Grays Harbor Genealogical Society

09/05/2025

If interested in the history of the Wishkah Valley and beyond don’t miss this opportunity. Bob does a wonderful job with all his knowledge.

08/29/2025

In honor of Labor Day, MyHeritage is opening up access to a massive collection of historical records — over 892 million U.S. and Canadian census records — completely free starting tomorrow, August 27–September 2, 2025.

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08/14/2025

MyHeritage is having a DNA kit sale -- only $29! The sale has been extended through August 17! This is the lowest price this year, and there are just a few more days to grab it.

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07/13/2025

07/12/2025

07/07/2025

The Grays Harbor Genealogical Society is hosting local favorite John Hughes at their next meeting, Saturday July 12, 2025. The program begins at 10:00 a.m. at the Hoquiam Library and is open to the public.

John, now fully retired as the State Historian, will talk about his latest book, New Land, which is the story of Southeast Asian refugees who found a home in Washington state in the fallout from the Fall of Saigon in Vietnam in 1975. New Land, which was John's final book project as our state historian, revisits several of those former refugees to tell their stories of life in America. Several of those stories happened in Willapa Harbor in Pacific County. Regardless of how you view today's debate on immigration, you may find some surprises in these stories.

For many of us, John is a local treasure. He's a home-grown example of how a love of Grays Harbor history and an appreciation for people who've stepped up and made a difference in our community and our state can motivate and inspire us to keep going, keep trying to make a difference.

The hybrid meeting begins at 10:00 a.m. and is open to all. The in-person meeting will be at the Hoquiam Library, 420 7th Avenue, Hoquiam. For a Zoom link, email Info@graysharborgenealogy.com.

Send a message to learn more

07/02/2025

Just in time for U.S. Independence Day, MyHeritage is offering free access to the entire collection of 151,432,486 U.S. newspaper pages on OldNews.com from July 3 to 5, 2025!

This Independence Day, we’re opening up a treasure trove of history. From July 3–5, 2025, enjoy free access to 151 million pages of historical U.S.

06/11/2025

Do you have knowledge in old photography equipment or chain saws or lumber mills? WE NEED YOU! The Friends of the Aberdeen Museum are looking for some volunteer expertise to help us identify donations made to the museum. We're at the warehouse (near Home Depot) on Tuesdays and could use our help. We're also looking for seamstresses and data entry help. Contact the The Friends of the Aberdeen Museum. (Image from rawpixel dot com)

06/06/2025

Seven years ago on Saturday morning, June 9, 2018, Captain Kelly Neimi of the Aberdeen Fire Department was working as Acting Battalion Chief.

05/09/2025

MyHeritage is offering free access to all our WWII collections during May 7–11, 2025. That’s over 127 million records across 13 collections. They cover enlistment, draft, casualty, and prisoner of war records from the U.S., Europe, Australia, and beyond. This is a meaningful opportunity for your readers to dig deeper into their family’s WWII stories, and perhaps uncover something they’ve never seen before.

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04/30/2025

There was an exciting delivery last week at the The Friends of the Aberdeen Museum warehouse! 82 archive boxes, 3 oversized boxes, 3 panoramic boxes & 2 plastic tubs full of photo prints, slides & documents. These were all recovered, dried and stored by the State Archives after the 2018 fire that destroyed the History Museum, GHGS Research Library and armory.

Many thanks to the Washington State Archives for their efforts preserving our photo history. Our work is now cut out for volunteers to make sure everything is properly documented, catalogued and stored.