Tag Archives: Seattle Genealogical Society

Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

BOARD CERTIFICATION DISCUSSION GROUP

Last Chance to sign up! What is the process for becoming a certified genealogist? Join a facilitated discussion group to discuss the portfolio requirements, the process, and why apply at all! SGS members given priority. Cost is free. Contact Jill Morelli at jkmorelli@gmail.com for more information.

DON’T YOU HATE IT WHEN THAT HAPPENS?
 YOU CAN CALL FIRST

It’s unfortunate, but occasionally due to inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances, and with very little notice,  the SGS Library may be closed during its normal hours of operation of Tuesday thru Saturday 10am-3pm and Sunday 1pm-5pm.

Now you can call first to check the status.  SGS has a new phone system and has established a procedure that all unforeseen closures  will be announced on an outgoing phone message. So you are invited to call the Library at 206.522.8658 before heading out.

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Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

by Charles Hansen

Tip of the Week – Legacy Family Tree Webinars 2017

A webinar is an online seminar/class that you watch from your computer. All you need is an internet connection and speakers. If you are watching a live presentation, you may also be able to type in questions for the presenter.

What is the cost? Here’s the great thing at Legacy Family Tree Webinars, there is no charge to register and view a live webinar! If you cannot make the live event, recordings are usually available to watch for free during the 7 days immediately following the live event!

After that time period, webinars are available to download for $9.95 each, or as part of a monthly or annual membership. At the beginning of 2017, there will be more than 450 classes in their webinar library.

Check out the list of upcoming Legacy Family Tree Webinars or the titles in their webinar library at :

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Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

“THERE ARE SEVEN DAYS IN THE WEEK and
SOMEDAY ISN’T ONE OF THEM” – unknown

The beginning of a new year is often the time people take stock of their lives, their habits, and their goals. If there is one regret I have in my genealogical research journey, it’s that I didn’t begin sooner, when my grandparents were still alive. What a wealth of knowledge I missed out on.

So NOW would be the time to interview your oldest living relatives.  Go through all those old family photos with them. Document and label who’s who. You’ve been meaning to visit elderly Aunt Minnie, right? Schedule that activity SOON. Listen to her family stories, ask questions about the family history, and write it down.  Is there a family Bible or family memorabilia?  Who has possession of them?  These are a few frequently asked questions.

Another thing is, with the advent of DNA testing, experts now recommend you test your oldest generation while you still can.  Get these things on your schedule. Better sooner than later; don’t delay.

SGS RECEIVES NEW TWO-YEAR GRANT
 FROM 4CULTURE

SGS’s application for a two-year Heritage Sustained Support grant from 4Culture has been approved. We’ll receive $3,500 per year in 2017 and 2018. Since membership dues cover less than 40% of SGS’s overhead expenses each year, these grants are vital to us.  We’ve received such grants annually since 2010.

4Culture is a tax-exempt public development authority (PDA) run by King County. Their mission is to make our region stronger by supporting citizens and groups who preserve our shared heritage, and create arts and cultural opportunities for residents and visitors.  A portion of Lodging Tax revenues collected in King County provides all of the funding for the Heritage grants.

WANTED – PAST ISSUES OF SGS NEWSLETTER

SGS Plans to digitize all past issues of the SGS Bulletin and the SGS Newsletter and place them on the website.

We’re missing issues of the Newsletter and want to make the collection complete. Contact Reiley Kidd at: secretary@seattlegenealogicalsociety.org if you have issues you can loan or give to SGS for this project.

“Black Sea German Ancestors” lecture  at SGS by
 Carolyn Schott, author and travel blogger
JANUARY 22, 1:00 P.M.

Carolyn Schott, a lifelong traveler, has visited Germany, Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, and Poland in pursuit of her family heritage. Along the way, she’s sampled Zwiebelkuchen (onion tart) at a German village festival; hiked through rural cemeteries with a broken foot; and found herself in a protest in Kyiv, Ukraine. Her talk will describe how she’s located her ancestral towns and made the most of opportunities to visit them.

A native of Seattle, Carolyn Schott has been actively involved in researching her Black Sea German ancestors for about 20 years. Her book, “Yes You! Yes Now! Visiting Your Ancestral Town”, is designed to help others learn from her experiences. Carolyn is one of the founders of the Black Sea German Research Community (www.blackseagr.org). She belongs to a number of genealogy societies that focus on German in Eastern Europe, and she was formerly a board member of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society (GRHS) and editor of the GRHS Heritage Review.

