Please join the SVGS on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at 1pm for the last of our Spring Series, Norwegian Genealogy with Dana Kelly, Executive Director of the Norwegian American Genealogical Center (NAGC). NAGC is a non-profit devoted to collecting, preserving and sharing records of Norwegian and Norwegian-American genealogy and immigration history. Can’t make it to the Burlington Library, request a zoom link by emailing genealogy0715@gmail.com.
Walking with Ancestors will take place on July 4th at Normal Hill Cemetery, 1122 7th St, Lewiston, ID. Twin Rivers Genealogy Society offers tours starting at 8:30am, with the last tour at 10:30am. This year, the event is in the Military section of the Cemetery, and Garry Bush will be the guest speaker. The tours will include a visit to the resting places of a soldier “Missing in Action” from the Vietnam War. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lawn chair. For questions, contact Sue at 509.780.7592.
Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 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 2024 award recipients and learn why they received they received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.
Today we’re introducing Jerald Rogers of Edmonds, Washington who was selected by the Sno-Isle Genealogical Society as its recipient of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.
Jerald has made significant contributions to the success of the Sno-Isle Genealogical Society. As treasurer, he manages the finances, ensuring transparency and stability. He has secured and overseen grants that have bolstered funding and enabled the society to expand their services. Most notable was his work to secure the funding, and assist in the management, of the recently completed Phase I of the Edmonds Tribune-Review digitization project.
Jerald has also taken a hands-on approach in two significant ways regarding SIGS’s library, the Humble House. He has monitored the facilities, ensuring they remain in excellent condition, while liaising with the facility’s owner, the City of Lynnwood, on larger repairs and upkeep tasks. Finally, Jerald serves as a docent lead at the society library, sharing his knowledge and passion with visitors.
For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award” in the subject line.
Please join us for this timely presentation;
it comes just a few days before our
FindAGrave Adventure!
“Carved in Stone: Cemetery Research”
presented by: Pamela Bell Dallas
Gain more from your cemetery research. Unlock the full potential of your cemetery visits!
In this session, you’ll learn how to effectively prepare before heading to the cemetery,
make the most of your time on-site, and discover valuable family history clues
Date: June 07, 2025 Time: 01:00 PM to 03:00 PM
Location: The Hive – 2904 E Sprague Ave, Spokane, WA 99202
Hybrid-Zoom meeting (We’d sure love to see you in person.)
Doors open at 12:30 p.m. (Come early to catch up with friends)
Door code: 985426#
Zoom link and handouts will be available on the EWGSi website the day before the event.
(please print your handouts at home)
Don’t forget some cash for Raffles and $50/50$
Jeannie will have her world-famous Free Table.
And of course coffee, cookies and friends!
To find out more about the FindAGrave event please visit: EWGSi.org
Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society DNA Special Interest Group Meeting
Tuesday, May 27, Starting at 7:00 pm via Zoom
We will discuss the DNA company Living DNA, their offerings, and take a virtual tour of the website.
Download: 1745378587_DNASIGMeetingInvite.pdf
Calendar reminder: TPCGS DNA Special Interest Group Meeting
Every month on the Fourth Tuesday beginning at 7:00 PM Pacific Time
Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.
Monthly: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZYqdeyrrz0iEtx-c_J3gNfcI8mebT1zajLo/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGqqTkvGdWTuBGPRpwQB4joZ-nzmCFHj7dF0RzaKXNUTAX1H7pPN7BLQcLR
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82725316888?pwd=MDc3UEZrUVJNbmxmK2ZORmw5YzdDdz09
Meeting ID: 827 2531 6888
Passcode: 811780
One tap mobile:
+12532050468,,82725316888#,,,,*811780# US
+12532158782,,82725316888#,,,,*811780# US (Tacoma)
Dial by your location:
+1 253 205 0468 US
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
Meeting ID: 827 2531 6888
Passcode: 811780
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kIKCyZLQy
Zoom Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/4rpudhxk
More information: Visitors are always welcome. Our website is https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/
Again this year the Fort Walla Walla Camp 3 of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War will hold their annual Memorial Day remembrance service (5/26) at Tahoma Cemetery of Yakima at 10:45 to about noon. The public is invited, with limited seating, visitors are advised to bring a personal lawn chair. Camp 3 members will lead the service. WVHS Jr ROTC to post the Colors. Will be music and several brief speakers, a discussion on Decoration Day & on discovering your C.War ancestor, and a gun volley salute and Taps played.
Questions? address to Camp Commander Clifford Peterson phone 509 969 8844 Or www.suvpnw.org and Fort Walla Walla events .
Thanks Don Jameson Past Camp Commander. or Cell 509 945 0549
Buffalo or Bison? Which do we have in the American West?
I recently taught a lesson to my 11yo and 7yo great-grandkids on this subject. We have BISON in America. Bison have humps, shorter horns, live on the prairies and are ill-tempered. BUFFALO live in the wetlands of Asia and Africa, have long broad horns and are more mild-mannered, and so in Asia have been domesticated by man.
Did you know: Male bison an weight up to 2000 pounds and stand 6′ tall. (And we see videos posted on YouTube of stupid tourists in Yellowstone trying to pet a bison and getting gored.) Females are slightly smaller. Bison calves weigh 30-70 pounds at birth.
