 GUARDIANSHIP RECORDS: MORE THAN JUST ORPHANS Second Saturday: Dec. 12, 1:30 p.m.Professional Genealogist Cheri Hudson will discuss the overlooked treasures in probate research—guardianship records. Whether created for underage children (even when a mother was still living) or for individuals deemed unable to care for themselves, these records can reveal rich details about family relationships, living conditions, community networks, and more. Discover how this often-forgotten source can break open your toughest brick-wall cases and add depth to your ancestors’ stories. Note the different start Cheri Hudson Passey is the owner of Carolina Girl Genealogy, LLC. She is an instructor with the Salt Lake Genealogical Institute and the Institute for Genealogy and Historical Research. Cheri also hosts the YouTube Genealogy Chat Show, GenFriends. Sign Up Today! NEXT MONTH’S SECOND SATURDAY: “Cemetery & Funeral Home Research,” presented by Lisa Gorrell. Sign up separately for this event held Jan. 10. Join us for the Holiday Open House and watch this presentation from the library. images of children mourning at a parent’s grave (while a guardian angle looks on), an asylum building and a newspaper clipping all courtesy Library of Congress TOMORROW IS GIVING TUESDAY Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to support the Seattle Genealogical Society and Library during our Annual Appeal this holiday season. There are many ways to give, by check, credit card, from your IRA or donor advised fund. And now SGS can accept shares of stock — see the SGS Donate page for more information.Donate Now OnlineIf you have a PayPal account, you may donate to SGS via the PayPal Giving Fund and the transaction fee will be waived. Go to Paypal Giving Fund – SGS. BEHIND THE BOOKS: A CONVERSATION WITH SGS AUTHORS Join us Wednesday, Dec. 10 for an evening of stories, discoveries, and inspiration. Three SGS authors, Susan McKee, Jill Morelli and Carolyn Schott will share their research adventures, writing choices, and creative sparks that shaped their books. Susan McKee (An Irish Life: Selected Poems of William Thomas Brennan) Jill Morelli (Journeys of the Forgotten: The Orphans of Hamilton County, Iowa) Carolyn Schott (Visiting Your Ancestral Town: Walk in the Footsteps of Your Ancestors) Enjoy refreshments, conversation, and time to connect with fellow researchers and writers. This event will be held in-person at the SGS Library, Dec. 10, at 6 p.m. Questions? Contact education@seagensoc.orgLEARN ABOUT SOFTWARE TO KEEP YOU ORGANIZEDVirtual Sunday: Dec. 21, 1 p.m. Goldie May software can help you stay organized, provide research assistance, and even create an automatic research log! A conversation with Richard Miller, the founder of Goldie May, will be recorded and will include all the latest developments. We will watch the recording together, and then have an open chat afterward about how we might find Goldie May useful in our own research workflow. Learn more about the software at Goldiemay.com. Register Here LONG TIME SGS MEMBER AND VOLUNTEER BERNICE KELLER PASSES, AGED 101  Bernice Keller SGS lost a long-time member, volunteer and dear friend in November. Bernice Keller died on Nov. 11 at the age of 101.Keller joined SGS more than thirty years ago and contributed her talents and energy to the society throughout her membership. During 2000-2009 she was one of the six dedicated volunteers who completed the massive King Co Court Records indexing project, creating what we know today as the “KC3I” database. She was a regular Thursday volunteer on the Archives Committee, while also serving as a Library Trustee (2011-14), on the Nominating Committee (2014), and on the Financial Review Committee (2015). Keller was twice honored as the SGS Volunteer of the Quarter (Spring 2012 and Summer 2024) and was given a Honorary Life Membership in SGS earlier this summer. Bernice Keller will be missed by all who knew her. Read her obituary at Dignity Memorial.  Join Us for Our Annual Holiday CelebrationWith the holiday rush over, let’s celebrate the new year. Bring cookies to share and say hello to your SGS friends in person at the library. TREPIDATION TURNS TO JOY VOLUNTEERING FOR SGS-SPL PROGRAM By Jim SecanI don’t really consider myself to be a genealogist, or Genealogist, as I like to write it when I’m wanting to irritate my SGS colleagues who are hard-core genealogists! So, I approached working at one of the new SGS drop-in sessions at the Seattle Public Library (SPL) Northeast Branch with a certain amount of trepidation. Not only am I almost entirely self-taught in the gentle art of genealogy, but the great majority of my skills are limited to research within the United States. I was very uncertain as to what help I could provide. As luck would have it, the first person who came to me for help at the first drop-in session at the Northeast Branch was looking for information about finding people on the east side of the Atlantic. Not only that, but he was looking at Jewish ancestors from political entities that no longer exist. This was really outside my genealogical “wheelhouse.” Flustered, I vamped a bit to gather my wits about me by looking to find the first of that family line to come into the U.S., using only documents from the U.S. That done, we moved forward in time, again completely within the U.S. documents world, confirming that this was indeed his family and that the information he had about them was correct. Some of it