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

Category: Uncategorized

  • February 13th general meeting and speaker

    February 13th general meeting and speaker

    That Splendid Little War: Researching the Spanish-American War

    Our speakerMichael Strauss

    Thursday, February 13, 2025

    Networking and announcements at 6:30 pm Pacific; program at 7:00 pm

    About our speaker: Michael L. Strauss, AG, has been employed as a forensic genealogist for 25 years and has a BA in history. He is a court qualified expert witness in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Virginia. Michael is a veteran of the United States Coast Guard and faculty member at IGHR, SLIG and GRIP where he coordinates the military courses and has been active in Civil War reenacting for almost 30 years.

    About our program: This lecture focuses on service records, pensions and other primary sources covering veterans who served in both the regular army and volunteer forces during the Spanish-American War. Also included are the later Philippine Insurrection and the Boxer Rebellion, and all three conflicts will be examined with research sources and methodology.

    Everyone is welcome—we hope you will join us.

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

    To join this Zoom meeting, use this link.

  • January General Meeting and Presentation 9-Jan-2025

    January General Meeting and Presentation 9-Jan-2025

    Finding the Origins of an Immigrant Ancestor

    Our speaker: Debbie Gurtler

    Thursday, January 9, 2025
    Virtual doors will open at 6:30 pm Pacific; the program will start at 7:00 pm
    Via Zoom

    About our speaker:  Debbie Gurtler, AG, is the Assistant Director of the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. She has a BA in family history from Brigham Young University and five Accredited Genealogist credentials for the US Mid-South, Spain, Mexico, Portugal, and Chile. Fluent in Spanish, she spent five years in South America and is a frequent speaker on Hispanic research topics at local and national conferences.

    About our program:  Are you having a hard time finding your immigrant ancestor in his or her homeland? This presentation will highlight the methodology and U.S. record types that should help you identify their hometown so you can expand your family tree. A case study highlighting the methodology needed will also be presented.

    Everyone is welcome—we hope you will join us.

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

  • Italian Interest Group Zoom Meeting 16-Nov-2024

    Italian Interest Group Zoom Meeting 16-Nov-2024

    Italian Interest Group

    16-Nov-2024 Meeting

    A (Alien) & Immigration Files

    A (Alien)-Files are a valuable resource for genealogical research as they provide detailed records of an individual’s immigration history, naturalization process, and any law enforcement actions involving the alien.

    Genealogy immigration files are historical records that document the immigration and naturalization processes of individuals who came to the United States.

                              ZOOM Meeting
    When:           16-Nov-2024, Saturday
    Time:            1:30 PM – 3:30 PM (PDT)
    Presenter:   Givonna & Elaine

    If you aren’t an active member, please request a Zoom meeting invitation.

  • November 14th General Meeting and Presentation

    November 14th General Meeting and Presentation

    Eastside Genealogical Society presents:
    Researching in Libraries and Archives: The Do’s and Don’ts

    Our speaker:  Melissa Barker
    Thursday, November 14, 2024     
    Virtual doors will open at 6:30 pm Pacific; the program will start at 7:00 pm
    Via Zoom—watch for the link*

    About our speaker:  Melissa Barker, The Archive Lady, is a Certified Archives Manager and Public Historian currently working at the Houston County, Tennessee Archives & Museum. She lectures, teaches, and writes about the genealogy research process, researching in archives and records preservation. She conducts virtual webinars, writes a popular blog entitled A Genealogist in the Archives and reviews genealogy books. She has been a Professional Genealogist for 20 years with an expertise in Tennessee records.

    About our program:  Those brick-and-mortar buildings that we call libraries, archives, courthouses, genealogical societies, historical societies and museums are all around us. They hold the records that we are searching for. Do you know how to use these repositories for the utmost benefit to your research? This presentation will show the genealogist some Do’s and Don’ts to help make the most of a visit to any library or archive.

    Everyone is welcome—we hope you will join us.

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

    The Zoom link for the meeting is:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84244606027?pwd=blZnOGFZVndraG1uTFFuamhjN0dWQT09

  • Italian Interest Group Zoom Meeting 19-Oct-2024

    Italian Interest Group Zoom Meeting 19-Oct-2024

    Italian Interest Group

    19-Oct-2024 Meeting

    Introduction to
    AI Genealogy

    Explore the latest artificial intelligence tools and technologies that can assist with your family history research.

    ZOOM Meeting

    DATE CORRECTION

    When: 19-Oct-2024, Saturday
    Time: 1:30 PM – 3:30 PM (PDT)
    Presenter: Givonna

    If you aren’t an active member, please request a Zoom meeting invitation.

  • Family Tree Maker SIG – Friday September 20th

    Family Tree Maker SIG – Friday September 20th

    The Family Tree Maker SIG meets on the 3rd Friday of each month from 10:30AM to 12:30PM Pacific time via Zoom. (Check this website for information on each upcoming meeting date.)

