Latest News For Members
Out-of-Area Events
MAY PRESENTATION FOR MEMBERS AND GUESTS
MONDAY, MAY 12, 2025 2:00 to 3:30 P.M.
Where Did Your Family Tree Grow?
with WAGS members Cathie and Brian Wengreen
Cathie and Brian will share pictures and details of their trip to the Netherlands last year. Then they will “zoom out” to discuss how YOU can get the most out of your genealogy travel, whether it’s close by or around the world.
In person at the FamilySearch Center, 667 10th Street NE, East Wenatchee, or via Zoom (Zoom address will be posted here closer to the event)
APRIL PRESENTATION for MEMBERS and GUESTS
MONDAY, APRIL 14, 2025 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
Historic Records in Douglas County
with Jim Ruud, Douglas County Assessor
We’ll take a virtual tour of the treasures that are waiting for us, either on the Douglas County website, or after a scenic drive up to Waterville. There are historic ownership records, old deeds and photos. The county’s Maps & Data Portal will also be demonstrated.
In person at the FamilySearch Center, 667 10th Street NE, East Wenatchee, or via Zoom:
Topic: WAGS April General Meeting Zoom Link
Time: Apr 14, 2025 02:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87157312948?pwd=7jB6HL8ZWm4nwb3wS3v8GrSmCg9liQ.1
Meeting ID: 871 5731 2948
Passcode: April
MARCH MEETING FOR MEMBERS and GUESTS
MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2025 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
A Voyage Through Time
by Susie Wickman
Let’s visit the incredible world of historical ships that carried our ancestors! We’ll look at ship histories, including the innovations that made sea travel safer and faster, and even blueprints and interiors. Learn about tracking ship arrivals and departures with ship mail and newspapers. It will be a fascinating journey.
In person at the FamilySearch Center, 667 10th Street NE, East Wenatchee, or via Zoom
Topic: WAGS March General Meeting Zoom Link
Time: Mar 10, 2025 02:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83095006911?pwd=m5vzgVA1i998dlnA5HFMRgCRF7To4b.1
Meeting ID: 830 9500 6911
Passcode: March
FEBRUARY MEETING FOR MEMBERS and GUESTS
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2025 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
General Land Office: Get the Most Out of the BLM-GLO Website
by Lisa Gorrell
Whether your ancestor obtained land from the federal government in the public land states, or even if they didn’t, you’ll benefit from this presentation on the General Land Office website.
In person at the FamilySearch Center, 667 10th Street NE, East Wenatchee or via Zoom.
Topic: WAGS General Mtg Zoom Link
Time: Feb 10, 2025 02:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87405234522?pwd=N1RVbFxbnwE6xfpAlktnk4aeA4kBEe.1
Meeting ID: 874 0523 4522
Passcode: FebWAGSMtg
JANUARY MEETING FOR MEMBERS and GUESTS
MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2025 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
Breaking Down Brick Walls with DNA
by Kate Penney Howard, genetic genealogist
Perhaps DNA can help you with those pesky blanks in your family tree–strange names or no names; immigrants with odd or non-existent information; people who just show up! When traditional genealogical techniques fail to give us an answer, we can turn to DNA to find more opportunities to discover clues.
Topic: WAGS General Meeting Zoom LInk
Time: Jan 13, 2025 02:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88156085836?pwd=IGcFc8082x8vkAslyxz9OxzjvCa0JF.1
Meeting ID: 881 5608 5836
Passcode: January
Or arrive in person at the FamilySearch Center at 667 10th Street NE, East Wenatchee
“Name Your Price” Book Sale
Start your Christmas shopping today! WAGS is offering you some of our extra books. Shop with WAGS and pretend you’re in a game show called “Name Your Price!” Claim as many of these books (they were part of our Checkout collection) by naming your price and coming into the WAGS Library on December 14, 17 or 21 from 1 to 4 p.m. to collect your books. This is a first come/first served opportunity. Don’t delay!
NO DECEMBER MEETING!
Let’s all take an end-of-the-year break and recharge with family and friends.
On Monday, January 13, 2025 we’ll gather again to hear genetic genealogist Kate Penney Howard present “Breaking Down Brick Walls with DNA.”
NOVEMBER MEETING FOR MEMBERS and GUESTS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2024 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
The Great War and Its Stories:
Researching Your WWI Soldier
by Jill Morelli
Seattle-based genealogy educator Jill Morelli will tell us what records survive from World War I, and where to find them. Let’s look at our WWI soldiers through the lens of the available online and in-state repositories.
This will be a hybrid meeting. For an in-person experience, come to the FamilySearch Center at 667 10th Street NE in East Wenatchee. You may also attend via Zoom.
Join Zoom Meeting link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83006828680?pwd=gBs32mls0GPJDXm8ajZldLAp310Zn0.1
Meeting ID: 830 0682 8680
Passcode: November
23andMe Bankruptcy Information
by Roxanne Lowe
By now, you’ve probably heard that 23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March 2025. As the company maneuvers through the bankruptcy process, including trying to find a buyer, customers may want to check out the following articles.
What the 23andMe Bankruptcy Means for your Data and Genealogy with Amy Johnson Crow (March 2025)
https://genealogybargains.com/turmoil-at-23andme/ with Thomas MacEntee (March 2025)
April 29, 2025 update: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/23andme-will-have-court-appointed-overseer-genetic-data-bankruptcy-2025-04-29/
Access BRILS for Thrills!
by Roxanne Lowe
Have you heard of Reclaim The Records? If not, you should. According to their website, Reclaim The Records (RTR) is an activist group of genealogists, historians, researchers, and journalists that works to identify important genealogical record sets that are not online anywhere and not broadly available to the public. They use state Freedom of Information (FOIA) laws to force government agencies and archives to hand over copies of these records to the public, which RTR’s digitizes and puts online for free use.
