Nominations Sought for Vice President & Treasurer

Are you interested in being part of the WSGS Board of Directors? The positions of vice president and treasurer are up for election and we are seeking nominations. The nomination period will close on 15 Nov 2024.

The vice president position provides support to the president. In the case that the president is unable to preside over a meeting or event, the vice president would be required to step in and take his/her place. The vice president also acts as a liaison between the societies and the WSGS president and board, helping to facilitate communications between the board and the societies.

The treasurer manages WSGS financial matters under the direction of the president, executive committee and board of directors.

The two-year terms are from 01 Jan 2025 through 31 Dec 2026. More information on the positions’ duties and responsibilities is available here.

Being a member of the WSGS Board is an excellent opportunity to involve yourself in a statewide organization designed to support local societies and individuals interested in the educational and historical value of genealogical research. And besides that — it’s fun and interesting!

If you’re interested in this opportunity or have questions, please contact WSGS President Kathy Sizer.

Italian Interest Group of the Eastside Genealogical Society Alien Immigration Files

Oct30 by Charles Hansen

A (Alien)-Files are a valuable resource for genealogical research as they provide detailed records of an individual’s immigration history, naturalization process, and any law enforcement actions involving the alien.

Genealogy immigration files are historical records that document the immigration and naturalization processes of individuals who came to the United States.

ZOOM Meeting When: 16-Nov-2024, Saturday
Time: 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM (PDT) Presenter: Givonna & Elaine

If you aren’t an active member, please request a Zoom meeting invitation.

Meeting Request

COUNTDOWN TO THE MEETING:

Eastside Genealogical Society
– Italian Interest Group
P.O. Box 374
Bellevue, WA 98009-0374

Olympia Genealogical Society AI Made Easy

Oct29 by Charles Hansen

Stillaquamish Valley Genealogical Society FamilySearch’s Full Text Search

Oct29 by Charles Hansen

Stillaquamish Valley Genealogical Society

Monthly Meeting & Presentation – FamilySearch’s Full Text Search: A Free AI Tool You Should Definitely Be Using

Tuesday, November 12th

1:00 pm

SVGS Library

6111 188 PL NE, Arlington, WA

You are invited to this free presentation at the SVGS library.

Everyone is welcome!

Sue McNeil, an active member at SVGS, will be giving an in person only presentation at our library. Our business meeting will follow the presentation.

Sue’s Presentation: FamilySearch’s Full Text Search: A Free AI Tool You Should Definitely Be Using

Come learn how to use FamilySearch’s full-text searching. This new beta tool makes it easier to find your ancestors in unindexed records, in unexpected locations or timeframes, and in roles that were previously unindexed (i.e., witness, heirs, bondsman, adjoining landowner, etc.). Starting with U.S. land and probate, this new AI tool is rapidly expanding to include other record types, locations and timeframes.

There will be a short break with refreshments. The monthly meeting will follow.

New England Interest Group – November 5th

The SVGS New England Interest Group (includes New York and Pennsylvania) meets at the SVGS Library on the first Tuesday of the month at 10am. This is a hybrid group. You may attend in person at our library or join via Zoom.

If you have not joined us yet and would like to receive emails in the future for this group or wish to attend via Zoom, please send an email to info@stillygen.org and request to be added to the New England Interest Group email list and receive monthly

Zoom invitations.

DIG – DNA Special Interest Group – November 21st

Also join us at the SVGS library from 1-3pm on the 3^rd Thursday of the month for the DNA Special Interest Group (DIG). This group works together to develop a better understanding of DNA techniques and strategies for finding relatives, discuss and review new DNA developments and tools and help members with their research problems.

All DNA skill levels are welcome to attend.

If you have a specific DNA topic you would like to discuss or have any other suggestions for this group, please send an email info@stillygen.org

Also, if you have not joined us yet and would like to receive emails in the future for the DIG group, please send an email to info@stillygen.org and request to be added to the DIG email list.

For more information visit www.stillygen.org

Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society Legacy Family Tree SIG Meeting

Oct29 by Charles Hansen

Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society Legacy Family Tree SIG Meeting
Tuesday, November 5, 2024, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm virtual via Zoom

This month we will finish reviewing the free Legacy Family Tree software video “Legacy 9 Unlocked (part 1): Your First Few Tips”. We watched the first part on Oct 1 so this month on Nov 5 we will watch the second half. Even though Legacy 10 was just released in Jun 2024, almost all the features shown in this video are still in the current program. If you are thinking about trying Legacy or are currently using it, this video can teach or remind you how to properly use the software and be successful with your research. If you have any suggestions for future topics, please send them in.

This is our monthly meeting to share tips & tricks, problems & solutions. Sometimes we will watch videos or share our screens to aid in learning more about using Legacy Family Tree software.

Everyone is welcome to attend and participate in the learning. If you are just thinking about trying Legacy for the first time, you’ve been using it for a year or two or you are an old pro with many years of experience using Legacy this is the group for you.

We look forward to meeting with you, every month on the First Tuesday at 7:00 PM Pacific Time

Please download and import the following iCalendar (.ics) files to your calendar system.

Monthly Calendar Reminder: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/tZYpfuyuqDovHNwtBgxtQjWKOjDQ8k5Q9bPD/ics?icsToken=98tyKuGqqjIvHNKUtR-PRpwQBor4Z-7wpn5Ygo1KiD3iGzRiaDTdGehmA-p0RemJ

Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82495661568?pwd=dy85YmluVzF5aEU4SzFTcTUrVDlTUT09

Meeting ID: 824 9566 1568
Passcode: 715731

One tap mobile:
+12532050468,,82495661568#,,,,*715731# US
+12532158782,,82495661568#,,,,*715731# US (Tacoma)

Dial by your location:
+1 253 205 0468 US
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)

Meeting ID: 824 9566 1568
Passcode: 715731

Find your local number:
https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcphK19I1E

Let’s Talk About: The U.S.S. Spokane

Oct29 by Donna Phillips

The U.S.S. Spokane was named for the city of Spokane and was built in New Jersey; she was classed a light cruiser. The Washington cities of Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia also had Navy ships named for them.

