JEFFERSON COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY (JCGS)

PO Box 627 

Port Townsend, WA 98368

Contact for this media release:  Judy Tough 360-385-3065 or tough@olympus.net

Soldiers, Spies & Farm Wives: the Changing Roles for Women during the Civil War

War is horrific and Civil War was particularly so. Nevertheless, war also offers opportunities for those with the disposition to stretch the boundaries of society’s norms and often these were women. Explore the roles of women before the war, the roles they accepted during the war, and the legacy of the Civil War with professional genealogist, Jill Morelli, at the Saturday, June 16^th meeting of Jefferson County Genealogical Society (JCGS). JCGS meets monthly at the Tri-Area Community Center, 10 W. Valley Rd, Chimacum, from 9:30 – 11:00 am. The public in invited to this free program. Donations are welcome. Visit www.wajcgs.org.

Jill Morelli lectures and writes on genealogical topics that often transcend the more narrowly defined family history. She provides general genealogy services and house histories in the Puget Sound area and national venues. She is an engaging and entertaining speaker. She has been published in regional and national publications.

JEFFERSON COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

FOR RELEASE: May, 2018

Mental Health Issues in the 19^th Century – Diagnosis and Treatment

Jefferson County Genealogical Society (JCGS) has invited Janice Lovelace, PhD, psychologist and professional genealogist, to present a program “Mental Health Issues in the 19^th Century – Diagnosis and Treatment” on Saturday, May 19, 9:30 am to 11:00 am, at the Tri-Area Community Center, 10 West Valley Rd, Chimacum. During family research, finding an ancestor in an asylum or enumerated in a census as imbecile or incompetent is not uncommon for we know that one person in ten has mental health issues. Did soldiers of that era suffer PTSD? Come learn about mental health and it’s treatment in the 1800s. Monthly meetings of JCGS are open to the public and are free of charge. Donations are appreciated. Visit our website <www.wajcgs.org>.

Janice Lovelace, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist with a specialization in child and family therapy and has been a private practice therapist as well as a faculty member teaching psychology. Janice is a member of Seattle Genealogical Society for a number of years and she joined the SGS Board as Vice President in 2014. She has 20 years of experience in family history research as well as academic work in the area. She is a member of Association of Professional Genealogists and National Genealogical Society.

JEFFERSON COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

PO Box 627

Port Townsend, WA 98368

Contact for this release: Judy Tough 385-3065 or tough@olympus.net

JEFFERSON COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY (JCGS)

PO Box 627 

Port Townsend, WA 98368

Contact for this media release:  Judy Tough 360-385-3065 or tough@olympus.net

 Release Dates: April 2018

ORGANIZING YOUR FAMILY HISTORY IN ORDER TO STAY SANE

One of the underrated, yet much needed skills in genealogy, is organization. Many researchers have been doing family history for decades and are simply buried in paper. New and experienced researchers are overwhelmed with all the data and information they collect daily on the internet. This program will discuss some of the challenges of organizing and also what can happen when we fail to organize our data. We’ll look at the number of different methods for sorting out all that data and talk about how to decide which one is right for different types of researchers. If this is of interest, you are invited to attend the Jefferson County Genealogical Society (JCGS) monthly meeting to hear professional genealogist Mary Kathryn Kozy, Join JCGS members on Saturday, April 21, 9:30 – 11:30 am at the Tri-Area Community Center, 10 W. Valley Rd, in Chimacum. There is no charge for attending, however donations are appreciated. Visit our website www.wajcgs.org

Mary Kathryn Kozy has been researching her family history for over 35 years and in many localities. She has served in multiple positions in societies both on the local and state level and currently serves on the board of the Jewish Genealogical Society of WA State as well as a LDS missionary. She holds bachelor’s degrees from University of Washington in both Zoology and Information Technology & Systems and has completed three certificate programs with the National Institute for Genealogical Studies. She has also completed the ProGen program with an eye toward certification.

A Direct Link to the Past – City Directories

The monthly meeting of Jefferson  County Genealogical Society will welcome back popular JCGS speaker, professional genealogist Mary Roddy, on Saturday, March 17^th, 9:30 – 11:00 am.  Mary’s topic “A Direct Link to the Past – City Directories” can fill in those gaps about ancestors that occur between census years and may lead us to clues for further follow-up research. Mary will demonstrate City Directories’ address searches, alternate spellings, advertisements, and how to ‘mine’ historical images that might not be available elsewhere. The public is welcome to attend JCGS meetings free of charge, though donations are gratefully accepted. Join JCGS members at the Tri-Area Community Center, 10 West Valley Rd in Chimacum. <www.wajcgs.org>.

