The Yakima Valley Genealogical Society is presenting its annual Spring
Seminar, Saturday, April 6, 9-3:45 PM at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church at
7809 Tieton Drive in Yakima. Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, a nationally known
genealogist and writer for Reminisce Magazine will be the speaker. Her
topics are Apprentices, Indentured Servants and Redemptioners: White
Servitude in America, Researching the Lives of Our Foremothers,
Migration To and Through Virginia and The Scots- Irish in America. Lunch
and snacks are included. Registration before April 2 for YVGS Members
is $40.00 YVGS Non-Members $45.00, On-Site Registration 8:30 AM – 9:00
AM $45.00. No refund of registration fee after April 2. Registration
forms and information are available at the YVGS website.
Ah, the fifth and final sweet bite of my Chocolate Saga to share with you.
After the beans are dried and roasted, they are ground to a paste and sugar is added. For milk chocolate, that is added. In that learning place, I studied this poster:
Did you learn something new about your likely-favorite sweet??
The Yakima Valley Genealogical Society is presenting its annual Spring Seminar, Saturday, April 6, 9-3:45 PM at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church at 7809 Tieton Drive in Yakima. Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, a nationally known genealogist and writer for Reminisce Magazine will be the speaker. Her topics are Apprentices, Indentured Servants and Redemptioners: White Servitude in America, Researching the Lives of Our Foremothers, Migration To and Through Virginia and The Scots- Irish in America. Lunch and snacks are included. Registration before April 2 for YVGS Members is $40.00 YVGS Non-Members $45.00, On-Site Registration 8:30 AM – 9:00 AM $45.00. No refund of registration fee after April 2. Registration forms and information are available at the YVGS website.
Mystery solved! At least for me. My mother used to explain to me that in days of yore, crawling babies were dressed in long dresses so that the bottom of the dress could be put under the bed post to keep baby safe while mother was outside fetching wood or hanging laundry. Made sense to me.
A post by Lisa Louise Cooke, penned by Allison DePrey Singleton, gives a parallel explanation. Initially, babies were swaddled, meaning they were wrapped tightly in cloth from head to toe so their arms and legs would stay straight. Once out of swaddling, parents dressed their children in long skirts to prevent their crawling about, which was considered “barbaric and unnatural.”
Really? Love Lisa Louise Cooke’s blog and podcasts…. so full of good information and wonderful tidbits of history.
TIP OF THE WEEK – NOTICE FOR FTDNA CUSTOMERS
Listening to angry customers, FTDNA has provided a separate option
so one can now opt out of the new Law Enforcement Matching (LEM), but
still maintain matching with DNA Relatives. If you care to adjust your
Matching Preferences, visit the Privacy & Sharing section within
Account Settings as shown in the steps below:
1. Log in to your FTDNA account 2. Use the dropdown arrow in the upper right, to the right of name, to open the menu there and choose Account Settings 3. On the Account Settings page, open the Privacy & Sharing tab
4. Cursor down to the Law Enforcement Matching (LEM) section and slide
the marker from the right (where it’s blue) to the left (where it will
turn grey)
If you manage multiple accounts, you’ll have to log
into each account individually and repeat steps 1-4. Judy G Russell,
the Legal Genealogist, wrote an insightful blog on the Law Enforcement
Matching issue and what it might mean to you, as well as any other kits
you administer. It’s dated March 13th. If interested, you can read it
here:
https://www.legalgenealogist.com/2019/03/13/a-good-start-by-ftdna/
BEYOND THE STACKS
by Sue Jensen, Director of the SGS Library
A
Library is filled with books. A Genealogical Library is filled with
books about genealogy. Seattle Genealogical Society Library is filled
with books and many other pieces of information about families and their
ancestors and descendants.
Families
are the reason we “do genealogy” to find out more about the ones that
came before us. Seattle Genealogical Society has received some exciting
and important collections of family research over the Ninety-Six years
it has been in existence. We have also received public records of
Seattle and Washington based organizations and we have been actively
preserving this information for our patrons. At first there were
handwritten copies, then typewritten, then typed and saved on a computer
disk, and now, DIGITIZATION!
