Category Archives: Special Events

Heritage Quest Research Library Needs Your Help!

by Charles Hansen

Heritage Quest Research Library is seeking your help to move forward.
As many of you know, on October 28, 2022, we experienced a devastating fire in the building next door to our library. Because of the smoke damage to our space, we had to remove the entire contents of our library. The books and shelving units have been through an ionization/cleaning process and are ready for us to reopen at any time.

Because of the fire, the building owner is required to do major restoration and seismic upgrades to the building that will take many months to complete. We are and have been looking for a space for many months now.

One of the major stumbling blocks to our search, is the cost per square foot, to lease a unit large enough to accommodate the library, bookstore, classroom and office space. We will be required to double the rate we were paying before the fire.

We hope that you will consider our plight and feel the need to HELP.
You can find the GoFundMe page for Heritage Quest Research Library by clicking on the link below. We sincerely Thank you for considering our request.

Click Here for the GoFundMe page

Seattle Genealogical Society Volunteers Needed

by Charles Hansen
SGS NEEDS VOLUNTEERS FOR OUR  BOOTH AT THE
ENUMCLAW SCOTTISH HIGHLAND GAMES
JULY 22-23, 2023 SGS is sharing a booth with the Irish Heritage Club @ the 76th Annual Pacific Northwest Scottish Highland Games & Clan Gathering [ www.SSHGA.org ] to be held @ the Enumclaw Expo Center [ King County Fairgrounds ] on Sat, 22 Jul & Sun, 23 Jul from 8 AM to 5 PM.

If you can help by staffing our booth for a few hours, please contact James Ryan at janglinjehu@yahoo.com.
If you would like more information on this popular festival, go to: https://sshga.org 
The 76th Annual
Pacific Northwest Scottish Highland Games & Clan Gathering, 
Enumclaw Expo Center (King County Fairgrounds),
Enumclaw, WA 98022
* Friday, July 21, 2023 5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Saturday, July 22, 2023 8:00 am – 8:00 pm  & 
Sunday, July 23, 2023 8:00 am – 5:00 pm * Admission is free to Friday evening’s events
Copyright © 2023 Seattle Genealogical Society, All rights reserved.
All SGS members have been automatically signed up for this e-letter.

Our mailing address is:
Seattle Genealogical Society4649 Sunnyside Ave N, Suite 302Seattle, WA98103-6955

Seattle Genealogical Society Needs Volunteers

by Charles Hansen
SGS NEEDS VOLUNTEERS
FOR THE CLANS OF IRELAND BOOTH!  Continuing our community outreach commitment initiated by Jean Roth,  SGS is sharing the Clans of Ireland Booth at the 27th Annual Skagit Valley Highland Games & Celtic Festival in Mt Vernon, WA, Saturday, July 8, 2023 & Sunday, July 9, 2023, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. Volunteers are needed to help SGS man this booth. No experience necessary.  

If you can help staff our table in the booth for several hours on either day, Saturday, July 8th, or Sunday, July 9th,   please contact James Ryan at janglinjehu@yahoo.com.   

If you would like more information on this popular festival, go to: http://celticarts.org 
The 27th Annual
Skagit Valley Highland Games & Celtic Festival, 
Edgewater Park,
Mt Vernon, WA 98273
Saturday, July 8, 2023  & 
Sunday, July 9, 2023
9:00 am – 5:00 pm 
Copyright © 2023 Seattle Genealogical Society, All rights reserved.
All SGS members have been automatically signed up for this e-letter.

Our mailing address is:
Seattle Genealogical Society
4649 Sunnyside Ave N, Suite 302
Seattle, WA98103-6955

Sharon Neem Celebration of Life

by Charles Hansen

My dear friend Sharon Neem passed away on Wed. April 19, 2023 from heart disease.

There will be a celebration of life for Sharon on Saturday, May 20 at 11:00am in Stanwood at the 

Floyd Norgaard Cultural Center

27130 102nd Street 
Stanwood, WA 98292

Website: thefloydnorgaard.weebly.com

For more details you may contact her son Brian Ferguson:  brian.s.ferguson@gmail.com

Sharon was active in the Chief Whatcom Chapter of the D.A.R. and served in numerous leadership roles over the years and promoted the DAR with tremendous enthusiasm.

Sharon moved to Blaine, WA in the early 1990s. She immediately became active in the Blaine Senior Center and spearheaded

many activities to benefit seniors in the community. She was the essence of a positive, can-do attitude. 

She was also a former president of the Whatcom Genealogical Society and enjoyed serving as the society’s newsletter editor before moving to Stanwood in 2022.

Sharon was the first person I met when I moved to Skagit County in 1987. We quickly became close friends, celebrating weddings, birthdays, anniversaries and travels to the LDS Library in Salt Lake City for genealogy conferences, etc. Sharon got me interested in genealogy and also sparked my interest in reactivating my membership with the DAR.  I will miss her deeply in my life. Sharon celebrated her 82 birthday on March 1, 2023…the last time I spoke with her. 

