Volume 26 Issue 5 September-October 2009

Sue Semenza Ericksen, President Hazel Walters Rasar, Editor

Washington State Genealogical Society

NEWSLETTER

1901 S. 12th Avenue

Union Gap, Washington 98903-1256

Website: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wasgs

President’s Message: Genealogical Conferences, Seminars and Workshops are all beneficial to genealogists. When you attend these

events, you are able to hear topics designed to help you in your research. Added benefits include mingling with fel-

low genealogists and sharing your experiences and bouncing brick wall problems off other family historians hoping

for new insight or a new direction for your own research.

As you are aware, the Washington State Genealogical Society‘s Annual Conference is rapidly approaching. Hosted

by the Eastern Washington Genealogical Society, it will be held September 11-13 in Spokane at the historical Dav-

enport Hotel. EWGS has worked hard to put together a program that should benefit all who attend. We hope to see

you there. Sue Semenza Ericksen , WSGS President

Upcoming Board Meeting

Annual Meeting will follow the awards presentations at

noon on Saturday September 12. WSGS Board of Di-

rectors will meet for dinner at 6:00 pm at the Old Spa-

ghetti Factory on Saturday, September 12 followed by

the regular quarterly board meeting. Visitors are wel-

come.

MEGAN SMOLENYAK

Keynote Speaker

Washington State

Genealogical Society

Conference & Annual Meeting

Hosted by Eastern Washington Genea-

logical Society September 11-13, 2009

Davenport Hotel, Spokane, Washington

Megan’s schedule has changed. Note the new order of presentation. She explained that by reshuffling, you are getting five presentations instead of just four. She has combined her two DNA classes into one, so has given us

a Bonus for Friday evening.

Friday Evening, September 11

Dinner 6:30 pm $45.00

―CASES THAT MADE MY BRAIN HURT‖

Saturday Morning—September 12

―REVERSE GENEALOGY: TECHNIQUES FOR FINDING YOUR LOST LOVED ONES”

Connecting with living relatives has become important to many family historians. This presentation covers proven techniques for tracing 20th century friends and relatives from the past to the present.

Saturday Afternoon– September 12

―TRACE YOUR ROOTS WITH DNA‖

Surnames studies using Y-DNA tests are a popular and obvious appli-cation of genetic testing for genealogical purposes, but are you aware of your other options? Come learn about mtDNA, SNP, BioGeographi-cal and ethnic tests, as well as the Sorenson Project, and determine if one or more of them is right for you. PLUS "Genetealogy" (the mar-riage of genetics and genealogy) is graduating from pioneering re-search to standard practive. But what is it exactly and how can we use it to further our genealogical endeavors. Megan discusses her own and others' experience launching and managing a DNA project.

Sunday, September 13 (Special Session) $30.00 Breakfast 9:00 AM

FIND THAT OBITUARY! ONLINE NEWSPAPER RESEARCH

The last couple of years have given us an amazing array of searchable online newspaper resources - both historical and contemporary (and some of them even digitized). Come learn how to tap into this treasure trove of information - especially those elusive and detail-filled obituar-ies.

MEGAN’S SCHEDULE HAS CHANGED. SEE BELOW.

WSGS Newsletter Page 2 September—October 2009

UPCOMING EVENTS

Is Your Event Not Listed?

Your preferred avenue for getting your events listed in the newsletter is via your regional representative, the newsletter editor or both.

When known, Society events are listed in the newsletter

Location and meeting times for individual societies are listed on the WSGS website; see page 1

SEPTEMBER 2009

Sep 1 South King County Genealogical Society Board meeting at the

Greater Kent Historical Society (Bereiter House), 855 E Smith St., Kent

from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Sep 1 Belfair Genealogical Society (part of Puget Sound Genealogical

Society will present ―Tidbits of Local History‖, at Allyn Baptist Church,

12:30—3:30 pm.

Sep 2 Sno-Isle Genealogical Society Margaret Summitt‘s Brick Wall

Workshop‖ @ 6:00 pm; general meeting @ 6:30 pm; program will feature

Barbara George discussing ―Holdings of the Snohomish County Museum

of History in Everett and Future Plans‖ Mountlake Terrace Library,

23300 58th Ave. West, Mountlake Terrace.

Sep 8 Tacoma Pierce County Genealogical Society Annual meeting

―Show and Tell– Genealogical Discoveries This Summer‖. Pre-meeting

informal will be on ―Colonial Genealogy‖ by Sandra D. Johnson.

Sep 8 Whidbey Island Genealogical Searchers Ida Skarson-McCormick,

past president of the Seattle Genealogical Society w i l l p r e s e n t

―Methodology of Names‖, focusing on the ‗why and wherefore‖ of name

changes and variants , as well as ―Phonetics as a a Useful Tool in Fam-

ily History and Genealogical Research‖ , at 1:00 pm, Heller Fire Station,

2720 Heller Road, (just North of Crosby Rd) Oak Harbor.

Sep 9 Puyallup Sumner Genealogical Interest Group This group is an

independently established group that has been meeting at the Sumner Li-

brary for several years. The library is located at 1116 Fryar Ave. in

Sumner. They meet on the 2nd Wednesday from 1 to 3 pm. For addi-

tional information email: jeanz2gene@yahoo.com

Sep 9 Tri City Genealogical Society Bruce Buzbee, founder and presi-

dent of RootsMagic, Inc will do a presentation on ―RootsMagic Geneal-

ogy Software‖, at the Richland Maintenance Shops, 2700 Duportail St.,

Richland with mini classes from 6:15 pm to 6:45 pm followed by the gen-

eral meeting and presentation at 7:00 pm.

Sep 10 Seattle Public Library Darlene Hamilton gives a tour of the

Genealogy Section 5:30—7:00 pm at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth

Ave., Seattle. Call 206-386-4636 to pre-register. Meet at the level 9 desk.

Sep 12 Yakima Valley Genealogical Society Sue Ericksen will present a

program on ―Fraud Lineages‖ at 1901 So. 12th ?Ave, Union Gap, 10:00

am.

