South King County Genealogy Society Blog

Dogwood tree in bloom in the rain Mother's Day The first week of May is always lovely, and a fitting time to honor mothers. Especially we genealogists and family historians appreciate the place of mothers in our lineage, and in the traditions and stories we so eagerly seek. What Was Her Maiden Name? In patriarchal societies where most women in the past gave up their birth surnames when marrying, sometime we cuss a bit when trying to find them. It is said that it takes a village to raise a child, and that means that it takes a village -- or a FAN club -- to support a mother. Often we find older women, especially widows, living with their children or perhaps siblings. or lodging with neighbors. So it is always useful to check out the FAN club. Investigate the FAN Club If we're fortunate enough to find a marriage record for our woman of interest, sometimes there are others mentioned in the record who might be friends, family, associates, or neighbors. Sometimes we resist researchi

As Member-at-Large on the SKCGS Board of Directors, I get to do a lot of different things including head the Nominations Committee looking for officer candidates. I am happy to announce that we have a candidate for each of the pending openings for which we will have election at the May General Meeting. For Vice-President--Alexis Hacker Scholz. Alexis has served this past year, filling the position that was vacated when Valorie became President. For Secretary--Melanie Hinds. Melanie lives in Illinois and has been attending general and SIG meetings for over a year. She has been assisting us by posting items to the calendar. Nominations remain open until the election; contact me at nominating-committee@skcgs.org. Things I learned while talking to you 1.  Some people have problems finding the confirmation after registering for the general meeting.   Personally, I had problems as well until I learned to flag that confirmation email or put it in archives. I've since learned a technique

How would you like to have free genealogy lessons? On random topics? Once or twice a month? At your convenience--weekday, weekend or evening? With free access to Ancestry Library Edition and other online sites? All this can be yours if you take advantage of this opportunity: Become a Genealogy Research Volunteer at the library! SKCGS Genealogy Reference Collection at Auburn Branch of King County Library System The SKCGS collection of historic and genealogical books and periodicals has been located at the Auburn Branch of the King County Library System for many years.  During that time, society volunteers have provided free research assistance with the collection in particular and with genealogy in general. In March, 2020 the Covid lockdown interrupted our volunteer service. Many of our members have helped out over the years; and we  have loved it, wishing we were able to use the libraries during lockdown. Our  recent,  most faithful volunteer, Jan Emerson has chosen a much deserved ret

Another Value of Records My Dad was listed at college in Eugene, Oregon. He had a part time job as a janitor for the Oregon State College of Education (U of Oregon now). It listed his address (College St) and his roommates and their part time jobs. The fun continues--I took pictures of what I found; I was doing the Family Review so I could see all of the fields! I sent pictures to my parents and went to visit them yesterday.   Art Sperber Dad remembered many things about that time and his time on the basketball team, cut short by the Korean War, his roommates (even his sister remembered his roommates) and that led into stories he remembered about his summer jobs; one playing as a pitcher for a logging mill baseball team, coupled with a job at the mill. But when the regular pitcher came home from National Guard and Dad felt really homesick for home cooking, he quit and went home to "the farm" in Tillamook for the rest of the summer.   My Dad is 93 and is sharp in some ways, bu

Stories Behind the Records Editor's note:  this week's blog contains stories of searches in the 1950 census.  What is your story?  Submit to m.strickland@skcgs.org Finding my parents in the 1950 Census I thought I was ready for release day. I had my parent’s address from 1949 in the Billings, MT, City Directory – 301 S. 32nd St. But when I searched that Enumeration District, the name didn’t show up. So I widened the area to Billings and put in his name again (Naylor). Now something came up – Maylor Thomas K. So clicking on that name took me to the Census page in a different ED and on that name I found my parents, Thomas K. Naylor and Merle R. Naylor. I was there too, but again a mistake. This mistake was in the first letter of my name. The census taker spelled it Sheri instead of Cheri. I was 2 years old. The address was 132-l/2 Terry Avenue. I remember the place through photographs but didn’t know the exact address. It was the back half of an older house. A good friend of the

Chance and Skill Intertwine Editor's note: Recently this story was submitted to society@skcgs.groups.io and several of you read it and commented.  It is such a great example of stating the problem, showing the methodology and resolving with that touch of serendipity we all desire, we felt it needed to be presented here. I had an unusual story to share that I thought this group would appreciate. Research Question: Find a Missing Half-Sibling My mother knows of my interest for genealogy and research and mentioned to me in February her friend has been searching for a half-sibling for a long time and maybe I could possibly help her. My mother is 80 and her friend 74. Skimpy Information of a First Marriage My mother's friend Linda shared that her father was married before he married her mother. She discovered this after he died 35 years ago. Her father's brother shared a newspaper clipping of an article written about the wedding with a photo of the couple seated at a table on an