Tag Archives: Seattle Genealogical Society

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

by Charles Hansen

TIP OF THE WEEK –
OKLAHOMA VITAL RECORDS INDEX

Oklahoma’s Dept. of Health now has an online vital records index, called OK2Explore. This is a free, searchable index of births and deaths in the state of Oklahoma; included are details of births more than 20 years ago, and of deaths more than 5 years ago. One may search this site using any combination of the subject’s name, date of event (birth or death), county of event, and sex of the subject.

 

Records of births occurring more than 125 years ago and those of deaths occurring more than 75 years ago are open to the public, and no proof of eligibility is required to order them. More recent records require proof of eligibility.

If you find a record you want a copy of, the site provides several ways in which to order it.

Here is the URL for this site:

https://ok2explore.health.ok.gov/

Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

DICK EASTMAN, POPULAR NEWSLETTER AUTHOR,
COMING TO SGS SEMINAR THIS FALL

Eastman’s On Genealogy Newsletter by Dick Eastman is a vastly popular, widely read site. I’m sure most of you have read his Free Standard Edition and gleaned a lot of useful information from it. And I’m also sure many of you subscribe to his reasonably priced Plus Edition. It costs about $.38 a week, as either $19.95 a year, or $5.95 per quarter. The Plus Edition has more articles and no advertising.

Since you enjoy his newsletter so much, come see him live at the fall seminar. Mark it on your calendar. Save the date.

 

DOUBLE DATING AND OTHER WOES

“In 1752, England changed her calendar, too” is a little rhyme I made up to help me remember the year England and her colonies, including here in America, switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. This was much later than most other countries.

As a quick recap, there was a Roman calendar, a Julian calendar, and finally the Gregorian calendar. Many countries switched over to the Gregorian calendar between 1582 and 1701, but as mentioned, England didn’t switch until 1752. I thought this date thing was pretty straight forward, but soon learned it could be rather sticky.

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Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

by Charles Hansen

TIP OF THE WEEK –
USING LOCAL LIBRARIES TO FIND OBITUARIES

While on-line newspaper vendors like GenealogyBank.com and NewspaperArchive.com are terrific resources, these databases often do not have newspapers for the geographical area you are researching. When online sources fail to find an obituary, what is a person to do?

One excellent resource to check with is the local public library in the city, town, or county in which your ancestor died. Provide them with the name, the date of death, and ask them if they have newspapers for that period that they can search for you. Sometimes this query can be done via the local library’s web site. And some local libraries even have links to an obituary index that you can search.

Libraries might charge a nominal fee for this service, but some may provide it for free, especially when they can email you a scanned image of the obituary, rather than mailing it to you.

So don’t forget the local library in the area where your ancestor lived or died can be a valuable resource

Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE SGS

Seattle Genealogical Society runs on volunteers. It is with this volunteer support that SGS is able to provide ever current, significant support to our members in their genealogical research – from book and online resources available at the SGS library, as well as numerous free classes – from DNA to Irish and Scandinavian special interest groups research, to extremely instructive seminars. SGS is able to provide all this great assistance because of its invaluable volunteers. The more SGS members who volunteer, the easier it is to provide this support, along with making the volunteer experience more enjoyable and productive for all.

SGS is in need of a few more volunteers. Several critical Board of Directors positions remain open. The Vice President (provides support to the President), Director of Technology (does not require significant computer skills, but does include updating of email addresses), and Director of Volunteers (includes working with volunteers in the library) still need to be filled. The work these positions entail is not overly burdensome, but will involve a monthly meeting with the other directors.

Also, the SGS Nominating Committee (the committee that annually assembles for election the list of those interested in being on the Board) currently has 2 members, but needs two more members.

If you have any questions, or are interested in any of these open positions, please email volunteers@seattlegenealogicalsociety.org , or call the main SGS phone number at 206-522-8658 and leave a message.