Sep 12 Heritage Quest Research Library Jim Johnson will offer a class

―Deciphering Genealogical Handwriting‖ at the library. Class time is 9

am to 11 am.$10.00

Sep 14 Jewish Genealogical Society of Washington Sally izroch and

Nancy Adelson will present ―Genealogical Discoveries from Cemeteries

in the Old County and the New World‖ at the Stroum Jewish Community

Center, 3801 East Mercer Way, Mercer Island, 206-232-7115.Fee is $5.00

for non-members. Moving Library will be available at this meeting.

Sep 17 Seattle Public Library John LaMont teaches ―Genealogy: Data-

bases and the Internet‖, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Northeast Branch, 6801

35th Ave. N.E., Seattle. Call 206-684-7539 after Aug 15 to pre-register.

Sep 18 Bainbridge Genealogical Society A professional genealogist Betty

Kay Anderson speaking on ―Using the American Biographical Genealogi-

cal Index‖, 10:00 am-noon, 1270 Madison Ave N, Bainbridge Island

Sep 19 Grays Harbor Genealogical Society Jim Johnson of Heritage Quest

Research Library will help with ―Old Handwriting Styles, and How-To

Identify and Read Them‖, with Ten-Minute Ticker: ―Displaying Old Pho-

tos & Documents Discussion‖ by Leroy Sisk. Hoquiam Timberland Li-

brary, 10:00 am.

Sep 22 Skagit Valley Genealogical Society Bob Witherspoon presents

―Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness‖, what it is, how to use it and how

you can help others, 7:00 pm at the Burlington Community Senior Center,

1011 Greenleaf St, Burlington

Sep 26 Seattle Genealogical Society Quarterly meeting with ‖Long Range

Planning‖ continued from March meeting.

OCTOBER 2009

Puget Sound—Association of Professionaal Genealogists will be hosting

a Tour of the King County Archives. Date is not yet determined., and will

be posted on their website at www.psapg.org for more information.

Oct 1 Mac Genealogy Group meets 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the dBug Re-

source Center, 9620 Stone Ave N, Suite 202, Seattle. For further information

or to be added to their mailing list, contact Diane at dhettrick@earthlink.net

Oct 1 Seattle Public Library John LaMont teaches Genealogy: Databases

and the Internet‖ 5:30—7:30 pm at the Central Branch, 1000 Fourth Ave.,

Seattle. Call 206-386-4636 after Sep 15 to pre-register.

Oct 3 Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Donna Potter-Phillips

―Welcoming the New Family Search, How is it Different?‖

Oct 3 Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society Sarah Thorson Little

―A Case Study in Genealogical Research, An Overview of Norwegian

Family History‖, Bates Technical College, 1101 South Yakima Ave., Ta-

coma, 9:30 am to 12 noon. At the door $5 for members and $10 for non-

members. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~watpcgs//seminar.html

Oct 5 Kittatas County Genealogy Society Will have a Dinner meeting with

the place TBA.

Oct 7 Sno-Isle Genealogical Society Brick Wall Workshop at 6:00 pm

followed by Gary Zimmerman presenting a topic to be announced at 7:00

p.m. Mountlake Terrace Library, 23300 58th Ave. West, Mountlake Ter-

race .

Oct 10 Heritage Quest Research Library Jeanine Barndt will offer a

FREE class on ―Washington State Genealogy Resources at HQRL‖ (online,

on shelf), 9:00 am to 11:00 am Library closed for their annual seminar. See pg 4

Oct 12-Nov 9 Jefferson County Genealogical Society Monday after-

noons for 5 weeks ―Beginning Genealogy Class‖ at the Historical Re-

search Center, 13692 Airport Cutoff Road, Port Townsend. Cost $30 for

society members and $45 for non-members. Class number is limited.

Registration accepted through Oct 7. Download form and send with

your check to: JCGS, PO Box 627, Port Townsend, 98368. Questions

call Eileen 360-385-0673 or Bev 360-385-6599

Note Change in Program

Oct 10 Heritage Quest Research Library annual seminar at

Tacoma Elks Club. Daniel M. Lynch of Waterbury, Con-

necticut, author of Google your Family Tree, will present

―Digging For Your Ancestors Using Google‖ Visit website

at www.hqrl.com/AQ09brochure3.pdf for brochure and other

details. See page 4.

WSGS Newsletter Page 3 September—October 2009

Upcoming Events—con‘t

Oct 13 Whidbey Island Genealogical Searchers Jim Terry of

Legacy will talk about and demonstrate the newest version of the

―Legacy Genealogy Program‖, and compare it with other geneal-

ogy programs, 1:00 pm, at the Heller Fire Station, 2720 Heller

Road, (just north of Crosby Road) Oak Harbor.

Oct 14 Tri-City Genealogical Society will hold a mini class at 6:15

pm with Ray Baalman, TCGS librarian. General meeting at 7:00 pm

with Janis Littlefield, past president & current webmaster on ―How

Do You Access the Current Genealogical News‖, Richland Mainte-

nance Shops at 2700 Duportail St, Richland

Oct 16 Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society will have a work-

shop on ―Using the American Biographical Genealogical Index‖

Mentors will be available to assist

Oct 18-25 Clallam County Genealogical Society ―Salt Lake Re-

search Trip‖ Society contact at http://olypen.com/ccgs

Oct 22 Seattle Genealogical Society ―Trail to the Klondike‖ fol-

lows the story of the Yukon Gold Rush which had a tremendous

impact on the economic history of Seattle. Video presentations

shown in 5 half-hour segments. Bring a sack lunch.

Oct 22 Seattle Public Library Darlene Hamilton gives a tour of the

Genealogy Section, 5:30—7:00 pm at the Central Library, 1000

Fourth Ave, Seattle. Call 206-386-4636 after Sep 15 to pre-register.

Meet at the level 9 desk.

Oct 24 Heritage Quest Research Library Jeanine Barndt will offer

a class ―WA State Genealogy Resources‖ at HQRL (online, on

shelf) FREE. 9:00—11:00 am.

Oct 31 Heritage Quest Research Library Claudia Breland will

offer a FREE class ―Beginning Genealogy‖ 9:00-11:00 am at the

library.

NOVEMBER 2009

Nov 2 Kittatas County Genealogical Society program will be

―Preparing For a Family Reunion‖ speaker TBA.

