Thursday, July 25, 2024 ⋅ 2:00pm – 4:00pm PT
Genealogy Help with SKCGS at the Federal Way Library (in-person)
Genealogy questions? SKCGS offers one-on-one help with a volunteer
34200 1^st Way S
Federal Way, WA 98003
Registration not required. In-person event. Safety guidelines and current protocols followed. More information at King County Library, https://kcls.org/locations/federal-way, or phone: (253) 838-3668

Saturday, August 3, 2024, 10:00am – 12:00pm PT
Family Tree Maker Users Group (online)
Question & Answer. Each month, we will learn about using the features of FTM.
Register at https://www.skcgs.org
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Subscribe to the free SKCGS FTM email list for announcements and discussion: https://skcgs.groups.io/g/FTMUG

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MEMBERSHIP: We welcome guests to our meetings and special interest groups, which are free. Naturally we hope that visitors will want to become members. Support like yours helps us to educate and engage with our community to foster interest in family and local history. Regarding our programs, even if and when we can meet again in person, we will continue with some virtual programs. You can find more information about membership at our website at https://www.skcgs.org/support-skcgs/membership.

You are receiving this email because you have attended a SKCGS meeting and indicated you would like to receive periodic notice of events. If you would like to be removed from our list and stop receiving emails from us, send an email to skcgsfriends+unsubscribe@skcgs.org.

Like – Facebook :: Blog :: Website – SKCGS.org :: Member support – info@skcgs.org

SOUTH KING COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
PO BOX 143
BLACK DIAMOND, WASHINGTON 98010

Let’s Talk About: Favorite Hymn

Jul5 by Donna Phillips

Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war,

with the cross of Jesus going on before.

Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe:

Forward into battle, see his banner go!

Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war.

With the cross of Jesus going on before.

I’d bet that most every 19th century hymnal, Catholic or Protestant, carried this beloved hymn. I’d bet that many of my ancestors and yours loudly sang these lyrics.

The words were written by Sabine Baring-Gould (1832-1924)q`, a Roman Catholic priest, in 1865 to be a processional for children walking from the church were he was curate to a nearby church in Yorkshire. “It was written on great haste,” Baring-Gould related, “and I am afraid that come of the lines are faulty.”

The song/hymn became popular after the lyrics were put to the music of Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) in 1870.

The hymn has been associated with war: soldiers going to war, beginning with the Civil War (as shown in John Paul Strain’s painting). In 1912, presidential candidate, Theodore Roosevelt, included this song and said his party was “going to battle for the Lord.”

When Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt met in August 1941 on the battleship HMS Prince of Wales to agree to the Atlantic Charter, Churchill chose this hymn for their onboard church service.

As I energetically sing that hymn today, I do imagine my forebears belting it out with gusto. Bet yours did too.

Let’s Talk About: Early Virginia

Jul2 by Donna Phillips

(Map of Virginia in 1600 from Alamy)

Once upon a time, all of North America between Florida and Nova Scotia was known as Virginia for a number of years ………. did you know that? The area was named by Queen Elizabeth (ruled 1558 to 1603) after herself as “the Virgin Queen.” She charmed by Sir Walter Raleigh’s, her favorite sea captain, accounts of the coasts of the Carolinas in 1585 that she favored him by taking his suggestion for a name of this new land.

True or false? I found this bit in a book, The History of Orange County Virginia, by William W. Scott, published in 1907.

I spent a bit of time digging into this recent reprint looking for information on my Orange County ancestors. Like with many checked-into sources, I found no real answers but several clues. (Isn’t that what real research is all about???)

