Events › Survivors of Disasters: How Deadly Forces of Nature Impacted our Ancestors' Lives

To the extreme, weather and natural disasters affect the life and death of our ancestors. In more subtle ways, conditions may influence their relocation, helping to explain the "why", "where" and "when" of their movements. The presenters, members of the Skagit Valley Genealogical Society, will share their stories of volcanoes, blizzards, avalanches, floods, tornadoes, and heat waves and how these forces of nature affected their ancestors. Information sites will be provided to research historic weather conditions.

The Bainbridge Island Genealogical Society (BIGS) regularly offers dynamic family history presentations to its members and the public, both at the Bainbridge branch and via Zoom. This fall, through a new collaboration with Kitsap Regional Library, BIGS presentations will be available on Zoom at the Kingston Library in real-time. This way, you will be able to interact with the speakers through the Q&A session. Join us at 10:00 am on the third Friday of the month - September, October, and November.

Presenter information:

Robin Engel is a retired lawyer and native Washingtonian. She started her genealogy journey during the Pandemic when she found herself with time on her hands and boxes of family memorabilia to dig through. She is especially interested in understanding the historical backdrop to her ancestor's lives to give life to the dash between the dates.

Karen Strelow is a retired physical education specialist. She started into family history research 20 years ago when her husband’s mother died to learn anything about his estranged father and his family. Unknown siblings were discovered, and a Strelow family reunion attended! She is also blessed by having the work her aunt assembled on her own mother’s side.

Rene Vance is a retired chemical engineer. She's been working on genealogy for about 20 years now and had a huge start from work by her maternal grandmother and her father. She grew up in Iowa, where her 92 & 90-year-old parents still live.