Nov 7 Eastern Washington Genealogical Society Miriam Midkiff

―Online Record Keeping‖

Nov 7 Heritage Quest Research Library Beverley Bills will offer

a class ―Christmas in the Colonies‖ at the library. $10.00

November 7 Yakima Valley Genealogical Society program

―Our Names-Meanings and Naming Patterns‖ , speaker TBA,

1901 So. 12th, Union Gap, 10:00 am

Nov 10 Whidbey Island Genealogical Searchers Anita Dragoo,

a retired teacher will discuss ―common errors in writing and ways

to write a more interesting family story‖, 1:00 pm, Heller Fire

Station, 2720 Heller Road,(just north of Crosby Road,) Oak Harbor.

Nov 11 Tri City Genealogical Society will hold a holiday potluck

at 6:00 pm followed by the Annual meeting and ―Show ‗n Tell‖

Nov 20 Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society mentors will

hold a panel discussion demonstrating techniques for ―Breaking

Through Brick Walls‖ 10:00 am—12 noon, Bainbridge Island

Public Library, 1270 Madison Ave N., Bainbridge.

You can find out more about Dan and his book at

www.googleyourfamilytree.com

Many of you have already purchased this outstanding book, and Dan

will be happy to sign your copy at the seminar.

We will also be selling the book at the seminar for $34.95. Please indi-

cate on your reservation form if you wish for us to reserve you a copy.

(He will autograph those as well.)

We anticipate that we will have a large turnout for this program so we

recommend that you sign up early since space will be limited at the Elks

club.

More information, registration forms, and directions to the Elks Club

can be found on our website at www.HQRL.com Our phone at the li-

brary is 253-863-1806. Here is a direct link to the form: http://

www.hqrl.com/AQ09brochure3.pdf

Jim Johnson, Director, HQRL; cell 253-906-3364

GeoCities Closing October 26, 2009

Many genealogy sites are located on Geocities. Beginning October 26,

2009, you will no longer be able to use GeoCities to maintain a free

presence online — and, Yahoo is recommending that GeoCities members

re-create their websites with a new program which they are offering for a

monthly fee. Many genealogy sites may be lost if the webmasters do not

move their sites to a new location with a new website address. Yahoo has

not notified users by email or other routes and many sites have not been

updated for years.

You or someone you know may have genealogy information posted on

a GeoCities site. If so, visit the following website on what some of your

options may be: http://ancestorsearch.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-

genealogy-site-is-on-geocities-now_29.html. Our thanks to the We-

natchee Appleland Bulletin, pg 5 for alerting us to this important informa-

tion which is forwarded by Jane Foley and Fred Pflugrath.

We Could Use Your Help!

WSGS is in need of people to assist with the following posi-

tions. These are board positions and job descriptions are

posted are the WSGS website.

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wasgs

Conference Liaison

Education Chairperson

If interested, please contact WSGS president Sue Ericksen at

ericksen@wabroadband.com or at 509-865-3572

WSGS Newsletter Page 4 September—October 2009

SEMINARS & CONFERENCES and other All Day Events

Sep 2-5, 2009 Federation of Genealogical Societies 2009 Conference ―Passages Through Time‖ FGS and the hosting society has promised

lots of special elements never before found at a FGS Conference. If you are planning on attending any sessions for this event you will want to

join a blog that has been set-up. http://www.fgs.org/2009conference/program/index.php For more details

Sep 11-27 Tacoma-Pierce County Genealogical Society will sponsor a table and genealogy display in Hobby Hall at the Puyallup Fair.

TPCGS members available to answer questions from fair-goers interested in learning more about their family history, providing brochures, gene-

alogy forms and membership information.

Sep 11, 12, 13, 2009 Washington State Genealogical Society Conference and Annual Meeting hosted by Eastern Washing-

ton Genealogical Society Megan Smolenyak Smolenyak will be the featured speaker. ―Forward to the Past‖ at the Spokane

Davenport Hotel. $75 for members, $85 for non-members, lunch included; Several break-out speakers will present during the Sat-

urday conference. When making reservations be sure to tell them you‘re attending the WSGS conference to get your discount.

Sep 26 American History Day at the Pioneer Hall, 1644 43rd Ave. East, Seattle. Event will include lectures, displays and historical demonstra-

tions by heritage groups including the War Between the States and the Revolutionary War, from 9:00 am—6:00 pm. For more information go to

http://www.ayp100.org/2009/events-activities/american-history-day for a list of participants and description of events.

Oct 3 Lower Columbia Genealogical Society For a Celebration of Family History, Laura Pemberton Sparr will be presenting an all day semi-

nar, ―Facts and Fallacies of our Ancestral Females‖. 10:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Longview Women‘s Building, 835 21st Avenue, Longview.

Cost: $10:00 for *Resident and $15:00 for non-resident. Bring a sack lunch. Parking available & ADA accessible. If you are a Daily News

customer, you may register online: www.mylongview.com/reconline. If not you may call 442-5400 to set up account or register with a VISA or

MasterCard.

Oct 3 Whatcom Genealogical Society Jim Johnson and Steve Morrison will present ―On the Move: For Gold, the Quakers and the Outlaw‖.

Topics will include ―Westward Migration During the Gold Rush Era, 1840-1865‖; ―Immigration to the U.S. and By Way of Canada‖;

―Profile of a Quaker: Friends in the Middle Colonies‖; ―Outlaw Genealogy: Finding the Outlaw in Your Family‖. Bellingham Technical

College, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm, $30 for the seminar, $10 for a box lunch, if postmarked no later than September 24; or $35 seminar fee without

lunch for late registration. Further details available in August.

Oct 3 Yakima Valley Genealogical Society Fall Workshop: Morning speaker, Ester Huey on ―The Underground Railroad‖; Afternoon mini

classes; $15 for classes and lunch is included, at library, 1901 So 12th, Union Gap

Oct 10 Heritage Quest Research Library presents annual seminar at Tacoma Elks Club. Daniel M. Lynch of Waterbury, Connecticut, author

of Google your Family Tree, will present ―Digging For Your Ancestors Using Google‖ - all day. $30.00 if registered prior to Oct. 2, otherwise

$35.00 after that date. Lunch available for $10.00 Tacoma Elks Club at 1965 Union Ave., Tacoma. Visit website at www.hqrl.com/

AQ09brochure3.pdf for brochure and other details.

