Annual Holiday Party - Dec 9
 Instead of our usual Zoom meeting, OGS members (and their spouses/partners) are invited to attend an in-person Holiday Party on Saturday, Dec. 9, from 1-3 pm at the Capital Vision Church in east Olympia. Here is the opportunity to greet friends of old and meet newer members you've only seen at Zoom meetings. In keeping with our past party tradition, we ask for contributions of snack foods/light refreshments for our table (please, no items that require refrigeration). OGS will provide plates, napkins and something to drink. We hope to see everyone there!
We'll start off with a brief meeting to vote for president. Andy Carter has been nominated and other nominations will be accepted at the meeting. We'll also hear about our upcoming February 3rd annual seminar.
The address of Capital Vision Church is 1775 Yew Ave. NE, Olympia.
Registration Is Open for the OGS 2024 Seminar
 The Feb 3, 2024 seminar will be focused on immigration and naturalization. The featured speaker will be Rich Venezia. See the OGS 2024 Seminar page for details. Registration would be a great holiday gift for any genealogist's friend.
Cyndi's List in Practice - Nov 9 Meeting
 Cyndi Ingle gave a presentation about doing research using her website CyndisList.com. Cyndi's List is a robust research tool with resources helpful in everyone's research. She reviewed the contents of the site and pointed out how to make the most of the categories and the links found within.
Cyndi Ingle, a genealogist for more than 43 years, is the creator and innovator behind the award-winning and globally recognized CyndisList.com. Cyndi is an expert in using technology for genealogy, research in the United States and bringing together traditional methodology with organization, computers, software, and the Internet. She is an internationally-known guest lecturer, and she has authored numerous articles and three books. Cyndi is the Executive Director for the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research. She is a columnist for the Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly.
A link to a recording of this presentation was available for OGS members to view through 25 Nov 2023.
Picking Cottens - Oct 12 Meeting
 Nancy Cordell presented "Picking Cottens: Doing Research on the Enslaved and Enslaver in Mississippi". Family history research of enslaved and free African Americans in 19th century Southern states requires patience, tenacity, and, sometimes, serendipity. The African American Cotten family of Port Gibson, Mississippi migrated to Wilberforce, Ohio in about 1859. James Cotten, a white enslaver, had arranged to move his African American partner and their eight (8) children to the North before the onset of the Civil War. Uncovering this story required research online and onsite. Learn how Nancy uncovered this fascinating tale.
Nancy has a PhD in Anthropology and is a professional genealogist with her own business, Diggin' Our Past. She has held many positions at OGS, including president. See her full bio on our Events page.
A link to a recording of this presentation now is available for OGS members to view in Community Events / Recordings*.
Welcome to Our Website!
The OGS website is designed to allow our members to engage with each other as they trace their ancestors and discover their family histories. We want to make this site a dynamic experience. Here are just a few ways to engage on this site today:
If you aren’t already an OGS member, please consider joining and engaging with our community. To do so, see Membership in the menu in the left column.
OGS Needs You!
Fellow OGS Members, as we begin our 50th year as a group with the special interest of family history, we are looking to reconnect with the community at large while serving our membership's continued interest in all things genealogy! With this end goal in mind, we are in need of more members to become involved to helping out. Listed below are various opportunities to help. Take a look, see what you can contribute to help grow and keep OGS vital for the next 50 years!
- 50th Anniversary - This is a group to plan how we'll celebrate our 50th Anniversary this year. This commitment would be for this year only. Ideas for helping out could be planning one large event, helping with PR to news media, scanning photos for Facebook and Instagram posts, etc. Please send an email to info@olygensoc.org if you are able to help this year!
- DIG Virtually - There is interest in having a group to help out members in the community like we have done in the past at the Olympia Library, but to do this virtually. Virtual meeting times may be a couple of times a month, perhaps a week day and a Saturday for a couple of hours. If we were to have 6-10 members volunteer, there could be a rotating schedule. Schedule would depend on how many members volunteer. Training will be provided. Send an email to Info@olygensoc.org if you have an interest in participating in this outreach opportunity.
- Historian - Our society has kept a record of our events and members in the news for the past 50 years. This is done through the board position of Historian. Currently we are without a historian. This is an individual position, so working on your own, posting our live history in our scrapbooks is the purpose of this position. Since this is a board position, attending and voting at board meetings about the direction this organization is required. Being on the board, you'll be in a front row seat as our history is happening. Please contact Kathy Erlandson, pastpresident@olygensoc.org if you are interested.
- Meeting Tech Team - We have a location secured with all of the needed equipment for hybrid general membership meetings, but we need one or preferably two people who can help with the tech setup at the in-person site for each meeting. Set up is pretty simple. You would be bringing the OGS laptop to each meeting and making the connections; much easier than when we met at the courthouse!! Orientation/training will be provided. If you are interested, send an email to webmaster@olygensoc.org.
- Speakers Bureau team - From time to time we receive requests for a member from our organization to come and speak to a group about genealogy and OGS. It would be great to have a few members who would like to speak for 30-45 minutes about genealogy to a neighborhood group, classroom full of kids, or service organization. Opportunities for this maybe once or twice a year depending on how many setup to represent OGS. Great outreach opportunities to grow our organization. Send an email to Info@olygensoc.org if you have an interest!
2023-24 Special Interest Groups (SIGs)
It's a New Year and our 50th Anniversary! As a "New Year's Resolution" consider joining a Special Interest Group if you haven't done so. This is a great venue to learn more and get to know fellow members in a small group setting. SIGs are a benefit of membership so make sure your membership status is updated to access this wonderful benefit. SIG meetings will continue to be held virtually using Google Meet except for the FTM SIG which will use Zoom. See the SIGs page for a list of our SIGs, coordinators, meeting times, etc.
OGS Surname Database
OGS provides a searchable public database to which an OGS member can add the surnames of their ancestors. At this writing, the database includes 348 entries. See OGS Surname Database for more information.
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December 4
Family History Writing SIG
Log on to OGS website, click on SIGs in main nav menu, click on Family History Writing SIG for Google Meet link. Can access 10 ...
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December 9
Monthly General Membership Meeting
Program: Holiday Party! This December, instead of our usual Zoom meeting, OGS members (and their spouses/partners) are invited to attend an in-person Holiday Party on ...
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December 12
DNA SIG
Log on to OGS website, click on SIGs in main nav menu, click on DNA for Google Meet link. Can access 10 mins before start ...
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December 16
Legacy Family Tree SIG - Cancelled
Meeting has been cancelled for December. See you in January!! Log on to OGS website, click on SIGs in main nav menu, click on Legacy ...
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December 19
Family Tree Maker SIG
Log on to OGS website, click on SIGs in main nav menu, click on Family Tree Maker for Zoom link. Can access 10 mins before ...
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WSGS Calendar
Washington State Genealogical Society calendar
Web Tips
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