Dictionary.com defines Digitization:
To convert data into an electronic form that is readable and can be
manipulated by a computer. This is what our very capable volunteers are
doing with the family research, public records and other data that is
donated to our Society. We have a great team of volunteers that go
through every piece of paper, pedigree chart, letter and note from a
family collection. They, the Archive Committee, then turn their work
over to The Digital Power Team consisting primarily of Ann Wright and
Jess Ramey. These two volunteers then turn the family collection and
other data in the form of paper into digital data by scanning, indexing,
and organizing it so that it will be available to be used on the
computers in our Library.
Currently
we have approximately 138,000 pieces of paper (including cards, lists,
letters, documents, inventories, family collections) scanned, indexed
and either available, or soon to be available, in the Library. There are
countless volunteer hours put into the scanning and indexing. Not
including the hours spent preparing for and getting them indexed;
uploading the data to the computers and cataloging them into the
Library’s catalog.
Here is a list of the items that have been done so far:
45,000 George Kent cards
20,000 VFW cards (indexed)
120 Wright’s Crematorium pages (indexed)
200 Seattle School District pages(indexed)
250 Washington Territory Land Records pages (in work)
countless cemetery pages (indexed)
2,000 family collection pages (in work or on shelf)
The Seattle Genealogical Society and Library has been able to do all of this digitization thanks to the Ron Cross Estate for funding the equipment for the Ron Cross Memorial Scanning Lab.
Come visit us and see what you can find about your family in our digital collection.
“USING NARA SEATTLE COLLECTIONS”
April’s
Second Saturday Speaker Series presenter will be Trish Hackett Nicola.
She’ll discuss the collections at NARA, housed directly across the
street from the SGS Library.
The
National Archives at Seattle holds original records specific to Alaska,
Idaho, Oregon and Washington State. Its collections include maps and
drawings, historical documents, agency files and photographs from every
era.
See samples of U.S. District Court records for criminal, civil and
admiralty case files; Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Forest Service,
Bureau of Prisons, Bureau of Land Management and the Chinese Exclusion
Act files. Get an update on the Alaska Records Digitization Project.
Learn how to access the finding aids to help you get the most out of
your research at National Archives at Seattle.
OUR SPRING SEMINAR
Mark your calendar for the SGS Spring Seminar, “Next Steps for Your DNA Test Results”, featuring Diahan Southard. Saturday, May 18th, 9am-4pm. Registration begins April 1st (no fooling ) VITAL RECORDS BILL UPDATE
Senate
Bill 5332 – 2019 -20, proposing changes to Vital Records access in
Washington, has passed the Senate and moved to the House. It is
scheduled for public hearing in the House Committee on Health Care &
Wellness at 9:00 AM on March 22 (subject to change). Contact your
legislator with comments or concerns. Bill information can be found at
this url:
https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5332&Year=2019&initiative=
SAVE THE DATEUlster Historical Foundation, USA Lecture Tour 2019 Lake City Center, 1916 N Lakewood Dr, Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814 Wednesday, March 20, 2019, 1:00pm-8:30pm Enjoy this all day Irish & Scots-Irish Research Seminar with presenters Finton Mullan and Gillian Hunt from the Ulster Historical Foundation, Belfast. Register by February 20th for the early bird price of $35. It will be $50 after that.
For more information on the USA lecture tour, or the Spokane area Coeur d’Alene, ID stop in particular, visit their website: https://www.ancestryireland.com/lecture-tour-2019/IRISH WEEK! MARCH 9 – 23, 2019 SEATTLE, WA
You don’t need to be Irish to join in the fun. The main events will be the weekend of March 16-17 at Seattle Center. For a full list of activities and venues, see the brochure link below. Don’t forget the seminar on Irish genealogy, “Beyond the Basics in Irish Genealogy”, on March 23.
Beyond the Basics in Irish Genealogy, Fairview Christian School, 844 NE 78th St, Seattle, WA 98115 Saturday, March 23, 9:00 am – 5:00pm
Finishing Irish Week, don’t miss this Irish genealogy workshop with regional specialists Steven W Morrison and Jean A Roth. Organized by the Irish Heritage Club of Seattle. Click forMore information and registration.