was not, so it was great to get him on the right track. I then admitted to him that I could not help finding documents on the European side of the Atlantic, but I was able to give him some ideas as to where else to go for assistance (I suggested the local Jewish Genealogy Society and the FamilySearch Wiki pages pertinent to his area of interest) and he left feeling like he’d been helped. Even better, I felt like I had been able to help him. These sessions are limited to 20-30 minutes per person, which isn’t much time for a deep dive of any sort. And the people who come are mostly either new to genealogy and anything we can tell them is a help, or they are someone who just needs to talk with another genealogist about their problem and provide a fresh set of eyes on it. I’ve helped five people in two sessions at the NW Branch, one of whom came twice, and it has been very rewarding. This partnership between SGS and SPL is a rebirth of a relationship that goes back to SGS’s founding in 1923. For many years the relationship has been limited to an SPL representative on our Board of Directors (thanks, Mahina Oshie and John LaMont), and it’s nice to expand that relationship back out to a partnership serving our local community together. If you would like to help out with this new partnership, we would certainly welcome it. Just send an email to the SGS Volunteer Coordinator, Scott Laing (volunteers@seagensoc.org), and he’ll get you connect with the group. SGS LIBRARY NEWS SGS Offers Access to 470 Databases Through American Ancestors The SGS Library subscription to American Ancestors provides access to approximately 470 record bases databases. One can search for records according to Projects, Categories, as well as an A-Z listing of all databases. American Ancestors also provides access to a Digital Library and Archive and access to Boston Catholic Records and Mayflower Descendants Applications. Projects include: 10 Million Names – Over 20 databases related to enslavement, the slave trade and free and freed people of African descent Colonial New England – Over 70 databases and collections that document individuals who lived in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont prior to 1800. Great Migration Project – Approximately 10 databases related to immigrants to New England from 1620-1633; 1634-1635 and 1636-1638. Mayflower 2020 Categories include databases such as: Court, Land and Probate Records Census (1790-1930), Tax and Voter Lists Immigration Military The Digital Library and Archive includes materials from: Wyner Family Jewish Center R. Stanton Avery Special Collection and Brim-DeForest Library A sample of non-USA records include: 1875 Norway Census Sweden births, marriages and deaths Some English Parish records 1890 and 1900 German Census for Mecklenberg-Schwerin Be sure to check out American Ancestors on your next visit to the SGS library – you might be surprised to find they have access to a database not available through other genealogy websites. New Library AcquisitionsWe’ve recently added approximately 35 new books to the library’s collections. Some new titles include: Townland Atlas of Ulster by Andrew Kane In Their Words, A Genealogist’s Translation Guide to Polish, German, Latin, and Russian Documents – Volume One (Polish) and Volume Four (German) Seattle’s Teachers of the Interwar Years by Doris Hinson Piroth Polish Surnames by William F Hoffman English Translation of Nordmændene i Amerika by Martin Ulvestad Three volumes of Tillamook history Several Pennsylvania and Ohio books SGS CALENDAR OF EVENTS Good Shepherd Center, Suite 302 4649 Sunnyside Ave N Seattle, WA 98103 206 522-8658 Hours : Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday ** 10:00 a.m .- 3:00 p.m. ** Always check the SGS Website Calendar of Events for the meeting links, registration, or for last minute updates or changes to the schedule. Be advised you may need to register in advance to join a meeting. All times listed are Pacific Time unless otherwise noted Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Brags & Bricks Social Interest Group (Virtual), Join us for an informal social gathering. Share your recent genealogical successes and challenges, or just come to hang out with other genealogists. See SGS Calendar for more information. Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Organizing for Genealogy SIG, Share information and discuss organization tips, techniques, and habits to enhance your genealogical journey. Contact Susan McKee at sgsOrganizingsig@seagensoc.org to join. Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025, 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Pacific Northwest Interest Group (Virtual), Share information and discuss Pacific Northwest genealogical research. Register on the SGS website. Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Genealogy SIG (Virtual), explore the intersection of artificial intelligence and genealogical research Email SGSAISIG@seagensoc.org. Saturday, Dec. 6, 2025, 10:00 a.m.- 12:30 p.m., FamilySearch SIG, Discover the many ways to use the FamilySearch website in your research. Meeting includes instruction and time for Q&A. Email SGSFamilySearchSIG@seagensoc.org to join the mailing list. NOTE: New starting time! Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m., DNA Workshop, with Cary Bright and Craig Gowens. To participate you need to be on the SGS DNA Interest Group email list. Contact Cary Bright at sgsdnasig@seagensoc.org to join. Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Brags & Bricks Social Interest Group (Virtual), Join us for an informal social gathering. Share your recent genealogical successes and challenges, or just come to hang out with other genealogists. See SGS Calendar for more information. Monday, Dec. 8, 2025, 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m., SGS Board of Directors Meeting (Virtual), All SGS members are welcome to attend. SGS is an all volunteer organization. Please be involved. Members must sign in to website to see Zoom link. Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m., Tech Tuesday (Virtual), informal consultation time on DNA, genealogy software, or genealogy-related technical issues. All are welcome. No appointment necessary. Bring us your problem; we’ll try to help. Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025, 6:30 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Ancestry Users SIG (Virtual), The Ancestry Users Special Interest Group is for people who use Ancestry.com (and AncestryDNA) to research their family histories. Email SGSAncestrySIG@seagensoc.org. Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, 6:00 p.m.-7:30 p.m., Behind the Books: A Conversation with SGS Authors (in person), Join us for an evening of stories, discoveries, and inspiration as SGS authors Susan McKee, Jill Morelli and Carolyn Schott share their research adventures, writing choices, and creative sparks that shaped their books. Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Publishing SIG, Participate in writing and publishing the SGS Journal twice a year. Email SGSPubSIG@seagensoc.org. Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, 1:30 p.m-2:30 p.m., Second Saturday, “Guardianship Records” Presented by Cheri Hudson Passey. Register here.Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Brags & Bricks Social Interest Group (Virtual), Join us for an informal social gathering. Share your recent genealogical successes and challenges, or just come to hang out with other genealogists. See SGS Calendar for more information.Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2025, 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Write It Up! SIG (Virtual), Join this group to share and discuss writing projects, resources, and ideas. To join or learn more, contact Sheyna Watkins at sgsWriteItUpSIG@seagensoc.org. Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, 10:00 a.m.-noon, Irish SIG (Virtual), with Susan McKee. Share information and discuss Irish ancestral research. View SGS calendar for details on joining this group.Saturday, Dec. 20 2025, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m, German SIG (Virtual), Share what you know OR get help with problems in your own research. Register on the SGS website. Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, 1:00 pm- 2:00 pm, Virtual Sunday: Goldie May Genealogy Software (Virtual), Join a conversation with the founder of Goldie May software Richard Miller. Learn how the software can help you stay organized, provide research assistance, and even create an automatic research log. Register here. Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Brags & Bricks Social Interest Group (Virtual), Join us for an informal social gathering. Share your recent genealogical successes and challenges, or just come to hang out with other genealogists. See SGS Calendar for more information.Tuesday, Dec. 23, 2025, 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m., Tech Tuesday (Virtual), informal consultation time on DNA, genealogy software, or genealogy-related technical issues. All are welcome. No appointment necessary. Bring us your problem; we’ll try to help. Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Brags & Bricks Social Interest Group (Virtual), Join us for an informal social gathering. Share your recent genealogical successes and challenges, or just come to hang out with other genealogists. See SGS Calendar for more information. Saturday, Jan. 3, 2025, 10:00 a.m.- 12:30 p.m., FamilySearch SIG, Discover the many ways to use the FamilySearch website in your research. Meeting includes instruction and time for Q&A. Email SGSFamilySearchSIG@seagensoc.org to join the mailing list.Saturday, Jan. 10,2025, 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Holiday Open House, Join us for our annual holiday celebration in the SGS library at the Good Shepherd Center. Saturday, Jan. 10,2025, 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m., Second Saturday, “Cemetery & Funeral Home Research” Presented by Lisa Gorrell. Register here. Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2025, 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m., MAC Computer SIG, Jointly sponsored by SGS and Fiske. Meetings address topics and resources for Macintosh (Apple) computers and the Reunion genealogy software program. A link to login will be sent to the MAC SIG email list. If you would like to join, send an email to macusersig@seagensoc.org to be added to the email list. Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2025, 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m., Mexican SIG (Virtual), Share information and discuss Indigenous North American, Spanish, Cuban, and Hispanic genealogical research. Email Diane Hughes-Hart at SGSMexSIG@seagensoc.org to join. OUR NEIGHBORS AND BEYOND “Preserve Your Family Memories Through Personal Digital Archiving,” presented by Lori DiBella Wallach Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State Monday, Dec. 8, 7 p.m. (virtual) Join archivist Lori DiBella Wallach for a fun exploration of how to use digital solutions to organize, preserve and share your family memories and make sure they remain accessible in the future. Learn more and register.