Oct 17 Seattle Genealogical Society will present "Sharing Generations, Past and Future" with keynote speaker John Hughes, director of the

Washington State Legacy Project. Speakers will present information about Capturing Memories Using Today‘s Technology to Help Record

Family Oral History, followed by two workshop tracks [one for beginning genealogy and one for grandparents & kids] plus a 3rd track for [oral

history; ways to share your family history; and using technology to share your family history]. Registration is $35 for members and $45 for non

-members with a box lunch available for $6. Deadline is Oct. 9, 2009. Make checks payable to Seattle Genealogical Society (no credit cards)

and mail to SGS 2009 Fall Seminar, P O Box 15329, Seattle 98115-0329. For more information and/or brochure call 206-522-8658; email:

sgsseminar@gmail.com; or visit website at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~waseags/2009FallSeminar.html . Sand Point Education Center,

6208 60th Ave NE, Seattle, 9:00 am-4:00 pm. SGS library will be closed for the day of the seminar.

Oct 18-25 Clallam County Genealogical Society ―Salt Lake Research Trip‖ with members staying at the Shiloh Inn. Contact Marilyn Santi-

ago, 360-417-5000 or email Santiago@olympus.net

Oct 29-31 2009 The International Black Genealogy Summit, Ft. Wayne, IN - takes place at Allen County Public Library, Ft. Wayne, Indi-

ana. See details at http://www.blackgenealogysummit.com/

2010

Apr 28 April-01 May 2010 NGS Family History Conference with Theme: Follow Your Ancestral Trail, at the Salt Palace Convention Center

in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mark your calendars for. Online registration for the 2010 NGS Family History Conference will begin 01 November

2009. The conference flyer is available for download at http://www.ngsgenealogy.org by clicking on Conferences & Events and then Annual

Conference, and finally For the Media.

Sep 17-18 2010 Washington State Genealogical Society Conference and Annual Meeting hosted by Lewis County & Lower

Columbia Genealogical Societies . Bonus program will be held on the evening of Friday the 17th, and all day Conference on Sat-

urday the 18th. Theme is ―Journey to Discovery‖. Save the dates.

May 11-14 2011 Family History Conference in Charleston, South Carolina. Save the dates

*Resident is considered someone who lives or owns property in the city limits of Longview.

WSGS Newsletter Page 5 September– October 2009

Genealogy Programs for the Macintosh

Several new Macintosh genealogy programs have appeared in the past twelve months, and with the

right software you can also use any or all of the Windows based genealogy programs.

Macintosh users can feel smug about using the best operating system available today. The OS X oper-

ating system is easy to use, very reliable, and doesn't "get in the way" with all sorts of pop-up mes-

sages. In short, "it just works."

However, one major disadvantage of the Mac is that it doesn't have as many genealogy programs to

choose from as does the Windows operating system. Or does it? Macintosh has MORE genealogy pro-

grams available than does Windows. There are several genealogy programs written for the Macintosh.

Visit to see a listing of the programs now available. http://blog.eogn.com/

eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/06/genealogy-programs-for-the-macintosh.html

Washington State Cemetery Association

We are pleased to announce the formation of the new Washing-

ton State Cemetery Association. We look forward to working

with Washington‘s genealogists, historians, societies and muse-

ums, and with our state‘s cemetery associations and authorities.

Several projects are already underway. Please see our website

for more information including our mission statement and mem-

bership information.

Please pass the word that we are here and working. We need

members and volunteers!!

Thank you so much for your time,

Chris & Cheryl Webber, Directors

Washington State Cemetery Association

www.wastatecem.org or info@wastatecem.org

The Generations Network

Becomes Ancestry.com Online genealogy business The Generations Network has changed its name to Ancestry.com.

The new moniker acknowledges subscription geneal-

ogy Web site Ancestry.com as the company‘s most promi-

nent brand, says CEO Tim Sullivan. "Our company has a

long and fascinating history, and we've been through sev-

eral name changes over the years. But we started with An-

cestry.com, and it now feels completely natural to let our

company once again share the Ancestry.com brand with

our flagship product."

Here‘s a timeline of Ancestry.com‘s name changes:

1983: Ancestry

1997: Ancestry.com

1999: MyFamily.com

2006: The Generations Network

2009: Ancestry.com

Gotta say that we like the shorter, print-friendlier name—

no more bulky references to announcements from ―Tim

Sullivan, CEO of The Generations Network, parent com-

pany of Ancestry.com …‖ in the magazine.

Other Ancestry.com properties include Family Tree

Maker, Genealogy.com, MyFamily.com, Rootsweb, My-

Canvas and several international genealogy sites. Posted from Genealogy Insider by Diane Haddad of Family Tree

Old Photos

Do you enjoy exploring and viewing old photos? Visit the fol-

lowing site to view photos of Washington State http://

www3.familyoldphotos.com/category/united-states/washington .

You may also view photos from other places by visiting the

home page at http://www3.familyoldphotos.com/. Perhaps you

have some photos that you would like to share.

Submitted by oldphotos at http://www3.familyoldphotos.com/category/

united-states/washington , Centralia, WA firemen and their ladder truck,

early 1900s. The names of the firemen are unknown.

Ancestry.com Goes Public Filing with the SEC for a $75 million IPO, indicating its deci-

sion to go from a firm funded by private equity investors to a

publicly traded company. Its ticker symbol will be ACOM.

―Our revenues have increased from $122.6 million in 2004 to

$197.6 million in 2008,‖ reads Ancestry.com's SEC filing.

The Provo, Utah,-based company reports just under 1 million

subscribers, about 45 percent of whom have been subscribing

continuously for more than two years as of June 30.

The filing gives more stats, an overview of the business, its

growth strategies (more content, more features that let members

collaborate, more international growth) and associated risks

(dependence on subscriptions, a tight focus on family history,

and competitors, ―some of which provide access to records free

of charge‖). Via Ancestry.com, Genealogy Industry Aug 4, 2009

WSGS Newsletter Page 6 September—October 2009

Jump Drives: Bigger Capacities

and Cheaper than Ever A jump drive, also called thumb drives,

USB drives, flash drives, memory sticks, and

a number of other names. They are all about

the same, regardless of name used. These

devices are great for short-term backups and

for transporting data from one computer to another. Want to

copy data from your desktop to the laptop computer? Use a jump

drive. Want to copy data from your cousin's genealogy database

and take it home with you? Use a jump drive.

