By Valorie Zimmerman This is not April Fools joke! A few years back, my husband was walking through the forest near our cabin outside Mt. Rainier National Park when he came across a grave for a Civil War soldier. Henry C Allen grave site Astonished, he took us there to honor the soldier and find more about him. Just a hundred feet or so off Highway 410, we saw a beautiful grave site with a headstone of marble, covered with flags and other remembrances. Reading part of his story on signs at the site was fascinating, and Bob created a web page about the site and the man:  http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~bobofwa/family/HCAllen_grave.htm Henry C. Allen, 16 Wis. Inf. 1848-1896 Last year there was a notice in the Washington State Genealogy Blog about a group gathering information about all Civil War soldiers buried in Washington State , so I wrote to report this grave site in case they had not heard of it. They had not, and asked me to find out more about this ...

By Barbara Mattoon Longer, lighter days beckon us outside to enjoy spring flowers, sunshine and warm breezes, but there are still many opportunities to advance our genealogy knowledge and practice.  March 31 is World Backup Day.  One small accident or failure could destroy all your important stuff, including your genealogy research.  Genealogy pundits recommend backing up three ways.  There is plenty of information online on how to do it. Watch for Valorie Zimmerman’s April 1 blog post titled Civil War Veteran Found in the Woods.  Is it an April Fools’ joke? The Board of Directors will meet Tuesday, April 2, at the Valley Regional Fire Authority, 1101 D St. NE, Auburn, at 7:00 pm.  It will be preceded by  a 2020 Seminar Committee meeting at 6:00 pm.  All members are encouraged to attend both meetings.  There are several open committee assignments for the seminar. Saturday, April 6, Winona Laird will present Family Tree Maker’s new ...

Genealogical How-to Letters By Vera McDowell A book review by MaryLynn Strickland “That’s a very good book,” someone said, pointing to a bright orange and yellow volume on the book sales table. “Hmmm,” I thought, “I’ll have to remember that.  Someday I’ll buy it.”  A few years later I did just that.  Then, from time to time, I glanced at pages as the book was moved from coffee table to bookshelf.  I can’t say that I ever fulfilled my intention to read all of it. Recently, when I was looking for reading material in the middle of the night, the book literally fell off the shelf and opened to page 54 where I read: “To understand the four nationalities that make up the United Kingdom, we must recognize that: “SCOTS: Keep the Sabbath and everything else they can get their hands on. “IRISH:  Don’t believe in anything and will fight like hell to defend it. “WELSH:  Pray on their knees and everybody else. “ENGLISH:  Feel like they were bo...

By Barbara Mattoon Soos Creek Wetland  Photo courtesy of Scott Smithson A plateau rises between the valleys of the Green and Cedar Rivers stretching from the Springbrook area of Renton to an area near the salmon hatchery south of Auburn, an area of approximately 70 square miles.    The plateau is drained from Renton in a southeasterly direction toward where it empties into the Green River by Soos Creek and several smaller creeks. The first white settlers claimed land in the valleys because it was more suitable for farming than the land on the plateau.  Later arrivals had to content themselves with the rockier soil on the plateau which being less suitable for farming, was better suited for dairying, raising poultry and livestock. Early settlers on the plateau were primarily from Scandinavia.  They were driven to emigrate by severely depressed economic conditions in Europe in the latter half of the 19th century.  The Puget Sound area was attrac...

By Winona I Laird This is the question I’m always asked when I say, I have a DAR meeting today, or I am a member of the DAR, or the DAR will be marching in the Veterans Day Parade.  To answer the question. What is the DAR? It’s Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage society that is a non-profit, 501 (C )  (3)  charitable organization dedicated to historic preservation, education and patriotism. Any woman 18 years or older-regardless of race, religion, or ethnic background-who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution, is eligible for membership. The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution was founded on October 11, 1890, with the mission of promoting historic preservation, education and patriotism. The objectives of the Daughters of the American Revolution are: Historical – to perpetuate the memory and spirit of the men and women who achieved American Independence. DAR members participate in a wide var...

By Dorothy Pretare In my prior post, “What Will Happen to Your Family History Stuff”, we identified 1) the types of family history stuff and their possible locations, 2) your hopes and possible options, and 3) some steps to help ensure your hopes/wishes will be honored. One of those steps was to “Organize Your Stuff”.  This step will help you in your research and make it easier to share information with others.  First, each of us may approach tasks in different ways -- think about handing an unorganized grocery list to a few people and watch them shop in an unfamiliar store.  Since there are many ways to organize items, I suggest you check “The Organized Genealogist” on Facebook or “Organize Your Family History” ( https://organizeyourfamilyhistory.com/ ) or Cyndi’s List ( https://www.cyndislist.com/organizing/ ) for her list of links to various methods.  Just select a method you think will work for you and remember you can always change your method of organizin...