Saturday, September 11 Civil War Records with Janice Fritsch  (EWGS Meetings) 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm Meeting via Zoom  

Janice Fritsch, PLCGS, will present:Using Civil War Records to Reveal a Family Story Join Janice as she takes you on the journey of how she discovered some of her ancestors. It begins with the vital records which then leads to civil war records. The details within the civil war records reveals the life of Rebecca Lake & B.B. Sapp.

For login information:

 If you have any questions or concerns please contact John Wilson at Wilsonjb@gmail.com.    

Saturday, May 1 Monthly EWGS Meeting 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm Meeting via Zoom

Digging Down to the Bare Bones with AnnaLisa Ludwig from Greenwood Cemetery Also, David Luders will talk about the Find A Grave Photo Taking event to be held on May 4th at Riverside Cemetery. Why don’t you volunteer NOW. . . or at Saturday’s meeting.

Get Ready for a Zoom Meeting or Webinar

WITH US???   Due to the COVID 19 pandemic EWGS wants to help us stay in contact with our fellow genealogists while we can’t meet face to face. meeting.  We have chosen to use ZOOM for our meetings.   For details and instructions to participate, go to “Meeting Information” (listed on the menu at the left side) or just click here.

Researching Colonial American Ancestor

              Saturday, March 6 Monthly Meeting  (EWGS Meetings) 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm Meeting via Zoom Jane Haldeman will present: Researching Colonial American Ancestors: Southern Colonies   Did your ancestor live in one of the Original Thirteen Colonies? Were they here before the Revolutionary War? Each colonist came to the “new world” for different reasons and each colony was different. They came for both religious and economic opportunities. The Southern Colonies, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia were rural, with planters and farmers. Besides English immigrants there were Scots, Scots-Irish, Germans and Africans. Find out what records are available and where they are, so you can learn about your Southern Colonial American Ancestors.  

Spring Seminar (April 3, 2021)

Saturday, April 3 Spring Seminar  (Seminar) 9:00 am to 3:00 pm Meeting via Zoom   We have 2 NATIONALLY known speakers!! Karen Stanbary – Author/Lecturer will be presenting: 1) DNA: A Power Tool in the Genealogist’s Tool Box – Learn the many ways DNA test results confirm and advance documentary research. Fun and entertaining lecture. All levels. 2) The Everleigh Sisters: A Case Study in Conflict Resolution – Minnie and Ada Everleigh, Chicago’s most famous pair of sisters, fabricated many details of their lives in order to run their shady business. Learn to sort the fact from the fiction. Maureen Taylor – The Photo Detective will be presenting: Photo Detective Roadshow – EWGS members submit photos and Maureen does a live show weighing in on our mysteries!    Please submit photos to Lynn Krogh at lynndenyse@msn.com and please include any information you know about the photo.   Cost is $25 for EWGS members and $40 for non-members. Registration via PayPal or credit card is available on the EWGS website. This will allow payment by credit card even if you are not a PayPal member.   MAXIMUM REGISTRATION is 100 registrations. Each registration will receive the Zoom information just before the seminar.   To register with a check send your check made out to EWGS to: EWGS P. O. Box 1826 Spokane, WA 99210-1826 Please include your email address with the check.

Saturday, February 6 Monthly Meeting  (EWGS Meetings) 12:30 pm to 3:00 pmMeeting Via Zoom Margie Beldin will present:French Canadian Research and the Joy of Roman Catholic Records   Margie Beldin is a member of the Tri-City Genealogical Society and has held positions as the President, Vice-President, Program Chair, Education Chair and Publicity Chair. She has a 40+ year career as a teacher but especially loves teaching genealogy.

Saturday, January 9, 2021 Annual Luncheon and Officer Installation (EWGS Meetings) 12:00 pm to 3:00 pm Meeting via Zoom
We will have a “virtual” luncheon, meaning prepare your own favorite dish for lunch and why not include a fun beverage 😉 We will acknowledge past presidents and install new officers for 2021.

Janice Fritsch, PLCGS will present on the Civil War
Bio: What began as the task of completing a family tree for a family reunion turned into a lifelong passion. Over 25 years ago Janice Fritsch began her genealogical journey with her mother, sister Lynda Keenan, and her twelve year old daughter. It has been quite a journey taking her places she had not anticipated.
Her experiences include: ​
Serving as the president of the Illinois State Genealogical Society 2010-2012
Served as a board member of the Federation of Genealogical Societies 2011-2016
Formed “It’s Relative”, a research/lecturing business with Jane Haldeman
Certification from National Institute of Genealogical Studies in American Records & Methodology in Aug 2009
Hundreds of research road trips throughout the U.S and Ireland
Days spent in cemeteries, libraries and archives

  Just a Happy Reminder for you all regarding Saturday December 5th Virtual (on ZOOM) Meeting:  

Saturday, December 5 Holiday Celebration  (EWGS Meetings) 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm Via Zoom Holiday Traditions Around the World     See you on ZOOM at 12:30 on December 5…

PSSSST….Want to know how to win $25.00?   We will be holding a drawing for all early renewals again this year. Make an excellent move and submit your dues before midnight 12/31/2020    to be entered into the drawing for a $25.00 Gift Card.  

