Dorothea-Lange-Florence-Thompson-and-her-children-in-a-pea-pickers-camp.- Nipomo-California.-March-1936; courtesy of PBS Until you begin the hunt, you never know what you'll find . When I began a research report for my great-grandmother, Nancy Jane Booth, (my mother's father's mother) I thought that I knew all about her from previous research. So I was shocked to see a Newspapers.com hint about a Sheriff's sale in Hugoton, Kansas. I knew that they had briefly lived there with their daughter's family, but had no clue they ever owned property there. The text isn't that interesting, but the details matter, so here is a transcription: (First published June 29, 1917) Notice of Sheriff's Sale Notice is hereby given, that in pursuance of an Order of Sale issued out of the District Court of Stevens County, Kansas, on the 13th day of June, 1917, an action wherein J.D. Newcomer Company, a corporation, is plaintiff, and Samuel McBee and Nancy McBee his wife, are defend...

Probably a Seattle Middle School--June, 1954 When a picture speaks a thousand words, are you listening?  Are you following the obvious pathways as well as the subtle hints that whisper in the shadows? Recently, SKCGS received a large box of photographs that had been stored in a shed beyond the demise of the people in the photos. We have taken on the task of sorting and identifying snapshots and looking for people who are researching the families involved. Do you love solving mysteries? We're looking for volunteers; write to resources@skcgs.org with your offer of help. Some of the photos are beyond snapshots.  The image above is obviously a school photo; a stamp on the back is for the Perkins Studio, 507 North 68th St., Seattle 3, WA. There is nothing that tells us which school it is so we have to put on our observation hats to try to solve the mystery. Stamp on back of the photo "June 1954" is written in white in the lower right corner of the photo.  In the lower left c...

Photo: Spider web with morning dew by  Ivicabrlic , courtesy of Wikimedia Commons The children's book Charlotte's Web came to mind this month, as more and more obituaries appeared in my hints, each adding to the web of information which solved mysteries, one tiny bit of information at a time. In that wonderful story, Charlotte has to work hard to create her web, even learning to read and spell in her effort to help the children save their pet pig.  Sometimes I see a family as a jigsaw puzzle , with really oddly shaped pieces, like a puzzle with a few missing bits. But  weaving a web better describes the work : find and snag the image of the obituary or news article, transcribe and link all the people named, then figure out who was NOT named and why. It's also interesting to see what facts are missing, such as previous marriages and divorce. The author of each obit worked as hard as a politician's speechwriter, stressing what they want remembered, while glossing over wh...

WTA volunteers building trail. Used with permission. While researching, all of us find people in records,  known and unknown, and would like to easily add them to our tree where we can find and add more records, properly place them in their family, and judge whether or not the family is properly placed.  This post will illustrate some ways to do that, using examples from my Ancestry.com online tree. Similar techniques can be used on other platforms.  Sometimes when you find a new person, it's quite easy to add each of the family members from a census record, even before the 1880, where relationships are not noted. When you experience that ease,  thank whoever blazed that path for you. In this post, I'll demonstrate how to mark the path yourself so that future  family researchers can more accurately add all the family members in a record. What Ancestry labels "Record" is actually a linked household index. An example is below. First, add your mystery person to yo...

AI generated “We are not nouns, we are verbs. I am not a thing - an actor, a writer - I am a person who does things - I write, I act," said Stephen Fry. We humans are active. We do things, changing the world and our future. We move around our world with action verbs.  So why do we describe ourselves and our ancestors as nouns, which are static? When people are asked to describe themselves, they often use roles: mother, father, or profession. While part of the picture, it does not get to the heart of the person. I heard a story on the radio today from a mother describing her son who has died, and it was all about what he DID. He kissed the back of her neck as he left with a friend; she never saw him alive again. Precious and painful.  My favorite obituaries describe actions . I treasure them, because they are a window into the human who lives in the records. Dates, places, names are great, but read this  bit of Peter Cain's: " To this union were born 7 children, all of wh...

   Capt. Alex Hacker, in Belgium 1945 D Day 6 June, 1944 82 years ago Allied Forces stormed the beaches of Normandy.  Among those forces was Captain Alex Hacker, father of SKCGS member Alexis Hacker Booker.  These photos and the information with them are from Alexis and her sister Dee Jarvis. Day One, Landing Craft Dee Jarvis:  My dad was on one of the first boats [landing craft] and was pulled off for a doctor [who was senior to my father and demanded to take his place], who was shot in the landing. Daddy went on day 2, encountering gunfire and bodies.  Alexis Visits Omaha Beach Omaha Beach Division Marker Alexis Hacker Booker:  I was on Omaha Beach three years ago. I called our mother Evelyn from the beach and this is what she told me: Our father Alex was in the Corp of Engineers, and the engineers were placed on various landing craft with the Infantry. They already had orders for when they got ashore.  However, when they hit the beaches their o...