Seattle Genealogical Society News

SGS MEMBERSHIP MEETING,
SATURDAY, JUNE 8

Our next membership meeting is June 8 at the library from 12:30-1, with the 2nd Saturday presentation, “Organizing Your Family History in Order to Stay Sane” with Mary Kathryn Kozy to follow.
We will be discussing accomplishments and future plans for SGS.
 

SGS ELECTION RESULTS 

The results of the Seattle Genealogical Society’s (SGS) 2019 Election are in and congratulations go to the recently re-elected officers and directors on the SGS Board:
     President: Jill Morelli
     Treasurer: Karen Knudson
     Secretary: Amandalei Bennett
     Director of Education: Janice Lovelace
     Director of Operations: Rob Sexton
     Director of Volunteers: Heidi Mair
     Director of Technology: David Rimmer
     Director of Library: Sue Jensen
     Director of Membership: Christine Schomaker
 
The positions of Vice President and Publications had no candidates, so the Board is looking for volunteers. Contact Amandalei Bennett at secretary@seattlegenealogicalsociety.org if you would like to serve. Marilyn Rose will serve as Past President and Mahina Oshie is the representative from the Seattle Public Library. There will also be a representative from the LibraryTrustees. This Board will serve from June 2019 through May 2020.
 
In addition, the proposed changes to the Bylaws passed.  
 
Special thanks to our Election Committee: Bruce Finlayson, Lisa Oberg, Marilyn Rose, and Paul Wade. We also thank Julia Marconi for serving on the Board in various positions over the years, particularly Publications. 


TIME TO RENEW YOUR SGS MEMBERSHIP

SGS Members! Thank you for your participation in our all-volunteer, non-profit society. We look forward to your continued support during our 96th year as we face the challenges of maintaining our public research library, preserving records and providing educational programs and activities for exploring family history. Your annual membership expires May 31, 2019.
Please use one of the links below to renew your membership through May 31, 2020.

Not a member yet? Now is a great time to join SGS and obtain a full year of discounted class and event registration fees, free research requests, and access to exclusive SGS publications and databases. 

Join or Renew Online

Print out a Membership Application 

SPRING SEMINAR A SUCCESS!

SGS held our annual Spring Seminar “Next Steps for Your DNA Test Results” with Diahan Southard on May 18 -19. It was a most enjoyable and informative weekend. 
 
On Saturday 136 attendees were welcomed at the Fairview Christian School gym, where they purchased over 10 boxes of books at our Book Sale and over 300 tickets for our raffle of donated database subscriptions and DNA tests. Fortified with abundant snacks, we settled down in the auditorium for Ms. Southard’s insightful presentations about DNA and learned how to understand, organize, and analyze DNA test results to produce a more accurate family genealogy. Lunch brought enrichment in the form of our popular roundtable discussions. We had 14 tables of nine with topics from DNA to Ohio to the DAR. Then on Sunday at the SGS Library, 60 lucky workshop participants used DNA to help solve a real-world genealogical mystery under Ms. Southard’s guidance. 
 
All in all a great success. A special thank you to the Seminar Co-chairs Sandra Stark and Lori Lee Sauber, and to the Seminar Committee and SGS Volunteers who made it all happen!
 
If you missed the seminar and would like a copy of the syllabus, they are available at the SGS Library for $3.00 while the supply lasts. And while we’re on the subject, mark your calendars now for the SGS 2019 Fall Seminar with Tom Jones, PhD, October 5, 2019.  
 

GIVEBIG 2019 RESULTS

In the recent GiveBig program on May 8, SGS received $2035 from 16 donors. These funds will help towards our increasing budgetary demands. The Board sends a hearty ‘Thank You’ to those donors!
 

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR THE 73rd ANNUAL
PACIFIC NORTHWEST SCOTTISH HIGHLAND GAMES
Saturday, July 27 & Sunday, July 28
Enumclaw Expo Center

– Come Listen to the Bagpipes – Watch the Dancers – Visit the Clans  –
– Help SGS Promote Genealogy – 

We need volunteers to help at the Seattle Genealogical Society booth during the Pacific Northwest Scottish Highland Games in Enumclaw. We have been participating for years and it is a great way to let the public know about SGS and to promote membership. Our participation also gives us valuable community outreach credit for our grant applications.