“Getting Started with AI in Family History,” presented by Andrew RedfernEastside Genealogical Society Thursday, Jan. 8, 7:00 p.m. (virtual) Whether you’re a seasoned genealogist or just getting started, this talk will provide you with valuable insights and strategies for using AI to uncover your family’s unique story. Learn more and register. “Introduction to One-Place Studies,” presented by Jane HarrisGenealogical Forum of Oregon Saturday, Jan. 17, 7:30 p.m. (virtual) An intensive study of a single locale can reveal and disambiguate relationships of related families and even help resolve a genealogical brick wall. Learn what a one-place study is, the benefits of conducting one, and how to get started. Learn more and register. FOUR WAYS TO CELEBRATE FAMILY HISTORY OVER THE HOLIDAYSBy Beth Steury (bethsteury@gmail.com)The things we love most about the holidays — the family gathered from far and near, the dining table overflowing with favorite foods, and the cherished, passed-down traditions—create a lovely backdrop for a day spent reveling in family history. For the genealogy enthusiast, the holidays are the perfect time to indulge the love of all things family history. For those who don’t regularly immerse themselves in sprawling family trees, the holidays have a way of fanning even the tiniest spark-like interest in family connections into a glowing ember. That’s why it’s the ideal time to nudge conversations toward family connections. To crack open the chest where generations of family stories and photos and connections have been carefully stored. Here’s some ideas for turning any festive gathering into a fun, educational, and engaging event that will beckon young, old, and those in between to show off their family-history prowess while creating an atmosphere suited to soaking up a wealth of deeds, details, and dates about their ancestors. Paper and Pen Puzzles Create generational word searches, one with the names of the aunts and uncles, one comprised of the grandchildren or the first cousins, another with the great-grandchildren or the second cousins. Many online sites make creating these puzzles a snap. Put together a family trivia crossword puzzle—a simple one for the kids, a more ambitious version for those willing to take up the challenge. Again, lots of online assistance is available. Because a picture is worth a thousand words, create a “Name that Cousin” or “Name that Couple” display using high school graduation photos or wedding photos and invite folks to take a walk down memory lane. Memories Plucked from the Family Recipe Box What’s the story behind the special dishes that have made an appearance on the family Thanksgiving menu for years? Who first made the cornbread stuffing, the cranberry relish, or the special dinner rolls that have earned a favored spot on the dinner table? Share copies of these treasured recipes. Bonus points for copies of recipes penned in a beloved ancestor’s handwriting. Voices from the Pages of Time As folks linger over a second piece of pie, bring the eldest family member front and center for a casual conversation interview. Encourage the audience to listen carefully as there will be a quiz with prizes for the high scorers. Include coaxing questions like: What was your favorite holiday as a child and why? Please share your earliest Thanksgiving memory. Did you have a favorite pet while growing up? Tell us about the chores that were your responsibility as a young lad or lassie. Do you remember a time when you and your siblings got into mischief? Enlist a cousin or two to take notes to create the quiz. Maybe a simple quiz for the young and a tougher test for adults? Mischief Loves Company There’s bound to be folks brave enough to fess up to the antics and shenanigans the ornery cousins managed to keep from their parents or grandparents these many decades. Wrangle a volunteer or two to retell a rambunctious adventure. Enlist others to jot down a real-life escapade and, on the sly, drop it in the “mischief” bucket. Read the noted adventures one at a time and guess to whom the incident belongs. It’s never too early to spark an interest in family history among the youngest family members. And, it’s never too late to learn more about the generations that came before us. I’ll argue that every day is the right time to engage in conversations about family history. But there’s something extra special about spending the holidays reveling in genealogy. Join SGS Today * to renew your membership: log in on the Members Home page and click the green renew membership button. DONATE TO SGS Your donations represent a significant part of the SGS budget. Your continued generosity helps us increase our financial security and expand our services for everyone. We make it easy for you to contribute appreciated stock from your portfolio. Perhaps you’d like a tax write-off before year end? We have a brokerage account established and ready to receive your donation from any firm. For details, write treasurer@seagensoc.org. For questions about our needs and our vision, write president@seagensoc.org. | |
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