Almost everything in the computer world drops in price rap-

idly, but jump drive prices seem to drop even faster than other

hardware. A 32-gigabyte jump drive is equivalent storage space

of more than 22,000 floppy disks and also more capacity than 48

CD-ROM disks. One 32-gigabyte jump drive can even store six

or seven full-length movies without compression, even more if

you compress the files first. Not bad for a device that is smaller

than a tube of lipstick!

My new 32-gigabyte thumb drive stores 1,000 times as much

data as the first one I owned. I keep copies of my genealogy

data, newsletter articles, several thousand photographs, check-

book information for the past year, all of the PowerPoint presen-

tations I have made in the past six years, a word processor, an e-

mail program, several computer games, and more on the jump

drive. Even so, I have nearly 20 gigabytes of empty space still

available. I do encrypt the more sensitive information in case I

lose the jump drive and some stranger recovers it. However,

most of the other data is a simple copy made from the various

computers I use.

Have you backed up your geneal-

ogy data? If not, pick up a jump drive for

five bucks or more at the local drug store,

department store, or at any computer

store. Every genealogist should own at

least one of these tiny devices. Via Dick Eastman’s Online Newsletter.,

EOGN

The final issue of the WSGS journal, The Washington

State Genealogist, Volume 3, 2008, is now available

online at the WSGS website under Projects and Publica-

tions. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wasgs/

wsgsproj.htm

The Seattle Public Library

Effective July 8, 2009, the Seattle Public Library reor-

ganized the Public Services Division. The Seattle

Public Library has had a Genealogy Collection since

1926. The Collection has grown to become the largest

genealogy book collection in the Pacific North-

west. The Genealogy Collection has been a part of the

History, Travel and Maps Department since 1960. It

is now part of the Special Collections Department.

This has resulted in changes in the hours when special-

ized Genealogy Service is available.

Genealogy Librarians, Darlene Hamilton and John La-

Mont, will be available to assist researchers with their

genealogy questions during the following scheduled

hours at the Level 9 Reference Desk of the Central

Library.

Monday: 11 a.m.-12 noon; (closed for lunch), 1-3 pm

Tuesday: 2-7 p.m.; Wednesday: 11 a.m.-3 p.m.;

Thursday: 12-3 p.m.; Friday: 1-4 p.m.; Saturay: 11

a.m.-12 noon, (closed for lunch), 2-5 p.m.; and

Sunday: 2-5 p.m.

We look forward to assisting family historians with

their research questions.

Darlene E. Hamilton, Sr. Librarian-Genealogy

John LaMont, Genealogy Librarian

1000 4th Ave.

Seattle, WA 98104-1109

206-386-4636

Aug 31 to Sep 7, 2009 the Seattle Public Library, all

locations will be closed due to citywide budget cuts

and the Labor Day holiday. Regular library opera-

tions will resume Tuesday Sep 8.

Spokane Newspapers Online

Google has digitized and made searchable the Spokane Daily

Chronicle and its predecessor, the Spokane Falls Daily Chronicle

as well as the more recent Spokesman Review from approxi-

mately 1890-date. The method of finding the search is difficult,

which is probably why it has remained unknown for so long. Al-

though you can find articles and view them on Google, in order to

get a physical copy you would need to come to the Spo-

kane Public Library or contact us with a citation, which is

available at the top of the page. The way to search is as

follows: First, go to Google and click on News. Then click

advanced news search (to the right of Search the Web). On

that page, click archive search, then click advanced ar-

chive search. Make sure you enter ―Spokane‖ in the source

box to get only local searches. If you are from out of town

and need a lookup contact us at telref@spokanelibrary.org.

Happy searching! http://new.spokanelibrary.org/blog/

Jim Terry of Legacy, announces to the Whidbey Island Genealogical

Searchers in Oak Harbor that there is now a Family History Center in

Oak Harbor at the Mormon Church with hours: Tues., Wed., Thurs.,

from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Wednesday is the best evening. You can

order films and there is one film reader. Call Terry Beaty at 360-675-

9739 for information and to see how many people are there.

WSGS Newsletter Page 7 September—October 2009

Canadian Naturalization Database Online

The following was written by Library and Archives Canada:

New Version of the Canadian Naturalization 1915-1932

Database Ottawa, July 22, 2009 - Library and Archives Can-

ada (LAC) is pleased to announce the release of a new ver-

sion of the Canadian Naturalization 1915-1932 online data-

base. It now includes the names of 206,731 individuals who

applied for and received status as naturalized Canadians

from 1915 to 1932. This database is one of the few Canadian

genealogical resources specifically designed to benefit those

researchers with roots outside of the British Commonwealth.

References located in the database can be used to request

copies of the actual naturalization records, which are held by

Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Database is available

at: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/databases/naturalization-

1915-1932/index-e.html.

Library and Archives Canada gratefully acknowledges

the contribution of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Mont-

real http://jgs-montreal.org and its volunteers, the support

of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Ottawa www.jgso.org

in the original digitization of the images, without which this

project would not have been possible. Posted July 22, 2009 EOGN.com

How to Read Office 2007's New Formats

Did anyone ever send you a file in .DOCX format? Or one

in .XLSX format or .PPTX format? These are new file formats

introduced in Microsoft Office 2007. Of course, opening such a

file is trivial if you use Office 2007, but most people do not.

Most computer users rely on older versions of Microsoft Office

or on word processors made by other software companies. Try-

ing to open a .DOCX or .XLSX or .PPTX was impossible for

most people. However, you now have options.

All operating systems:

The easiest and perhaps the best option is to use either the free

Google Documents program or the free Zoho Docs program.