The ABCs of DNA Genealogy,
With Janet O’Conor Camarata,
Mercer Island Library,
4400 88th Ave SE,
Mercer Island, WA
Thursday, March 28, 7-8 pm
Genealogist
Janet O’Conor Camarata provides tips and tools for selecting and
interpreting DNA results from a variety of health and ancestry DNA
providers, like Ancestry, FamilyTreeDNA, 23andMe and more. Designed for
the non-technical, genealogy oriented audience. Please register. Sponsored by the Friends of the Mercer Island Library, in partnership with Mercer Island Historical Society.
Olympia Genealogical Society,
Beyond the Basics: Genetic Genealogy In Practice
Olympia, WA
Saturday, March 30, 8:30am-3:30pm
Seminar presented by Blaine Bettinger, the Genetic Genealogist. Additional information and registration at :
https://olygensoc.org/cpage.php?pt=4
Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State,
“Breaking Down Brick Walls” with Mary Kathryn Kozy,
LDS Factoria Church Building,
4200 124th Ave SE
Bellevue, WA 98006
Monday, April 8, 2019
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Come early to network with other attendees.
Presentation starts promptly at 7:15 p.m. Free WIFI, admission, and
refreshmentsSGS 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.
MARCHSaturday, March 30, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm, DNA SIG , this group meets quarterly at Wedgwood Presbyterian Church, 8008 35th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115, co-chaired by Cary Bright & Herb McDaniel. For more info contact SGSDNASIG@gmail.com
APRIL
Saturday, April 6, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Family Tree Interest Group, Lou Daly is leader of this special interest group exploring all the features of the tool Family Tree on FamilySearch.org Come learn about the proposed changes coming to Family Search and Family Tree.
Sunday, April 7, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, DNA Workshop, with Cary Bright. Q&A first hour, while focus second hour in on Genome Mate Pro.
Saturday, April 13, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, Second Saturday Speakers Series – “Using the Collections of NARA Seattle” with Trish Hackett Nicola
Sunday, April 14, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, Scandinavian Special Interest Group, with Karen Knudson
I wanted to let you know the addition of three census record collections from Norway! The records will be available at www.myheritage.com/norway-census.
The censuses, from 1891, 1900, and 1910
contain 6.8 million records and provide a treasure trove of information
for anyone with Norwegian heritage. Users with family trees on
MyHeritage will benefit from Record Matching technology that
automatically reveals new information about their ancestors who appear
in these records.
MyHeritage has worked on digitizing these collections in partnership with the National Archives of Norway (Arkivverket).
With the release of these new collections, MyHeritage now
offers approximately 34 million historical records from Norway,
including census, baptism, marriage, and burial records. As the
Scandinavian market leader for family history research and DNA testing,
MyHeritage also offers 136 million records from neighboring Sweden and
105 million records from Denmark. MyHeritage is the only major genealogy
company to provide its services and full customer support in all three
Scandinavian languages, as well as in Finnish, and offers the greatest
potential for new family history discoveries for anyone with
Scandinavian origins. It also has the largest user base in Scandinavia
and the largest collection of Scandinavian family trees.
The
three new collections are now available on SuperSearch™, MyHeritage’s
search engine for its 9.6 billion historical records. Searching the
Norway census collections is free. A subscription is required to view
the full records and to access Record Matches.
Please see the detailed blog-post hereand press release bellow. We would be grateful if you could share this information and the image above.
Many thanks,
Daniel Horowitz
Genealogy Expert
daniel@myheritage.com | www.myheritage.com
MyHeritage Ltd., 3 Ariel Sharon St., Or Yehuda 60250, Israel
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MyHeritage Releases Three Census Record Collections from Norway
6.8 million new records from
nationwide censuses conducted in Norway more than a century ago provide a
treasure trove of information for anyone with Norwegian heritage
Tel Aviv, Israel &
Lehi, Utah — MyHeritage, the leading global service for family history
and DNA testing, announced today the publication of three census
collections from Norway, from 1891, 1900, and 1910. MyHeritage has
worked on digitizing these collections in partnership with the National
Archives of Norway (Arkivverket).
