South King County Genealogical Society’s February News and Activities

-

White River Valley Museum

Our soggy Puget Sound weather may have you seeking a warm, dry indoor activity. If so, I recommend a visit to the White River Valley Museum. It is conveniently located adjacent to the Auburn Public Library. You might even combine a research trip to the genealogy section of the Library with a visit to the museum.

 This small museum features high-quality exhibits including one about the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe (the original settlers of this region), a replica of a 1915 Japanese farmhouse and an exhibit about downtown Auburn in the 1920s.  The museum also features an extensive oral history collection and over 13,000 photographs.[1]  Several historic newspapers of the area are available to search online, and the extensive library of books and newspapers is open to researchers.[2]

Family Tree Maker User Group

Back across the parking lot to the KCLS Library, the FamilyTree Maker Users Group will meet there Saturday, February 1, from 10:15 – 11:45 am.  Contact Winona Laird at vice-president@skcgs.org for more information. 

Ancestry.com available FREE

Did you know that if you do not have a subscription to Ancestry.com, you can access it with your King County Library card on your personal device at any King County Library. There are many other databases you might find useful in your research as well. I urge you to take advantage of this benefit. “Use it, or lose it”.

SKCGS Board of Directors Meet

Tuesday, February 4, the Board of Directors will meet at the Valley Regional Fire Authority, 1101 D St NE, Auburn, at 7:00 pm.  All members are welcome and urged to attend, but only Board Members may vote.  These meetings are where you really learn what makes SKCGS tick.  You might even learn about something you would be interested in helping with. 

Genetic Genealogy/DNA Group

The Genetic Genealogy/DNA Group has scheduled a workshop session on using Ancestry.com’s ThruLines™. If you have tested with Ancestry and have a family tree linked to your test, bring your laptop, and be sure to remember your password to log in at Ancestry. We will help you look for ancestors using ThruLines. The workshop will be held at WAPI, 28815 Pacific Hwy S., Suite 7A, Federal Way from 1 – 3 pm.

Midori Okazaki presents A Glimpse of the Archives

On Saturday, February 15, Midori Okazaki, Archivist at the Puget Sound Regional Archives returns for an encore presentation at Wesley Lea Hill from 9:30 – noon. It will be a good refresher on the use of archives for those of us who have heard her before, and information you can use, for those who have not.
Puget Sound Regional Archives

 Following Midori’s presentation, Valorie Zimmerman will present a 15-minute hands-on workshop on the use and benefits of Twitter for genealogy.

Technology User Group (TUG)

Practice all you have learned on Saturday afternoon and Sunday, because Monday afternoon MaryLynn Strickland will share how to use Randy Majors’ AncestorSearch on Google Search and time permitting, some of his other tools.  This gathering will also be at WAPI.  Thank you MaryLynn for making this resource available for our special interest groups. 

2020 Goals

I have received several comments about my 2020 Goals post last December.  

 Here is an update: Bingo! I have found a clue to the identity of the parents of Almira Tyler. More analysis and research are needed , but the results so far are very promising. Like many of you, I have always resisted looking at online trees, but I gave it a try and that is where I found the clue.  

 I have read four chapters of The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy. It is not always easy going, but I recommend it for anyone who is serious about genealogy. The goal of reading a journal article each week fell by the wayside after the second one.  I have not yet done a chapter of Mastering Genealogical Documentation, but I have a week to go in January, and I have been busy writing genealogical documentation. 

Nomination Committee

As announced at the January meeting, the Nominations Committee is actively seeking candidates for the offices of Vice President and Secretary. Contact MaryLynn or Michele Lyons if you are willing to serve.  

 Thank you to Joy Etienne for joining the Education Committee!

 Happy Hunting!

 Barbara Mattoon
SKCGS President

---------
[1] wrvmuseum.pastperfectonline.com

[2] wrvmuseum.org/newspaper-search

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Looking for a Needle in a Haystack? GAME CHANGER at FamilySearch

-
Image
Generated with Bing ImageCreator (AI), March 13, 2024 Where is YOUR Needle, Your Missing Record? Genealogical Proof Standard When we use the GPS (Genealogical Proof Standard) as our guide, we all know that "exhaustive research" can be both tedious and exhausting. Is life long enough to search page by page through all the counties where all the members of a family might have lived, paid taxes, bought, leased or sold property, made a will or died intestate? It is possible that the new Full Text Search at FamilySearch will  eventually  allow us to do just that. It has been estimated that 75% or more of the records at FamilySearch were browsable but not searchable; the only indexes those found in the records themselves. Those records are certainly attainable by using those indexes and browsing to the record of interest, but the process is tedious, often frustrating, and slow. And once found, the record must be read and transcribed to be useful. This new Full Text Search tackles a
Read more

What's the Question?

-
Image
We genealogists are often told by experienced researchers how important it is to begin with a research question. I resisted doing this for a long time, but now that I use a series of questions to guide my research, the search is more focused and actually finds more of the history of the family I'm investigating. I use a Google Doc as the  research proceeds, where I keep the question(s), the plan, timelines, checklist of resources to search, etc. all in one place. I've seen others use spreadsheets in the same way, perhaps splitting up things in tabs (Excel or Google Sheets). I prefer a document because I add source citations as I find them and I can begin writing up the case right there in the doc as the hypotheses are proven. Specific Questions in Previous Successes As beginners we often have no clue how much and what details we already know about a person, event or relationship, so it's hard to specify what we want to know. But when looking back at successful research, it
Read more

Help Save This Abused and Neglected Cemetery

-
Image
Screen capture from Google Maps History In an exchange of emails this past week in both the main SKCGS group, and in the Washington-State-Genealogy group, many facts were revealed about the history of the I.O.O.F. Comet Lodge Cemetery, also known as the Old Burying Ground, the Georgetown Cemetery, the Graham Street Burying Ground and maybe more.  FindAGrave sums it up this way: "Since it was established in 1881, the Comet Lodge cemetery site has been whittled away to less than half its original 5 acres. Records are sketchy but it's safe to say that some 500 pioneers were buried here, atop unknown numbers of native Duwamish people. New burials ended in the 1930s. Since then, homes and streets were built on top of many of the plots as the neighborhood around the cemetery grew.  "Upkeep and ownership of the cemetery bounced between the city, civic groups, relatives of Comet Lodge residents, and nearby neighbors. For years, much of the property was allowed to deteriorate int
Read more