In 2018, RTR filed a FOIA suit for the Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) database against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. After numerous rejections and denials over the years, RTR finally won their lawsuit in 2020 and the records were handed over in 2022.
What is BRILS?
It’s possibly the largest public dataset of deceased U.S veterans, ever, with more than 18 million names, covering veterans who served from the late nineteenth century up through mid-2020. The Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) database was originally created and maintained by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. It provides an index to basic biographical information on more than 18 million deceased American veterans who received some sort of veterans benefits in their lifetime, including health care, disability or life insurance policies, educational benefits (the GI Bill), mortgage assistance (VA loans), and more. The BIRLS database includes people who served in all branches of the U.S. military, including some branches that no longer exist, such as the Women’s Army Corps (WACs) and the Army Air Corps, as well as a few associated non-military groups and government agencies, such as NOAA. It even includes files for some non-US nationals, including veterans of the Philippine Commonwealth Army and Philippine Scouts and Guerillas, who served prior to and during the Second World War.
How Do I Request Information?
RTR built and launched a searchable database for the materials to help people to get files from the government for their relatives and research interests. The records are now online and searchable at BIRLS.org. The site even includes a free Freedom of Information (FOIA) filing system to make it easier to request the records.
Writer’s note: I filed a FOIA request on behalf of my late father (Navy & Coast Guard) on 30 Mar 2025. I’m eagerly awaiting whatever is in his file. It was easy to request and I’m hoping for results in the next few weeks.
Heritage Quest Research Library Using Real Estate Deeds
| Using Real Estate Deeds Real estate deeds can be a gold mine of information about our ancestors, yet researchers often forget to check them. While the search process can initially seem daunting, once you figure out which indexing system a particular town or county is using, it’s not so bad. Learn how to tell a grantor from a grantee. What are metes and bounds? Which part of a deed are boilerplate phrases that you can safely skim over? What can you learn about family relationships from deeds? Learn all this and more from Al E. Fiacre, Jr.  Albert E. Fiacre Jr. Al is currently the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Godfrey Memorial Library. He has been involved with the library since 2003 and been a Board member since 2015. He also is the principal researcher on genealogical research requests received at the library. In 2018, he was the winner of the NGS’s competition for Best Genealogy and Family History; he similarly won the 2019 competition of the Connecticut Society of Genealogists for Best Genealogy. Prior to his involvement with Godfrey, Al was the CFO of 2 Connecticut banks, with an extensive background in financial management and securities. He holds a BA degree from Middlebury College and an MBA degree from NYU. When: Thursday, May 15, 2025 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM Where: ZOOM & limited in-person (8) Cost: $20 members, $25 non-members Sign-up and Payment: ZOOM Go to hqrl.com and click on the HQRL Store (sign in as a member to get the discount.) In-person (8 only) Call: HQRL at 253-307-8033 or come into the library at 2102 E Main, Suite 105 Puyallup, WA 98372 A link will be sent to your email the Tuesday before class. |
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SPECIAL GENEALOGY WEBINAR Translating, Transcribing and Summarizing Documents Using AI
| Presented by Thomas MacEntee, Friday 25 April 2025 2pm EDT / 1pm CDT / 12pm MDT/ 11am PDT. Learn how to harness the power of artificial intelligence to assist in translating, transcribing, and summarizing a variety of genealogy records. A handwritten baptismal record from the 1800s? No problem. A faded newspaper obituary? No problem. We’ll cover the best AI platforms as well as how to craft a solid prompt to get you the results you need. Register at http://legacy.familytreewebinars.com/?aid=9451 Legacy Family Tree Webinars.NOTE: Requires a Legacy Family Tree Membership login in order to register and attend the webinar. |
| Legacy Family Tree Webinars Sale! Save 50% during the Spring Sale! In celebration of 15 YEARS Legacy Family Tree Webinars is offering yearly memberships for just $25. That’s a discount of 50%. Click HERE or the image below to get started! Offer valid for new memberships only, and expires on April 30th, 2025 at 11:59PM. |
Heritage Quest Research Library – Google Your Way To Genealogy Gems
| You won’t know all the hidden genealogy gems until you start “googling” for genealogy. Learn some tricks of the trade for effective online research that includes state, county, local, international websites and databases, including online government sites and more. |
 Suz Bates has been researching her family history for over 50 years. After a full career in education, she now combines teaching skills with extensive genealogy research experience and training in work as a presenter, researcher, and consultant. Suz’ presentation specialty is step by step instructions for various researching, archiving, and technology skills for genealogists and family historians. |
| When: Thursday, May 1, 2025 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM Where: ZOOM and Limited In-Person (8) Cost: $20 members/ $25 non-members Sign-up & Payment: ZOOM Go to hqrl.com and click on the HQRL Store (sign in as a member to get the discount) In-Person (8 only) Call HQRL at 253-863-1806 or come into the library located at: 2102 E Main, Ste. 105, Puyallup, WA 89372 |
German Interest Group of the Eastside Genealogical Society Tools for Reading German Handwriting
Zoom Registration required: https://tinyurl.com/n92u343h
More information: Visitors are always welcome. Our website is https://egsgermangroup.wordpress.com/