Latest News For Members
Out-of-Area Events
May Presentation for Members and Guests
Wednesday, May 13, 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Fishing in Every Pond:
Cousin Baiting
By Christine Cohen
Bait your hook with the many websites Christine will give us, and reel in cousins you never knew you had! When you reach out to distant living cousins, you may find family treasures, photos, DNA test takers and new information.
In person at the Wenatchee Public Library, Balsamroot Room, 310 Douglas Street, Wenatchee; and via Zoom (Zoom address will be posted closer to the event).
Free and open to the public.
April Presentation for Members and Guests
Wednesday afternoon, April 8, 2026 3:00-4:30 p.m.
Civil War Genealogy:
Researching Confederate Soldiers in Historical Records
By Elizabeth Swanay O’Neal
Civil War–era records can reveal important details about ancestors who served during that conflict. We will explore the records associated with Confederate service and see how to locate these sources today using online databases and research tools.
In person at the Wenatchee Public Library, Balsamroot Room, 310 Douglas Street, Wenatchee; and via Zoom:
Topic: WAGS General Meeting Zoom Link
Time: Apr 8, 2026 03:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85365897983?pwd=SxglOEoPGzxngcR0qgJMho9bIan7k5.1
Meeting ID: 853 6589 7983
Passcode: April
Free and open to the public.
March Presentation for Members and Guests
Wednesday afternoon, March 11, 2026, from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
When Worlds Collide: Resolving Conflicts in Genealogical Records
by Judy Russell, The Legal Genealogist
Resolving conflicts in data is easier said than done! What shall we do when we encounter conflicting evidence? Judy will give us methods, tips and tricks to overcome this problem.
This program is made possible by a generous donation from the Edwards family’s endowment in honor of their Aunt Marie Quisenberry.
In person at the Wenatchee Public Library, Balsamroot Room, 310 Douglas Street, Wenatchee; and via Zoom
Topic: WAGS General Meeting Zoom Link
Time: Mar 11, 2026 03:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88977752235?pwd=nGSLtlrOghhOtTQTWrrf8TTGaeyTBB.1
Meeting ID: 889 7775 2235
Passcode: Spring
Our speaker wishes to make her handout available only to WAGS members. If you’re a member, go to Members Only on the home page, and click on “Speaker Handout.” If you’re not a member, consider joining!
She wants you to know that the handout is copyrighted and not to be further reproduced, sold, displayed online, or distributed without her express written consent.
February Presentation for Members and Guests
Wednesday afternoon, February 11, 2026, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.
Timelines: The Straight Line Between You and Your Ancestor
By Cyndi Ingle
Using online tools and software, we will learn how important a timeline can be for breaking through a research problem.
In person at the Wenatchee Public Library, Balsamroot Room, 310 Douglas Street, Wenatchee; and via Zoom.
Topic: WAGS General February Meeting
Time: Feb 11, 2026 02:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81230056041?pwd=ijJFpFxfKjS40DjVr48bc4cLEBuyga.1
Meeting ID: 812 3005 6041
Passcode: Sweetheart
January Presentation for Members and Guests
Wednesday afternoon, January 14, 2026 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
From Documents to Sentences to Stories: Rebuilding Family Stories, Step by Step
By Sunny J. Morton
Write your family history, one document at a time! Sunny will give us story-building strategies to turn a single record discovery into a simple paragraph, then a paragraph into a story, and, if you wish, a story into a book!
In person at the Wenatchee Public Library, Balsamroot Room, 310 Douglas Street, Wenatchee; and via Zoom.
Topic: WAGS January Zoom Meeting
Time: Jan 14, 2026 03:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81911715126?pwd=2MTsqERhgm3WTMbmjfb3ze1PmaNvgS.1
View meeting insights with Zoom AI Companion
https://us02web.zoom.us/launch/edl?muid=4367a92c-77da-40f5-ac67-f1eaded1f1a7
Meeting ID: 819 1171 5126
Passcode: Winter
November Presentation for Members and Guests
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
What Did You Do in the War, Granny?
Women in the Army in World War II
By Annette Burke Lyttle
Women’s military service in World War II helped change expectations and perceptions about women’s role outside the home. Learn about their pioneering wartime service and how to find records for the women in your family who served.
