HERB McDANIEL, VOLUNTEER OF SUMMER QUARTER

Each quarter, the Seattle Genealogical Society recognizes one member as our volunteer of the quarter. Our Volunteer for Summer 2020 Quarter is Herb McDaniel. 

Herb recently stepped down from co-chairing the DNA SIG. He is an alum of the University of Washington. As a space program systems engineering manager at Boeing, his career highlight was serving as the test conductor of the first Lunar Roving Vehicle, which went to the moon on Apollo 15. Prior to retirement in 1995, he became interested in genealogy and joined SGS.

Herb learned to do his genealogical research at the NARA Facilities on Sandpoint Way, searching through microfiche files of census data, and using the Soundex system to find similar sounding surnames. As more data was digitized, he bought a desktop application to build his family tree, and joined the SGS Computer SIG. Herb put together an extensive family tree for both his paternal, McDaniel, and maternal, Ryan, ancestral lines.

In 2005, DNA testing was beginning to be used to validate family lines. Herb and his wife, Darlene, tested with National Geographic, and later tested at Family Tree DNA, 23andMe, Ancestry DNA and My Heritage. By 2010, the SGS DNA SIG was forming so Herb joined it to learn more about using the various DNA tests. Following the untimely death of one of the DNA SIG founders, Herb volunteered to help Cary Bright as her co-chair.

For the past 9 years, Herb has been successful in using DNA testing to find biological parents of adoptees, as well as half siblings, and other relationships. He has been able to help both SGS members and DNA matches to himself and Darlene in their pursuits. But his biggest surprise was in 2017 as he assigned his DNA matches to his 4 grandparent lines. With over 50 close DNA matches at 3 companies, there were no matches in his maternal grandfather’s line. So he asked a known cousin in the line of his grandfather’s sister to test. The test showed that there were no shared DNA segments, indicating that Herb’s grandfather who raised him was not his biological grandfather. Herb contacted close DNA matches whom he had not been able to assign to one of his grandparents. One of these matches came from a family that had migrated to Saskatchewan to homestead at the same time his grandparents lived there. Canadian census data showed a member of this family lived in the same little town of about 100 people as his grandparents. Now armed with the name of a potential biological grandfather, Herb contacted 2 of the living sons. They agreed to test. The results showed that these 2 matches are younger half-brothers to Herb’s mother. Herb has subsequently been able to meet with his new half-uncles, and they have welcomed him into their family.

Thank you, Herb, for your years of service to the DNA SIG.   

SGS FALL EVENTS
The Seattle Genealogical Society is adhering to the Covid-19 safety precautions, so this Fall we will not be holding any in-person meetings at the SGS Library. Since last spring, we have been successful holding online events via Zoom and we will continue to offer you these quality programs – right in the comfort of your home.

We’ve been busy planning these upcoming educational events:

• Second Saturday Presentations resume Sept 12
• A Virtual Cemetery Tour in late Sept
• Fall Seminar with Blaine Bettinger – Oct 17 (details being finalized)
• Digging Deeper Workshop: “Finding Your Female Ancestors” on Nov 7
• Special Interest Groups
• Online classes
• How to Use Zoom
• And more!

To coordinate our upcoming Fall and Spring Seminars, we welcome Elizabeth Miller, our new Seminar Chair. Elizabeth has an extensive background in event planning and a lifelong passion for genealogy. While we say hello to Elizabeth, we say farewell for Lori Lee Sauber. Lori Lee did a stellar job as our Seminar Chair, including our last Spring Seminar with Dr. Fritz Juengling. Lori Lee is not entirely leaving us; she will be our Second Saturday presenter in October. 

SGS is not the only genealogical society going virtual. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) 2020 Conference will be live, online on September 2nd. Speakers will include CeCe Moore, Thomas W. Jones, Ari Wilkins, Judy G. Russell, and Lisa Louise Cooke. All the details can be found here: https://fgs.org/annual-conference/. 

Check the SGS Calendar of Events on our website for details on all of our upcoming events. And stay connected on Facebook and by reading our eNews!

If you have a program you’d like SGS to offer, please contact Heidi Mair, Director of Education, education@seattlegenealogicalsociety.org      

STORIES OF OUR FEMALE ANCESTORS – JULY 2020
  As part of our commemoration of Women’s Suffrage, we are sharing women’s stories of 100 and more years ago. You may read all of the women’s stories on the SGS website: https://seagensoc.org/cpage.php?pt=125

This month, Lori Lee Sauber shares the story of her search for her Mayflower ancestors, utilizing the SGS Library collections. Lori Lee will reveal more details at her Second Saturday presentation on October 10, 2020.

SGS CALENDAR OF EVENTS*** In consideration of COVID-19 social distancing recommendations, the SGS Library is closed until further notice and all SGS in-person events have been canceled, postponed, or replaced with an online event.