I did find these rather amusing names:

Prettyman Merry, “a prominent citizen during the Revolution”

Mourning Pegg, found on the 1782 census

Peachy Bledsoe, in 1792 a Regiment

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week Lost Newspapers

Jul1 by Charles Hansen

TIP OF THE WEEK –
HELP! MY ANCESTORS’ NEWSPAPERS WERE LOST If a community you are studying lost their newspapers, try searching the entire state for mentions of the name of that newspaper, you can often find snippets of local news that were reprinted by neighboring communities. For example, you may find details of a devastating storm or a local bank failure. All of these events impacted our ancestors even if the story doesn’t include their name. You can also find a mention of a family member this way as well. Another useful strategy is to search newspaper in their state querying the name of their town with their surname.

July 1, 2024

SGS eNews! comes out the first of every month. contact eNews!

forward this email to a friend

Seattle Genealogical Society July Happenings

Jul1 by Charles Hansen

Romain Dancre / Unsplash

CERTIFICATION COURSE TO BE OFFERED THIS FALL

The Certification Discussion Group (CDG) course will be offered this October as a virtual course. More than 700 students have graduated from this SGS course, now in its seventh year. Join in and learn about the Board for Certification of Genealogy’s certification process. Gain an understanding of how to develop a portfolio. Strengthen your knowledge of the standards for being a better genealogist. Find out if certification is right for you. Sign up for the waitlist to get the announcement of dates and times in August. Final decisions can be made at that time.

HELP SPREAD THE NEWS ABOUT SGS AT THE SKAGIT VALLEY HIGHLAND GAMES

SGS is sharing the Clans of Ireland booth at the 28th Annual Skagit Valley Highland Games & Celtic Festival and volunteers are needed to staff the booth. This two-day festival of music, dance, competition and entertainment will be held at the Skagit County Fairgrounds (501 Taylor St in Mt Vernon, WA) on the weekend of July 13–14, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. If you are interested in helping staff our table for several hours, please contact James Ryan at janglinjehu@yahoo.com.

APPGEN SIGNUPS TO BEGIN SOON

Mark you calendars. Sign up for the fall Applied Genealogy Institute classes from August 22 to 28. Classes offered will include

DNA Analysis
Native American research
Records after Death
Researching Overseas
Connecticut Genealogy and Social Media Marketing (oriented toward professional genealogists and society social media partners.)

You can find out more on the website. These courses are oriented towards “Learn By Doing.” The instructors are content experts.

SGS MEMBERS, REMEMBER TO RENEW

Take a few moments now to renew your membership as we begin our next century! When you renew online you can pay your dues with a credit/debit card right away or print out your invoice and send it with your dues payment to SGS. First log in at Members Home then click the green “Renew Membership” button. If you haven’t logged in before or have questions, send an email to membership@seagensoc.org.

NOT AN SGS MEMBER YET?

Join online today and enjoy a full year of discounted class and event fees, free research requests, special interest groups, and access to exclusive SGS publications and databases. Find out more about membership at Join SGS.

SAVE THE DATE

American Ancestors by NEHGS (FREE Webinars)
Thursdays, July 11 and 18, 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m.

An Introduction to California Research – July 11
California has a rich history that reflects the state’s diverse cultural heritage and dynamic social changes. In this online lecture, Genealogist Meaghan E. H. Siekman will provide an introduction to doing family history research in the state starting with the period of pre-contact to statehood and beyond.

Understanding and Utilizing Indexes – July 18
Indexes are an unparalleled resource for genealogists, yet not all are arranged the same way. Join Senior Genealogist Melanie McComb to understand the different types of indexes that you will come across and how to leverage them in your family history research.

For more information visit the American Ancestors website.

East European Family History Conference
Tuesday, August 6 through Friday, August 9
Salt Lake City (in person)

The Foundation for East European Family History Studies (FEEFHS) will hold its annual conference on August 6-9, 2024, in Salt Lake City, Utah. More than 60 sessions will be presented in 8 tracks: German, Polish, Russian, Germans from Eastern Europe, Austro-Hungarian, Jewish, DNA, and Resources. For more information visit the FEEFHS website.