Commissioned after the end of World War II, the Spokane never saw any war-related action.

Spokane departed New York for training and battle practice near Guantanamo Bay. In 1946, she visited several European ports. In 1947, the Spokane represented the U.S. Navy at the wedding of Her Royal Highness, Princess Elizabeth of England. On Christmas Day, 1947, she was boarded by 100 guests and underprivileged English children as the invited guests of the crew for dinner, party, movies and tour of the ship.

Completing her goodwill tour, Spokane joined a group staging bombardment exercises in the Atlantic. She was decommissioned in 1950 and assigned to the mothball fleet of the New York Group, US Atlantic Reserve Fleet. Struck from the Navy’s list of vessels in 1972, she was purchased in 1973 for scrap. Her final voyage took her to Brownsville, Texas, to be dismantled.

Naval tradition mandates that the city in whose honor a ship is named give a silver service to its officers. In 1946, the citizen of Spokane purchased a silver service for the newly constructed USS Spokane. The 135-piece included service for twelve officers. This silver set is on display at the Naval Reserve Training Center by the VA Hospital in Spokane. (Could not find an image of Spokane’s silver; this set belonged to the USS Maryland.)

Taken from an article in Vol. 39, No. 3, 1995, of The Pacific Northwesterner.

Let’s Talk About: Germany’s Rules for Death

Oct25 by Donna Phillips

Quoting from website The German Way, “German Funerals: Death in Deutschland.” Image for a YouTube video.

“The German way of death is perhaps even more regulated than the German way of life. The German propensity to regulate almost every aspect of daily life carries over into the afterlife, with Germany’s funeral industry among the most regulated in the world.”

“Strict German laws and regulations concerning the burial or cremation of a deceased person reduce competition and increase the costs. The German funeral industry is protected by laws, that, with few exceptions, make burial in a cemetery mandatory even if the deceased has been cremated. There is little free choice for families faced with the death of a loved one.”

A typical German funeral can cost from $5500 to $11,000 or more! Even with cremations, a “certified” coffin is required and a plain wooden coffin can cost over $700. A typical cremation costs upwards of $8000.

“Those Germans who choose burial over cremation usually have a limited stay in the cemetery of their choice. Because of space limitation, most German cemeteries allow their “guests” to rest in peace only for a maximum of 10 to 30 years. After that they must relinquish their grave to another deceased soul. Only in some historical German cemeteries will you find the graves of people who died over a century ago.”

“German restrictions don’t end with the laws that dictate where a corpse has to go. Most German cemeteries have codes and regulations that determine in great detail what may or may not appear on a loved one’s grave marker.” (Thankfully, this “rule” is changing.)

The scattering of cremated remains on land or at sea is generally verboten in Germany. When it is done, it is almost always done illegally. To scatter in a lake is out of the question for thoughts of water being contaminated by cremains.

As an American, you do not want to pass away in Germany! Getting your body, or even your cremains, shipped home is a total tangled nightmare.

So we learn from that article on The German Way website.

Puget Sound Genealogical Society Timelines & Chronologies & Land Records

Oct22 by Charles Hansen

PSGS Program:

Oct 23 (Wed), 1pm. “Your Ancestor’s Occupation – Exploring the 1821 Irish Census” with Steven Morrison. A short business meeting will follow the program. This will be hybrid with in person at the Sylvan Way Library and on Zoom.

PSGS Class:

Oct 26 (Sat), 10:30am. “Timelines & Chronologies and Land Records” with Janet Camarata

This class will be hybrid. You can join us in person at the Sylvan Way Library in Bremerton or on Zoom.

*Zoom link posted the day before on our website and Facebook page. If you are a PSGS member, the link will be emailed to you 2 days prior.

Heritage Quest Research Library November Preview

Oct22 by Charles Hansen

Let’s Talk About: Punishment in Old Virginia

Oct22 by Donna Phillips

Reading Ulysses P. Joyner’s The First Settlers of Orange County, Virginia, I thought to share bits about early forms of punishments there and the reasons for such punishments.

Reasons for punishment in the early 1700s included: killing a slave, stealing a horse, absenting oneself from church, illicit cohabitation/adultery, failure to pay taxes, insulting the minister, failure to keep his appointed stretch of road in good repair. having a “base born” child, drunkenness, stealing, murder, disturbing the peace and being a vagabond.

Punishments included: time in the stocks (either the stand-up or sit-down sort). “This was a form of public ridicule and humiliation since the prisoner’s ankles, wrists and neck were shackled in the stocks on the courthouse lawn and the public gathered to taunt him/her.”

Those convicted of stealing would have one or both of their ears nailed to the pillory for a specified time at the conclusion of which the sheriff used his sword to cut the sorry soul loose, leaving the ear affixed to the pillory.

Though women criminals were often dealt with as harshly as men, the usual punishment imposed on women for minor offenses was the “ducking pool” or “dunking stool.” The lady was placed on the stool attached to the end of a long pole in a public area and was “ducked” or dunked in a pool of water, a spectacle enjoyed by all except the victim.

As I read these pages, I was stuck by how much the idea of public humiliation was part of the punishment. Yes, loosing an ear was painful and awful but being put on display as a criminal was likely just as painful for the victim. I personally think that using thirty minutes in public stocks would be great punishment for minor offenders today.