American bison are a keystone species that provide many benefits to other animals and the land. Their manure and grazing patterns increase the amount of nitrogen to prairie plants which facilitates plant growth giving habitat to nesting birds. Thick bison fur catches and disperses native seeds. Bison wallows, where the animals roll and scuffle, create specialized habitats for plants and capture moisture. Using their big heads as plows, bison push through deep snow creating paths for other animals such as elk and antelope.
Bison are the official mammal of America and also the states of Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. But the history of the American bison is full of a lack of appreciation. Long ago, the continent held an estimated 40,000,000 bison. Then came hunting and by 1884 the official estimate of remaining wild bison was a mere 325.
There are volumes more to the full story and there are many books written on the subject of the history of the American bison. Want a good read?
P.S. Did you catch the phrase “keystone species?” Google that phrase for some really interesting knowledge.
(Thanks to the North Columbia Monthly, Dec 2024, for this story.)
If you were living in Washington on Sunday, May 18, 1980, do you remember what you were doing? I was walking to church on that sunny day and remember hearing what I thought was a sonic boom. (Fairchild AFB is just west of town.) An hour later, I fled home and was among thousands of Washingtonians wondering WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING?
At 8:32 that morning, Mt. St. Helens erupted as the result of an earthquake measuring 5.1 on the Richter scale. Here’s what happened:
I remember gathering my family close, including my future son-in-law. I remember them playing RISK for hours. I remember waking up Monday and Tuesday morning to everything coated with white ash….. and nobody knew how dangerous it might be to breathe or to our cars. Spokane, among many eastern Washington cities, stood in shocked stillness.
Now, 45 years later, we still see white streaks in the banks along I-90 when we head west. And I wonder how many baby girls born that day were named Helen or Ashley???
Will Mt. St. Helens blow again? She is considered the volcano in the Cascades most likely to erupt again in our lifetimes, and scientists expect it to erupt again though the timing and magnitude are uncertain. (So says Google.)
Reprinted from Eastman’s On-line Genealogy Newsletter, May 13th 2025
Claims are now open for individuals impacted by DNA-tracking company 23andMe’s 2023 data breach, and we’ve got all the details about how to opt in and how much you might be able to get paid.
The San Francisco-based company, which allows people to submit genetic materials and get a snapshot of their ancestry, announced in October 2023 that hackers had accessed customer information in a data breach, but the company didn’t confirm the full extent of the incident until December. Around half of the company’s 14 million people saw their personal information exposed in the leak, which first began in April 2023.
The lawsuit, filed in January 2024, accused 23andMe of not doing enough to protect its customers. It also accused 23andMe of not notifying certain customers with Chinese or Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry that their data was targeted specifically and spread on the dark web. The company opted to settle the suit for $30 million.
“We have executed a settlement agreement for an aggregate cash payment of $30 million to settle all US claims regarding the 2023 credential stuffing security incident,” a 23andMe spokesman told CNET. “We continue to believe this settlement is in the best interest of 23andMe customers, and we look forward to finalizing the agreement.”
Now, a few months on, there’s finally an official method available for you to make your claim and potentially get paid by 23andMe, in some cases as much as $10,000. Keep reading to get all the details you need, and for more, find out why T-Mobile settlement checks have been delayed and see if you’re able to claim a piece of Apple’s Siri privacy settlement.
The settlement could cover roughly 6.9 million 23andMe customers whose data was targeted in the leak. To qualify for the proposed settlement, 23andMe users must also have been a US resident on Aug. 11, 2023.
That 6.9 million number includes around 5.5 million users of 23andMe’s DNA Relatives profiles, which lets users find and connect with genetic relatives. The other 1.4 million people affected by the breach used another service known as Family Tree, which predicts a family tree based on the DNA users share with relatives, 23andMe said.
At the top end, 23andMe has said that it will pay out up to $10,000 with an “Extraordinary Claim” to users who can verify that they suffered hardships as a direct result of their information being stolen in the data breach that resulted in unreimbursed costs. This includes costs resulting from “identity fraud or falsified tax returns,” from acquiring physical security systems, or from receiving mental health treatment.
Residents of Alaska, California, Illinois and Oregon who were impacted by the breach can also apply for a payment as part of the proposed settlement, since those states have genetic privacy laws with damages provisions. The payments for these individuals are expected to be around $100, depending on how many people file for them, a settlement document said.
Also, a smaller subset of affected users whose personal health information was impacted by the breach will be able to apply for a payment of $100.
Infographic credit: Gianmarco Chumbe/CNET; Background image: Jason Doiy/Getty Images
Beyond those payments, 23andMe will also offer impacted users three years of a security monitoring service called Privacy Shield, which filings described as providing “substantial web and dark web monitoring.”
In order to file a claim electronically, you can do so using this official online portal from the Kroll Restructuring Administration. An additional online form is available if you would like proof of your claim sent to you.
Potential claimants can also download and print out hard copies of the claim form and proof of claim form if they wish to submit them by mail. If you’re planning to use this method, send your forms to one of the addresses listed on the official claims website. The deadline to make your claim is July 14.