Saturday, August 1, 2020, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm,  

SGS Centennial Planning Meeting (Virtual), Join in – help us brainstorm ideas on how to commemorate our centennial. As always, you will find the Zoom meeting id link on the Calendar of Events section of the SGS Website. 

SGS CENTENNIAL PLANNING MEETING

  On October 18, 1923, eight family history researchers got together with the mission of forming an active genealogical society and creating a genealogy library collection available to all Pacific Northwest researchers. That Society is Seattle Genealogical Society and those original members were : 

• Alexander Craig Dermond
• Eleanor M. Freeman
• Elizabeth A. Hubbart
• Susan M. Keppel
• Lida R. McKercher
• Harry Denton Moore
• Alice V. Robinson
• George E. Tilton 

Join us on Saturday, August 1, 2020, and help us make plans to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Seattle Genealogical Society, an important milestone. 

As you might suspect, and as has become the norm, this will be a virtual online Zoom meeting. The Zoom meeting id link can be found on the SGS website, under Calendar of Events. 

TRANSCRIBERS NEEDED FOR
ANTI-SLAVERY MANUSCRIPTS
Here’s an intriguing project. The Boston Public Library is asking for volunteers to transcribe documents in their Anti-Slavery Collection. Much of this collection is the handwritten correspondence of 19th century abolitionist leaders. 

In the late 1890s the family of William Lloyd Garrison, abolitionist and editor of “The Liberator”, donated his letters and papers, dated from the 1830s-1870s, to the BPL. Others followed suit, and now the Boston Public Library has arguably the largest and most important collection of abolitionist material in the US – about 40,000 pieces of correspondence, newspapers, pamphlets, books, and memorabilia. Other anti-slavery activists with materials in this collection include the Weston sisters, Deborah Weston and Maria Weston Chapman, publisher of “The Liberty Bell”, Wendell Phillips, and many others.

The goal is to get this collection of handwritten documents transcribed into text so it can be indexed and searched, making it more easily read and researchable by students, teachers, historians, and electronic data applications.

If you would like to help by transcribing some of this collection, you can find instructions and sign up here:
https://www.antislaverymanuscripts.org/

SGS CALENDAR OF EVENTS***

In consideration of COVID-19 social distancing recommendations, the SGS Library is closed until further notice and all SGS in-person events have been canceled, postponed, or replaced with an online event.
Stay home – stay healthy – but stay engaged by attending one of our live, online events!   

SGS LIBRARY STATUS

The SGS Board has reviewed the status of the SGS library facility in the context of the State and King County plans for reopening the community. We decided to link our plans for reopening the library to the State plan; the library will not be reopened for use by our members and guests until King County has moved to Phase 4 of the State plan. We are as anxious to reopen the library as our membership, but we believe that the safety of our membership is paramount, and the guidance provided by the State plan makes it clear that it is not safe for us to reopen the library until Phase 4. We will keep you posted on the library’s status via eNews! notices.  

NEED A LOOKUP? SEND US A RESEARCH REQUEST!
Throughout our nearly 100-year history, the Seattle Genealogical Society has  compiled many databases and indexes from unique sources that you will not find anywhere else. Although the library is closed for now, we continue to provide research lookups in these databases, as well as in books and online archives. Research Requests are your lifeline to all SGS library resources.

For example, you might request a specific lookup in the King County Court Cases Index 1881-1980 (KC3I), Seattle area Veterans of Foreign Wars Membership Cards, SGS Bulletin and Journal 1952-2020, Seattle Obituaries, Seattle City Directories 1890-1990, or any of the books and periodicals listed in the  SGS Library Catalog.

Research requests may be submitted by anyone for a non-refundable fee of $7.50 per name, or by SGS Members at no charge. For more information, and to make a Research Request, click here: 
SGS Research Services

WALTER CLINTON 1952-2020
Very sad news. We just received notice that SGS member Walter Clinton, 68, of Seattle, passed away on Sunday, May 17, 2020. He was a much-appreciated volunteer here at SGS, serving most recently as Chair of the Nominating Committee for our 2020 election. Our condolences to his family.
  You may read Walter’s full obituary or share your memories of him here:
https://www.emmickfunerals.com/obituary/Walter-Clinton

MEMBERSHIP MEETING REPORT 
  The Seattle Genealogical Society (SGS) held its June Membership Meeting on June 13, 2020 with over 50 members tuning in on Zoom for a virtual meeting.  James Secan, the new President of the Society, welcomed the new Board, presented Marilyn Rose with a plaque in recognition of her Past President’s status, and reviewed both past, present, and future activities for the Society.

Minutes and attachments, such as financial statements, are located on the SGS website for members. Lori Lee Sauber gave an informative presentation on Trello and Kanban.

