Spring Forward into April

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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 Family Atlas and Family Book Creator programs.  The meeting is scheduled from 10:15 – 11:45 am in the small meeting room of the Auburn Public Library.  Please RSVP to Winona at 253-631-3252 or w-laird@msn.com well in advance so we can move to a larger location if necessary.

The second meeting of the Genetic Genealogy/DNA Special Interest Group will be held on Monday, April 8, from 1 – 3 pm at WAPI, 28815 Pacific Hwy S., Suite 7A, Federal Way.  (Added benefit: a spectacular view of Puget Sound from the meeting room.) MaryLynn Strickland will lead the group in “Downloading Raw Data from the Testing Companies”.  Plan on bringing your laptop and passwords for all the DNA testing companies you use.  If you have not already registered with GEDMatch, please do that before the meeting and  remember to bring your password.

More DNA at our General Meeting Saturday April 20!  Mary Kathryn Kozy will present “From Matches in a List to Family: Case Studies in DNA”.  Come at 9:30 to have a few minutes to socialize, catch up, and meet new genealogists before the meeting begins at 10:00 am.  We will meet at Wesley Lea Hill in the 2nd Floor Assembly Room.  An elevator from the 1st floor is available.

If you need to do research on subscription websites that you do not subscribe to, or in documents held by the Family History Library that are available only via Family History Centers, be sure to plan to join our “SKCGS only” Research Group at the Kent Family History Center on Friday, April 19, from 1 – 3 pm.  RSVP to Winona Laird w-laird@msn.com is required.

The Technology Users Group will explore “Browser Apps & Extensions in Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari” on Monday, April 22 from 1 – 3 pm at WAPI, 28815 Pacific Hwy S., Suite 7A, Federal Way.

Whew!!  Are we one active group?

Barbara Mattoon 
             

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