The collections provide
robust coverage for Norway’s entire population during a span of two
decades and include valuable family history information. While some
former Norway censuses were conducted only in select trading centers,
these records are more comprehensive. The 6.8 million new records
document names, households, dates of birth, marital status,
relationships, and residential conditions, making them vital for anyone
wishing to explore their Norwegian origins. Their publication marks the
first time that Norwegian record collections of such high quality and
granularity are available online.
The 1891 and 1900
collections include digital images of the original census documents,
while the 1910 collection is an index consisting of transcribed records
provided by the National Archives of Norway. The 1900 census was
conducted by means that were, at the time, innovative: punch cards,
which were then sorted and counted using electric tabulating machines.
Of the 2.3 million records in the 1900 collection, 1.9 million records
now have digital images of the original documents associated with the
census index. Images of the remaining records will likewise be connected
to the index in the near future.
Norwegian privacy laws
restrict public access to census data for 100 years. Consequently, the
1910 census is the most recent one available to the public. This
collection stands out as the first census conducted following the
dissolution of Norway’s union with Sweden in 1905. It is also the first
Norway census to record full birth dates, rather than only birth years.
Users with family trees
on MyHeritage will benefit from Record Matching technology that
automatically reveals new information about their ancestors who appear
in these records.
With the release of
these new collections, MyHeritage now offers approximately 34 million
historical records from Norway, including census, baptism, marriage, and
burial records. As the Scandinavian market leader for family history
research and DNA testing, MyHeritage also offers 136 million records
from neighboring Sweden and 105 million records from Denmark. MyHeritage
is the only major genealogy company to provide its services and full
customer support in all three Scandinavian languages, as well as in
Finnish, and offers the greatest potential for new family history
discoveries for anyone with Scandinavian origins. It also has the
largest user base in Scandinavia and the largest collection of
Scandinavian family trees.
“The addition of these
censuses from Norway is a testament to MyHeritage’s commitment to
digitize and index historical records from all over the world and to
make them easily accessible,” said Russ Wilding, Chief Content Officer
at MyHeritage. “These records offer a bounty of new information, and
they reflect important historical events that made a tremendous impact
on life in Norway during these years. They are significant for anyone
researching their Norwegian heritage.”
The three new collections are now available on SuperSearch™,
MyHeritage’s search engine for its 9.6 billion historical records.
Searching the Norway census collections is free. A subscription is
required to view the full records and to access Record Matches.
Member Meeting and GenTalk this Saturday, March 16th
Are you a GFO Member?
Please join us for the General Membership meeting this Saturday from 2 –
2:15 p.m., immediately followed by our free March GenTalk. At
the Membership meeting, find out who’s running for office, nominate
someone (with their prior permission), or even throw your hat in the
ring.
What’s the GenTalk topic this month?Following American Migrations: The First 100 Years by Tricia Oberndorf From
the end of the Revolutionary War through the 19th century, Americans
and immigrants moved westward from the eastern seaboard to the interior
and ultimately to the far west coast. This presentation will discuss who
moved westward, the reasons why they moved, the routes they may have
taken, and the things you may discover for them along the way. Tricia
Oberndorf has been engaged in genealogy research for 30 years, the last
six years professionally. Her research has spanned most of the United
States, from the colonial period to the 20th century. Her ancestors were
not ones to stay in one place very long, prompting her to learn about
U.S. migration. Living in Columbia County, Oregon, she has also become
engaged in local history and research there, volunteering with the
Columbia County Historical Museum.
GFO Hall of Fame Nominations Needed by May 1st
Please be sure to send your nominations to secretary@gfo.org before May 1st! The Hall of Fame Award is our way of honoring GFO members who have performed outstanding service to the Forum. The
award is limited to one person per year, except in the case where a
pair of members has worked together or the Board waives the limitation. A
nomination may be made by any Forum member and the recipient will be
selected from the panel of nominations by a majority vote of the Board
of Directors. The
recipient must have a well-documented history of service, leadership
and accomplishment in more than one facet of the Forum over a
significant period of time. Please include examples of how this nominee
fulfilled all three categories.
