Save the dates! 2025 is in the books but the best is yet to come. Join the Skagit Valley Genealogical Society for our upcoming 2026 Winter Speakers Series with programs in January, February and March. Until then, Happy Holidays to you all from SVGS.
Join SVGS Saturday, November 8, 2025, 1pm at the Burlington Public Library for “Beyond the Brick Wall: Strategies for Pre-1850 U.S. Research” with Julie Anderson. Julie is a U.S./Canada Research Specialist at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. Come learn what resources and research techniques are available to help you locate your ancestors in records before the 1850 Census. Can’t make it to the Burlington Library, request a zoom link by emailing info@skagitvalleygenealogy.org.
Join Skagit Valley Genealogical Society Saturday, October 11, 2025, 1pm at the Burlington Public Library for “The Role of Convents and Monasteries in the 15th-19th Centuries and How They Affected Our Ancestors”with Milan Pohontsch, President, Federation of Eastern European Family History Societies. Learn about the social and economic impacts of monasteries and how the lives of those that lived and worked on monastic estates differed from peasants under noble rule. Can’t make it to the Burlington Library, request a zoom link by emailing info@skagitvalleygenealogy.org. Thank you,
Before there were trains, there were Wagon Trains! Join SVGS Saturday, September 13, 2025, 1pm at the Burlington Public Library for the “Western Overland Trails – Following the Seven T’s,” with Steven W. Morrison. Come learn about the trails that populated the West, including the Oregon and California Trails, the Mormon migration, the Santa Fe Trail, and more. Can’t make it to the Burlington Library, request a Zoom link by emailing info@skagitvalleygenealogy.org.
Have you always wanted to do your genealogy but did not know where to start? The Skagit Valley Genealogical Society has the class for you…SVGS, in conjunction with the Celtic Arts Foundation, presents Genealogy 101, a two-hour course on the basics of family history research, Saturday July 26, 2025. Choose either the morning (9-11am) or afternoon (1-3pm) class. This is SVGS’s 2025 fundraiser, tickets are $15, go to https://www.celticarts.org/event/genealogy-101 for tickets.
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 2024 award recipients and learn why they received they received a WSGS Outstanding Volunteer and Team Award.
Today we’re introducing the SkVGS Hawthorne Cemetery Team who was selected by the Skagit Valley Genealogical Society (SkVGS) as their recipient of a WSGS Outstanding Team Award. The team is composed of Sylvia Ammons (co-leader), Dottie Chandler (co-leader), Rene Vance, Barbara Johnson, Dan Royal, Bill Cayford, Karen Strelow, Margie Wilson, Carol Nersten, Patty Gowler, Judy Hakins, Linda Holland and Margie Lauer.
This team of genealogist volunteers worked during the Covid-19 pandemic and after for long hours, and for many months to complete a long dormant project of reading and transcribing gravestone inscriptions at Hawthorne Cemetery in Mount Vernon, WA. This team demonstrated attention to detail, cooperation, dedication to the task, and enthusiasm for this project throughout the course of many months. This team’s exemplary work will serve the genealogy community for many years to come.
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.
Uff Da don’t miss out! Join SVGS this Saturday, June 14, 2025, 1pm at the Burlington Public Library for Norwegian Genealogy with Dana Kelly, Executive Director of the Norwegian American Genealogical Center (NAGC). Dana has researched her Norwegian ancestors for over 20 years and speaks, writes and reads Norwegian and has a degree in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Can’t make it to the Burlington Library, request a zoom link by emailing genealogy0715@gmail.com.
Please join the SVGS on Saturday, June 14, 2025, at 1pm for the last of our Spring Series, Norwegian Genealogy with Dana Kelly, Executive Director of the Norwegian American Genealogical Center (NAGC). NAGC is a non-profit devoted to collecting, preserving and sharing records of Norwegian and Norwegian-American genealogy and immigration history. Can’t make it to the Burlington Library, request a zoom link by emailing genealogy0715@gmail.com.
Please join the Skagit Valley Genealogical Society on Saturday, May 10, 2025, at 1pm for the second of our Spring Series, Finding Records of Family Members at Northern State Hospital with Northern State Hospital Researcher Amy Muia. Amy co-curated the Northern State Hospital exhibit at the Sedro-Woolley Museum, authored the Northern State Hospital Guidebook and served as the moderator at the Northern State Hospital Public History Days. Come learn the fascinating history of Northern State Hospital, the patients who lived and sometimes died there, and the community that cared for them. Can’t make it to the Burlington Library, request a zoom link by emailing genealogy0715@gmail.com.
“This Saturday April 12, 2025, tiptoe through the tulips in the Skagit Valley and then come join SVGS at 1pm at the Burlington Public Library for Diseases Our Ancestors Faced and How Those Illnesses Changed Our World with Gregory C. Gardner, MD, MACP. Can’t make it to the Burlington Library, request a zoom link by emailing genealogy0715@gmail.com.”