Both of these are web-based applications that require no instal-

lation. Both are available online within a few seconds, and both

are easy to use. You can quickly and easily open a .DOCX

Word document or an .XLSX spreadsheet in either of these ap-

plications, then select ―Save As...‖ to save in .DOC, .XLS, or

some other format you prefer. Once saved in your desired for-

mat, you can then download the file and use it in your normal

word processor or spreadsheet program. Google Docs is the

more popular service at http://docs.google.com although Zoho

Docs at http://www.zoho.com has a few more features and ca-

pabilities than does Google Docs. Both are available free of

charge. Both work well with Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and

other modern operating systems.

For further information visit: http://blog.eogn.com/

eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/06/how-to-read-office-2007s-

new-formats.html Details may be found at http://

www.OpenOffice.org June 07, 2009 EOGN

Holiday Closures

King County Archives: check their website for furlough

days http://wwww.kingcounty.gov/operations/archives.aspx

Seattle Public Library: closed Aug 31-Sep 7

Seattle Genealogical Library: closed Labor Day weekend

Region One Gathering

Note change in date!

There will be a meeting on Wednesday,

October 7, at 2:00 pm, at the Sno-Isle Genealogi-

cal Research Library, located at 19827 Poplar

Way, at Humble House in Heritage Park, Lynn-

wood. We will tour the library facility, do some

research, have a social dinner and attend the eve-

ning meeting.

Please note correction in the date. My apolo-

gies to the Sno-Isle society. Visit their website at

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wasigs/

indexlibe.htm for directions.

It is hoped we will have representation of most

if not all Region One societies.

Region One Representative—

Stephen Eric Baylor s.baylor@comcast.net

101 Ways to Research Your Family Tree for Free Alternatives to Pay-For-Use Genealogy Sites on the Internet By http://genealogy.about.com/Kimberly Powell

Is free genealogy a thing of the past? With the constant addition

of subscription genealogy databases on the Internet, people of-

ten wonder if there will soon be an end to free genealogy re-

search via the Web. For those of you with this concern, take

heart - free genealogy databases aren't going anywhere anytime

soon. Web sites from all over the world contain free genealogy

information of use to family tree researchers which has been

contributed by individuals, companies and even governments.

Birth records, marriage records, military records, ships passen-

ger lists, surnames, census records, immigration records, wills,

photos and much, much more are available on the Internet for

FREE if you just know where to look. These free genealogy

sites, in no particular order, should keep you busy searching for

weeks! http://genealogy.about.com/cs/free_genealogy/a/free_sites.htm?nl=1

Lewis Country Gen Society Library

Lewis County Genealogical Society was asked by the Lewis

County Historical Museum to vacate – so we have had to

move our library out of the building. Happily the Family His-

tory Center in Chehalis is welcoming us back, and that move

will be in the near future.

WSGS Newsletter Page 8 September—October 2009

ProQuest Historical Newspapers

ProQuest, the creator of the HeritageQuestgenealogy ser-

vice, ProQuest Historical Newspapers and other databases for

libraries, is working on a new search platform that‘ll make it

easier to find information related to your genealogy search.

Expected launch is 2010.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers™ provides easy access to

the past. Researchers can search 21 different article types to

find exactly what they are looking for, including:

News

Editorials

Letters to the Editor

Obituaries

Birth and Marriage Announcements

Stock Photos

Advertisements

…and more

ProQuest Historical Newspapers™-the definitive digital

archive-offers full-text and full-image articles for significant

newspapers dating back to the 18th Century. As part of the

ProQuest Historical Newspapers™ program, every issue of

each title includes the complete paper-cover-to-cover, with full

-page and article images in easily downloadable PDF format.

Digitizing The New York Times, from the first issue in

1851-2005, involved scanning, digitizing, zoning and editing

over 3.4 million pages from microfilm into digital files. The

full collection of ProQuest Historical Newspapers™ contains

over 20 million digitized pages.

The latest additions to the ProQuest Historical Newspa-

pers™ program are the Black Newspapers Collection and

the Civil War Era. The Black Newspapers Collection pro-

vides access to nine titles including the Chicago Defender and

Baltimore Afro-American. ProQuest Civil War Era is a collec-

tion of newspapers and pamphlets covering the slavery and

anti-slavery movements of the 1840s and 1850s to General

Lee's surrender and the end of the Civil War. Both collections

are cross-searchable with all of the titles in the ProQuest His-

torical Newspapers™ program providing a diverse collection

of primary resources for researchers.

The company is also adding Boston‘s Jewish Advocate

(1905 to 1990),Philadelphia‘s Jewish Exponent (1887 to 1990)

and the Detroit Free Press to Proquest Historical Newspapers.

To see if a newspaper your ancestors may have been men-

tioned in has been digitized for this site visit the following

website: www.ProQuest.com

US Civil War Roll of Honor 1861-1865 published online by Familyrelatives.com

One of the largest and most complete Rolls of Honor for the

US Civil War has been released by Familyrelatives.com. It is

the first time that all 27 volumes have been made available

online. Familyrelatives.com continues with more data addi-

tions this month with over 276,000 Roll of Honor records for

those soldiers who died in the defence of the Union during

the American Civil War.

The ―Names of the Soldiers Who Died in the Defence of the

American Union – interred in the National Cemeteries”

were recorded by the Quartermaster General‘s Office in

1866. In each case the original place of interment, the sol-

diers‘ name, rank, company, regiment, date of death, section

of cemetery and the number of the grave are all detailed. In

some instances the creed is provided together with a list sim-

ply referred to as ―Unknowns‖

Additional volumes refer to soldiers who died in prison pens

– termed ―Names of the Soldiers Who Died in the Defence of

the American Union – Suffered martyrdom in the Prison

Pens Throughout the South”. Again the soldiers name, rank,

company, regiment, date and cause of death are provided.

The Roll reminds us that the Civil War was a bitter conflict

and one of the bloodiest and costliest in terms of the toll it

took on both sides with an estimated 620,000 military

deaths, two thirds of whom died by disease as well as an un-

determined number of civilian casualties.

The Union Army consisted of a large number of immigrants

including many ethnic groups. A million soldiers were na-

tive born Americans of British ancestry, half a million were

of German ancestry. 210,000 African Americans of whom

half were freed men living in the north the remainder were

slaves or had escaped slavery. A similar number were of

Irish descent. Canadian, English, French, Dutch, Scandina-

vian as well as Italian, Jewish, Mexican, Polish, Native

Americans and other nationalities numbering 2.2 million

fought for the Union.