Focusing on all the positive actions EWGS has taken this year, one that stands out to me is that we voted to use ZOOM.  This enabled us to reach out to you and offer programs/events using the ZOOM platform.  It is exciting to see the number of participants grow with each event.  Our society is thriving despite the COVID-19 fall out!   Why should you renew?  Allow me to share with you some of the more recent positive comments made by our members:

• “I have FREE access to all our (TAG, Refocus, Workshops, Seminars, Monthly) meetings”
• ​​​“ I no longer have to worry about icy roads when attending EWGS meetings”
• “No parking problems”
• “Not having to social distance or even wear mask when Zooming-in for a meeting”
• “ I like that we as members get DISCOUNTS for public priced events”
• “Website convenience to our EWGS website, Facebook and Blog sites for up-to-date information on         events.”
• “FREE expert help and advice for your personal genealogy searches”

2020 is fast coming to a close please take action now and renew your membership for the upcoming year. This letter is your first reminder that we already have renewal options in place under the For Members Only side bar at www.ewgsi.org.  There you will find a printable mail in application if you prefer to use a check to renew your membership.  There is also the option to use PayPal if you’d like to go paperless.   I hope you will take advantage of one of these options and renew for 2021 before midnight December 31.

Last but not least we have a message from our President, Dolly Webb:“What a challenging year 2020 has been. Not only for EWGS but the entire world. I now have several face masks in my car and by the outside doors. I’ll visit with you in the only place I go (the grocery store) both wearing masks and 6 feet apart.“What does this have to do with EWGS you might ask?  Well, everything. All our meetings now use this ‘newfangled’ thing called Zoom. It is such a wonderful way to connect with your genealogy friends and share.  It can be so easy to withdraw and feel isolated at this difficult time, or become reluctant to try out new things.  Are you reluctant to try that ‘ZOOM’ thing? Go to our website www. HYPERLINK “http://www.ewgsi.org/”ewgsi.org and on the HOME page you will find easy directions for how to sign into ZOOM to take advantage of all the upcoming meetings listed on that page.“Get your membership dues in and come ZOOM with us. Chat with your friends and participate in our educational programs.”  Thank You, Dolly”   Hope to hear from you soon, Jennilyn Weight, Membership Committee  

Saturday, November 7 Monthly Meeting  (EWGS Meetings) 12:30 pm to 3:00 pm Meeting Via Zoom Ancestry Thru Lines, Are Thru Lines True Lines? with Janice Moerschel   Handout for this program is attached below. It is a pdf file so it should open on any device. Download: Are ThruLines True Lines-HANDOUT

Our regular monthly meeting is being held online via Zoom.If you are a member of EWGS you will receive an email that includes the Zoom invitation. If you are not a member you may attend by emailing John Wilson at ewgsmeetingreg@gmail.com (email address must be copied by hand) before Friday, Nov 6 at midnight PST time.

Saturday, October 3 October Workshop  (EWGS Meetings) 8:30 am to 4:00 pm Meeting via Zoom – REGISTRATION IS FREE The topics and their presenters are:    

Take Advantage of Land Records with Betty Ellis

Probate Records with Susan Beamer

Maximizing the Federal Censuses & exploring “Other” Census Records with Lynda Keenan                        

Forging Ahead – Where the WPA meets the CCC with Donna Potter-Phillips

Registration Required for this FREE event. Registration allows everyone to be sent an EWGS Mask and any OF 7 door prizes you may win when you attend. To register download the form below, open it in a pdf program such as Adobe Reader then fill it out and save it back to your hard drive. Then attach it to an email and send it to the address on the form. We are limited to 100 participants so register as soon as possible. Form to download and email to EWGSmeetingreg@gmail.com

Don’t forget the September 12 meeting for EWGS featuring the 400 Anniversary of the Mayflower. Jerri McCoy will be the speaker and members with Mayflower ancestors may give a brief talk about who, where and how they are connected.

This will be a Zoom meeting beginning @ 12:30. John Wilson has provided Zoom instructions below for those of you who have not tried Zoom yet. Pay special attention to the sign in number and password.

See you on the 12th!

How to be ready for a Zoom meeting.

1. Go to zoom.us and click on “Sign Up for Free.” This is a button on one of the rotating screens. Accept the default settings. It will have you download their “client.” This is the app that makes it all work.
2. When it gets close to meeting time click on the link you’ve received and it will ask you if you want to use Zoom. Do it.
3. In the process of logging into the meeting it will ask you to “Use computer audio?” Accept that. If it does the same with video accept that as well.
4. Guess what? You are a participant in the meeting!

If you are using a smartphone or tablet you can download the app for Zoom from your app store.

If you are using an ordinary phone dial one of the numbers you find in the invitation. Tacoma is the closest to Spokane. You will have to use the “Meeting ID” and “”Passcode” to get into our meeting. This way you will have audio only access to the meeting.

Here is the invitation for the 12 Sep 2020 meeting on the Mayflower. Only 100 people will be admitted so be a few minutes early to be sure you get it.

EWGS is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: EWGS Meeting-Mayflower 400th Anniversary
Time: Sep 12, 2020 12:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85287762163?pwd=UlFsMkg0Yi9MRHIyemdzWHlXdVJlZz09

Meeting ID: 852 8776 2163
Passcode: 169689
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