https://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/ Takeaways from the National Genealogical Society 2022 Conference NGS2022GEN Souvenirs This past week, I attended the NGS 2022 Conference, the first in-person event since 2019. Because everyone was vaccinated and masking was universal, I was comfortable attending. After hearing Andre Kearns' [1] keynote at the NGS Banquet Friday night, I am so proud to be an NGS Member, both personally and as Delegate for our Society. The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee [2] which Kearns chairs is doing the work necessary to come to terms with the exclusionary past of the NGS, and to begin instead to tell a far more complete story of our families' and nation's past. His story about searching his son's lineage back to 1619 and a free man of color was inspiring.  If Kearns could find those scarce, precious documents and prove that case, then there is hope for all of us researchers. If Harvard and Georgetown Universities can confront their p

From the Stowe/Williams Family Collection As the weather warms up and Covid restrictions ease, people are traveling more and seeing friends and family members they have missed for too long.  Some are even meeting distant relatives they may never have met before. One of the joys of meeting after a long period of time is sharing photographs.  Hopefully everyone in the photos is identified and the date and place are well documented.  The photo is telling you a story and all the details are evident. But, unfortunately, that is rarely the case.  Some photos may have been identified such as the ones my Aunt Bea did--a man fishing from the shore of a body of water was identified as, "Dad at the lake".  Great!  Whose Dad?  at what lake?  at what occasion?  At least she tried.  That isn't always the case. Don't be steered wrong Sometimes the information given is not correct.  This photo had been identified as a three generation group and as 2nd great-, great- and grandmother o

6 generations of McBees, Willises and Smiths Don't Forget to Check GEDmatch While continuing to build the trees of my McBee DNA matches, I thought about two parts of GEDmatch that allow me to search for my mother's matches, even though she died years before autosomal testing was available. Both of the tools featured here are "Tier 1" tools, which means you need to pay for a month or more to use them.  GEDmatch - Free and Paid My mother's kit, LX517332, is a "Lazarus" kit which I created from the kits of my sister and myself, my father, me mom's brother, and all the cousins I could persuade to upload to GEDmatch. The reason my father's kit is part of the construction is that GEDmatch compares his data to that of my sister and me, and removes our matches to him, which leaves the DNA that we inherited from her. Even after my Tier 1 membership is over, I still have my mom's kit, along with my "super kit" which combines all of my autosom

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