The legacy of the war meant the ending of slavery, restoring

the Union and the role of federal government. The many so-

cial and political issues following the war shaped the recon-

struction era which lasted many years. It was the defining

event that shaped the future of the United States as we know

it today.

The collection includes the Final Disposition, four additional

volumes listing the original places of burial from which

some of the bodies of Deceased Union Soldiers and Prison-

ers of War have been removed and the various National

Cemeteries in which they were finally interred.

The collection together with 650 million historic records is

available to search online to all members and visitors by way

of an annual subscription of only US$50.00 or £30.00 at

http://www.familyrelatives.com/

Fiske Genealogical Library

The Fiske Library launched its new online catalog on May 4th.

Anyone on the Internet can access the catalog from the Fiske

Library web site or directly at: http://www.fiskelibrary.org/

catalog

Washington State Pioneer Certificates

WSGS would like to em-phasizeour Pioneer Certifi-cates which are available to direct descendants of Washington pioneers who arrived before 11 Novem-ber 1889 or First Citizen Certificates for those be-fore 31 December 1900. To assist local societies, libraries and applicants, a new brochure describing some resources and proce-dures is now available. Contact Frank McLean, 3811 McLean Dr, Yakima, WA 98902-3864 or FL635@yakimavalleynetwork.com to obtain copies. Local societies are encour-aged to take copies to local

libraries, family history centers, genealogical

meetings, etc.

WSGS Newsletter Page 9 September—October 2009

Washington State Genealogical Society

Conference and Annual Meeting

September 11-13, 2009

Hosted by

Eastern Washington Genealogical Society

Davenport Hotel, Spokane, WA

Featured Speaker Megan Smolenyak

Details on page 1. For further information:

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wasgs

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~waewgs/

Online registration available

Making Soap the Old Fashioned Way

Ruth VanPelt, Helen Duffy, Karen Dalan, and Barbara

Bushaw keeping alive the old method of making soap at home.

Though the principal ingredients are rendered fat and lye, with

lots of care in stirring and handling , the ladies assert that the fin-

ished product is absolutely pure and suitable for bathing and

washing their dishes and their clothes. Via: Puget Sound Mail, LaCon-

ner, WA Sept 1974

Seattle Genealogical Society's Fall

2009 Seminar is Saturday, October 17 and

follows the wonderful inspiration we re-

ceived from the Spring Seminar by John

Philip Collette about writing your family

history. The fall seminar will help us record

our oral history. Hopefully your society re-

cently received brochures about the

event. Here is a bit more information about

the seminar for your newsletter or publica-

tion.

If your society is interested in becoming a

Supporting Society for the Seminar,

please contact me. This entitles for your

members to receive the "member rate" on

the registration form by agreeing to dis-

tribute the brochures with special regis-

tration forms (we provide) to your mem-

bership and then share your list of mem-

bers (names only) for us to use for cross

reference. It can be a win for all of us!

Cary Bright, clbright@comcast.net

Donna Potter Phillips has changed her email address: she

can be reached at Donna243@gmail.com

National Archives and

Records Administration

Genealogy Workshops**

6125 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115;

phone 206-336-5115

Seattle.archives@nara.gov

**NARA is now encouraging interested groups

to schedule a workshop of their choice from the

following list: Please contact Carol Buswell at

206-336-5151 or carol.buswell@nara.gov for

more information.

The National Archives Online

Methods for Finding & Using NARA

Records

Immigration and Naturalization Records

NARA Resources for Chinese Research

NARA Resources for American Indian Re-

search—Pacific Northwest Tribes Five

Civilized Tribes (Cherokee, Choctaw,

Chickasaw, Seminole, and Creek)

Beginning Computer Genealogy

Beginning Your Genealogy at NARA

NARA Immigration and Naturalization

Records

US Military Records at NARA

Location: NARA-Pacific Alaska Region, 6125

Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115.

Classes are held either in the upstairs Confer-

ence Room or in the new Learning Center.

Registration: Advance registration is advised.

Classes are held on a first come, first served

basis. To register, call 206-336-5115,or e-mail:

seattle.archives@nara.gov, or in person during

normal business hours, 7:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.,

Mon-Fri. and 9-4 on the second Saturday of

each month.

Cancellation policy: We reserve the right to

cancel a class due to low enrollment or adverse

weather.

Thursday Workshops 10:00 am– 12:30 pm

―Brick Wall Workshop‖ 11:30 am—1:00 pm

Saturday Workshops morning sessions 10 am

-12:30 pm; afternoon sessions 1:30 pm-4 pm

See http://www.archives.gov/pacific-alaska/

seattle/public/workshops.html for other classes

being offered to the general public.

WSGS Newsletter Page 10 September—October 2009

Dating a Cabinet Card

Cabinet cards, popular in the late 1800s, are

easy to recognize because they are mounted on

cardstock, often with an imprint of the photogra-

pher and location just below the photo. There are

similar card-type photographs, such as the smaller

carte-de-visite which was introduced in the 1850s,

but if your old photo is about 4x6 in size then

chances are it is a cabinet card.

Most of us have one of these cabinet cards in

our collection of old ancestral photos, which tells

us it was most likely taken between about 1870

and 1900. But you can also further narrow down

the time when the photo was taken. Learn how to

identify the popular cabinet card, and how to use clues such as cardstock

weight and color, and the type of border, to narrow down the time period

when the photo was printed.

Via Family Tree Masgazine Online Wednesday July 22, 2009 by Diane Haddad

Including the "History" in Family History

What Were Your Ancestors Really Like? Little details -- from your ancestor's hair color to their occupation,

courting, and favorite foods -- are what make family history exciting,

and can breathe new life into your genealogy research. Learn how to

incorporate social history into your family tree with this introductory

guide.

