Topic: “Walking in the Footsteps of Your Ancestors”
Visiting places where your ancestors lived can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience that opens the door to better understanding your ancestors’ lives. Learn strategies for getting the most out of a visit to an ancestral town and making local contacts. We’ll also talk about genealogy research tips for identifying the place of origin for your ancestors.
Presenter: Carolyn Schott
Carolyn has researched her German ancestors in Eastern Europe for 20+ years. She’s a founder of the Black Sea German Research Community, a former board member of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society, and author of the book, “Visiting Your Ancestral Town.”
The 19th century represents the period of greatest emigration out of Germany, and it is therefore a time of great interest for many German-American family historians. This talk will address, among other things, the topics of geography, politics, and religion in the context of how they affect the genealogist’s search for family information and how that information can be interpreted.
Presenter: Richard Haberstroh
Mr. Haberstroh is an accredited genealogist who has been involved in German genealogical research in both the United States and Germany since 1984. A frequent genealogy lecturer, Richard has published a number of genealogical articles, including his family’s genealogy and short articles for the newsletter of the German Genealogy Group, of which he is a founding member. He is also the author of the book The German Churches of Metropolitan New York: A Research Guide, published by the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.
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 weeks, you will be introduced to each of the 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.
Today we’re introducing Janet Stroebel of Indianapolis, Indiana, who was nominated by the Eastside Genealogical Society.
Janet Stroebel
Janet joined EGS in 2013 and has quietly but strongly supported the society from day one. Being an organized, detail-oriented person (which makes her a great researcher in the genealogical field), Janet has stepped up to help the organization grow and diversify. She has served on the EGS board both as the secretary and the treasurer, thus making her part of the idea sharing, planning, and expanding reach of EGS.
Often behind the scenes, Janet sees needs and acts on them. When the leader of the Family Tree Maker SIG moved from the area, Janet accepted leadership of the group. As the society’s help desk efforts often included questions on using Ancestry, Janet volunteered to host a Q&A Ancestry help session monthly at the public library. As COVID restricted activities, Janet went online with her Ancestry help desk activities.
Bringing EGS forward into the social media world, Janet established their Facebook group and acted as its administrator. Again, without fanfare, she moderated the Facebook page, posted announcements, and shared information. In so many ways, from supporting the computer SIG, to being the NGS representative for EGS, to amending the bylaws to conform to recent changes in the state law governing non-profit organizations, Janet has helped EGS grow and embrace change. She has been an outstanding example to all.
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.
This presentation focuses on the populations of Germans in Eastern Europe which reached more than 18 million people scattered in former German communities. Their settlement area was roughly bounded by the Oder-Neisse River (West), the Ural Mountains (in the East), the Baltic Sea (in the North) to Turkey (in the South). Major former German Provinces of Ostpreußen, Westpreußen, Schlesien, Pommern, Memelland, Litauen, Sudetenland will be included.
Presenter: Mark Rabideau
Mark Rabideau has more than 20 years’ experience researching genealogy. His website is ManyRoads, one the internet’s largest privately owned and managed repositories of Prussian genealogy source information (biased towards West Prussia, East Prussia, and Pomerania). The archives include maps, source documents, histories, guidance, and photographs. He has created and maintains one of the internet’s most robust Prussian (Germany, Poland, and Shoah) research support pages. He is the author of hundreds of genealogy articles. More is available online at ManyRoads (https://www.many-roads.com/ )
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 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.
Today we’re introducing Dorothy Pretare of Renton, Washington, who was nominated by the Eastside Genealogical Society (EGS).
Dorothy Pretare
Having been a member of EGS since 2003, Dorothy came to her first meeting as a beginning genealogist. Now, almost 20 years later, she has grown both as a researcher and a valued member of the society.
Shortly after joining EGS, Dorothy also joined the German Interest Group (GIG) and has remained active in both EGS and the GIG. She served on the EGS board for about 12 years as the publicity chair. Her untiring efforts to spread information about EGS meetings and genealogy in general have earned her the respect of her colleagues.