SGS CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Unless otherwise indicated all programs will be at the SGS Library, 6200 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle. Check the SGS Web Site for additions, changes, and corrections.  Programs may be canceled or postponed because of inclement weather.  The SGS Library is closed from Saturday, December 24th through Monday, January 2nd.

JANUARY

Tuesday, January 3, 12:30 pm – 3:00 pm, Technology Tuesday, Bring your laptop or mobile device, and enjoy discussions centered around technology and genealogy – software, genetic genealogy, internet research and more.  Hosted by Lisa Chan.

Saturday, January 7, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Canadian SIG, David Robert, leader

Sunday, January 8, 1:30 pm – 3:30 pm, Scandinavian  Interest Group, at this meeting Kathi McGinnis will be demonstrating several tools for researching your Norwegian ancestors – come see demonstrations of Digitalarkivet, DIS-Norge, Norgeskart, and Norway Heritage.

Saturday, January 14,  1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Family Tree Maker Users Group,  members helping one another with FTM,  led by Reiley Kidd and Betty Ravenholt; email Reiley at secretary@seattlegenealogicalsociety.org  for more info.

Tuesday, January 17,  12:30 pm – 3:00 pm, Technology Tuesday, Bring your laptop or mobile device, and enjoy discussions centered around technology and genealogy – software, genetic genealogy, internet research and more.  Hosted by Lisa Chan.

Wednesday January 18,  7:00 pm – 9:00 pm, Mac Computer Interest Group, sponsored jointly by SGS, Fiske, and dBug, meets quarterly at the Fiske Genealogical Library, 1644 43rd Ave E, Seattle.  This group addresses topics useful to users of MacIntosh (Apple) computers and the Reunion genealogy program. Email Lou Daly at loudaly@nwlink.com or Diane Hettrick at dhettrick@earthlink.net with questions.

Saturday, January 21, 10:15 am – 12:15 pm, Irish Interest Group, an open session on Irish research using old and new resources   Leader: Jean A. Roth

Saturday, January 21, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, German Interest Group, an open session on German research using old and new resources   Leader: Jean A. Roth

Sunday, January 22, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Carolyn Schott, world traveler and author of “Visiting Your Ancestral Town”, a result of her passion for genealogy and travel, wants to share with you how to get the most out of a trip to explore your family roots. See featured article above for more info on Carolyn and her lecture.

Saturday, January 28, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm, the DNA Interest Group meets quarterly at Wedgwood Presbyterian Church, 8805 35th Ave NE, Seattle. For information contact SGSDNASIG@gmail.com  Co-chaired by Cary Bright and Herb McDaniel.

Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

by Charles Hansen

 

TIP OF THE WEEK –   Courthouse Research, Trial Run

Never been to a county courthouse to do research? Think it may be in your future? Why not practice in your local county seat?  Even if your ancestors and their county courthouse are quite distant from where you live, your experience and knowledge of your local courthouse and the whole research process will make you more comfortable and efficient when it comes time to making that trip to the courthouse of your ancestor’s home county.

Interview the archivist (big city),  talk to the Recorder (small town), or the Tax Assessor. In your particular locale, their titles may differ from these.  Find out who posted the earliest probate packet (recorder) or ask where the tax records are for 1939. Then go look at them! Happy hunting.

Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

 

INTERESTED IN BECOMING A
 BOARD CERTIFIED GENEALOGIST?

Jill Morelli, a recent submitter of her portfolio for BCG certification, has agreed to share her insights about the submission process.  Although she won’t know the results for several months, Jill found that preparing her BCG submission was a terrific learning process and she’d like to share this knowledge. She anticipates maybe six, 1-hour sessions, that will be more discussion than presentation. Because so many of the likely attendees work or have other obligations, she would like to run it as a Google Hangout, which limits the number of attendees to 10.

If you are interested, contact Jill at jkmorelli@gmail.com. Sessions will probably start the end of January. SGS members will be given first priority up until the date of January 15. Exact dates and times for the sessions will be determined by consensus of the attendees.

It’s the Annual Deep-Cleaning of the SGS Library
 Thursday, December 29 at 10:00 A.M.
 COME JOIN THE FUN!

It’s that time of year again; we need to give the library its annual deep-cleaning. If you can help, please call Nancy Haugen, SGS Director of Operations at 206-633-1999.  Even if you have just a couple of hours to give, we would be so grateful. Coffee and pastries to start. Hope to see you then.