In an ongoing effort to fill these open Board positions, the SGS Nominating Committee will be contacting SGS members by phone or email. Please consider volunteering for one of these positions. Help continue to make SGS the great volunteer organization that it is today.

 

Puget Sound Society Summit

 

In the spirit of collaboration, a number of society leaders from around the Puget Sound area met on June 22, 2017, to share success stories and concerns for the coming year. All agreed that greater cooperation would benefit all, particularly in cross-advertising our various activities. Represented were Whatcom GS, Eastside GS, Fiske Library, Tacoma-Pierce County, South King County GS and Seattle Genealogical Society, host. Our immediate goal is to advertise ourselves to each other at the Northwest Genealogical Conference in Arlington, WA, sponsored by the Stillaguamish GS.

SAVE THE DATES

 

71st Annual Scottish Highland Games and Clan Gathering,
Enumclaw Expo Center,
45224 284th Ave SE,
Enumclaw, WA
July 29-30

 

Enjoy Highland dancing, piping, drumming and Scottish athletic events. Always a July favorite. More info at:

www.sshga.org

NW Genealogy Conference 2017,
Arlington, WA
August 16 – 19

The Stillaguamish Valley Genealogical Society is putting on their annual four day conference. Visit their website for more information, to register for the conference, or to register for the free day: www.nwgc.org

Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS),
2017 Conference – “Building Bridges to the Past”,
Pittsburgh, PA
August 30 – September 2, 2017

Ready for a road trip? This conference is open to anyone with an interest in family history. FGS is teaming up with the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society to put on this four day events. There will be various tracks to suit the individual researcher; beginner to experienced.

For more info visit : fgs.org

SGS 2017 Fall Seminar
Speaker: Dick Eastman
Fairview Christian School,
Seattle, WA
October 21, 2017

Registration will open in early September. Mark your calendar.

SGS CALENDAR OF EVENTS

 

Unless otherwise indicated all programs will be at the SGS Library, 6200 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle. Check the SGS Web Site for additions, changes, and corrections. Programs may be canceled or postponed because of inclement weather. The Family Tree Interest Group with Lou Daly will not meet in July, August, or September. The Irish, German, and Canadian Interest Groups do not meet in June, July, or August; they will return to their regular schedule in the fall.

 

JULY

 

Tuesday, July 18, 12:30 pm – 3:00 pm, Technology Tuesday, Bring your laptop or mobile device, and enjoy discussions centered around technology and genealogy – software, genetic genealogy, internet research and more. Hosted by Lisa Chan.

Saturday, July 22, 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm, Crown Hill Cemetery Tour, join Amber Brock and Lisa Oberg as they lead you through beautiful Crown Hill Cemetery, 8712 12th Ave NW, Seattle, WA 98117. Founded in 1903 to support the rapidly-growing Ballard community, Crown Hill is set on 10 acres in the heart of the city shaded by old maple trees. Explore the stories of some of the people buried in this serene country setting. We’ll meet up near the Cemetery Office, which is at the main entrance. The cemetery entrance is on 12th Ave NW, near the intersection of 12th Ave NW and NW 87th.

 

Saturday, July 29, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm, DNA SIG, this group meets at the Wedgwood Presbyterian Church. 8008 35th Ave NE, Seattle. For more information contact SGSDNASIG@gmail.com. Co-chaired by Cary Bright and Herb McDaniel.

AUGUST

 

Sunday, August 6, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm, Scandinavian Interest Group, Karen Knudson, leader.

Saturday, August 12, 1:00 pm- 3:00 pm, Family Tree Maker (FTM) Users Group, members helping one another with Family Tree Maker (FTM) the tool long associated with Ancestry.com; Reiley Kidd and Betty Ravenholt are the leaders.

Wednesday, August 16, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm, Beginning Genealogy Class with Linda Fitzgerald, If you’d like, feel free to bring a brown bag lunch.

