The German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, June 4, 2021 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm PDT – Virtually

Topic: “Finding my 19th Century Immigrants from Germanic Europe”   

Shares the successful conclusion to a 20-year search for the town of origin of a 19th century immigrant ancestor from Germanic Europe. The presenter also reviews the successful conclusions for three additional 19th century immigrants from Germanic Europe, how those successes were achieved, and the research tools & methods used. Researchers are encouraged to modify and adapt these tools and methods to best suit their own endeavors.   

Presenter: David S. Raese  

Growing up, my grandmother often recalled stories told to her by her grandparents, all four of whom were immigrants from Germanic Europe. However, many decades later when I began asking about them and traveling to Germany myself as an exchange student, she did not know the names of the towns where her grandparents were from, and did not know any names of her great-grandparents. Not a single one. Shortly before 2000, I began researching their origins in the records. Researching actual records is entirely different than solely relying upon family stories. It was an eye-opening experience. I quickly learned, and managed to locate the towns of origin for three out of four of her grandparents. The fourth grandparent was successfully found this year, just a few weeks ago. This is my story. 

More information: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/ 

Visitors are always welcome. To request an invitation, please use the Contact tab on our website, no later than 2 days prior to our meeting.

The German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, May 7, 2021 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm PDT – Virtually

Topic: “From Pikeman to Pennsylvanian: Swiss Ancestral Origins”

Investigating “Pennsylvania Dutch” origins can turn up fascinating stories. Claire Gebben’s maternal great grandmother, Annie Elizabeth Salome Line Lindsey, was a fifth generation descendant of Swiss emigrants Henry Carpenter / Zimmerman (1673-1750) and Maria Salome Rufener (1675-1743), both from the Canton of Bern in the Central Alps region of present-day Switzerland. Evidence of their story was at first conflicting and scanty at best, but a deeper dive uncovered an unexpected bounty of family history and the Swiss German legacy. In this presentation Claire shares often-untapped resources and glimpses of the adventurous lives and times of some of the earliest Swiss settlers to William Penn’s Pennsylvania province.

 Presenter: Claire Gebben is the author of an award-winning memoir How We Survive Here (2018) about the discovery of old letters in an attic in Germany written by Claire’s ancestors that propelled her on a transatlantic quest to learn the truth about their lives. Her novel The Last of the Blacksmiths (2014) is based on the true story of a 19th-century German immigrant blacksmith Michael Harm who pursues the American dream. Claire ‘s articles about family history appear in publications such as the Seattle Genealogical Society Newsletter, Northwest Prime Time, the Fiske Genealogical Society Newsletter, and German Life magazine. She holds an MFA and speaks on genealogy topics at numerous venues. More at http://clairegebben.com

More information: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/ 

Visitors are always welcome. To request an invitation, please use the Contact tab on our website, no later than 2 days prior to our meeting.

The German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, March 5, 2020 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm PT – Virtually

Topic: “Connect Your Family:  Useful Research Strategies”

Do you have a broken branch or stump in your family tree?  Come learn some useful research strategies to find your brick wall ancestors.

Presenter: Dana Palmer, CG^®, CGL^(SM) has been a genealogy instructor since 2010 and has spoken at many genealogy events and conferences. She specializes in Midwestern research and has experience in Germany, Denmark, and the U.K.  She loves problem solving and tracking down those elusive ancestors. 

More information: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/ 

Visitors are always welcome. To request an invitation, please use the Contact tab on our website, no later than 2 days prior to our meeting. 

The German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, February 5, 2020 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm PT – Virtually

Topic: “What’s in a Name: Going from Iowa back to Saxony”

How does someone locate an ancestral village when the original surname has evolved over time? Follow a near beginner as she builds upon clues discovered in ordinary documents and learn how taking some simple actions can be helpful in your family research.        

Presenter: Beth Snyder is a Seattle native who had little interest in genealogy until about 5 years ago when she took a Telos class with Bob Barnes and got the bug. Beth knew little about her father’s side but had come across his baptismal certificate. It was in German and it started her on a path to discover that side of her paternal ancestry. 

