Dear GIG Friends,

I wanted to share with those of you who weren’t able to attend the June 3, 2016 GIG Meeting that I will be stepping down as the leader of the GIG.  I’m sorry to say that I just don’t have the time to commit to it and I can’t make all the meetings, due to working full time.  My goal in taking on the leadership this past year was to keep the GIG from folding after Ann Passe stepped down (after leading it for over 8 years!), to have some new and/or professional genealogists as speakers, and to start having local field trips again.  I hope your expectations were met this past year.

Leadership of the GIG will continue in the capable hands of Dorothy Pretare, who assisted me with programming this past year.  Dorothy has two new Programs co-chairs who will assist her with programming and speakers.  I’m looking forward to hearing what topics and who our speakers will be for the last part of 2016 and 2017! Continue reading →

The Eastside Genealogical Society will meet on Thursday, June 9, 2016 in the Bellevue Regional Library, Room 1, 1111 – 110^th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98004 at 7pm, with doors opening at 6:45 pm for networking.

Topic:  Let’s Go Exploring! No need to drive all over the states; there are many wonderful repositories just beyond your front door.    Bob Barnes will be presenting information about places to visit in the Puget Sound area where there are genealogical holdings.  Join us for an informative evening getting ready for summer research jaunts as day trips.  Let’s go exploring!

Also see our website for FREE genealogical help and other Special Interest Group meetings. Visitors are always welcome at all meetings. www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wakcegs/

Dorothy Pretare

EGS Publicity Chairperson

dpgen@comcast.net

EASTSIDE GENEALOGY SOCIETY MAY 12TH MEETING INFORMATION

“Discover Yourself at the Discovery Center” is the topic for the Eastside Genealogy Society’s Thursday, May 12th, meeting at 7:00 p.m., in the main meeting room on the first floor at the Downtown Bellevue Library.

Representatives from the newest family history center here in Bellevue will be at the EGS meeting to tell us about this exciting multimedia Discovery Center.  Designed to interest all ages, including your grandchildren, you can learn the origin of your name, see where your family migrated from on a large touch screen map, and record stories in the state of the art recording booths.  At this meeting on May 12th, you can sign up to join the field trip to the Bellevue Discovery Center that will take place on Thursday, May 19th.

This unique Bellevue Discovery Center is free and open to the public by appointment.  However, EGS has reserved the entire Center for a Thursday, May 19th field trip for EGS members, from 6-8 pm.

Bring a jump drive/memory stick with you on 5/19/16 to take your stories home and share them with others.

Remember, sign up at the Thursday, May 12^th EGS meeting to join this field trip!

Dear GIG Friends,

New Books

Dorothy will bring the new book, “Trace Your German Roots Online – A Complete Guide to German Genealogy Websites” by James Beidler, to the May GIG meeting so you can see it.  You may want to try the possible 15% discount from Lisa Louise Cooke by using this discount code      GENEALOGYGEMS15       http://www.shopfamilytree.com/trace-your-german-roots-online?utm_source=linkconnector&utm_medium=affiliate&cid=affiliate

There is another book to be published shortly that may interest you, too.  “German Census Records, 1816 – 1916: The When, Where, And How of a Valuable Genealogical Resource” by Roger Minert.           http://www.familyrootspublishing.com/store/product_view.php?id=3145

Free webinars about German research on Wed, May 18th:

1)  “Mining the Über-sites for German Ancestors” by James Beidler at 11 am but free for 7 days afterwards   http://familytreewebinars.com/upcoming-webinars.php

2)  “Translating Latin Records of German (and other) Catholic Churches” by Jean Wilcox Hibben at 6pm but must watch live unless you are a member.  http://www.scgsgenealogy.com/webinar/jes-index.html    You must register here to obtain the weblink to watch it live.

Some websites & articles:

“German Civil Registration” Guide by Ancestry at http://c.ancestry.com/cs/media/social-research-german-civil-registration.pdf?o_xid=63231&o_lid=63231&o_sch=Email+-+Programs

“German Resource Spotlight: Archion.de ” about German Protestant church books  http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/insider/2016/03/15/GermanResourceSpotlightArchionde.aspx

“German Resource Spotlight: The German Genealogy Facebook Group” details at   http://blog.familytreemagazine.com/insider/2016/03/23/GermanResourceSpotlightTheGermanGenealogyFacebookGroup.aspx

Upcoming Genealogy Talks, Conferences, etc. 

Seattle Genealogical Society Spring Seminar

“Finding Solutions To Your Toughest Research Problems, Utilizing Migration Routes, Civil War Records And Online Techniques” & the speaker is William Dollarhide.  Sat, May 21 from 9:45am to 3:30pm at the Fairview Christian School. For more details go to  http://seattlegenealogicalsociety.org/2016springseminar-info

For those researching in Eastern Europe, Lisa Alzo & Thomas MacEntee are doing the “Eastern European Boot Camp” on Sat, May 14th, 8 am- 11:30 am PDT. For more details about viewing later & the special $9.95 sale price go to http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=e6b48e8de3ee2e5430b75a4d5&id=63c88f8a29&e=eaf0e894bf

**s

Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington State presents 2 speakers in one evening on Monday, May 9, 2016:

THE JOURNEY OF ALBERT LEVY by Ashley-Rae Bobman AND
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE SEATTLE SEPHARDIC COMMUNITY by Isaac Azose

Dear Genealogy Friends,

Our  next German Interest Group Meeting will be held next Friday, May 6, 2016, from 1 – 3 p.m.  Please invite your friends and relatives – anyone who would be interested in genealogy and our meeting topics – all are welcome!