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Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of the Week

by Charles Hansen

Seattle
 TIP OF THE WEEK –   Family Tree DNA Tests on Sale

During the entire month of December, Family Tree DNA (FTDNA.COM), is having a substantial sale on their most popular DNA tests. Family Finder, the autosomal DNA test, is on sale for $59; this is a $40 savings from the regular $99 price.  The mtDNA Full Sequence test is marked down to $179, a $20 savings,  and the Y-DNA37 test is marked down $30 to $139.  Some of the combination tests for male or female lines are also on sale. The Family Finder + mtfullSequence has been reduced to $228, a $70 savings, and the Family Finder + Y37 is now $188, an $80 savings. Sale prices will be in effect until 12/31/2016.

Seattle Genealogical Society Announcements and Calendar

by Charles Hansen

Seattle

LISA CHAN, VOLUNTEER OF THE FALL QUARTER

The Board of Directors has chosen Lisa Chan as SGS Volunteer of the Fall Quarter. Her contributions as the first technology director, and currently as chair of the technology committee, have hugely benefited the society. Lisa introduced us to Google Apps for Non-Profits, a suite of applications and cloud storage provided at no cost to the society.  SGS files have been moved from hardcopy or storage on individual computers to a common SGS Drive where they can seamlessly be accessed by all board officers.  She has made many SGS Library IT improvements including internal networking and patron computer upgrades. Plus she has been overhauling the SGS website which is so vital to our community outreach efforts.

On the first and third Tuesday of each month from 12:30-3:00 pm, Lisa offers her popular “Technology Tuesday” with discussions on technology, genealogical software, genetic research, internet resources and much more. Be sure to check the eNews! or the SGS website calendars for the webinars Lisa occasionally presents at the SGS library.

Lisa’s interest in genealogy began in 2014 after an autosomal DNA test from 23andMe led her to research the hundreds of matches received. She interviewed her maternal grandmother and learned about her maternal grandfather’s family in southern Illinois, discovering fifth great grandparents buried there, as well as third great grandparents from Ostfriesland, Germany. Relations are still living in the Illinois community the family had helped to settle. Her grandmother entrusted her with records passed down in the family, and Lisa has solved a good number of the “brick walls” going back seventy or more years in family members’ research. Last summer about ten family members met in Illinois  near the burial area of shared ancestors Alexander Rhodes (1787) and Elizabeth Poteet (1790).  With the help of autosomal DNA analysis Lisa was able to discover her biological father and found that she had both a living half brother and paternal grandmother, as well as many newly found cousins. Her interests in family history led her to join SGS, though her first ancestors in our area were second great grandparents who moved here in the 1940s. Lisa reports that these genealogical discoveries she has made over the last two years have been immeasurably enriching.

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Seattle Genealogical Society Tip of The Week

by Charles Hansen

TIP OF THE WEEK –
 Do you know about GEDmatch.com?
 

GEDmatch is a free repository website for people who already have taken tests at any of the DNA testing sites such as Family Tree DNA, Ancestry, and 23andMe. While free, donations are appreciated.

Testers first register on GEDmatch with their email and create a password, then download a copy of their autosomal DNA raw data file from their testing sight such as Ancestry or FTDNA, then upload that file to GEDmatch where it is processed and added to the large database.

The best two reasons for uploading to GEDmatch is you’ll find additional matches with folks who tested at sites other than the one you did and GEDmatch has a number of data analysis tools.

For plenty of detail on the site, watch the “GEDMatch Basics” video at Youtube

When you’re ready to try your hand at the download and upload of your raw data file to GEDmatch, you can find a short video on that at YouTube also.  If you feel uneasy or intimidated by the process, stop by the SGS library on Technology Tuesday and talk to Lisa Chan.

Seattle Genealogical Society News

by Charles Hansen

Seattle

NOMINATIONS, PLEASE!

The SGS election is several months away, but the nominations committee already is at work searching for candidates willing to serve on the Board of Directors. Consider stepping up to run for office as an opportunity, not a chore.  SGS exists because of the indispensable Board. These volunteers set the policy, manage the money, pay the bills, supervise the committees.  Simply put: No Board, no SGS. If you are willing to consider running for office, or know someone who might agree to be a candidate, please email the names to nominations chairman, Nancy Hevly, at nominate@seattlegenealogicalsociety.org   Committee members will contact possible candidates, answer questions and explain the duties of each office. The committee wants to get an early start, and so should SGS members.  It’s like shopping for holiday presents.  The sooner you begin the easier it is to get the job done on time.

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