| Washington State Archives will present another iteration of “Stump the Archivist,” a Q&A webinar for researchers of all experience levels, on May 20 at 10 a.m. Bring your questions and a notebook, and chat with Research Archivist Tracy Rebstock! Learn how to use state and local government records in your historical research or family history. New records are added to our collections all the time. Updates to vital records means more access to birth, death, marriage, and divorce collections. Rebstock will talk about criminal records and then take your questions so you can dig deeper into your research. (Your questions don’t need to be related to criminal records.) Register here. It is free to attend this event. If you miss the deadline to register, please contact jamison.murphy@sos.wa.gov before 10 a.m. on Friday, May 20 and we will try to get you in. Visit our YouTube channel to view past webinars. |
Tag Archives: Washington State Archives
Free webinar: “Stump the Archivist”
| Washington State Archives will present another edition of “Stump the Archivist,” a Q&A webinar for researchers of all experience levels, on May 20 at 10 a.m. Bring your questions and a notebook, and chat with Research Archivist Tracy Rebstock! Learn how to use state and local government records in your historical research or family history. New records are added to our collections all the time. Updates to vital records means more access to birth, death, marriage, and divorce collections. Rebstock will talk about criminal records and then take your questions so you can dig deeper into your research. (Your questions don’t need to be related to criminal records.) Register here. It is free to attend this event. Visit our YouTube channel to view past webinars. |
Washington State Archives “Stump the Archivist”
| Washington State Archives will present another edition of “Stump the Archivist,” a Q&A webinar for researchers of all experience levels, on April 15 at 10 a.m. Bring your questions and a notebook, and chat with Research Archivist Tracy Rebstock! Learn how to use state and local government records in your historical research or family history. New records are added to our collections all the time. Updates to vital records means more access to birth, death, marriage, and divorce collections. Rebstock will talk briefly and then take your questions so you can dig deeper into your research. Register here. It is free to attend this event. Visit our YouTube channel to view past webinars. |
State Archives’ upcoming events
| State Archives’ upcoming events: |
 Bring your questions and a notebook, and come chat with Research Archivist Tracy Rebstock! Learn how to use state and local government records in your family history. New records are added to our collections all the time — updates to vital records means more access to birth, death, marriage, and divorce collections. Ask questions so you can dig deeper into your genealogical research! Register here for this free webinar. |
| Haunted (virtual) tour — Oct. 29 |
 The fourth annual Halloween haunted tour will take you on a spooky trek through the dark stacks in the underbelly of the Archives Building. We’ve brought some infamous Washingtonians back from the dead to tell their stories, and you don’t want to miss it!Newsletter subscribers will be emailed a link upon release. |
 Trick or treat yourself to the final Archives Month adventure with the Puget Sound branch. Senior Records Consultant Emily Venemon will discuss the importance of public records and the role of the State Archives’ regional branch system in preserving public access. Reference Archivist Jessica Jones will talk about the scope of archival government records held at the Puget Sound branch and how those records are used by researchers, and provide a look into how research requests are fulfilled. Register here for this free webinar. |
Washington State Archives Video
Part of the overview series about Washington State Archives, this video talks about the Archives’ regional branches, what they hold, and why their holdings are preserved at the regional instead of state level.
There will be future videos that go into more detail about Archives’ numerous departments, such as Washington State Archives’ Digital Archives (DA), the research team, digital projects, and more.
