Eastside Genealogical Society

PO Box 374 • Bellevue, Washington 98009-0374

Eastside Genealogical Society invites you to attend an event or become a member.

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  • Italian Interest Group – Saturday May 16th 1:30 PM

    Italian Interest Group
    Click to request the Zoom meeting invitation

    Date: May 16, 2026 (Saturday)
    Time: 1:30 PM (PT)
    Topic: Staying Behind in Italy during the Age of Mass Migration – Everyday Life for Our Ancestors in Italy
    Presenter: Victoria Calabrese

    Description: This presentation will discuss daily life in Italy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the period of mass emigration. The presentation will include information about home life, economics, society, gender roles, the emigration process, and what life was like for those who remained behind. This presentation gives a fuller perspective of the migration process, including not just those who migrated, but including those who never migrated, showing how their lives were affected just as much as those migrating.

    Presenter: Victoria Calabrese
    Victoria Calabrese received her Ph.D. in modern European history from the Graduate Center at the City University of New York. Her research focuses on modern Italian history, gender, migration, and nation building. Her book, Italian Women in Basilicata: Staying Behind but Moving Forward during the Age of Mass Emigration, 1876–1914, was published by Lexington Books in 2022. The book examines women in the southern Italian region of Basilicata and the many ways their lives changed when their husbands emigrated. In addition to the women who remained behind, she has written articles on honor and infanticide, and on traveling child musicians. Victoria is an avid genealogist, focusing on southern Italian genealogy research. She is currently an adjunct professor at Lehman College, teaching courses in early modern and modern European history.

  • Family Tree Maker SIG – Friday May 15th 10:30 AM

    The Family Tree Maker SIG meets on the 3rd Friday of most months from 10:30AM to 12:30PM Pacific time via Zoom. (Check this website for information on each upcoming meeting date.) If you would like to attend and are not on the SIG e-mail distribution list, please send an e-mail to ftmsig@eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org to request the meeting link.

  • Lunch Bunch – Thursday May 21st 11:30 AM

    The Lunch Bunch topic for discussion this month is Finding women in census records.

    On the third Thursday of most months, from 11:30 to 1:00, we meet in a reserved room in the church across from the FamilySearch Center, at 10675 NE 20th Street, Bellevue. Bring lunch from home or buy food at a nearby local location.

    Use the FamilySearch Center Library with databases either available only by subscription or unavailable online. Bring your laptop. The library is open until 6:00 PM. No reservation required.

    Contact: Celia McNay with questions.

  • Genealogy Book SIG – Friday May 8th 10:00 AM

    The Eastside Genealogical Society’s Genealogy Book SIG will meet Friday September 12th at 10 AM PT via Zoom.

    The book for this month is Paper Love by Sarah Wildman

    Email Kimberly Nichols at vicepresident@eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org to request a zoom link and be added to the email list.

  • General Meeting and Speaker – May 14th 6:30 PM

    Eastside Genealogical Society presents:

    Just Because It Can Be Wrong Doesn’t Mean It Is

    Our speaker: Paula Williams
    Thursday, May 14, 2026
    Networking and announcements at 6:30 PM PT; program at 7:00 PM PT
    Registration is required for this meeting.

    Click here to register for the May meeting

    About our speaker: Paula has been researching for more than two decades in primarily southern US states and has been using DNA to solve problems for more than a decade. She’s a board member of the Virginia Genealogical Society and of the Genealogical Research Institute of Virginia (GRIVA) and is the facilitator for the latter’s DNA Special Interest Group. Paula taught and has lectured widely. She also serves as the Virtual Tech Coordinator for the GRIP Genealogy Institute.

                                                                   

    About our program: Online trees, record hints, DNA predictions, and ethnicity estimates are often shunned, but can still provide valuable clues for our research and lead us to newly available record sets. We’ll discuss ways to evaluate the hints and determine which to use and which to lose!

    Everyone is welcome—we hope you will join us.

    Click here to register for the May meeting

    For more information about EGS, visit our website at https://eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org


  • Genealogy Help – April 23rd 10:30AM to 12:30PM

    Get genealogy help at the Bellevue Library Computer Lab
    1111 110th Avenue NE
    Bellevue, WA 98004
    We are available to help on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of most months.
    No registration is required. Get in-person assistance with…

    Ancestry Library Edition.

  • German Interest Group – Friday May 1st 12:30 PM

    Eastside Genealogical Society
    German Interest Group

    Presenter:  Julie Roberts Szczepankiewicz

    Julie is a genealogist, writer, and speaker with nearly 30 years of experience in researching her family’s origins in Poland, Germany, the U.S., and Canada.

    She holds a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from the State University of New York in Buffalo and a master’s degree in endocrinology from the University of California, Berkeley. She currently serves as President of the Polish Genealogical Society of New York State (PGSNYS) and has previously served as Vice-President for the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium, Inc, and Secretary of the Polish Genealogical Society of Massachusetts (PGSMA). Her articles have been published in the newsletters of a number of genealogical societies, and she is the author of a genealogy blog, From Shepherds and Shoemakers

    When: Friday, 1st of May, 2026
    from 12:30 to 2:30 pm Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)

    Zoom Registration Required:
    https://tinyurl.com/rp2zubuw

    Topic: Locating Records from Poland Online 

    Finding records from Poland for genealogical research is a critical step in exploring our Polish ancestry but Poland’s complex history and the language barrier can be confusing.

    After a brief overview of Poland’s changing borders and their impact on the languages in which historical records were created, Julie will explain the process of identifying one’s ancestral village and illustrate the use of gazetteers to determine the parish and civil registry offices. She will introduce key websites for locating historical records online and offline, with an emphasis on sites that offer indexed records and digital images. Julie will suggest strategies to help you get around the language barrier, and demonstrate how you can trace your Polish ancestry from the comfort of your own home.

    More information: Visitors are always welcome. Our website is:
    https://gig.eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org

  • AI Special Interest Group – April 28th 10:00 AM

    Eastside Genealogical Society is starting a new Special Interest Group (SIG), an Artificial Intelligence SIG. The purpose of it will be to learn together about using AI to help with our genealogy, encourage each other, and share information, tips, and resources. We will hold an organizational meeting Tuesday, April 28th, 10am PT via Zoom.

    Please email AIsig@eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org to get the Zoom link. If you are interested but unable to attend, please let us know at the same email address.

    At the organizational meeting we will discuss:

    • The experience level of the members and what they hope to get from the SIG and from AI in general.
    • Best time and date for ongoing meetings.



  • April Newsletter

    2026_April_cDownload

  • Genealogy Help – April 9th 10:30AM to 12:30PM

    Get genealogy help at the Bellevue Library Computer Lab
    1111 110th Avenue NE
    Bellevue, WA 98004
    We are available to help on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of most months.
    No registration is required. Get in-person assistance with…

    Ancestry Library Edition.