Links to external websites

The mission of SVGS is to promote an interest in genealogy through education; to instruct members in genealogical research and preservation of their own family histories; to locate, preserve and index public and private genealogical records and make them available to members and the general public; to support other genealogical libraries throughout Washington State; and to provide current updates to members and the public regarding projects and upcoming speakers and events in our bi-monthly newsletter.

TPCGS's purpose is to stimulate a popular interest in family history, to seek genealogical and historical knowledge, to preserve and perpetuate the records of our ancestors, to aid and encourage individual members as well as non-members in compiling their family histories, and to collect and publish genealogical source material.

Founded in 1897, The Mayflower Society, or General Society of Mayflower Descendants (GSMD), is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Membership requires proof of lineage from one of the passengers who traveled to America on the Mayflower in 1620. Our educational mission includes telling the story of the Pilgrims as well as maintaining the highest standards possible for genealogy research into the lineage of the Pilgrims. We operate a genealogy research library at our Plymouth, Massachusetts headquarters and publish the GSMD Silver Books, a series of genealogy books that follow the descendants of the Mayflower passengers.

TRL provides a wealth of free genealogy and history resources, including in-library access to Ancestry.com Library Edition, HeritageQuest Online, and various newspaper archives.

Downtown Olympia branch of the Timberland Regional Library.

The Tri-City Genealogical Society (TCGS) was founded in 1961 as an organization whose purpose is to educate members and the public on the purposes and methods of genealogical research, and to research, record, and report materials of genealogical value for the people of, and those researching in and around, the Lower Columbia Basin region of eastern Washington state.

The Tumwater Historical Association (THA) was incorporated on October 2, 1981 with 200 charter members as a nonprofit organization. The Association is governed by an 10-member board of directors. THA conducts its general membership meeting on the 2nd Thursday of each month at the Tumwater Timberland Library from 5:00 - 6:30 pm. From the beginning and until 1991, THA operated the Henderson House Museum for the City of Tumwater. During those 10 years, THA had many accomplishments:

5700 Littlerock Rd SW
Tumwater, WA 98512 USA

Union Cemetery or Bush Prairie Cemetery is located south of Olympia. Go south on Capital Boulevard through Tumwater and turn on Trosper Road. Cross over the freeway on Trosper Road (54th Ave SW) and continue a short distance to Littlerock Road SW where you turn left. Travel along Littlerock Road about 0.25 miles and the cemetery will be on your right.

The first meeting to organze the Union cemetery was held in the home of Jesse Ferguson on 1 December 1865. On 4 Jan 1866 the Union Cemetery was incorporated by an act of the Thirteenth Legislature. William Jenks, Morris Littlejohn and James Dunlap were the men chosen to procure a suitable parcel of ground for this cemetery. Jesse Ferguson was one of the original settlers of this region, who arrived with MIchael T. Simmons and his party in 1845. Mr. Ferguson sold the land (about two acres) to the Union Cemetery in the winter of 1867 for ten dollars. Evidently the land was used as a cemetery before that time, since a number of the dates of death on the tombstones predate 1867. According to old records kept by the cemetery, undertakers would sometimes bury the dead there and not notify the Cemetery Association. Consequently there are many unmarked and unrecorded graves in this cemetery. It is believed that Charles H. Mason, first Secretary of the Territory of Washington, and the man whose name was given to Mason County, is buried there. Many of the pioneers of the area were buried there. It is associated with the earliest period of Tumwater history. Some of the first permanent American settlers on Puget Sound at Tumwater, such as George and Isabella Bush, members of the 1845 settlement party, are interred here. The cemetery is also significant for the unusual grave markers for a Puget Sound Indian War Volunteer, War of 1812 veteran William Rutledge, and Civil War Veterans.

WAGenWeb has limited information for Thurston County (and other counties) such as census records, birth/death/marriage information, and historical photographs.

Guide to Washington state genealogical resources available at the county level. Compiled by Dusty Gorman, formerly with the Washington State Library.