Chesley R. Graves
about 1906
According to his granddaughter, he definitely was NOT a cowboy.
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Monthly Programs
The Genealogical Society of South Whidbey Island meets on the second Monday of every month September through June for presentations by knowledgeable speakers on subjects of genealogical interest. Meetings generally start at 1:00 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Chapel at the corner of Highway 525 and Woodard Road in Freeland (view map and directions).
Programs are open to the public. Guests are invited to their first two meetings at no charge.
Videotapes of selected past programs are available for members to borrow. See our Library page for details.
Board of Directors Meetings
Meetings are held the second Monday of each month, usually at 10:30 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Chapel in Freeland (view map).
Education Classes
Classes on various research topics are generally held at 11:45 a.m. prior to the general meeting in the classroom next to the public meeting room. The beginning class uses First Steps in Genealogy by Desmond Walls Allen as its textbook. Director of Education is Ann Wright.
The theme of this year's intermediate classes is "Where do I go from here?" Classes will continue to be a mixture of a shared information and panel discussions, led by Stephen Hunt and Maureen MacDonald. They will be held from 11:45 to 12:45, prior to the monthly meeting on the second Monday of each month, in Grigware Hall. We welcome your requests for topics and specific questions you would liked answered. We aim to assist you in finding your relatives. Tools for knocking down brick walls will be provided when possible. Feel free to share your "tools" with all of us.
Field Trips
The field trips this year will be held on various days, but mostly on Wednesdays. All dates are subject to change due to weather conditions and members' interest.
Software User Groups
Currently, two groups have formed and meet separately at the Freeland Library conference room. The first group helps people with Windows-based computers learn to use their computers more effectively. The second group brings together people who use the Legacy genealogy software package to help one another solve problems or resolve any issues they are having with it.
September 2009
Monday September 14th: Board of Directors Meeting, 10:30 a.m.
Monday September 14th: Education Classes, 11:45 a.m.
Beginning class: There will be no beginning education class this month. The instructors will have handouts to give to those interested in the classes.
Intermediate classes: Introduction to the classes and sign up and discussion of the Focus Groups, which includes New England, New York, Michigan, Pacific NW, Germans, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and others to be determined by you!
Monday September 14th: Monthly Program, 1:00 p.m.
"Meet and Greet" (no speaker)
As has been done frequently in the past, the September meeting will be centered on a "Meet and Greet" theme. Members and guests should come prepared to give a very short synopsis of their current genealogical research with any geographical or time period emphasis. Also of interest to the membership would be any research or organizational tips found to be useful in genealogical research. Time per member will be limited so please be as concise and brief as possible. Plan to attend the September meeting to share your research interests with fellow members. Annual membership fees will also be paid at the September meeting.
Wednesday September 16th: Software User Groups, Freeland Library Conference Room
The Computer Interest Group will meet from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. The topic will be document creation and editing. In Doreen's absence, Mary Sue will teach this class; please notify her at the GSSWI email address if you plan to attend to ensure she has enough handouts for everyone.
The Legacy User Group will meet the same day from 3:00 - 5:00 p.m. or beyond. The topic is to be determined.
Tuesday September 29th: Field trip to Heritage Quest Research Library in Sumner, Washington
Their website: http://hqrl.com. Their shelf list is online – check it out!
October 2009
Monday October 12th: Board of Directors Meeting, 10:30 a.m.
Monday October 12th: Education Classes, 11:45 a.m.
Beginning class topics: Getting started, or "What do I do first?"; Citing your sources; Interviewing your relatives
Intermediate class: Libraries – yours, ours and the others! What you need readily available and where to find it. Bring your recommendations and suggestions.
Monday October 12th: Monthly Program, 1:00 p.m.
Speaker: Laura Pemberton Sparr
Program: Document Sourcing
Laura Sparr, a favorite speaker of our society, is a past president and vice-president of the Washington State Genealogical Society. Last December she conducted for our society a very popular workshop on document data extraction. Laura is always an entertaining and informative speaker and her presentations are not to be missed!
Laura's topic this year is a kind of follow-up to last December's workshop on Document Data Extraction. This year, she'll focus on document sourcing for our education and enrichment.
Wednesday October 21st: Software User Groups, Freeland Library Community Room
Computer Interest Group: 1:00 - 3:00 p.m., topic is "World Wide Web Basics", taught by Nancy Snow in Doreen's absence. Please notify her at the GSSWI email address if you plan to attend to ensure she has enough handouts for everyone.