Her sons asked that anyone who has connections with the organizations Sharon enjoyed being involved in to help by notifying them of her passing. Thank you.

With sadness,

Margie

Free Program on How to Become a Certified Genealogist

by Charles Hansen


We all share a passion about tracing our ancestors.

Over seven years ago I decided to work to attain the credential of Certified Genealogist from the Board for Certification of Genealogists. It wasn’t easy but in January 2017 I achieved my goal. At that time there was one other person with the credential in the entire state of Washington. Washington now has 7 certified genealogists! However, all of them are from western Washington.

I know there are very competent genealogists in Washington; I know there are many who would like to improve their genealogical skills and to see if they are doing it “right.” Perhaps they haven’t heard of the program or perhaps they have heard about it and dismissed it.

I would like to offer to your society to give (yes, free) a presentation to your membership about certification and why it might benefit them. Certainly, armed with knowledge they could decide not to pursue the credential. That is fine. It is not the goal to turn everyone into a CG; it is the goal to make sure everyone makes a knowledgeable decision.

Yes, I run the Certification Discussion Group series out of Seattle GS and it is a resource some might find helpful, but it is certainly not a requirement for applying as two of the seven can attest.

If you are interested in a free presentation on certification to your group, please contact me at jkmorelli@gmail.com so we can find a mutually convenient time.

I hope to hear from you soon.

This offer is made to any genealogical society who would like to know more about certification.

Jill

MyHeritage Free Irish Records Access till March 19

by Charles Hansen

I’m excited to share that in honor of St. Patrick’s Day this year, we are making all 106 of our Irish record collections available to search for free from now until March 19, 2023!

The MyHeritage Irish collections include Irish birth, marriage, death, census, wills, atlases, directories, calendars, historical books, registers, passenger lists, prisoner, and registration records. Many of the collections also include images.

St. Patrick's Day free record

This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone interested in learning more about their Irish roots! As an added bonus, we’re running a special sale on MyHeritage DNA for St. Patrick’s Day as well.

Read more on our blog, and feel free to use the attached graphic when spreading the word.

Enjoy,

Daniel Horowitz

Genealogy Expert

MyHeritage Ltd., P.O.Box 50, 3 Ariel Sharon Blvd., Or Yehuda, Israel 6037606, Israel, +972-3-6280000

Seattle Genealogical Society Save Access to Immigration Records!

by Charles Hansen
Genealogists and family historians, your help is needed to save access to historical immigration records! 

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has proposed a substantial fee hike to access millions of historical immigration records held exclusively by its genealogy program. This could effect you so it is really important that you post your comments and write to your Senators and Representative. 

The comment deadline is now March 13th so please submit your comments by then. Please share this deadline with your networks, too. Encourage them to comment and contact their Senators and Representative. If genealogists don’t comment, USCIS will think we don’t care how long it takes to get records or how much it costs. 

Visit the site below to learn more and make your voice heard in 3 easy steps! Thank you.  https://www.recordsnotrevenue.com/

    


  Check the Calendar of Events for upcoming programs from SGS.
Copyright © 2023 Seattle Genealogical Society, All rights reserved.
All SGS members have been automatically signed up for this e-letter.

Our mailing address is:
Seattle Genealogical Society
4649 Sunnyside Ave N, Suite 302
Seattle, WA98103-6955

Related Faces at RootsTech

by Charles Hansen

I am kindly asking you to extend an invitation to any of your group’s members who are attending RootsTech to please stop by our booth, #1216, and say “Hi” during the conference. At RootsTech we’ll be:

  • Giving away our signature notebooks and other swag
  • Offering daily chances to win a 6-month subscription to Related Faces.
  • If they have a couple of photos they would like us to use as demonstration, bring along digital copies. We will help as many people as time allows.
  • Saturday March 4, we will be playing a little game to let attendees test their skills at identifying people in old photos. Their tally sheet is also an entry form to win a free 6-month subscription.
  • Plus, conference attendees will be receiving a special discount coupon.

For those who are not able to attend RootsTech, we don’t want them to miss out, so we are offering 10% Off their first Related Faces subscription, either 6 months or 1 year. Use code RFVFYBVM89 through 3/31/23when signing up at https://RelatedFaces.com. We will also be exhibiting at the NGS conference in Virginia at the end of May. We will have similar give-a-ways and activities there as well. So, that will be a second opportunity to stop by and meet us! If you are looking for speakers for your group meetings, I offer a free virtual class on identifying unknown people in photos. It’s called “Connecting Faces Through Time.” Please, email me @ tina@relatedfaces.com if you would like to know more. Thank you to all of you who have already hosted a class! Thank you for passing along my invitation, and I hope to see you during 2023!

Tina Tina LaFreniere, Founder

Related Faces