 

Seattle Genealogical Society Free Class

by Charles Hansen

The Seattle Genealogical Society will present a Beginning Beginning Genealogy class on Wednesday, 16 Aug 2017, The class will be held at the SGS Library from 11 am to 3 pm. Attendees can bring a brown bag lunch. The class is free and open to the public. Please call to reserve your place.

SGS is located at 6200 Sand Point Way N. E., Seattle, WA. Phone: 206-522-8658

Thank you.

 

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

by Charles Hansen

TIP OF THE WEEK –
USING THE DAR WEBSITE

You don’t have to be a DAR member to use the DAR website and its resources. If you had an ancestor in the Colonies during the American Revolutionary War, here are the steps to finding out what the DAR might have on them:

1. Log onto www.dar.org

2. Click on GRS (green button at top of home page)

3. Click on Ancestors

4. Enter at least your ancestor’s last name and hit Search

A results list will be displayed showing full name, rank, birth and death date, service description. Click on the individual entry and you’ll get some additional data such as residence and spouse. Hint: click again on the member number (aka “Natl Num”) to see even more info. Sometimes you can purchase the associated membership application and/or supplemental supporting documentation as noted by the green Purchase button. Also don’t forget some lineage applications are on Ancestry.

Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

WASHINGTON STATE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY
RECOGNIZES LISA CHAN

 

Lisa Chan recently received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award for her contributions to Seattle Genealogical Society. Although Lisa has been a member of SGS for less than two years, she has made quite an impact on the society, moving it forward technologically. She was front and center on setting up the new digital scanning lab, introduced SGS to Google Apps for Non-Profits, and coached the society through these implementations. She also helped SGS establish sound policies and procedures regarding their digital assets.

Board members, L to R, Christine Schomaker, Karen Knudson, Julia Marconi, Jill Morelli, Amandalei Bennett,
and past president, Marilyn Rose, gather around Lisa Chan, holding her award

 

SGS is so grateful for Lisa’s willingness to share her technology, applications, and training skills with us. Many of you may have come to her popular Tech Tuesday drop-in sessions. Join us in congratulating Lisa Chan on her award and thanking her for her service to SGS.

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Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

BOOK EXCHANGE

The SGS Library has begun exchanging books and periodical issues with other genealogy libraries around the country.

Thus far, through this exchange, we have added 7 new books (conservatively valued at over $280) to our collection which bolstered our holdings for counties in Virginia and West Virginia. In return, we have either reimbursed the sender for postage, or exchanged some of SGS’ publications with them.

When the SGS Library offered our publications to other libraries, we received requests from seven other genealogical libraries. The response has been very positive.

One librarian checked her own family names in Edmond S Meany’s Living Pioneers of Washington, published by SGS in 1995, and found two family members with full articles, including the date their wagon train left Illinois, and a third relative is mentioned. She hopes to visit SGS in January 2019 when the American Library Association meets in Seattle.

This book exchange is an excellent way to raise our profile within the genealogy community!

GOT ACADIANS OR CAJUNS IN YOUR FAMILY TREE?

The SGS Library has a new section devoted to Acadia. The colony of New France in northeastern North America was known as Acadia. This includes areas of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Maine. Acadians who resettled in Louisiana came to be known as Cajuns. You can find this new section under Canada (CAND/AC/) in the library, but for a while check for items for Acadia on the new acquisitions shelf.

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Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

by Charles Hansen

TIP OF THE WEEK –  SANBORN FIRE INSURANCE MAPS

Sanborn Maps were originally created in the 1860’s for assessing fire insurance liability in urbanized areas.  The maps include detailed information about buildings in approximately 12,000 US towns and cities. They are a very useful resource for historical research, genealogical research, and they are the most frequently consulted maps in public libraries.

The good news is The Library of Congress has already placed 25,000 of these maps online and they are in the process of adding more maps monthly. The goal is to have all the maps (approximately 500,000) available online by 2020.

While still hit and miss, maybe the map you need is already online. Check it out at:
https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-17-074/?loclr=fbloc-new