Tag Archives: Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society

David Cosman Named One of WSGS’s Outstanding Volunteers in 2024

by Roxanne Lowe

Since 2003, the Washington State Genealogical Society has recognized over 600 outstanding volunteers and teams, nominated by their local society or genealogical organization for their service and dedication. These volunteers are the backbone of their local society, giving their time and expertise, to the organization and the field of genealogy. In the coming months, you will be introduced to each of the 2024 award recipients and learn why they received they received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.

Today we’re introducing David Cosman of Bainbridge Island, Washington who was selected by the Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society as its recipient of a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award.

Without the need of any particular title, David has become one of BIGS’s most important mentors. He simply makes himself available to anyone who is willing to ask for help. And David knows how to help, in terms of both his knowledge and his personality. He teaches others with dignity and grace.

David is an outstanding traditional genealogy researcher. Coupling those skills with his personal background as a native of Nottingham, England, has equipped him well to be co-leader of our Great Britain Special Interest Group. David’s career involved cloning genes that regulate the immune system and this technical knowledge allowed him to quickly become one of only a few of BIGS’s members with true expertise in employing DNA for genealogical purposes.

For more information on the WSGS Outstanding Volunteer Award program, visit the Recognition page of the WSGS website or contact Info@wasgs.org. Please type “Volunteer Award” in the subject line.

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society Sorting Your DNA Match Lists

by Charles Hansen

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society

January Featured Presentation

Everyone welcome – No membership necessary

Friday, January 17, 10:00AM – Zoom Only

Sorting Your DNA Match Lists

Speaker: Kelli Bergheimer

Learn techniques and tools to understand your DNA match lists and the importance of descendancy research to solving DNA questions.

Kelli Bergheimer is a writer, teacher, editor, international genealogical speaker, and member of the Association of Professional Genealogists.

Register at bigenealogy.org for Zoom link.

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society Recreating Your Ancestor’s World

by Charles Hansen

Mary Kircher Roddy

October 18, 2024, 10 AM

Recreating Your Ancestor’s World

This will be a Hybrid meeting at the Bainbridge Library and on Zoom

Please Register Here to Attend via Zoom

Learn how to combine maps, city directories, census records, and more to visualize your ancestor’s world. Understanding their environment will help you understand them.  

Mary Kircher Roddy frequently lectures in Washington State as well as at conferences across the US on methodology and records. She is a trustee of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, one of the founders of the Applied Genealogy Institute, and is the co-editor of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ). She earned her certificate in Genealogy and Family History at the University of Washington.

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society Survivors of Disasters

by Charles Hansen

Survivors of Disasters: How Deadly Forces of Nature Impacted our Ancestors’ Lives

 Friday, September 20, 2024

10:00 am

Zoom Only – Please Register

L-R: Robin Engel is a retired lawyer and native Washingtonian.

Karen Strelow is a retired physical education specialist.

Rene Vance is a retired chemical engineer.

All three are members of the Skagit Valley Genealogical Society.

Click Here to Register

In the extreme, weather and natural disasters have a direct impact on the lives and deaths of our ancestors. In more subtle ways, conditions may influence their relocation, helping to expain the “why”, “where” and “when” of their movements.

Our presenters will share their stories of volcanoes, blizzards, avalanches, floods, tornadoes and heat waves, and how they affected their ancestors lives.

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society Using Genetic Genealogy in Crime Fiction

by Charles Hansen


This talk gives an overview of the investigative genetic genealogy process, IGG: what it is, where it is used and the basics of how it is undertaken.
Nathan will briefly discuss some real-life key cases that have used IGG and then move on to his own fictional writing, focusing on the Venator Cold Case series, which uses this methodology to catch serial killers. He will explain his meticulous research method, the experts that he consults and his writing process.
Friday, July 19 @ 10AM on Zoom only Nathan Dylan Goodwin will present The Science Behind the Stories: Using Genetic Genealogy in Crime Fiction


Nathan Dylan Goodwin is a British historical, genealogical mystery crime writer. A member of the Society of Authors, he has completed several local history books about his birthplace of Hastings, England, as well as several works of fiction, including the acclaimed Forensic Genealogist series, the Mrs. McDougall Investigates series and the Venator Cold Case series. He is a qualified teacher, member of the Guild of One Name Studies and the Society of Genealogists, as well as being a member of several history societies in Southeast England. Nathan is also the co-creator with Diahan Southard of the in-person and virtual masterclass in investigative genetics, Genealogy Solves It (GSI).

So, please join us on July 19 at 10AM on Zoom

No membership necessary but registration is required.

Register now on our website: bigenealogy.org

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society Y-Chromosome Insights & Strategies

by Charles Hansen

Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society

Y-Chromosome Insights & Strategies

Richard Hill

Friday, May 17, 2024 at 10:00am – Zoom Only

Learn how Y-DNA testing of suitable males can trace and
confirm paternal lines in your family tree. See how to
choose the right test and how to work with your genetic
matches. Examples cover STRs, SNPs, genetic distance,
match thresholds, Tip reports, the Y-DNA tree,
haplogroups, group projects, account settings, and more.

Richard Hill, the first adoptee to identify his birth family through
DNA testing and genetic genealogy, created the DNA Testing
Adviser website in 2008. Over the next 13 years, he educated
thousands of readers and answered a regular flood of individual
questions. Selling that website in 2021, he launched his “DNA
Favorites” website, self-published “Finding Family: My Search for
Roots” and the “Secrets in My DNA” and became an in-demand
genealogical speaker on all topics DNA.