Mary Roddy, a Certified Public Accountant, earned a certificate from the Genealogy and Family History program at the University of Washington. She is an active member of the Seattle Genealogical Society and speaks frequently in the Seattle area. Mary is a regular contributor to YourGenealogyToday and Internet  Genealogy magazines and a presenter with Legacy Family Tree Webinars.

LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES

We all make mistakes, no matter how long we have been doing genealogy research, and Diane Young is no exception. She has been working on her family history for over 40 years and has accumulated several of her own missteps as well as collected stories from other genealogists. Some people may be reluctant to admit their mistakes, but because Diane thinks they are great learning experiences, so she will be sharing her errors with us. There will also be time for other brave folks to “fess up” and share their own blunders.

The public is welcome to attend monthly meetings of the Jefferson County Genealogical Society (JCGS) on the third Saturday of the month; Saturday, February 17, 2018, at theTri-Area Community Center, 10 West Valley Road, Chimacum. Social time 9:30 to 10:00 am; 10 to 11:30 am brief announcements and the program. Visit JCGS website at www.wajcgs.org.

Diane Young is a Jefferson County Genealogical Society member who is currently spending time helping raise her family’s next generation in California. Before retiring to Port Ludlow, Diane taught business courses at Glendale Community College and at California State University Northridge. Her specialties include research in Sweden and in the Czech Republic. 

JEFFERSON COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY (JCGS)

PO Box 627

Port Townsend, WA 98368

Contact for this media release:  Judy Tough 360-385-3065 or tough@olympus.net

Release Dates: February, 2018

JEFFERSON COUNTY GENEALOGY SOCIETY

PO Box 627

Port Townsend, WA 98368

Contact for this media release: Judy Tough 360- 385-3065 or tough@olympus.net

FOR RELEASE: NOVEMBER 10 – 17, 2017

FAMILY TREES HAVE ‘KNOTS’ IN THEM

Jefferson County Genealogical Society (JCGS) members have submitted “family tree knots” (aka “brick walls”) to Jesse Stewart and friends, JCGS’s researchers extraordinaire. This annual popular presentation finds Jesse presenting a variety of research techniques and records to consider some ”knotty” problems such as finding the maiden name of the women in your tree. Jesse asks the audience for suggestions of research options and tips, giving each of us ideas for our own research challenges. This opportunity is free and open to the public. Join us on Saturday November 18th at the Tri-Area Community Center, 10 W. Valley Rd., Chimacum, 9:30 to 1l:30 am. Donations gratefully accepted and used to bring professional genealogists to speak at our monthly meetings to which the public is always invited. Visit JCGS at www.wajcgs.org for more information.

JEFFERSON COUNTY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY (JCGS)

PO Box 627

Port Townsend, WA 98368

Contact for this media release: Judy Tough 385-3065 or tough@olympus.net

A Decree of (Temporary) Divorce: My Life Without Ancestry.com

Jefferson County Genealogical Society (JCGS) is offering to the community a day-long Seminar on Saturday, September 16, featuring professional genealogist, Mary Roddy, who will give two presentations at the Tri-Area Community Center, 10 West Valley Road, in Chimacum, WA. Registration starts at 9:00 a.m. and the program begins 10:00 – 11:40 followed by the afternoon session 12:30 – 2:00. Suggested donation is $10.00 for the Seminar. Bring your own lunch, and snacks to share. Coffee and tea provided. Genealogy books from Heritage Quest will be for sale on

site. <www.wajcgs.org>

Mary Roddy says of her morning presentation A Decree of (Temporary)

Divorce: My Life Without Ancestry.com:  “Learn how I found free substitute records for many of the records I used to pay for at Ancestry.com, and how I discovered some new sites as well.  My temporary ‘divorce’ forced me to examine my genealogy from a different viewpoint with a fresh perspective.  You, too, can recharge your genealogy, and save a few pennies as well.” 

Mary says her afternoon presentation FamilyBrowse: “FamilySearch.org 

has millions of images on its website, many of which are un-indexed and

not searchable. But if you know how to get into the catalog and browse around, you can find images of birth and death certificates, naturalization papers, deeds, will, estate inventories and more. And FamilySearch is

adding more and more images every month. To take advantage of this ever-increasing bounty its important to know how to find these types of records.”

Mary Roddy

Mary Roddy, a Certified Public Accountant, earned a certificate from the Genealogy and Family History program at the University of Washington. She is an active member of the Seattle Genealogical Society and speaks frequently in the Seattle area. Mary is a regular contributor to YourGenealogyToday and Internet Genealogy magazines, and a webinar presenter with Legacy Family Tree Webinars. She is working on a novel which incorporates stories of ancestors she has discovered in her research.