This Week’s Survey: Open House!
Our biggest event of the year is a little over a week away. . We’d love to know if you’re planning to attend! Please let us know if we should expect you by taking our survey. Just click on the button below.
Download the class notes for the presentations you plan to attend. Print them or not depending on your preference. Review them before attending. Bring them with you when you come for the class. Step 1. Visit GFO’s online calendar. View by week for better detail.
Step 2. Scroll to the week of GFO’s Open House.
Step 3. Click on the class you want to attend and click on the link to download.
We hope to see you at many of our upcoming, completely FREE Open House events, beginning in less than 10 days!
GFO’s Irish Special Interest Group is busy this month!
1. The
All Ireland Cultural Society (AICS) has a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration
and invited the GFO to have a table there. As the Irish SIG, we plan to
have someone join GFO president, Vince Patton, to help spread the word
about our group and extend an invitation to join us in researching our
Irish ancestors. * 1. We
have a program for our meeting on April 17. Jennefer White contacted us
through the GFO website asking for help with a brick wall. She did a
very nice job of sharing with us what she knows, and where she has
looked for information. Before the April meeting we will share her
information. What a great opportunity for us to brainstorm and learn
from each other about strategies and resources. Perhaps we can help her
breakdown that wall! * 1. At
our last meeting Tom O’Brien let us know that he must step down from
the Corresponding Secretary position. We are looking for someone to
volunteer to take over that position from him. The primary duties are to
maintain the email list of members of our group in a computer format.
Tom has shared his file with us. Then, when meeting reminders need to go
out, or if someone else has an announcement (ex. when we share Jennefer
White’s brick wall info), the secretary sends it out to our members. If you might be interested, or have any questions, please let us know by contacting us by email at Irish@gfo.org. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all.
Surplus Books of the Week: 1850 California Census Index
If you know someone with deep California roots back to the Gold Rush era, pass this on! We have not just one, but two copies of this book to spare: Index to the 1850 Census of California. Both were published by Genealogical Publishing Company in 1972 and are in good condition. You can have either one for $24 per book. Contact booksales@gfo.org if interested.
Urgent call for a Webmaster!
Our wonderful GFO Webmaster, Maggie McNair, must step away from this important role. Do you have website experience? We Need You! Fortunately, our website service already provides a stable template so the design is already set, and our CMS is user friendly. However, we have a deep website with many searchable records and we need someone to help keep the site updated. Please contact president@gfo.org if you have the skills and some spare time to offer us. This is a volunteer position. In fact, the GFO is all-volunteer. We have no paid staff of any kind. Thank you, Maggie, for all your work on the website over the last few years!
Amnesty Reminder: Please Return GFO Books
Our recent inventory revealed a troubling statistic: 193 books are missing from our library. Collectively, these are worth thousands of dollars and many cannot be replaced. Might you have one at home that you perhaps forgot to return? Please
check your home, car, etc., and help us find our missing books. If you
find a GFO book, please return it, no questions asked. If it was checked out, we will waive overdue fees on books returned by March 31st.
