PO Box 374 • Bellevue, Washington 98009-0374
Eastside Genealogical Society invites you to attend an event or become a member.
EGS German Interest Group will celebrate its 40th Anniversary on July 16th in our old LDS room in Bellevue. Remember Christmas Potlucks? Remember visiting after our in-person meetings? Can you believe we haven’t done this since 2020? Significant others are included. If you are interested & want more details, just send an email to GIG_Leader@eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org .
Description: In her talk, Suzanne will discuss the genesis and research journey of her narrative nonfiction book WOMEN OF WAR: The Assassins, Couriers, and Spies Who Fought the Nazis. She’ll tell how she first uncovered the stories of these intrepid women through what they left behind and give insight into her archival and on-the-ground research that led her to tracing the footsteps of these partigiane. Suzanne will also speak how her own Italian American heritage connected with these stories – particularly as this research intersected with her own pursuit of dual citizenship, shedding light on personal genealogical research.
To order Women of War see Amazon: Order link & Elliott Bay Book Company Order Link
Presenter: Suzanne Cope is a scholar and narrative journalist, and is the author of Women of War: The Italian Assassins, Spies, and Couriers Who Fought the Nazis and Power Hungry: Women of the Black Panther Party and Freedom Summer and Their Fight to Feed a Movement. Her work on themes of political and social change, feminism, food, and culture has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Los Angeles Review of Books, Food & Wine, BBC, Washington Post, Aeon, and others. She is a professor at New York University.
Note that the Italian Interest Group will not meet in July or August. The next meeting after this one will be September 19th.
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.
Note that there will be no FTM SIG meeting in July. The next meeting after this one will be August 21st.
Eastside Genealogical Society presents:
Following a Civil Case Through Documents Filed in Court
Our speaker: J. Mark Lowe
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Networking and announcements at 6:30 PM PT; program at 7:00 PM PT
Registration is required for this meeting.
About our speaker: J. Mark Lowe describes himself as “born to be curious.” He is a professional genealogist and educator who specializes in original records and manuscripts throughout the South. He coordinates “Research in the South” courses at IGHR, SLIG and TIGR, worked on several TV series, a YouTube channel and does webinars.
About our program: Our ancestors often utilized the judicial systems to resolve conflicts and make estate judgments. Finding court records for your family and neighbors can provide a wealth of information for your research. Understanding the arrangements of court records can help you find the right documents. Learn the basics of the legal system. Understand the process of following a case through court including dockets, orders, depositions, etc. Find the key to solving a problem using these records.
Everyone is welcome—we hope you will join us.
For more information about EGS, visit our website at https://eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org
The Family Tree Maker SIG meets on the 3rd Friday of most months from 10:30AM to 12:30PM Pacific time via Zoom.
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.
You can also send questions for discussion in advance to the same e-mail address, ftmsig@eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org
Eastside Genealogical Society has a new Special Interest Group (SIG), an Artificial Intelligence SIG which meets on the third Tuesday of most months at 2PM.
The purpose of it is to learn together about using AI to help with our genealogy, encourage each other, and share information, tips, and resources.
Topics for discussion this month:
Creating Effective AI Prompts
Which AI tools work best for different tasks?
Please email AIsig@eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org to be added to the mailing list and get the Zoom link.
EGS is planning a field trip to Heritage Quest Research Library (HQRL) in Puyallup, WA. The First 10 EGS members to sign up will be free – all others will need to pay the $15 day use fee.
Details:
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.
Presenter:
Dana Palmer, CG®, CGL®
Dana specializes in Midwestern research, lineage society applications, and publishing family books.
In addition to her client work, she is part of the Mayflower Silver Books team, and lectures at RootsTech and the National Genealogical Society (NGS) conferences.
Her book Ultimate Guide to Mastering Family Search was released in print and digitally in November 2025.
When: Friday, 5th of June, 2026
from 12:30 to 2:30 pm Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)
Zoom Registration Required:
https://tinyurl.com/432j5fvu
Topic: Striking Gold: Using Cluster Research to Identify an Unknown Father
Discussion will show how analyzing church records, obituaries, cemetery and other records led to the discovery of the unknown father and his origins in Germany. This is a great example of using cluster research to find elusive ancestors.
More information: Visitors are always welcome. Our website is:
https://gig.eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org