PO Box 374 • Bellevue, Washington 98009-0374
Eastside Genealogical Society invites you to attend an event or become a member.
Meeting Friday April 18th, 2025
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, April 18, 2025. 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 Family Tree Maker SIG will not meet in December.
There’s Gold in Federal Government Reports
Our speaker: Mark White
Thursday, April 10, 2025
Networking and announcements at 6:30 pm PT; program at 7:00 pm
About our speaker:
In 1991 Mark began researching his grandfather, who was orphaned at a young age, and his great-grandmother, finding his roots are mainly in New Jersey then back to Ireland. His wife also has the genealogy bug, and her research has taken them to many areas of the country. He has always had an interest in history, especially the Revolutionary War. Mark has been a member of the Monmouth County Genealogy Society since 1991 and President since 2017.
About our program:
This presentation covers obtaining records from 3 different federal agencies: the Railroad Retirement Board for employment records, with some medical records for anyone who worked for a railroad; Social Security to request a SS5 for a snapshot of a person’s life at the time of the application; and the National Personnel Records Center (part of the National Archives) for personnel-related records for both the military and civil services of the United States. How to navigate the online process of requesting records, fees and the email process of receiving the records will also be discussed.
Everyone is welcome—we hope you will join us.
For more information about EGS, visit our website at https://eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org
Presenter: Gail Blankenau
Gail Shaffer Blankenau is a historian, genealogist, speaker, and award-winning author. She serves on the boards of the Germanic Genealogy Society and Nebraska Historic Newspapers. Her history book, Journey to Freedom: Uncovering the Grayson Sisters’ Escape from Nebraska Territory, was released by the University of Nebraska Press in 2024.
When: Friday, 4th of April, 2025 from 12:30 to 2:30 pm Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)
Zoom Registration Required: https://tinyurl.com/5ab7ws8y
This presentation will NOT be recorded.
Topic: What’s in a Name? Deciphering German Given Names and Nicknames.
Genealogists often focus on surnames, but what happens when multiple ancestor candidates share the same name? German given names can be tricky—many individuals had multiple names but were known by a “Rufname” (call name).
Don’t let name confusion derail your research—discover strategies you need to ensure you’re barking up the right tree.
More information: Visitors are always welcome. Our website is:
https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/
The Eastside Genealogical Society’s Book Club will meet March 28th at 10 AM PT via Zoom.
The book for this month is The Moving Pictures by Erika Maren Steiger.
Email Kimberly Nichols at vicepresident@eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org to request a zoom link and be added to the email list.
Meeting Friday March 21st, 2025
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, March 21, 2025. 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 Family Tree Maker SIG will not meet in December.
Bridging the Divide: Italian Catholic Parish Records as a Cardinal Resource for Historical Demography and Genealogy
Description: Italian Catholic Parish Records serve as foundational archives for historical demographics and genealogy in Italy. In this presentation, the speaker will highlight their significance by outlining the data contained in the records — baptismal, marriage, and burial registers from the 16th to 19th centuries. No other records in Italy contain as much of the day-to-day history of everyday people during that time period. Attendees will learn about parish record collections available to research, efforts to digitize more records, and resources and researchers who can assist. In addition, the speaker will discuss the accessibility of the records and the impact on contemporary research.
Bio: Suzanne Greco is the Founder & Director of Italian Parish Records, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and making accessible the Italian Catholic Parish Records. She is a current Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Edinburgh Divinity School in Ethical & Practical Theology, recently having graduated from Harvard Divinity School. Suzanne has researched Italian family lines and indexed civil and parish records for 27 years.
The Scots Irish in America
Our speaker: Peggy Lauritzen
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Networking and announcements at 6:30 pm Pacific; program at 7:00 pm
Via this Zoom link
About our speaker: Peggy’s parents were excellent genealogists and instilled the same love of history and family in her and her sisters. A favorite picture is of her mother
doing cemetery research four days before her birth. Her roots run deep in the South. Peggy has been an active teacher and lecturer in the field and has written several Legacy QuickGuides and columns for Reminisce Magazine. She has received several awards in recognition of exemplary professionalism and continuing encouragement to other professional genealogists. Peggy and her husband are Family History Directors in Mansfeld, Ohio.
About our program: Many Americans can trace their ancestry back to the British Isles. Some have even heard that their background was “Scotch-Irish”. Peggy will focus on who these people were and where they came from in the British Isles.
Everyone is welcome—we hope you will join us.
For more information about EGS, visit our website at eastsidegenealogicalsociety.org
Presenter: Fritz Juengling,
Ph.D., AG®, AGL™
Doctor Juengling received his
Master’s and Doctorate in
Germanic Philology at the
University of Minnesota. He is an
Accredited Genealogist® through
the International Commission for
the Accreditation of Professional
Genealogists and certified by
the Verband deutschsprachiger
Berufsgenealogen. He runs a
successful genealogy research
and translation business
When: Friday, 7th of March, 2025 from
12:30 to 2:30 pm PT
Zoom Registration Required:
https://tinyurl.com/4fv9a9rk
Topic: Websites for German Research
This presentation will teach participants
how to use important websites, such as
FamilySearch, Ancestry, Matricula,
Archion, Genealogy.net, and Meyersgaz
to find records and jurisdictional
information for German research. As far
as possible, the presentation will include
a case study to find information on one
person as a case study. Participants will
be able to compare the advantages of the
different sites.
More information: Visitors are always
welcome. Our website is:
https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/
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, February 21, 2025. 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, February 20 to request the meeting link. The Family Tree Maker SIG will not meet in December.