Stepping down from the EGS board, only to step up to the leadership of the GIG in 2016, Dorothy continues to serve the members and the community. Under her leadership and despite COVID restrictions and meetings moving to Zoom only, the GIG has continued strong and even grown in membership. Dorothy encourages the GIG attendees to join EGS and leads by example through attending the EGS meetings herself regularly.
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.
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 2022 award recipients and learn why they received the 2022 WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.
Celia McNay
Today we’re introducing Celia McNay of North Bend, Washington, who was nominated by the Eastside Genealogical Society (EGS).
Celia has served for four years (2016-2020) as the president of the EGS, and continues to be the driving force behind the recruitment of new members. She also has fostered closer relationships with other local, regional and national genealogical societies and organizations and participated in outreach meetings with the public at large.
She spearheaded the digitization of the paper records of the EGS including newsletters and minutes so that the society’s history is both preserved and accessible for the future.
Celia organized highly successful week-long research trips to the Family History Library in Salt Lake for EGS members in 2018 and 2019. Only COVID prevented a third such research trip in 2020.
Here, closer to home, Celia has been a speaker in both genealogical workshops and genealogy classes for the Bellevue Regional Library both in person and later on Zoom. She continues to serve actively in the society as a member of the nomination committee and the membership committee chair. Celia is very personable and a dedicated genealogist, generous with her time and always willing to assist others. Not surprisingly she is active in her local FHC as well. She is an outstanding volunteer with a special grace and a smile.
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.
The EGS (Eastside Genealogical Society)and the Italian Interest Group (IIG) are presenting FREE 2-Part Italian Genealogy Lectures. See the attached PDF flyer which includes an active hyperlink to the Zoom meeting invitation request form.
Part 1: Beginning Italian Research on Thursday, 09-February-2023 at 7:00 PM, Zoom meeting
Part 2: Italian Records–Reading and Translating on Saturday, 15-April-2023 at 1:30 PM, Zoom meeting.
Part 2: Italian Records–Reading and Translating
This lecture offers many examples of the more prominent records for genealogy in Italy and how to read them and translate them.
Dr. Georg Fertig is a professor of economic and social history at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Halle (Saale), Germany. In addition, he is involved in several historical and genealogical groups including serving as chairman of the Working Group on Historical Demography and chairman of The Computer Genealogy Society (CompGen). His most recent book, co-edited with Sandro Guzzi-Heeb, on “Genealogien”, includes contributions in German and English and is available at https://journals.univie.ac.at/index.php/rhy/issue/view/602/203/ .
Topic: “How to get Research Help at FamilySearch.org – with emphasis on Germanic research
Come discover what free research help is available at FamilySearch.org. This class will demonstrate how to access and use several FamilySearch resources designed to help you work through your genealogical challenges. Regardless of your research experience or ability, these resources can help you break through the brick walls found in every family tree.
Presenter: Becky Adamson
Becky graduated from BYU-Idaho with an AAS degree in Family History. She is currently enrolled at Strathclyde University, where she has earned her Certificate in Genealogical, Paleographic & Heraldic Studies and is pursuing her Diploma and Masters in the same field of study. She has a passion for United States and British research and is accredited through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen®) in Scotland research. She is currently working towards her accreditation in the Upper South, United States region. Becky is a Research Specialist on the VIP Hosting and Research Services team at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Topic: “Start the New Year Right – get organized by letting software do the work.”
Is your genealogy research organized and easy to manage? If you’re like most of us, you could use some help getting this done. Several EGS-GIG members will demo free software that can help turn your piles and files into easily stored and retrievable data. Learn great ways to track everything from citations to collections, research management to photo organizing and many other useful tools.
Presenters: The presenters will include Leslee Dunlap, Wilson Royer and Melinda McRae. All are active genealogists and love finding new computer tools to assist their work.
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