SATURDAY, March 16th Genealogy Problem Solvers 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. William P Smith, Farmer, Klondike gold prospector, college trustee, acquaintance of President Hubert Hoover, Quaker, and soldier, who were his parents? And, how did a good Quaker wind-up carrying a musket for General Sherman? How was he connected to the Quaker marriage certificate for Benjamin Smith and Elizabeth Pearson found in his granddaughter’s effects? Come find out how the answers to these questions and more were found in War Department records. Beginners and intermediate researchers are encouraged to submit problems to work on. For more information contact Katie Daly at GPS@gfo.org. African American Ancestry Group 12 – 2 p.m. Freedmen’s Bureau records are overlooked by far too many researchers. The records have not been the easiest to work with, but now that they are online and indexed, they can yield a wealth of information more easily. These documents can include marriage dates, children’s birth dates, school records, work contracts, and, most importantly, the name of an applicant’s most recent slave holder. Learn why these records can be key to finding out more about your family. If you know of any other people interested in African American genealogy, tell them about the group. You do not have to be a GFO member to participate! For more information, contact us at African_American@gfo.org. General Membership Meeting 2 – 2:15 p.m. Find out who’s running for office, nominate someone (with their prior permission), throw your hat in the ring, and be on hand for the GenTalk to follow. GenTalk: Following American Migrations: The First 100 Years 2:15 – 3:15 p.m. Presenter: Tricia Oberndorf From the end of the Revolutionary War through the 19th century, Americans and immigrants moved westward from the eastern seaboard to the interior and ultimately to the far west coast. This presentation will discuss who moved westward, the reasons why they moved, the routes they may have taken, and the things you may discover for them along the way. Tricia Oberndorf has been engaged in genealogy research for 30 years, the last six years professionally. Her research has spanned most of the United States, from the colonial period to the 20th century. Her ancestors were not ones to stay in one place very long, prompting her to learn about U.S. migration. Living in Columbia County, Oregon, she has also become engaged in local history and research there, volunteering with the Columbia County Historical Museum. SUNDAY, March 17th Library Work Party 9 a.m. – noon There’s another work party at the GFO library today for those of you who can come. There’s lots to do and we’d love to have your help. Doors open at 9 and work usually wraps up around noon. Some people come for just an hour or so; others work the full time. You are welcome to do either. Any time you can share is valuable. Hope to see you there. Family Tree Maker Users’ Group 1 – 3 p.m. Join other users who want to work through the 2017 Companion Guide to Family TreeMaker. Bring your laptop with 2017 version of FTM installed and an empty usb thumb drive. Facilitated by Joyce Grant-Worley. Send Joyce a question at FTM@gfo.org. French Canada Group 3:30 – 5 p.m. Sharing stories of our history. Come and join this group to learn more about French Canadian ancestry and Acadia. The group leader is Bob LaMarche. Send him a note at FrCan@gfo.org. WEDNESDAY, March 19th Learn & Chat 10 a.m. – noon At Learn & Chat some of the learning comes from speakers with particular expertise but most of it comes from the sharing of experiences and knowledge of attendees who have developed methods that work for them. And if you have been doing genealogy for any length time you have likely experienced the wonderful moments of exhilaration, the successes that you then share with others and that drive you to continue researching. Unfortunately those times can be few and far between. Join us to talk about your genealogy questions and help provide support to others. Facilitated by Jean Quan and Sandy Alto, who can both be reached at learnandchat@gfo.org. DNA Q&A 1 – 3 p.m. Lisa McCullough leads a discussion on various DNA related subjects, with each meeting focused on a particular subject. General questions are welcome at the end of each planned discussion. Questions?Please email Lisa at dna_lm@gfo.org. Library Open Late Until 8 p.m.
Did you know the pedigree of Donald Duck is available online to you?? Click to www.cyndislist.com , then HUMOR, and there it be. Along with other fun stuff.
Just learned that there are 1250 “Donna Phillips” in the U.S. but only 253 “Donna Potter” listings. And only one Donna Potter Phillips. Website is www.howmanyofme.com.
Have an 18th century ancestor with the unlikely name of Bezaleel. According to www.meaning-of-names.com, his name means “in the shadow of God.” (According to the Old Testament, Bezaleel built the wooden ark, as in Ark of the Covenant; he had siblings John, Mary and Elizabeth. Go figure.)
Did you know that there is a live feed from the ISS (International Space Station) on YouTube to which you can subscribe? Fascinating.
I lived at 311 Great Jones Street in Fairfield, California, in 1950. Using www.zillow.com, I found a current photo of “my” house. Way cool.
Saved the best for last. You can go to www.YouTube.com and ask to see videos on anything you can think of (BE CAREFUL; UGLY THINGS THERE TOO). Ask for “10 minute history of America.”
Then spend the rest of your evening looking at other YouTube wonderful things. Enjoy.
You are free to copy articles to any non-commercial web site or message board or printed publication you wish. Don’t bother to ask permission, just do it.
