Category Archives: Administrative

Supportive Grants Are Waiting For You

by Roxanne Lowe

If your local genealogy society needs financial assistance for a special project or purchase, consider applying for a WSGS Supportive Grant. Applications are being accepted through October 31, 2021.

The grants, up to $250 each, are designed to fill a need or support a special project of WSGS-member societies and organizations. Ideas are limited only by societies’ creativity. Some ideas include:

  • Equipment, such as video camera, microphone, tripod, mixing board, or screen, as your society moves to hybrid meetings.
  • Purchase of furniture, equipment, books, magazines or other publications/ subscriptions for an existing or new society library.
  • Locating, inventorying, restoring and/or preserving a local cemetery.
  • Hosting a special event, presentation, or workshop.
  • Purchasing genealogical-related software, scanner, projector, peripherals or other equipment or technology.
  • Developing a project serving special populations, e.g. senior citizens, children/teens, tribal members, ethnic organizations, etc..
  • Restoring and/or preservation of photos or original documents.
  • Identifying and unifying old photos, Bibles, quilts, letters or other significant memorabilia with family members, museums, or other good homes.
  • Creation of a website, blog or other communication tool.
  • Publication of local history or narratives.

The awards do not have to be repaid — they’re yours to support worthy projects. Two grants will be awarded in 2021.

The simple application is only ONE page and is available here. There is also additional guidance on the program. For more information, visit our website at http://www.wasgs.org/cpage.php?pt=49.

Questions should be directed to Info@wasgs.org. Please note “Awards” in the Subject Line.

Ginny Majewski Announces She’s Not Running For WSGS President

by Roxanne Lowe

Virginia “Ginny” Majewski has announced she will not seek another term as president of the Washington State Genealogical Society. President since January 2017, Ginny feels it’s time to pass the gavel to someone else.

In a recent interview, Ginny was asked her proudest accomplishments in her five-year tenure. She replied:

Finding ways to help genealogical societies in Washington State through these difficult times. I am very proud of the financial support we provided to all of the genealogy societies during the Covid epidemic. Although WSGS could not give much to each society, in total we distributed over $10,000 to 40+ societies. I would like to think it helped keep some of our societies alive.

Also, I was honored to work with DSHS and with the IJGS and FGS to keep access to vital records in Washington State open for genealogists. Although we did not get everything we wanted, we were able to maintain access rather than have vital records be totally closed for 50-100 years. That process took over a year of conference calls and legislative interactions, but was worthwhile in the long run.

When asked where she hoped WSGS would go in the future, she expressed her optimism:

WSGS has found its niche. We are here to help genealogical societies and be a conduit for genealogical information. My hope for the future is that WSGS will be THE go-to place when searching for genealogical resources, information and activities in Washington State. I would like to see our website become more interactive and our blog have more contributions and highlight society events. I would also love to see us find a way to honor our wonderful society volunteers again.

If you think Ginny is going to end her presidency quietly, you’re wrong. Her parting comment was “I am looking forward to announcing WSGS’s plans for honoring our Pioneer ancestors next month.” We’re looking forward to that!

If you’d like to read more about Ginny, check out this “Meet the Board” article.

The WSGS Board is looking for members to serve on a nominating committee. If you’re interested in this very important short-term opportunity, please email the Board at Info@wasgs.org and type “Nominating Committee” in the subject line.

Form 990-N

by Charles Hansen
Simple 990
Hello there, this is a simple reminder that you may now file your annual Form 990-N form for Your Genealogical Society
Paper airplane image If you are not responsible for filing the Form 990-N for YOUR GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY, please forward this email to the appropriate party. Refresh
If you already filed, please disregard this email. Paper airplane image The IRS e-file system began processing business returns for the 2020 tax year on January 8th, 2021.

New Blog Banner Photos Posted

by Roxanne Lowe

Have you noticed the Blog banner changes every time you visit? The photos are submitted by readers like you — and Trish Hackett Nicola and Sue Schack Jensen and Jo-Anne Huber.

Horses in Vantage. Photo by Trish Hackett Nicola.

Thank you, Trish, Sue and Jo-Anne, for your contributions.

We’re always looking for scenic photos of our beautiful state for the rotating photo gallery on the blog banner.

Guidelines for the photos are few:
•Landscapes, landmarks, and scenery photos are preferred. If, however, you have a perfect photo that includes people, please obtain their permission to post the photo.
•Photo must have been taken in Washington State (this is the Washington State Genealogical Society blog, after all!).
•Photo will be cropped to 1100 x 250 pixels, so keep that in mind. If in doubt, send it to us & we’ll figure it out.
•You may submit as many photos as you want.
•Final decisions on suitable photos will be made by the awesome WSGS Blog Team.
•There’s no prize if your photo is chosen – just the satisfaction that your photo is being showcased on a blog viewed by hundreds of enthusiastic genealogists.
•There’s no firm deadline to submit photos, just keep ‘em coming. We want to rotate lots of photos to keep the blog fresh.

To submit your photo, please email the image (jpg only, please); what, where, when, and by whom the photo was taken to WSGSBlog@wasgs.org.

Got questions? Email the blog team at WSGSBlog@wasgs.org.

