The German Interest Group of The Eastside GenealogicalSociety (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, March 4, 2022 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm PT– Virtually

Topic: “German Research – Understanding Culture, Places and Time Frames”

Discover the heritage of your German ancestors, what propelled them to come to America and how to find them in the old country.  Key pieces of US research that lead back to the home country.  Available research tools: online, printed, filmed and digitized materials.  Case studies that may provide insight into the research you have been reluctant to pursue.

Presenter:  Susan LeBlanc

Susan began researching her family history about fifty years ago.  She is a native of Portland, Oregon.  In 2010, she became an Accredited Genealogist through ICAPGen in the New England region.  She graduated from Brigham Young University in 2005 with a BGS Degree with a focus in Family History and in 1985 with an AA degree in Spanish.  For over twenty years she has volunteered in the LDS Family History Centers in Oregon.  In her work she gained extensive experience in using the LDS Family History Library and working in online databases.  Working to create accurate and complete family histories is one of her specialties.  She enjoys helping others research and teaching classes.  She has been associated with ICAPGen, Association of Professional Genealogists, the Genealogical Forum of Oregon, Daughter of the American Revolution, Scappoose Historical Society and the Columbia County Museum Association.

More information: Visitors are always welcome and may request the Zoom link no later than March 2^nd at https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/contact/   

The German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, February 4, 2022 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm PT– Virtually

Topic: “Using Family Search to Find German Records”

Learn how to search effectively, efficiently and specifically for German records in Family Search. Fully use the search filters, wildcards, images and other options to access the indexed and unindexed records available on the website.

Presenter:  Janet O’Conor Camarata

Janet is a genealogist with over 30 years experience. She is a seminar presenter, educator, and trainer in genealogy societies, libraries, retirement centers and senior centers across Washington. She has supported genealogy by volunteering in a variety of ways – newsletter editor, program coordinator, publicity, Education Director and past-president of South King County Genealogical Society (SKCGS).   She is the winner of the Washington State Genealogical Society Volunteer of the Year award for 2019.  Janet is a graduate of the University of Washington Genealogy and Family History program.  She has a B.A. (Education) degree from Central Washington University and a Master’s degree from Antioch University.  She also taught within The Boeing Company and at the University of Phoenix.

More information: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/ 

Visitors are always welcome and may request the Zoom link no later than February 2^nd using the Contact tab on our website.

The German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, January 7, 2022 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm PT– Virtually  

Topic: Why German Church Records? Why Archion?

The presentation will focus on using German church records for genealogy research, with emphasis on the Archion website.

Presenter:  Maggie Hein

Maggie’s primary genealogy focus is Germans, who migrated to Russia in 1766.  When she isn’t doing genealogy research, she is a tax accountant and co-owner of a CPA firm in the Chicago suburbs.

More information: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/  Visitors are always welcome and may request an invitation by using the Contact tab on our website, no later than 2 days prior to the meeting.

The German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, December 3^rd, 2021 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm PT– Virtually

Put on your favorite festive gear and meet in Zoom for some holiday fun and genealogy sharing.  Melinda McRae will present a short feature on the Origins and Development of German Christmas Decorations. Afterwards, anyone can share about Germanic traditions for the holidays and maybe some recipes. If time permits, the topic may change to genealogy goals and plans for the upcoming year. Let’s share and support each other during our adventures!

Melinda McRae is the grand-daughter of 3 German immigrants (and one American- born Scot) and has been delving into her family history for decades. Currently, she is double-checking all her Stolz family research with the on-line church books on Archion – finding some errors and a lot of new people as well. She has an MA in European history with a focus on Germany.

More information: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/  Visitors are always welcome and may request an invitation by using the Contact tab on our website, no later than 2 days prior to the meeting.

The German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, November 5, 2021 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm PDT– Virtually

Topic: “Learning about my Oswald and Rendtorff Ancestors”

Janice will highlight the discoveries in her journey while researching the German branch of her family tree — New and surprising family stories, helpful research finds, historical context, gratifying contacts with others, joy of finding cousins, useful DNA finds, and a quick virtual trip to Gimbsheim, Germany will be included. She is excited to share the joy she has had finding these family stories and collaborating with others.

Presenter: Janice Leitzke

Janice’s love of family history began when her children started school, and she began recording their history in scrapbooks.  About the same time, her father wrote a book of his family history.  The two interests combined and she became involved in researching and recording her family’s genealogy. She was delighted to uncover information about her mother’s unknown early American roots as well as more details about her father’s German roots. She gets particularly excited learning about connections between family and historical events, and discovering new cousins. When Janice is not researching genealogy, she loves to travel, sew and read.

More information: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/  Visitors are always welcome and may request an invitation by using the Contact tab on our website, no later than 2 days prior to the meeting.

The German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, June 4, 2021 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm PDT – Virtually

Topic: “Finding my 19th Century Immigrants from Germanic Europe”   

Shares the successful conclusion to a 20-year search for the town of origin of a 19th century immigrant ancestor from Germanic Europe. The presenter also reviews the successful conclusions for three additional 19th century immigrants from Germanic Europe, how those successes were achieved, and the research tools & methods used. Researchers are encouraged to modify and adapt these tools and methods to best suit their own endeavors.   

Presenter: David S. Raese  

Growing up, my grandmother often recalled stories told to her by her grandparents, all four of whom were immigrants from Germanic Europe. However, many decades later when I began asking about them and traveling to Germany myself as an exchange student, she did not know the names of the towns where her grandparents were from, and did not know any names of her great-grandparents. Not a single one. Shortly before 2000, I began researching their origins in the records. Researching actual records is entirely different than solely relying upon family stories. It was an eye-opening experience. I quickly learned, and managed to locate the towns of origin for three out of four of her grandparents. The fourth grandparent was successfully found this year, just a few weeks ago. This is my story. 

More information: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/ 

Visitors are always welcome. To request an invitation, please use the Contact tab on our website, no later than 2 days prior to our meeting.

The German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, May 7, 2021 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm PDT – Virtually

Topic: “From Pikeman to Pennsylvanian: Swiss Ancestral Origins”

Investigating “Pennsylvania Dutch” origins can turn up fascinating stories. Claire Gebben’s maternal great grandmother, Annie Elizabeth Salome Line Lindsey, was a fifth generation descendant of Swiss emigrants Henry Carpenter / Zimmerman (1673-1750) and Maria Salome Rufener (1675-1743), both from the Canton of Bern in the Central Alps region of present-day Switzerland. Evidence of their story was at first conflicting and scanty at best, but a deeper dive uncovered an unexpected bounty of family history and the Swiss German legacy. In this presentation Claire shares often-untapped resources and glimpses of the adventurous lives and times of some of the earliest Swiss settlers to William Penn’s Pennsylvania province.

 Presenter: Claire Gebben is the author of an award-winning memoir How We Survive Here (2018) about the discovery of old letters in an attic in Germany written by Claire’s ancestors that propelled her on a transatlantic quest to learn the truth about their lives. Her novel The Last of the Blacksmiths (2014) is based on the true story of a 19th-century German immigrant blacksmith Michael Harm who pursues the American dream. Claire ‘s articles about family history appear in publications such as the Seattle Genealogical Society Newsletter, Northwest Prime Time, the Fiske Genealogical Society Newsletter, and German Life magazine. She holds an MFA and speaks on genealogy topics at numerous venues. More at http://clairegebben.com

More information: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/ 

Visitors are always welcome. To request an invitation, please use the Contact tab on our website, no later than 2 days prior to our meeting.