Seattle Genealogical Society & Library

10/15/2026

Just had an opportunity to listen to Diana Elder's presentation to SGS that she gave on Saturday today. She took a project she had worked on some and crafted a problem that she wanted to solve. She illustrated how to use AI at (almost) every step as her research assistant. It developed timelines, suggested resources, wrote locality guides and summaries of documents. Her final suggestion was to take a problem and with an AI mindset, think about how the tool (she used Claude and ChatGPT) could help with the problem. The final result was a narrative summary of all her information with suggestions for future work and summary of findings. Well done. The image of the presentation is a little fuzzy (odd) but the content was strong even for a beginner in AI.

10/15/2026

Virtual Sunday: Member Spotlight—Applying Modern Technology to Historic Cemeteries

Seattle Genealogical Society member Roguer Crouse will share how he is using modern technology to support historic cemetery preservation.

Fresh from a trip to the Canadian Maritimes, Roguer will share his projects and discoveries.

Sunday, 18 October at 1 PM Pacific time
via Zoom register here: https://bit.ly/4yPPfVb

10/09/2026

RECORDING AVAILABLE TO SGS MEMBERS FOR 30 DAYS
NOW AVAILABLE

We’re delighted to welcome Diana Elder, AG®, AGL™, to the Seattle Genealogical Society this Saturday!

AI in Genealogical Research: A Practical Approach

Saturday, 10 October at 1 PM Pacific
Register here: https://bit.ly/4rSC17s

Curious about how AI can help with your family history research? Diana will walk through hands-on examples of AI assisting with common research tasks. Topics will include:

How to write a good prompt, so the AI knows its role, your goal, and the format you want back.

Using AI to turn raw data into timelines and spot inconsistencies across records.

Which tools suit which tasks, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, NotebookLM, and Perplexity.

You will have a chance to see the tools in action, learn what they do well and where they fall short, and leave with practical tips for your own research.

Diana is a professional genealogist accredited in the Gulf South region of the United States. She is the author of Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide and co-author of Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist’s Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence.

10/05/2026

09/11/2026

EXPLORE THE SGS LIBRARY

Have you wondered what resources are available at the Seattle Genealogical Society Library—or has it simply been a while since you visited?

Join the SGS Field Trip team on Friday, September 18 at 10:30 a.m. for a tour and orientation to the library and its resources. Stay afterwards to browse, ask questions, conduct your own research, or try out the library’s scanning equipment.

The tour is free and open to both SGS members and nonmembers. Space is limited to 15 participants, so reserve you spot soon!

Learn more and sign up here:

Field Trip – Explore the SGS Library Have you wondered what resources are available at the Seattle Genealogical Society Library—or perhaps it has been a while since you visited? Join the SGS Field Trip team for a tour of our own research library at the historic Good Shepherd Center in Seattle’...

09/09/2026

Second Saturday: Which Date is Right? Presented by Carolyn Ladd, CG®, AG® What is a genealogist to do with a research subject, born before the era of vital records, who left a lifetime of documents indicating a year of birth that varied by as much as 15 years? In this case study of an African Amer...

08/26/2026

Just a few more days to submit your entries for the SGS America 250 writing contest! There's still time. Review the conference submission guidelines and submit your entry by the September 1 deadline. https://seagensoc.org/cpage.php?pt=180

08/01/2026

We're just one month away from the deadline – Tuesday, September 1 – for submissions for the SGS America 250 Writing Contest! This is a great opportunity to share your family's story *and* there are prizes! Please share with other groups you are connected with.

The theme is “My Story is America’s Story”. The history of America is interwoven with the unique and diverse narratives of all those who have lived here. Entries are invited that tell the story of your family, individuals in your community, an event in history, an immigrant movement, or some other aspect of personal experiences against the backdrop of America’s story. The theme is as broad as the 250-year history of our country!

All entries meeting the guidelines will be considered. Entries will be judged on their relevance to the theme, writing style and clarity, and research accuracy. Winning entries will be published in the Journal of the Seattle Genealogical Society. Entries are open to all; membership in SGS is not required.

For details, see dev.seattlegenealogicalsociety.org/events/america-250/?occurrence=2026-09-01

06/22/2026

06/12/2026

Join us tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. PT; click here to learn more and register: https://bit.ly/43sjnIl