Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Day New Content in Fold3

  TIP OF THE WEEK –
NEW CONTENT ON FOLD3
 During the Civil War, many benevolent and philanthropic groups ran homes where disabled soldiers could live and receive care on a short-term basis. In 1865, Congress approved the National Asylum for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. Later, the name was changed to the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers.

Fold3 recently added records for soldiers who resided in these homes covering 1866-1938. The collection contains records for twelve National Homes where disabled soldiers and sailors could live following the Civil War.

In addition to Fold3, Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com (full access), American Ancestors and Historygeo.com are available on the library’s computers. SGS is also a FamilySearch affiliate library which allows access to some locked records when logged on to the library’s Wi-Fi.
February 1, 2024

SGS eNews! comes out the first of every month. contact eNews!

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Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week Civil War Regiment Research Tip

 TIP OF THE WEEK –
FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT
AN ANCESTOR’S CIVIL WAR REGIMENT
 Do a national search in newspapers for the name of an American ancestor’s Civil War regiment. Letters from other soldiers in the regiment were often printed by their various hometown papers. Coverage of what the regiments were doing is often surprisingly detailed, if a bit profuse in the descriptions of their heroics. This can give you a greater picture of what your ancestors’ experiences in the war may have been like. Remember to compare them against other sources.

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week Unique Family Gifts

TIP OF THE WEEK –
CREATE UNIQUE FAMILY GIFTS FROM FREE PRINTABLES

Need an inexpensive, but personal gift idea? The Library of Congress has dozens of blank and adaptable antique family record sheets. The images are in the public domain. You can print them off on good paper, paste in photos and create a memorable gift for each family member. Search for “family record” on the Library of Congress website. Here are a couple examples.

Images courtesy the Library of Congress

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week Legalese Got You Down? Ask AI to Help

TIP OF THE WEEK –
LEGALESE GOT YOU DOWN? ASK AI TO HELP
 Use AI to help you understand legal language in older document. If you are getting confused by the complex language of a legal document ask Chat GBT to help. Ask the AI to “summarize the following text” and type the text of the document and paste it into the chat GBT. This can’t account for specific legal rules of the past, but it should at least help you understand what the document actually says.
November 1, 2023

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week Registrar’s Records

TIP OF THE WEEK –
REGISTRAR’S RECORDS …MORE THAN JUST DEEDS

The county deed record books sometimes have record topics other than land. Be sure to check any miscellaneous books held by the office. I once found my great grandfather’s school graduation exam results in one.
October 1, 2023

SGS eNews! comes out the first of every month. contact eNews!

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Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week School Records

TIP OF THE WEEK –
SEEK SCHOOL RECORDS

Records kept by schools often list all the students attending the school and ages over time, as well as the parents names of each child. If you have a child in your tree whose death you can’t confirm — maybe they show up in one census and disappear in the next. You may be able to narrow down a likely year of death in school records. When did they disappear from the school attendance sheet? That may be the answer. These records can also paint a colorful picture of what the conditions in the school were like. If the teacher answered an annual survey question, ”What means of ventilation — good or bad?” by triple underlining her answer of “bad” year after year, that tells you a lot about your ancestor’s learning environment.
September 1, 2023

SGS eNews! comes out the first of every month. contact eNews!

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Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week Need Context? Try a Newspaper

TIP OF THE WEEK –
NEED CONTEXT? TRY A NEWSPAPER

When you run into a word or term you don’t understand that you believe is related to the time and place your ancestors lived, but you can’t tell the meaning, try searching their local newspaper if it is available. Often some local terms, expressions and even details about policies don’t make it into history books or even Google. Here are a few examples of things that provide context that you can find in the local paper that may not be available elsewhere: the details of the state pension rules, usages of local expressions, when a community opened their poor farm, or the name of a school or church and when it opened.

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week Free Pass to BC Genealogical Library

TIP OF THE WEEK –
GET A FREE PASS TO BC GENEALOGICAL LIBRARY

The BC Genealogical Society Library and Research Centre is offering a free library pass to SGS members interested in visiting their facility located in Surrey BC. It is one of the larger genealogical libraries in North America, with over 18,000 books, 2,000 maps, 6,000 films and microfiche, and 100,000+ newspaper clippings. More information can be found on their website https://www.bcgs.ca
July 1, 2023

SGS eNews! comes out the first of every month. contact eNews!

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Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week Seattle Center Cultural Festivals

TIP OF THE WEEK –
SEATTLE CENTER CULTURAL FESTIVALS

At Seattle Center, under the theme “Where the World Gathers”, 24 free cultural festivals are scheduled for 2023. A fun, learning experience for the entire family. Coming up in June and July are:

  • June 3-4 Pagdiriwag Philippine Festival
  • June 24 Seattle Iranian Festival
  • July 8 Polish Festival Seattle
  • July 14-16 Festival Sundiata Black Arts Festival

For a complete list of festivals and to learn more, visit:
https://seattlecenter.com/events/featured-events/festal

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week Book Procurement Program

TIP OF THE WEEK –
SGS  Book Procurement Program

When SGS moved to its new location in the Good Shepherd Center, a team of volunteers, led by the Library Trustees, curated our existing collection to focus on the Pacific Northwest. In that process they discovered that we had several incomplete sets of books and many underrepresented counties. The SGS Librarian submitted to the Board of Trustee’s a request for funding, which was granted. With a purchasing plan in place, the Trustees have been active in procuring these volumes as they become available. 

If you would like to support this effort, please consider a donation to the Society. If you have book(s) in your personal library which might supplement our Pacific Northwest collection, please first contact Director of Library at library@seagensoc.org. Thanks!