THE SCANDINAVIAN SIG IS BACK!
On Sunday, July 12th starting at 1:00 PM, Karen Knudson, leader of the Scandinavian SIG, will be hosting their first online virtual meeting via Zoom. Anyone interested in Scandinavian research is invited to join in. You will find the link for this Zoom meeting on the Calendar of Events section of the  SGS website: www.seagensoc.org 

STORIES OF OUR FEMALE ANCESTORS – JUNE 2020
As part of the SGS commemoration of Women’s Suffrage, we are sharing women’s stories of 100 and more years ago. This month, we share The Boughten Dress.

Singer began mass-producing domestic electric sewing machines in 1910 and transformed many women’s lives. Imagine hand-sewing clothing for 12 children! The Boughten Dress, written by Jan Johnson illustrates the significance of the sewing machine in her grandmother’s and mother’s lives. They lived in desperate poverty during the Great Depression in northern Minnesota, close to the Canadian border. Jan inherited her grandmother’s machine and her love of sewing. She cherishes her memories and has carried on the tradition of sewing for her family.

You can view this story and others on the SGS website – Women’s Suffrage in Your Family History: https://seagensoc.org/cpage.php?pt=125

SGS CALENDAR OF EVENTS*** In consideration of COVID-19 social distancing recommendations, the SGS Library is closed until further notice and all SGS in-person events have been canceled, postponed, or replaced with an online event.
Stay home – stay healthy – but stay engaged by attending one of our live, online events! 

NEW SGS LIBRARY TRUSTEE

The SGS Board of Directors has approved the nomination of Bernadette Laqueur to a three-year term as one of the three Trustees of the SGS Library. She will be replacing John Eshelman, who has been a Trustee for the past three years. The Trustees provide support and continuity to the operation of the SGS Library. The Board thanks John Eshelman for his years of service in this, and other, positions in SGS, and welcomes Bernadette Laqueur to the Trustees and thanks her for volunteering to take on this responsibility.   SECOND SATURDAY SERIES
 “DO YOU TRELLO AND KANBAN?”
SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2020 1:00-2:00 PM
If you have lots of genealogy research projects in the hopper right now and don’t quite know how to get it all done, let Lori Lee Sauber help show you how. Learn the basic concepts of Kanban workflow management and how the FREE web application Trello can help support you every day regardless of whether you’re just getting started or are an “old hat”. Discover how using these workflow visualization tools enable you to optimize the flow of your family research work and get more done. Join in this online Zoom meeting by following this link : 
https://zoom.us/j/91069962051   VIRTUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING 
SATURDAY, JUNE 13, 2020 12:30-1:00 PM
  The next membership meeting of the Seattle Genealogical Society is coming up. This will be a real time, online meeting via Zoom. The “room” opens at noon and the meeting begins at 12:30 pm. The new SGS officers will be introduced.

Join the Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87101310252
  SGS members, have you renewed your membership for 2020-2021? If not, please do so using the renewal button on your  Members Home

Not yet a SGS member? We’d love to have you – Join SGS

STORIES OF OUR FEMALE ANCESTORS – MAY 2020 
Each month we are featuring a story of a female ancestor of 100 or more years ago. This month’s contribution, Women’s Voting Stories , was submitted anonymously by a member of the Seattle Genealogical Society. It includes a summary of the Women’s Suffrage movement followed by a series of vignettes, including life on a Kansas farm. 

If you have a story to tell of one of your female ancestors of 100 or more years ago, submit it to education@seattlegenealogicalsociety.org  Stories can be as brief as one or two paragraphs, or longer. 
SGS CALENDAR OF EVENTS*** In consideration of COVID-19 social distancing recommendations, the SGS Library is closed until at least July 5, 2020 and all SGS in-person events have been canceled, postponed, or replaced with an online event.
Stay home – stay healthy – but stay engaged by attending one of our live, online events! 
Saturday, June 6, 2020Time: 1:00 pm -3:00 pm PDT  ONLINE

Digging Deeper : “How I Discovered My Female Ancestor”  with Jill Morelli and Mahina Oshie

Follow this link to join https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87966848541

This workshop is part of the Seattle Genealogical Society’s lecture and workshop series: Women’s Suffrage in your Family History. We thank the Washington State Historical Society for their grant in support of our project. For more information, see https://www.suffrage100wa.com/. 

Saturday, June 13, 2020
Time: 12:00 pm -1:00 pm PDT ONLINE

SGS MEMBERSHIP MEETING  with the new SGS officers

Room opens at noon. Meeting starts at 12:30 pm. 
Follow this link to join in:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87101310252
Saturday, June 13, 2020
Time: 1:00 pm -3:00 pm PDT ONLINE

Second Saturday: “Do You Trello and Kanban?”  with Lori Lee Sauber. 

Follow this link to join in: 
https://zoom.us/j/91069962051