Tacoma Pierce County Spring Seminar Cancelled

Mar13 by Charles Hansen

It is with deep regret that TPCGS has decided that it is in everyone’s best interests to cancel our 2020 Spring Seminar. We hope to be able to reschedule it at a future date. All registrations that we have already received will be refunded.
Thank you for understanding.
Jane Irish Nelson, TPCGS Co-Chair

Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society Spring Seminar Cancelled

Feb28 by Charles Hansen

This year’s Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society Spring Seminar is scheduled for April 24th and 25th, at Totem Yacht Club, 5045 North Highland, Tacoma, WA 98407. Our speaker will by Judy Russell, also known as the Legal Genealogist. Friday evening she will present a talk on The Rest of the Story.
Her presentations on Saturday will be: Dower and Dowry: Women, Property, & Legal Records; The Discriminating Genealogist: Telling Good Evidence from Bad; Through the Golden Door: Immigration After the Civil War; and NARA Mythbusters: Your Family IS in the Archives
If you are interested in attending, please register early as attendance is limited. For more information and a registration form, visit our website at: or http://tpcgs.org/seminar.html

Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society February 2020 Meeting

Feb4 by Charles Hansen

Our February Monthly Meeting is this coming Tuesday, February 11 at Bates Community College, South Campus.
6:00 pm Member Networking and Sharing6:30 – 8:30 pm Business Meeting and Program
Our speaker is Cyndi Ingle, and her topic is TIMELINES.
You will need a 2020 parking permit; so if you do not have one, we will have some extras at the sign in desk.

Hope to see everyone there!
TPCGS monthly meetings are held September through June from 6 pm to 9 pm, usually at Bates Technical College, South Campus, Building E, 2201 South 78th St., Tacoma.
Guests are always welcome, so bring a friend! For more information check our website at www.tpcgs.org.
Jane Irish Nelson, TPCGS Webmaster

Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society January 2020 Meeting

Jan8 by Charles Hansen

Happy New Year!!!!
Our January Monthly Meeting is this coming Tuesday, January 14 at Bates Community College, South Campus.
6:00 pm Member Networking and Sharing6:30 – 8:30 pm Business Meeting and Program
Our speaker is JoAnn Huber, and her topic is BEGINNING GENEALOGY. Even though it is titled Beginning, there will be lots of new stuff and all of us need a review from time to time. JoAnn comes to us from the Genealogy Library in Sumner and has talked on this topic many times.
You will need a 2020 parking permit; so if you do not have one, we will have some extras at the sign in desk.

Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society Holiday Gala

Dec3 by Charles Hansen

Please join us on Tuesday, December 10th for our Holiday Gala, beginning at 6 pm. This is always a “fun” event. A chance for us to socialize, share some great snacks, and maybe even play some genealogy games. Bring a friend — or two! This is a great way to introduce family and friends to TPCGS.

Bates Technical College South Campus, 2201 S 78th St, Building E, Tacoma, WA.

Take exit 129 onto Tacoma Mall Boulevard; Turn left and go to 78th Street; Turn right into the college: 2201 S 78th St.We look forward to seeing you there!

Jane Irish Nelson TPCGS Webmaster

Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society November Meeting

Nov5 by Charles Hansen

TPCGS will hold our monthly meeting this coming Tuesday, November 12th, at Bates Community College, South Campus.

6:00 pm Member Networking and Sharing
6:30 – 8:30 pm Business Meeting and Program

PROGRAM: Finding Your Ancestors in Fraternal Records.

SPEAKER: Steve Dunkelberger

Hope to see everyone there!

TPCGS monthly meetings are held September through June from 6 pm to 9 pm, usually at Bates Technical College, South Campus, Building E, 2201 South 78th St, Tacoma.

Guests are always welcome, so bring a friend! For more information check our website at www.tpcgs.org.

—
Jane Irish Nelson

TPCGS Webmaster

Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society May Meeting

May7 by Charles Hansen

TPCGS will hold our monthly meeting this Tuesday, May 14th, at Bates Community College, South Campus.
6:00 pm Member Networking and Sharing6:30 – 8:30 pm Business Meeting and Program
PROGRAM: Mapping your ancestors: how geography can be an untapped resource for genealogy research. Learn how to use geography and maps to provide visual clues that will help focus research, locate property and identify lost place names.

SPEAKER: Janet Camarata
Hope to see everyone there!
TPCGS monthly meetings are held September through June from 6 pm to 9 pm, usually at Bates Technical College, South Campus, Building E, 2201 South 78th St., Tacoma.
Guests are always welcome, so bring a friend! For more information check our website at www.tpcgs.org.
Please note that we hope to reschedule to cancelled Timelines presentation by Cyndi Ingle in the fall.

Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society Spring Seminar

Apr3 by Charles Hansen

Just a reminder that our Spring seminar is just around the corner . . . have you registered yet? If you haven’t, time is running out!