2024 GFO Virtual Fall Seminar
Genealogical Forum of Oregon
Eastside Genealogical Society
Friday, Nov. 1 through Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024

GFO has announced there 2024 Fall Seminar. It will feature a feast of DNA topics. Genetic Genealogist Paul Woodbury will discuss using DNA to solve genealogical questions. Friday evening will be a beginner session, with Saturday devoted to intermediate and advanced techniques. For more information visit the GFO’s website.

SGS CALENDAR OF EVENTSGood Shepherd Center, Suite 302
4649 Sunnyside Ave N
Seattle, WA 98103
206 522-8658Hours : Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday
** 10:00 a.m .- 3:00 p.m. ** Always check the SGS Website Calendar of Events for the meeting links, registration, or for last minute updates or changes to the schedule. Be advised you may need to register in advance to join a meeting.

All times listed are Pacific Time unless otherwise noted

Wednesday, July 3, 2024, 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Pacific Northwest Interest Group (Virtual), This month’s focus in on Idaho and Montana resources. Register on the SGS website.

Monday, July 8, 2024, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Brags & Bricks Social Interest Group (Virtual), Join us for an informal social gathering. Share your recent genealogical successes and challenges, or just come to hang out with other genealogists. Remember the new Zoom link started this month

Monday, July 8, 2024, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., SGS Board of Directors Meeting (Virtual), All SGS members are welcome to attend. SGS is an all volunteer organization. Please be involved. Members must sign in to website to see Zoom link.

Monday, July

8, 2024, 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Write It Up! SIG (Virtual), Join this group to share and discuss writing projects, resources, and ideas. To join or learn more, contact SGS Director of Education (education@seagensoc.org).

Tuesday, July

9, 2024, 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m., Tech Tuesday (Virtual), informal consultation time on DNA, genealogy software, or genealogy-related technical issues. All are welcome. No appointment necessary. Bring us your problem; we’ll try to help.

Wednesday, July 10, 2024, 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., MAC Computer SIG, Jointly sponsored by SGS and Fiske. Meetings address topics and resources for Macintosh (Apple) computers and the Reunion genealogy software program. A link to login will be sent to the MAC SIG email list. If you would like to join, send an email to macusersig@seagensoc.org to be added to the email list.

Monday, July 15, 2024, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Brags & Bricks Social Interest Group (Virtual), Join us for an informal social gathering. Share your recent genealogical successes and challenges, or just come to hang out with other genealogists. Remember the new Zoom link started this month

Monday, July 22, 2024, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Brags & Bricks Social Interest Group (Virtual), Join us for an informal social gathering. Share your recent genealogical successes and challenges, or just come to hang out with other genealogists. Remember the new Zoom link started this month

Tuesday, July

23, 2024, 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m., Tech Tuesday (Virtual), informal consultation time on DNA, genealogy software, or genealogy-related technical issues. All are welcome. No appointment necessary. Bring us your problem; we’ll try to help.

Monday, July 29, 2024, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Brags & Bricks Social Interest Group (Virtual), Join us for an informal social gathering. Share your recent genealogical successes and challenges, or just come to hang out with other genealogists. Remember the new Zoom link started this month

Monday, August 5, 2024, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Brags & Bricks Social Interest Group (Virtual), Join us for an informal social gathering. Share your recent genealogical successes and challenges, or just come to hang out with other genealogists. Remember the new Zoom link started this month Wednesday, August 7, 2024, 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.,

Pacific Northwest Interest Group (Virtual), Share information and discuss Pacific Northwest genealogical research. Register on the SGS website.

Heritage Quest Research Library Timelines

Jul1 by Charles Hansen

Grays Harbor Gen Soc Open Discussion

Jun30 by Roxanne Lowe

The program at the Grays Harbor Genealogical Society meeting will be an open discussion about resources, brick walls and general questions. No issue is too small to discuss — and there’ll be lots of opinions! Saturday, July 13, 2024, 10:00 a.m., Hoquiam Library downstairs meeting room and via Zoom. All are welcome. For more information, email Info@graysharborgenealogy.com.