Scribe
| What’s in Scribe now: |
| Birth records from Whatcom County. Census records from King County. Marriage records from Clallam, Clark, Franklin, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lewis, Skagit, Snohomish, and Yakima counties. Naturalization records from Jefferson, Kitsap, Skagit, Snohomish, and Whatcom counties. School district registers and censuses from Clark, King, Lewis, and Pierce counties. |
| Haven’t used Scribe in a while? |
| Has it been a long time since you indexed records in Scribe? Did you index one record and forget about it? That’s OK! This program was designed for volunteers to use whenever they get the chance. Operate on your own schedule, and do it from home (even when you’re not quarantined). Whether you index one record or thousands, your help and time are greatly appreciated. Our mission is to make as many records as we can freely accessible to the public, and it wouldn’t be possible without our volunteers. Every second of your time you put toward our mission is invaluable. So thank you for that one record three years ago, or the hundreds of records you did this week, and anything in between! |
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| If you want to get back into Scribe, log in here. There are tools to recover your username and password if needed, or to create a new account. If you have any questions, please contact us. Happy Scribing! |
Out of the Archives
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Asian Pacific American heritage photo challenge  This is a photo of a Japanese drill team during a performance at Expo ’70, the Osaka World’s Fair.Tell us the connection between the fair and Washington state. The more information you can give, the better. | Health care workers challenge results  Our little tribute to health care workers is a 1930s picture of Valley View Hospital in Colville.The building was repurposed a number of times to facilitate a variety of health care services between the 1960s and ’80s until it was eventually demolished. |
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| by Dr. Jewell Lorenz-Dunn, Olympia Branch Researcher The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC) posts in Oregon Territory, Washington Territory, Alaska, and Canada provided animal furs, salmon, and lumber to go east for trade. Fort Steilacoom was established in the Puget Sound area as a military post on the company’s property in August of 1849. Fort Vancouver was originally a Hudson’s Bay post, established early, in 1824 or 1825, and operated under several other titles. Fort Vancouver was transitioned to military barracks around 1849, and the company transferred out of the fort around 1860. The Hudson’s Bay Company was predominately made up of French employees with Native American wives until 1829, when the Hudson’s Bay Company added a port stop in Hawaii (called the Sandwich Islands by Americans at the time). This created HBC jobs for many Hawaiians that enabled them to find their way to the Pacific Northwest. It’s estimated there were anywhere from 50 to 400 Hawaiians employed by Hudson’s Bay Company between 1829 and 1861, but no exact numbers can be verified. Many of the Hawaiian employees… keep reading |
| Archives provided research materials for Mount St. Helens book |
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New York author Cheryl J. Fish visited the Washington State Archives to do research about the events that surrounded and followed the catastrophe. Fish used her research findings to write “Crater & Tower,” a book of poetry about Mount St. Helens and the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The book is now available for sale at most major online book retailers.
| State Archives gives out special awards to History Day students |
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| National History Day is a program that encourages students in grades 6-12 to learn how to be an historian. In Washington, the program is headed up by the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, in partnership with the Washington State Historical Society and the State Archives, as well as other supporting organizations. Virtual judging took place from April 16 to May 1. Every year the Archives gives out the Washington State Archives History Awards. The special awards are for History Day projects that demonstrated exceptional use of archival research. The 2020 recipients of the Washington State Archives History Awards are: |
Kaitlin Medina and Andrew Hegewald
“Seattle’s Hooverville: Where Nothing Created Something”
Teacher: John Zingale, Vancouver iTech Preparatory
SENIOR DIVISION
Haley Van Meurs, Liana Moldavanu, and Isabelle Garrard
“The Fight Against Segregated Seattle: How the Seattle Open Housing Campaign
Broke Barriers of Inequality”
Teachers: Alan Plummer and Corey Martin, Inglemoor High School
| JUNIOR DIVISION Kaitlin Medina and Andrew Hegewald “Seattle’s Hooverville: Where Nothing Created Something” Teacher: John Zingale, Vancouver iTech Preparatory SENIOR DIVISION Haley Van Meurs, Liana Moldavanu, and Isabelle Garrard “The Fight Against Segregated Seattle: How the Seattle Open Housing Campaign Broke Barriers of Inequality” Teachers: Alan Plummer and Corey Martin, Inglemoor High School |
| Ruralite Magazine | OSOS remains closed to public | Who said that? |
 State Archives Central Regional Branch Intern Jordan Hughes gives a glimpse into the past with a look at the Kittitas edition of Ruralite Magazine. The publication was regionally distributed to rural areas all over the Western United States. It started in 1954 with “a spirit of public service and forward-looking sensibility.”Read Hughes’ full article here. |  With consideration for the safety of the public and our staff, all branches and facilities of the Office of the Secretary of State remain closed to the public until at least May 31, in an effort to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.During the closure, the State Archives still allows state and local government agency staff to research records on an emergency basis only. Go here for more information. |  “Success is empty if you arrive at the finish line alone. The best reward is to get there surrounded by winners.”Who said that? Hint: The man in the photo above has nothing to do with this quote. Last month’s quote is from Governor Arthur Langlie. |
| Out of the Archives, May 2020 banner photo: Model of the Washington State Pavilion. General Subjects Photograph Collection, 1845-2010, c. 1968. |
SCRIBE……and lovin’ it!
Last few dreary, rainy days I’ve been indexing Washington state records through the digital archives program, SCRIBE. As you see, I’ve done 470 names….. may seem like a lot but you’ll also notice that I’m only number 159 on the list which means that 158 folks have done way more than me.
Notice WSGS past president, Steve Baylor’s number? And Charles Hansen’s number?
IT’S NOT ABOUT NUMBERS…… it’s about paying it forward, making a contribution to the genealogy community of Washington state. I like the knowing feeling that I’m helping.
What about you??????
Washington State Archives Archives Month 2018
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Seattle Genealogical Society Faces of the Archives