On Friday, April 26^th and Saturday, April 27^th the Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society will be holding its annual Spring Seminar. This year we have invited the professional genealogist, Michael D. Lacopo, D.V.M. to be our speaker.

Friday evening’s topic is:

TOP TEN THINGS I HAVE LEARNED IN OVER THREE DECADES OF GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH
Join your speaker on a trip down Memory Lane and share his tales of serendipity, woe, discovery, and frustration… with a touch of humor. Put away your notebooks and prepare to nod in agreement at things only fellow genealogists would understand!

Saturday’s topics are:

MORE THAN THE CENSUS – OUR FAMILIES DID EXIST WITHIN THOSE TEN-YEAR INTERVALS!
This lecture will show the researcher that it is important to identify our ancestors’ whereabouts in as many local records as possible. A lot can happen in ten years! If you don’t look harder, you won’t find them.

GERMAN GENEALOGY ON THE INTERNET: BEYOND THE BASICS
The Internet age has brought genealogy to our fingertips over the last two decades, and subsequently we can find our German ancestors easier. But it still takes some digging and some know-how. This lecture will discuss some online sites that all German genealogists should be aware of. American sites will be covered, but a strong concentration on lesser used German sites will be discussed, as we are missing vital clues by not being truly “international” in our Internet research endeavors!

INCORPORATING SOCIAL HISTORY INTO YOUR RESEARCH
Family history should be more than names and dates. What motivated our ancestors? Why did they migrate? Who did they interact with? How do social customs of another era affect our research? Social history and its bearing on genealogical research will be covered and a “must-read” bibliography for serious researchers will be discussed.

“SHE CAME FROM NOWHERE . . .” – A CASE STUDY APPROACH TO A DIFFICULT GENEALOGICAL PROBLEM
This lecture illustrates the joys and pitfalls of Virginia research as well as employing a problem-solving approach utilizing social history, female research and family analysis to identify the parents of Elizabeth Stith, the ancestor “from nowhere.” One need not have Virginia ancestors to see the Genealogical Proof Standard at work!

As usual, we will be having our used book sale. This year, we were lucky to receive a large donation of books from private libraries. I understand there is quite the selection of books on just about any topic you can think of. And best of all, they are priced to sell!

The Spring Seminar will again be held at the La Quinta Inn and Suites in Tacoma (253-383-0146). If you would like to stay at the La Quinta a limited number of rooms will be made available at the discounted price. Please note, this offer is only available until April 5^th and only through the above phone number. Also be sure to identify yourself as a conference attendee when reserving a room.

Jane Irish Nelson, TPCGS Seminar Co-Chair

Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society Meeting

Mar1 by Charles Hansen

TPCGS will hold our monthly meeting this Tuesday, March 12th, at Bates Community College, South Campus.

6:00 pm Member Networking and Sharing6:30 – 8:30 pm Business Meeting and Program

PROGRAM: German Lexicon and free German websites. Meyer’s Orts- und Verkehrs- Lexicon includes all place names as they were designated during the time of the German Empire (1871-1918). It is an invaluable tool in doing German research. The online version is important in locating the place where the records of your ancestors were recorded. The locations of the microfilmed/digitized records of the Family History Library are based on this Gazetteer.
The free German web site https://compgen.de/ is a gold mine for German research. This web site of the Society for Computer Genealogy, Inc. is divided into two sections: 1) information (history, archives, links to regional family history groups and repositories and 2) databases for records of people and places. Translation into English allows non-German speakers to take advantage of a massive amount if information.

SPEAKER: Sue Foster (nee Ursula Kaiser), who immigrated at age 10 to the U.S. after her father died as a German soldier during World War II. She has researched her family tree to the early 1600s. She was a Family History Center Director from 1990 to 2004. In 2007 she received her bachelor’s degree in Family History from Brigham Young University. From January 2017 through June 2018 she served as a patron helper in the International Zone of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, specializing in German research. Reading old German documents, printed or handwritten, is her specialty.
Hope to see everyone there!
TPCGS monthly meetings are held September through June from 6 pm to 9 pm, usually at Bates Technical College, South Campus, Building E, 2201 South 78th St., Tacoma.
Guests are always welcome, so bring a friend! For more information check our website at www.tpcgs.org.
Please note that we hope to reschedule to cancelled Timelines presentation by Cyndi Ingle in the fall.

Jane Irish Nelson, TPCGS Webmaster

Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society June Meeting

Jun9 by Charles Hansen

TPCGS will hold our monthly meeting this Tuesday, June 12, at 6.30 pm, at Bates Community College.

Our Speaker will be Midori Okazaki from the Washington State Archives.

From 6:30 to 7:00 she will explain how to become a Scribe for the Washington State Archives. Then after a short business meeting, she will also cover the Preservation of physical records.