More information: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/ 

Visitors are always welcome. To request an invitation, please use the Contact tab on our website, no later than 2 days prior to our meeting. 

The German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, November 6, 2020 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm – Virtually

Topic: Heraldry in a Nutshell or Two: How a Coat of Arms came to be. What is heraldry and how does it relate to genealogy? Learn about the history of heraldry and what constitutes a Coat of Arms, its components and who can bear one.  

Presenter:  Gail Spangenberg-Parrish

A native of Pretoria, South Africa, Gail first learned of heraldry at the Bureau of Heraldry in Pretoria where she worked as an artist. Her knowledge of Coats of Arms was minimal but she soon learned and found the entire process fascinating. Gail has executed numerous Coats of Arms for various groups or private individuals both in the US and abroad. Some of her work is on display in South Africa, in both Western and Eastern Washington, California, Massachusetts, Washington DC, Germany and Thailand.

More information: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/ 

Visitors are always welcome. To request an invitation, please use the Contact tab on our website, no later than November 1^st.  

The German Interest Group of The Eastside Genealogical Society (EGS) meeting

When: Friday, October 2, 2020 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm – Virtually

Topic: Explore the Rhineland-Palatinate

The wine-making Rheinland-Pfalz, or Rhineland-Palatinate, in southwest Germany is rich in history, museums, local festivals, and wine tours. It is also the area from which a large number of Germans emigrated in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

Speaker: Claire Gebben

Claire, author of the historical novel The Last of the Blacksmiths and the memoir How We Survive Here, shares an overview of some of the most intriguing aspects of the region’s history for genealogists, as well as points of interest in the Palatinate today for those who enjoy learning more about other cultures, places, and times.

More information: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/ 

Visitors are always welcome. To request an invitation, please use the Contact tab on our website, no later than September 30^th. 

The German Interest Group

of The Eastside GenealogicalSociety (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, September 4, 2020 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm – Virtually

Topic: Crossing the Atlantic – Tie your family’s emigration story to the evolution of traveling by sea. Crossing the Atlantic will review the history of maritime traffic from Europe to the New World, including how these movements took place, how the changes in vessel types and various tools improved ocean movement, review the evolution of passenger carriage, then overlay all of this with the significant waves of German Emigration. 

Speaker: Ken Passé – He began his genealogical research in the mid-1990s and was able to make reasonable progress by the time his wife, mother-in-law and he made a combined tourist/family history trip to Germany and Poland in 1999. He has been fortunate to have made one more tourist trip and two combined business/tourist trips to Germany. Ken’s career was in the maritime industry, so ships have always held a certain fascination for him. He is just ¼ German but continues to pursue that line because it is the most interesting connection for him. 

More information: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/

Visitors are always welcome. If you wish to join us, please use the Contact tab on our website, no later than noon on Sept 2nd, to request an invitation. 

The German Interest Group of The Eastside GenealogicalSociety (EGS)meeting

When: Friday, March 6, 2020 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm

(Doors open at 12:10 pm for networking)

Where:  Relief Society Room of the Latter-day Saints Church

             10675 NE 20^th St, Bellevue, WA 98004.     

Topic: “Friedrich Christian Eiler: Scoundrel, Bigamist and More” – Not all our ancestors are fine upstanding citizens, but Friedrich challenged all parameters of exemplary citizenship. But, who was Friedrich Eiler? The ability to combine fragments of identity to form a single individual is an important skill. This case study illustrates the techniques used to identify the unknown! 

Presenter:  Jill Morelli, cg^® lectures about her Midwestern, northern German and Scandinavian ancestors nationwide with a focus on intermediate and advanced methodologies, and unique records sets. After obtaining her credential as a Certified Genealogist, she began an online course sharing her experiences and demystifying the process of certification to all who are interested in going “on the clock.” She is presently the president of the Seattle Genealogical Society and a member of many others.

Visitors are always welcome.  More information: https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/  .