Legacy group: 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Monday October 26th: Field trip to Seattle Public Library in downtown Seattle
Their website: http://spl.org. Their shelf list is online!
November 2009
Monday November 9th: Board of Directors Meeting, 10:30 a.m.
Monday November 9th: Education Classes, 11:45 a.m.
Beginning class: Filling out family group records; Filing all those papers; Recording where you've looked, or "This looks familiar."
Intermediate class: Census vs obituaries vs cemeteries. Where is the right answer? How do you find it? Which one do you believe?
Monday November 9th: Monthly Program, 1:00 p.m.
Speaker: Gary Zimmerman
Program: The Life and Times of the Confederacy
Gary Zimmerman's work in genealogy began with a 5th grade assignment, and his exploration of family history has been continuous since that time. In the early 1960s he began teaching other people how to do genealogy. Today, most of his work is through the instructional programs of the Fiske Foundation and in supervising the responses to genealogical questions asked of the Pioneer Hall organizations. Gary is a fourth-generation resident of Seattle and the president of the Fiske Genealogical Foundation. He is retired from a professional career as a university administrator, with thirty-three years of service to Seattle University and Antioch University Seattle.
Gary's topic this year will provide the membership with a perspective on the Civil War from the point of view of the Confederacy. Attend and learn!
Wednesday November 18th: Software User Groups, Freeland Library
Computer Interest Group: 1:00 p.m. Printing tips and tricks. Please e-mail Doreen at the GSSWI email address if you plan on attending so she can have enough handouts for everyone.
Legacy Group: 2:30 p.m. Special session for Beginning Legacy users. Come with questions, concerns or just to hear what kinds of things others want to know about Legacy. This is for those of you who are new, or relatively new to Legacy. We'll stick to beginning topics and concerns.
Thursday November 19th: Field trip to National Archives/Seattle Genealogy Society
These two sites, across the street from each other, afford visitors the option to visit either or even both during this trip. Websites:
- www.nara.gov/regional/seattle.html, which is loaded with information
- www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~waseags, also with an online shelf list
December 2009
Monday December 14th: Board of Directors Meeting, 10:30 a.m.
Monday December 14th: Education Classes, 11:45 a.m.
Beginning class: Repositories – what are they and why do I want to go there?
Intermediate class: Continued from November with a panel discussion on your individual questions.
Monday December 14th: Potluck and Program, 1:00 p.m.
Program: Bring and Brag Session
Be prepared to display and discuss some favorite part of your genealogical artifacts, photos or other memorabilia. There will be, though, a strict time limit of two minutes per person!
This meeting will also feature a potluck luncheon in celebration of the Holiday Season so it will be a great opportunity so socialize with other members. Specific details will be published at a later date.
No field trip this month due to the holidays and winter weather
January 2010
Monday January 11th: Board of Directors Meeting, 10:30 a.m.
Monday January 11th: Education Classes, 11:45 a.m.
Beginning class: "Don't know much 'bout history" won't be your song anymore! Gleaning information from relatives' interviews for historical events; Read history books of areas ancestors lived in; Look at religious/church records or practices; What you can find in old newspapers
Intermediate class: Death and Taxes! You can’t get away from them, and thank you for that!
Monday January 11th: Monthly Program, 1:00 p.m.
Speaker: Bobbi Sandberg
Program: Using Footnote and World Vital Records
This presentation will deal with the effective use of two important websites, Footnote.com and WorldVitalRecords.com. This is a selfish topic requested by your friendly program director who hasn't been able to decipher the sites and their usage! As always, Bobbi will do her best to educate us all. She is, perpetually, one of our favorite speakers!
February 2010
Monday February 8th: Board of Directors Meeting, 10:30 a.m.
Monday February 8th: Education Classes, 11:45 a.m.
Beginning class: Timelines; Maps
Intermediate class: Land! Where is it? How did they get it? How did that dispose of it?
Monday February 8th: Monthly Program, 1:00 p.m.
Speaker: Donna Potter-Phillips
Program: Examining Your Genealogical Skills
Bring your pencils, pens or wax tablets as this program involves a test! Sometimes we genealogists have to sit back and enjoy knowing what we already know. If you agree, come to our February meeting when our presenter will be Donna Potter Phillips from Spokane. She comes bringing a Really-Fun-Discussion-Promoting 50 Question Genealogy Quiz and promises that the afternoon will be an enjoyable learning session...and that you'll be glad to know all the things you already know about genealogy.
March 2010
This month's information will be posted soon.
April 2010
This month's information will be posted soon.
May 2010
This month's information will be posted soon.
June 2010
This month's information will be posted soon.