    The next meeting will be on Friday, September 20, 2024.

    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 no later than Thursday, Sept 19 to request the meeting link.

  • September EGS German Interest Group Meeting

    September EGS German Interest Group Meeting

    Date: Friday, 6 September, 2024 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm PDT

    Topic: A Day in the Life of Your German Ancestor
    Most family history researchers are interested in the daily events in the lives of their ancestors. This presentation deals with the common activities of families on the farm and in the trades. The details provided represent the culmination of the presenter’s reading on the topic over the last two decades, from hard-to-find literature available only to the German audience.

    Presenter: Roger P. Minert
    Dr. Minert received his doctoral degree from The Ohio State University in German language history and second language acquisition theory. He taught German language and history for ten years, and then became a professional family history researcher. Accredited by the Family History Library for research in Germany and Austria, he worked for twelve years as a private genealogical researcher. From 2003 to 2019, he served as a professor of family history at Brigham Young University. The author of more than 200 publications, he directs the research program German Immigrants in American Church Records [GIACR], the series now consists of 40 volumes. In 2019, Minert was recognized for his years of service to the Palatines to America Society and also received the “Shirley Riemer Lifetime Achievement Award” from the International German Genealogy Partnership. In 2020, he was named a fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association. From his home in Provo, Utah he continues to write articles on Germanic genealogy, compile new GIACR volumes, and participate in conferences nation-wide.

    Registration: Required to obtain the Zoom link to attend each meeting. If you have already registered, thank you and there is no need to do so again. Just keep that registration email, which contains the Zoom link so you can join our meeting. If you are unsure whether you registered, just register again – it won’t cause any problems on Zoom. To convert meeting times, consider using https://24timezones.com/difference/ Enter two cities (Seattle, WA and one from your area) and scroll down on the next webpage to select the meeting hour plus display the converted time. 

  • October 10th General Meeting and Presentation

    October 10th General Meeting and Presentation



     Top Dos & Don’ts for Preserving Family Memorabilia


    Our speaker:  Katherine R Willson
    Thursday, October 10, 2024 at 7:00 pm PST
    Click here to join the meeting starting at 6:30 for networking.

    About Our Speaker: Katherine R Willson has been a full-time researcher for private clients and a genealogy educator for 25+ years. She has spoken at national, regional and state conferences and serves on the boards of several national, state and local genealogical organizations.  Katherine is the creator of the free Genealogy on Facebook list, SocialMediaGenealogy.com, which categorizes 12,000+ genealogy/history links on Facebook.

    About our program: Katherine will provide the best materials, methods and places for storing precious family photos, heirlooms, textiles, and more.

    Special notice: “What’s In Your Attic”, an Heirloom Show and Tell, will occur at the Bellevue Library on Saturday, October 12th, 2024.

    Everyone is welcome—we hope you will join us at our Zoom meeting at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84244606027?pwd=blZnOGFZVndraG1uTFFuamhjN0dWQT09

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

  • What’s in Your Attic?

    What’s in Your Attic?

    Eastside Genealogical Society and the Bellevue Library Presents


    What’s in Your Attic?


    Heirloom Show and Tell Event

    Date: Saturday, October 12, 2024

    Time: 1:30-3:30 p.m.

    Location: Room 1 in the Bellevue Library, 1111 – 110th Ave. NE, Bellevue, WA

    What is it? Genealogy Show and Tell, plus a Speaker

    EGS, and the Bellevue Library, will be hosting a fun event in October in celebration of Family History Month. Bring items to share, listen to the presentation, and enjoy!

    You can participate in several ways:

    • Bring something to show and share or send a photo of something too large or fragile to bring!
      Maybe you have a clock, old photo, a quilt, family documents, or an item that is meaningful
      to you. Sign up and bring your items (or photo) to share by emailing Kimberly at
      vicepresident@eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org. Let her know what you plan to bring and
      how much table space you will need.
    • EGS Member Marcia Williams will be presenting, “Solving a Decades-Long Brick Wall”.
      Marcia’s husband descends from Robert Loudon (1718 – 1796), and she always wondered
      about a 1783 newspaper containing an article about Samuel Loudon (1727 – 1813). Despite
      having the newspaper, she could never connect Robert and Samuel. After decades of mystery,
      a relative cleaning out a safe found the missing link. Come listen to how this discovery of
      “What’s in Your Attic” answered this genealogical question, learn the steps Marcia is taking
      to publish the newly revealed facts about Samuel and his family, and how to handle and
      preserve old irreplaceable documents.
    • Come and enjoy the items being shared and the presentation. Everyone is welcome!

    Reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities is available by request. Email access@kcls.org at least seven
    days before the event. Automated closed captioning is always available for online events.