It's great to find out that great, great-Grandpa was born in South

Carolina in 1869. And that you have a Grandmother who grew up in

France, and a great, great great-grandfather named, of all things, Kin-

chen. But what makes family trees fascinating are the people, not the

facts. Learning about the military dances where a young girl from France

met and fell in love with a handsome U.S. soldier during WWII. Or the

great-grandmother who had the courage to travel from Poland to Amer-

ica alone with 4 children, to join her husband who had come ahead to

make a new home for his family. Little details like these are what make

family history exciting, and can breathe new life into your genealogy

research. There are numerous resources available which can help you

learn more about the time periods, ethnic customs, and religious prac-

tices that will help you place your family's lives in a meaningful histori-

cal context. Start with Living Relatives

While you still can, be sure to utilize the most valuable resource you

have - your living family members. They may not often talk about what

life was like growing up because they think people will find it boring,

but you may be surprised how vivid their memories are once you get

them started.

To gather information use the 50 Questions for Family Interviews

found at http://genealogy.about.com/cs/oralhistory/a/interview.htm

FamilySearch Record Search

This free research site from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day

Saints is a veritable treasure for all genealogists, with plenty of free

family history records for those concerned about the budget, and excel-

lent image quality and indexes for researchers looking for alternative

access options. Records are available from numerous countries.

WSGS Newsletter Page 11 September—October 2009

WSGS Treasurer‘s Report As of August 14, 2009

Account Balances Checking $ 6,155.30

Savings 802.42

Subtotal $ 6,957.72

Liabilities – Prepaid Dues $(164.00)

Value of CDs:

Maturity 4-19-2010 $ 10,635.96

Maturity 12-19-2009 $ 8,502.91

Maturity 3-10-2010 $ 10,712.97

Total Cash Assets $ 36,484.66

Cash Flow for the period 1/1/09 to 8/14/09

Income $ 1,637.06

Expenses $ 1,022.64

Gain or (Loss) $ 614.42

Newsletter Deadline

Submission of articles and reports for the September-October

2009 issue of this newsletter due August 15, 2009.

Email: hrasar@gmail.com

Society Officers for 2009 - For Societies across Washington State as reported by Regional Representatives or by the individual society * newly elected

REGION TWO

Eastside Genealogical Society

President: Bob Barnes

Vice President: Judy Meredith*

Secretary: Walta McCarley

Treasurer:

Trustree: Sharon Filer*

Seattle Genealogical Society

President: Ginny Sommarstrom

Vice President: Karl Kumm

Secretary: Cary Bright

Treasurer : Mary Roddy

Communications: Jan McNair

Education: Jean Roth

REGION THREE

Belfair Genealogy Society

President: Madi Cataldo

Vice President: Judy Joaquin

Treasurer: Linnie Griffin & Estelle Foster

Washington State Digital Archives –

101 Best Web Sites for Tracing Your Roots

Every year since it opened in 2004, the Washington State

Digital Archives has earned Family Tree Magazine‘s designa-

tion as one of the ―101 Best Websites for Tracing Your Roots‖.

This year‘s article also ranks it in the ―Top 10 Best Sites for

Searching Locally‖ (versus nationally or internationally).

―Why did we recently rate Washington second only to Mas-

sachusetts among the best states for genealogy research? This

massive digitization project boasts 80 million records, with al-

most 64 million of them searchable and many linked to images

of the originals—birth, death and marriage records; censuses;

military records; land records; naturalizations; and more.‖ Via

September 2009 Family Tree Magazine

Via the So King News, Jul/Aug 2009. Kudos to the entire Digi-

tal Archives Team, and all those who contribute content, espe-

cially our County Auditors and Clerks, the Regional Archives,

the State Archives, the Historical Records Project, and the

Washington State Library!! And from your editor… I re-

ceived my Certificate of Approval from the Secretary of State

for volunteer efforts in Preserving Washington State‘s His-

tory. I sincerely hope that you have been volunteering to

these efforts and that you received your Certificate as well.

Robert Berkley, President of WAGS and Region Eight

WSGS Representative has announced he will not be run-

ning for re-election with WSGS. If you are interested in

working with the state representatives please contact him.

Historical Records Volunteer Recognition Yakima, Washington was the location for the Seventh

Annual Historical Records Volunteer Recognition Lunch-

eon held on Friday, July 24th at the Yakima Valley Mu-

seum. This year‘s event included 102 volunteers, guests and

staff.

After registration, guests toured the museum‘s exhibits.

Secretary of State, Sam Reed presented volunteers with cer-

tificates of appreciation. In addition to the certificates, state

seal lapel pins were presented to Steve and Lynne Baylor,

Margie Lloyd, and Linda Patton for five years of volunteer

service. Special recognition plaques were awarded to

Maggie Rail, for her cemetery transcription work, and to

Forest Gilchrist, who indexed over 1000 Polk directory

pages amounting to an estimated 43,000 names! In addition

to the certificate and award presentation, John Hughes, Lori

Larson and Trova Heffernan. After lunch, June Timmons

and Todd Henderson from the Digital Archives gave a

power point presentation about the new Web Indexing Por-

tal, an online indexing tool that is now available for volun-

teers to use.

Photographs of the event are available at: http://

www.secstate.wa.gov/history/2009volunteers.aspx Submitted for publication by Stephen Eric Baylor, past president of

WSGS and current Region One Representative

WSGS Newsletter Page 12 September—October 2009

WASHINGTON STATE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP

Extra funds will be considered a DONATION and will go toward valuable services of the society

NAME ___________________________________________________________________________________

SPOUSE’S NAME __________________________________________________________________________________

ADDRESS ___________________________________________________________________________________

CITY, STATE,ZIP __________________________________________________________________________________

PHONE NUMBER __________________________________________________________________________________

EMAIL ADDRESS __________________________________________________________________________________

Membership ______ Single Membership $12.00 per year Indicate Status: _____ New Membership

Type: _______ Organizational $12.00 per year _____ Renewal

______ Household Membership $13.00 per year (one newsletter for household) _____ Reinstatement

______ Mailed Copy $ 8.00 per year in addition to above membership

DONATION to 501 ( C ) 3 Organization: $__________________ (Your donation is tax deductible)

Send check or money order to: WSGS, 1901 So. 12th Ave., Union Gap, WA 98903

Enclose SASE if you would like a receipt and membership card. Membership year runs from January 1 through December 31.

WASHINGTON STATE GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY

1901 S. 12th Ave.

Union Gap, WA 98903

Address Service Requested