The location is:  the LDS Church at 10675 NE 20th Street, Bellevue, WA 98004.

Attached is the flyer for this meeting, as well as one of the Location and Surname Sheet you need to fill out and return to us.  The other alternatives are for you to just send us an email at GermanInterestGroupEGS@outlook.com that lists the German State names, the city/town names, and the surnames that you are researching.  If you don’t fill out the form prior to next Friday’s meeting, please bring it with you.
Flyer for 5-6-16 GIG Meeting
Our program will be:

“Small Group Sharing – Divided into specific German Empire Regions”

We will break into small groups of the 16^th States of Germany and adjacent countries for discussion of where our ancestors came from:

Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, and Thuringia.

Discussion will include sharing research tips, possible answers to research questions & maybe locating someone researching in the same village or even the same surname. It will be an interesting & interactive meeting as groups discuss the various parts of Germany, Russia, Poland, France/Alsace, etc., where their German speaking ancestors had lived.

Please email us at GermanInterestGroupEGS@outlook.com with a list of the States/Countries your ancestors lived in and the surnames you are researching. Alternatively, you can fill out the attached form and email it to us at the same email address.

Continue reading →

The Eastside Genealogical Society will meet on Thursday, May 12, 2016 in the Bellevue Regional Library, Room 1, 1111 – 110^th Ave NE, Bellevue 98004 at 7pm, with doors opening at 6:45 pm for networking.

Topic:  “Discover Yourself at the Discovery Center” – Representatives from the newest family history center will be here to tell us about this exciting multimedia Discovery Center.  Designed to interest all ages, including your grandchildren, you can learn the origin of your name, see where your family migrated from on a large touch screen map, and record stories in the state of the art recording booths.  Bring a thumb drive to take your stories home and share them with others.  This unique Discovery Center is free and open to the public by appointment.  EGS has reserved the entire Center for a May 19th field trip at 6-8 pm.  Sign up at our May 12^th meeting to join this field trip.

Also see our website for FREE genealogical help and other Special Interest Group meetings. Visitors are always welcome at all meetings. www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wakcegs/

Dorothy Pretare

EGS Publicity Chairperson

dpgen@comcast.net

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The Eastside Genealogical Society will meet on Thursday, April 14, 2016 in the Bellevue Regional Library, Room 1, 1111 – 110^th Ave NE, Bellevue 98004 at 7pm, with doors opening at 6:45 pm for networking.

Topic:  “Around the World in 80 minutes” will feature members of our Special Interest Groups and others who will share their background from researching in several countries of the world.  Come learn tips for finding records in Germany, England, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Scandinavia.  This interactive panel of experienced genealogists will present information specific to their country of interest. There will be something for everyone.

Also see our website for FREE genealogical help and other Special Interest Group meetings. Visitors are always welcome at all meetings. www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wakcegs/

Dorothy Pretare

EGS Publicity Chairperson

dpgen@comcast.net

The Eastside Genealogical Society will meet on Thursday, March 10, 2016 in the Bellevue Regional Library, Room 1, 1111 – 110^th Ave NE, Bellevue 98004 at 7pm, with doors opening at 6:45 pm for networking.

Topic:  “For the Record: Writing Family Stories” by Claire Gebben   Have you ever wanted to record the family stories, but don’t know where to start? Have you written down some of your family history, but aren’t sure how to share it with others? Through exploration of formats, methods, and writing tips, this presentation will guide you through the process of getting those stories written down for posterity.

Claire Gebben is the author of The Last of the Blacksmiths, a novel set in the mid-19th century based on the true story of her German immigrant great-great grandfather. Ms. Gebben’s articles have appeared in Family Chronicle Magazine, Fiske Genealogical Foundation Newsletter, and her piece on historic Zoar Village will appear in the June/July issue of German Life magazine. She is the historian of the 160-year-old First United Methodist Church of Seattle, and holds an MFA in Creative Writing through the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. http://clairegebben.com

Also see our website for FREE genealogical help and other Special Interest Group meetings. Visitors are always welcome at all meetings. www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wakcegs/

The Eastside Genealogical Society will meet on Thursday, February 11, 2016 in the Bellevue Regional Library, Room 1, 1111 – 110^th Ave NE, Bellevue 98004 at 7pm, with doors opening at 6:45 pm for networking.

Topic:  “HistoryLines.com – A Story for Every Ancestor”. User, Glen McNay, will show the features of this website, which allows you to create an interactive timeline, follow an ancestor’s migration history on an interactive map, explore the lifestyle of your ancestors and more. History Lines currently includes information from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, US, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Poland, and Sweden, for 1600-1950.

Also see our website for FREE genealogical help and other Special Interest Group meetings. Visitors are always welcome at all meetings. www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wakcegs/

Dorothy Pretare

EGS Publicity Chairperson

dpgen@comcast.net