Look around you, it's summer and flowers are blooming everywhere.  Some of those flowers have some fascinating stories. From Wyoming The other day I was preparing a presentation for Understanding Migration.  We, as genealogists, think of Migration as our ancestors, after arriving from their homeland in search of a new life, crossing the country from the East coast to areas across our country.  In my search I had found migrating animals and plants, not exactly what I was looking for; I was thinking more like wagon trains. Then a couple days later I was on a virtual meeting with members of the South King County Genealogy Society when we were asked to turn in stories of flowers for the Societies Blog. Of course, flowers , just read about plant migration in my research for the presentation.  “I have a Migrating Rose” Well, here’s the story.  We lived in Casper, Wyoming in 1961. My husband, Norv, worked for Supreme Bakers and delivered crackers and co...

  Tucked away on the second floor of this unimposing building at 730 S 225 th Street in downtown Des Moines, WA,   is a treasure trove of South King County History. Historical Background It is believed that the Duwamish and Muckleshoot Native American peoples came to the present location of Des Moines to dig clams and spear salmon for their winter food supply, but that they did not have permanent camps at this location.  Captain George Vancouver passed by on May 26, 1792.  The next recorded discovery was made by explorers for the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1824. [1]  The Wilkes Expedition charted the coastline in the vicinity of the present site of Des Moines May 18, 1841. [2] The First Settlers John Moore probably arrived in the present location of Des Moines late in 1863, however, he failed to file for his Homestead Patent five years later. By mid-1872, he had filed and received his Patent.  It is thought that he was born about 1831 in Ireland and...

Greetings! This is my first blog post as President of the South King County Genealogical Society. I'm so honored that the Members entrusted this office to me. But let me share a secret with you: I made up my own job. I did the same with my previous job with SKCGS, as Vice President and before that, leading the new Publicity team.  Make Your Own Job As I've aged, I adopted this tactic more and more, and I will tell you, it's great! For one thing, you know yourself better than anyone else does, and so when you create your own job description, it fits you well. It is a wonderful way to be effective and collaborate with others who share your values and enthusiasms. Most of all, you can choose to do the things that make you happy, and work with those who are happy in their work as well. It is the best of all possible worlds. Freedom and Happiness When I read our SKCGS  Bylaws and Standing Rules , I saw in those job descriptions a lot of latitude to fill the some of the needs of...

Our thanks to Thomas MacEntee at    G E N E A L O G Y    B A R G A I N S    https://genealogybargains.com/                       for this week's blog information. Transcription, a skill you need! At some point, every genealogist needs to transcribe a  document. A one - of - a - kind document only accessible in - person at an archive . Or a document scanned as an imag e  but not converted into usable text. Here is an overview of how quickly and easily transcribe handwritten and difficult - to - read documents.                                                                                                             ...