In person at the Wenatchee Public Library, Balsamroot Room, 310 Douglas Street, Wenatchee; and via Zoom:
Topic: WAGS General November Zoom Meeting
Time: Nov 12, 2025 03:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86975603371?pwd=6bKzD9oRS7DducGNh9tJgVrxrKyZxv.1
Meeting ID: 869 7560 3371
Passcode: November
October Presentation for Members and Guests
Wednesday, October 8, 2025 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
A Nose for the News:
Sniffing Out Stories in Newspapers
by Mary Kircher Roddy
Newspapers are a fabulous resource to learn more about your ancestors! A name in a newspaper can pinpoint a location for a person at a particular time. Legal notices, property records or shipping notices also provide clues. Mary will give us useful tips accompanied by real-life examples.
In person at the Wenatchee Public Library, Balsamroot Room, 310 Douglas Street, Wenatchee; and via Zoom:
Topic: WAGS General October Zoom Meeting
Time: Oct 8, 2025 03:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84486482401?pwd=qrCfRmxHkA7CraJjooNht7KiguqrbJ.1
Meeting ID: 844 8648 2401
Passcode: October
September Presentation for Members and Guests
Wednesday, September 10 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Artificial Intelligence:
Your New Research Assistant!
Are you ready for AI? It’s here to stay, and changing practically by the minute. Join us as we watch three YouTube videos that will show what genealogy research using AI looks like, give us an idea what AI can and can’t do, and demonstrate a 4-part approach to crafting effective prompts. Learn how AI can complement–not replace–your own research.
In person at the Wenatchee Public Library, Balsamroot Room, 310 Douglas Street, Wenatchee; and via Zoom:
Topic: WAGS September General Meeting – Zoom Link
Time: Sep 10, 2025 03:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83281437014?pwd=YeqkFoToArJJuQpFy0cK9rw7UY8rud.1
Meeting ID: 832 8143 7014
Passcode: September
Eastside Genealogical Society – Do You Have a Brick Wall? We Can Help
The registration link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/1mXi10XfS8uT_Oa3AoIQ1w
Seattle Genealogical Society – Ten Rootstech Revolations
RootsTech 2026 wrapped up on March 7. The theme was “Together,” but the unofficial theme was clearly artificial intelligence. AI crashed the party at every forum, every expo booth, and most of the talks. Here are the ten announcements and moments that had people excited.
1. FamilyTreeDNA Rewrote the Rules on Autosomal Testing
FamilyTreeDNA launched new Family Finder tests that analyze over 400 times the genetic data of their previous version — roughly 9% of your genome compared to just 0.02% before. The best news? Upcoming Family Finder Discover reports will be available to all Family Finder test takers, whether they tested recently or years ago.
2. GEDmatch is Getting a Complete Overhaul
GEDmatch has been the scrappy workhorse of the genetic genealogy world for years. The company previewed a major redesign planned for later in 2026, incorporating AI-powered tools to help users interpret DNA matches and make organizing, filtering, tagging, and analyzing notes far easier. This has been a long time coming.
3. FamilySearch Released Its AI Tools from the Lab
For months, genealogists have been testing FamilySearch AI features in beta. At RootsTech, the AI Research Assistant and AI Hints officially came out of Labs and are now available to all users. Full-Text Search also graduated from Labs, and users can now attach search results directly to the family tree.
4. FamilySearch Is Testing Natural Language Search
If you have ever wished you could just talk to a database like a person, this one is for you. Simple Search, currently in Labs, is being tested to allow users to search records using natural language. Ask it a question the way you would ask a librarian. See what it tells you!
5. All Revolutionary War Pension Files Are Now Fully Searchable
Ancestry announced that its Fold3 collection of Revolutionary War pension files are now fully searchable thanks to optical character recognition. Researchers can now search for veterans and their next of kin by name, rather than relying on a limited index. For those of us working on pre-1800 American genealogy, this is a genuine breakthrough. They also announced new AI features, including a record and document transcription tool where AI transcribes, summarizes, and provides source citations for documents and photos uploaded to your Gallery.
6. Ancestry Introduced “AI Stories” — And It’s Exactly What It Sounds Like
A new tool called AI Stories narrates a brief story about a document in a shareable, podcast-style audio file. The possibilities here for people who struggle to write about their ancestors are significant. It could be a meaningful bridge for beginners. It raises questions about voice and accuracy that researchers will need to monitor carefully, but the concept is compelling.
