Eastside Genealogical Society

PO Box 374 • Bellevue, Washington 98009-0374

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

Category: Uncategorized

  • German Interest Group – Friday February 6th 12:30 PM

    Eastside Genealogical Society
    German Interest Group

    Presenter:
    Charlotte Noelle Champenois, AG®, AGL™
    Charlotte, originally from Denmark and a long-time resident of Utah, is accredited in Germany Northwest, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, and Switzerland. She has a BA in genealogy from Brigham Young University, and is working on her master’s in genealogy from the University of Strathclyde.
    She worked as a German and Nordic Research Specialist at the FamilySearch Library for almost 6 years, helping guests with research and translation, and is currently working on the German training dataset for FamilySearch’s AI models as a Technical Historical Records Linguist.

    When: Friday, 6th of February, 2026 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm PT

    Zoom Registration Required:
    https://tinyurl.com/yfyrt6yw

    Topic: Swiss Essentials: Locating Church Records & Understanding the Impact of Citizenship

    Gain an understanding of the essential research tools for researching your ancestors from Switzerland. Learn how to use the Register of Swiss Surnames, Ortsnamen.ch (Swiss maps website), and parish pages on the FamilySearch Wiki to figure out correct localities and locate genealogical records. Discover how Switzerland’s unique system of citizenship plays into record creation and access and how to determine where your Swiss ancestors held citizenship.

    More information: Visitors are always welcome. Our website is:

    https://gig.eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org

  • Genealogy Book SIG – Friday February 13th 10:00 AM

    Eastside Genealogical Society’s Genealogy Book SIG will meet Friday February 13th at 10 AM PT via Zoom.

    The book for this month is DNA Never Lies by Sue George

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

  • Genealogy Help – Thursday Jan 22nd 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.

  • Genealogy Help – Thursday Jan 8th 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.

  • Lunch Bunch – Thursday Jan 15th 11:30 AM

    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.

  • Family Tree Maker SIG – Friday January 16th 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.

  • The Eastside Genie Dec/Jan 2025/6 Newsletter

    2025_Dec_Jan_cDownload

  • German Interest Group – Friday January 9th 12:30 PM

    Eastside Genealogical Society
    German Interest Group

    Presenter:
    Josian Schmidt


    Josiah Schmidt is a
    history and genealogy
    specialist for the Saint
    Louis County Library
    System in Saint Louis,
    Missouri. He specializes
    in German, Jewish and
    Genetic Genealogy.

    When: Friday, 9th of January, 2026
    from 12:30 to 2:30 pm PT

    Zoom Registration Required:
    https://tinyurl.com/ypmc7kyx

    Topic: Free Websites for German
    Genealogy

    Take a guided exploration of how to
    access and use numerous free
    websites for your German family
    history research.

    More information: Visitors are
    always welcome. Our website is:

    https://gig.eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org

  • Italian Interest Group – Saturday January 17th 1:30 PM

    Please note that the IIG will not meet in December.

    Date: January 17, 2026
    Time: 1:30 PM (PT)
    Topic: Italian POWs in the US during WWII and The Ferramonti Concentration Camp in Italy
    Presenter: Kathy Kirkpatrick

    Presentation #1: Italian POWs in the US during WWII

    Description:     During World War II there were 1,210 POW camps, hospitals and cemeteries for German, Italian and Japanese soldiers in the United States. Among those POWs were 51,000 Italian soldiers. The camps not only gave the Italian prisoners a glimpse of American life, but enabled interaction with Americans leading to friendships and even marriage. About two-thirds of Italian prisoners chose to become Allies and served in Italian Service Units here and as part of the Allied push to liberate Italy. This presentation discusses camp life and rules, work by the POWs, and postwar activities. A variety of records and repositories in the US and Italy are described in detail with links.

    Presentation #2: The Ferramonti Concentration Camp in Italy

    Description:     This presentation takes us to Italy to learn about the Ferramonti Camp and the local Italian community. Out of the 3,823 prisoners, only fifty died. One hundred forty-one of these prisoners were Italian, the rest having fled from Europe before capture in Italy, Bengasi (Libya) and Rhodes (Greece). Most of the prisoners were Jewish and were able to observe that religion in the Camp. There were also non-Jewish people from China, France, Greece, and Yugoslavia. The cooperation between the camp staff, prisoners, and the community enabled this situation in a dark time. Sources and repositories described.

    Presenter: Kathy Kirkpatrick

    Kathy Kirkpatrick earned her B.A. in History from Humboldt State University at Arcata, California. She is currently President of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Utah. Kathy has written family histories, genealogical and Italian research instruction, and eight volumes on American Prisoner of War Camps since 1986. Kathy speaks locally and internationally on a variety of topics since 1993, including at RootsTech, National Genealogical Society, the Foundation of Eastern European Family History Studies (FEEFHS), and the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS). Kathy’s research takes her on-site to Italy (including the Vatican Secret Archives since 2015), Sicily, Greece, the United Kingdom, and France as well as close to home in the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. Her extensive websites are at http://www.gentracer.com for genealogy
    and http://www.gentracer.org for military research and cemeteries.

  • Genealogy Book SIG – Friday January 9th 10:00 AM

    Please note that the Genealogy Book SIG will not meet in December.

    Eastside Genealogical Society’s Genealogy Book SIG will meet Friday January 9th at 10 AM PT via Zoom.

    The book for this month is The Quest For Annie Moore
    of Ellis Island     by Megan Smolenyak

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