Happy New Year

by Charles Hansen
Postcard from my grandmother Anna Hansen’s postcard collection, the back is just addressed to Anna Hansen Sebeka Minn, but no stamp or postal cancellation, they moved to Columbus Montana just after the 1910 census so this card is probably from 1910

Happy New Year

Been an interesting year, never had to post so many seminar and meeting cancellations, but eventually we learned to have our meetings online on Zoom, Web-ex, Google and even Facebook. That allowed us to join meetings in other states without travel, motels, parking and traffic. The only bad part was we all miss meeting our friends in person. Lets hope we can get back together in 2021, but still have the ability to listen in to seminars a long way from our homes. We are learning to work together in ways we never dreamed we could so lets expand that and help all the Washington genealogical societies. I also post a lot of seminars on the WSGS Facebook Page, because it goes out immediately not once a week like the WSGS Blog, check it out.

I have been asked how am I doing by a lot of people, and I am doing fine, I like peace and quiet and do not like crowds, my favorite volunteer job was doing research in a quiet archive, and I got to do that for eight years at the county courthouse in the auditors archives. That ended when all the records were digitized and the originals were moved to the Washington State Regional Archive in Cheney Washington. They then moved the Law Library in the space that used to have the auditors records.

I am also a volunteer with Scribe and by the end of the year I will have digitized 92,000 names in 2020 and 370,000 names since they started counting, but that was many years after I had started. At first we got a 3.5 inch floppy disk and paper copies to digitize records.

The Year in Review

by Charles Hansen
Well are you glad 2020 is almost over? I know I am. Lets hope 2021 will be better than 2020. Above is the Google Analytics view of the top ten most clicked on pages in the WSGS Blog for 2020 (thru December 28th).
I was not really surprised by number 1 as many subscribers just click on the blog, but I was totally surprised by number 2 as it was written by Roxanne Lowe in June of 2015 about an upcoming genealogy class at the university of Washington. I do know it popped into the top ten most clicked on posts several weeks during the year.
Number 3 on the list continues to be read and I hope it has helped a lot of societies that use Easy Net Sites.
Number 4 on the list is 2020 Seminars-Conferences which was pretty much a disappointment to everyone this year.
Number 5 and 6 are on how we are changing from in person conferences to online conferences.
Number 7 and 8 was kind of new as I had shied away from posting about the Payed genealogy sites before this. Should I cover them more in the blog?
Number 9 is kind of sad for me as it was on the death of my cousin Myra Vanderpool Gormley. Myra is probably the reason I am here blogging, and I was amazed by E-Mails I received from all over the USA after I wrote this blog post. Myra will be missed.
Number 10 is from Skagit Valley Genealogical Society one of the societies that has switched to online meetings.

Merry Christmas

by Charles Hansen
Postcard from my Uncle Leigh Hansen’s postcard collection

I want t wish everyone a Merry Christmas. Special thanks goes out to everyone that has kept sending me the information for monthly meetings, seminars, and general genealogical news.

Charles Hansen

Please Read if Your Society Uses an Easy Net Site

by Charles Hansen

You may have heard recently that the owner of Easy Net Sites (ENS), Tom Ryder, has been accused of serious crimes in Florida. He is currently being held without bail in the Hillsborough County Jail, awaiting a hearing on 21 Dec 2020.

I understand many of your concerns about the future of your website. In light of this unsettled time, I suggest you watch Thomas MacEntee’s free “Genealogy Society Town Hall” that was live on Monday, 14 Dec 2020, 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. Thomas will discuss options available to you to move your society’s website host to a new host. He will cover all the options available (WordPress, Wix, Weebly, Wild Apricot). Current charges against Tom Ryder will not be discussed nor will comments about the charges be permitted.  Thomas’s town hall is not an attempt to undermine another genealogy vendor’s business or to capitalize on an unfortunate situation.  He is providing information so we (societies using ENS) can make informed decisions about our websites, and you can consult your board once you have options.

MY APOLOGIES for those of you who could not get into the Genealogy Society Town Hall last evening! We had 776 registrants with what was supposed to be 500 participants but Zoom only set me up for 300!

Please see the links below and PLEASE SHARE with your fellow gen soc board members and regular membership!
  Genealogy Society Town Hall December 14, 2020 HANDOUT

Genealogy Society Town Hall December 14, 2020 VIDEO

Genealogy Society Town Hall December 14, 2020 SLIDES

Please thank Thomas MacEntee for the links.

New Blog Banner Photos Posted

by Roxanne Lowe

Have you noticed the Blog banner changes every time you visit? The photos are submitted by readers like you — and Carol Norder Brumbaugh Ballard of Lacey and Sue Schack Jensen, Library Director at the Seattle Genealogical Society. Carol sent us a serene photo of Chambers Lake in Panorama in Lacey. Sue sent us six beautiful scenic photos of Seattle’s skyline and waterfront, including this Goose Parade near Issaquah. Watch the blog banner for all of these photos!

Goose Parade photo by Sue Schack Jensen and Ron C. Jensen, Seattle

We’re always looking for scenic photos of our beautiful state for the rotating photo gallery on the blog banner. It’s easy — just send a Washington State jpg image to wsgsblog@wasgs.org with a description of the photo. The blog masters will take care of the rest!