7. LifeWeaver Crashed the Party as a Platinum Sponsor
No one saw this one coming. Newcomer LifeWeaver made a significant splash as platinum sponsor of RootsTech 2026. The tool archives and searches through text messages, emails and other digital communication files to create a story from those pieces. LifeWeaver also allows users to add older phones, computers, hard drives, and scanned handwritten journals, digitizing their contents while preserving images of the originals so they can be shared with family. And critically, users’ data is private. The company does not sell data or use it to train AI models.
8. MyHeritage Unveiled Scribe AI
MyHeritage announced Scribe AI at the RootsTech Innovation Forum, demonstrating how the feature analyzes historical documents and photos to uncover genealogical insights. The tool provides record suggestions, photo descriptions, and transcriptions. The MyHeritage team also announced Country Coding, a feature that helps sort and organize international records and visualize your ancestors by country.
9. Ancestry Preserve Wants to Digitize Your Shoeboxes
The new Ancestry Preserve service, heavily featured in the Expo Hall, aims to help customers preserve and digitize their old media, including photographs, slides, film tapes, and more. For genealogists who have inherited closets full of analog memories, this fills a real need. The long-term implications for family history are significant. Your grandmother’s slides deserve better than a dark box in a garage.
10. Marlee Matlin and Tara Roberts Reminded Us What This Is All For
The technology announcements were remarkable. But these two keynotes stopped the room. Marlee Matlin, Academy Award-winning actress, shared her inspiring journey of overcoming obstacles and connecting personal triumphs to family history. As a deaf actor, she did not utter a word, but her facial expressions, animated signing, and story had audiences listening with their eyes and hearts. Tara Roberts, National Geographic explorer, shared her extraordinary work documenting slave ship wrecks and reconnecting descendants with their ancestral past.
RootsTech 2026 made one thing clear. The technology is accelerating faster than most of us can keep up. The challenge for our community is to stay human in the middle of all of it. The records are the beginning. The stories are the point.Join SGS Today
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Recording of Gilad Japhet’s session at RootsTech 2026
| MyHeritage Founder and CEO Gilad Japhet took the stage at RootsTech to share how MyHeritage continues to push the boundaries of genealogy. Whether you were in the room or missed it this year, the full recording of the session is now available to watch here. |
Heritage Quest Research Library – Finding Your Dutch Roots
 Explore the Exceptional Genealogy Classes at HQRL! Join us online via Zoom or in person at HQRL and connect with fellow genealogy enthusiasts who share your curiosity and drive—together, we can explore the fascinating world of family history! Just a reminder of upcoming class March 19, 2026!Don’t miss out, sign up today! Finding Your Dutch Roots Thursday, March 19, 2026Alexander Tolksdorf click here for class flyerMany communities across the United States boast a rich Dutch heritage, owing their founding and regional culture to the influence of Dutch immigration. This presentation will explore resources and techniques to trace your Dutch ancestors in the United States and back into the Netherlands, with additional emphasis on cultural and historical context that surrounded the lives of your Dutch ancestors. Join Alexander Tolksdorf to explore resources and techniques to trace your Dutch ancestors in the United States and back into the Netherlands, with additional emphasis on cultural and historical context that surrounded the lives of your Dutch ancestors. Click Here to Sign-up Click Here to See All of Our 2026 Classes!Visit our blog for great tips & hints exploring your family story! |
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Free Access to 145 Million Irish Records
| Hi there, St. Patrick’s Day is a great time to explore the stories that connect families to Ireland — and for a few days, MyHeritage is opening access to its Irish historical records for free. From March 14–18, 2026, MyHeritage is offering free access to 145 million Irish historical records. These collections include birth, marriage, and death records, parish registers, newspapers, passenger lists, and court records that document everyday life in Ireland. Together they can help people discover relatives, trace migration stories, and learn more about the communities their families came from. .png?width=1000&upscale=true&name=Free%20Irish%20records%20for%20St.%20Patricks%20day%202026_753_423_1%20(1).png) |
Users love Scribe AI on MyHeritage
| Hi there, Last week at RootsTech we introduced Scribe AI, our new AI-powered tool for analyzing historical documents and photos, and it’s already creating a major buzz among family history enthusiasts. Scribe AI transcribes handwriting, translates foreign languages, extracts key details like names and dates, and provides helpful context to make difficult records easier to understand. Genealogists are already using it on everything from 19th-century birth records and handwritten letters to old family photos. We’ve just published a new blog post highlighting early reactions from bloggers and users who tested Scribe AI on their own family documents. The feedback has been fantastic! |
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