Game attendance is about 30,000 for the weekend. Most of the people who come to the SGS booth are interested in knowing these two things : 
 

  • What clan do I belong to?   
  • What tartan can I use? 


We will have a number of reference books available at the booth that help answer those questions. You will receive an e-mail attachment prior to the games that will give you a refresher course on Scottish and Celtic genealogy.

Volunteers will work 2 hour sessions. SGS will fund an entry ticket for each volunteer. Parking will be at your own expense. We encourage carpooling.  

If we purchase before July, we can get discounted early bird and senior tickets. Please contact us before June 25th to confirm that you can help. Send along your name, email address, phone contact,  age if you are over 62, and a date/time preference to : volunteers@seattlegenealogicalsociety.org 

You also may contact Jean Roth with any questions at 206 782-2629.  

 

          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.

 JUNE
Saturday, June 1, 10:15 am -12:15 pm, Family Tree on FamilySearch Interest Group, led by Lou Daly.  Come hear about all the new items at FamilySearch.  There will also be time to go over questions and problems you may have. 
This is the last meeting of this Interest Group until October.  
CANCELLATION NOTICE
The program below is canceled due to a a change in Cary’s plans.
Sunday, June 2,
 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, DNA Workshop, with Cary Bright

Saturday, June 8, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, Second Saturday Speakers Series – “Organizing Your Family History in Order to Stay Sane” with Mary Kathryn Kozy

Saturday, June 15, 10:15 am-12:15 pm, Irish Special Interest Group,  with Jean Roth
Saturday, June 15, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, German Special Interest Group,  with Jean Roth

Thursday, June 20, 6:00 pm-7:45 pm, DNA Learning Series Class 3: “I Got My Results… Now What?”,  with Cary Bright and Craig K Gowen. This series is for current members of the Seattle Genealogical Society (SGS) and the Sno-Isle Genealogical Society (SIGS) only. Free advance registration is required for each class.  These classes will be held at the Mountlake Terrace – Sno-Isle Libraries, 23300 58th Ave W, Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043. To register, email : sgsdnasig@gmail.com

Saturday, June 22, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, “Dissecting A Civil War Pension Record–Union and Confederate,” presented by Jill Morrelli.  Have you identified a Union or Confederate Civil War soldier in your ancestry? Lucky you! These records are the most accessible and information-rich of all military records. We will discuss the history of these records, who was included and excluded, and the changes in the law. Typical contents will be reviewed of two examples and, of course, there is a story. This is a beta test.

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

Saturday, July 13, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Family Tree Maker (FTM) Users Group –  Special presentation: Using Source Templates in Family Tree Maker, presented by Janet Stroebel, leader of the FTM Users Group at the Eastside Genealogical Society.
Come and learn how the templates in Family Tree Maker can help streamline the important and often challenging process of creating source citations.

Sunday, July 14, 1:00 pm-3:00 pm, Scandinavian Special Interest Group, with Karen Knudson.  Bring your projects and share your discoveries with others. We’ll look at what’s new in Arkivdigital for Swedish researchers and review the best way to use Digitalarkivet for Norwegian researchers. If you are researching in Finland or Denmark, come and share your expertise.

Thursday, July 18, 6:00 pm – 7:45 pm, “DNA Learning Series”, at Mountlake Terrace Sno-Isle Library  
Seattle and Sno-Isle Genealogical Societies are co-sponsoring the “DNA Learning Series.” 
Class 4 of the seven series is “Understanding your Autosomal DNA & DNA inheritance.” 

This is a class you must pre-register for by sending an email to sgsdnasig@gmail.com   Deadline to register is July 15, to allow enough time for you to do the assignment in time.  
Pre-class assignments are part of the learning and you must be on our list to receive them by email.