Mystery Solved!

-


Vectors by Vecteezy



We've mentioned Genealogical Crime Mysteries, a genre of fiction that is becoming very popular. We have introduced several of our favorite authors and even talk about our favorite protagonists and anxiously await their newest exploits.

It is in this same genre that I have recently read two non-fiction genealogy mysteries and the arduous tasks of sorting out the facts among the brick walls the authors had to overcome.


Buried Secrets: Looking for Frank and Ida by Anne Hanson, New England Books, LLC; Copyright 2022 addresses the brick walls caused by half truths, omissions and deliberate misinformation. Coupled with research prior to online indexes and records, the author and other family researchers were faced with a nearly insurmountable task in finding Frank and Ida Hanson.

"After so many years of flailing in the genealogical wilderness, . . " Anne hardly dared believe when she finally made a breakthrough. She had become so accustomed to failure.  Even with that first success, it took several years of research to find Frank and Ida and to ultimately write their story.

This is a touching story of buried secrets and their effect on family relations for several generations. It is also a good reminder of the perseverance it takes to uncover the truth.



The second book is Revelation: A Memoir of Deep Family Secrets, Discovery, and Identity by Richard Gary Kaye and Annette Schwarz Kaye; Gershon Press LLC, Copyright 2022.  

When Rick and his wife Annette took DNA tests with other members of their synagogue including Rick's sister, it was for fun, a whim. But they were surprised to learn that not only was Rick not 100% Ashkenazi Jewish as expected, neither was his sister. And they were only half siblings with different fathers.

Rick and Annette take us through the practice of artificial insemination decades ago and, with the prevalence of DNA testing and online posting, the effects of finding half siblings.

Both books present good research methods as well as perseverance.  They are available to read for free at Kindle Unlimited.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Attention SKCGS members: May 20, 2023 is the SKCGS Annual Meeting. Members in good standing will be voting on two items--Budget for fiscal year 2023-2024 and election of president and treasurer.  

Nominee for president is incumbent Valorie Zimmerman. Valorie has been president for two years.  Previously she served as vice-president and publicity chairperson.

Nominee for treasurer is incumbent Michele Mattoon.  Besides serving as treasurer, Michele has helped with seminar registration, annual financial review and budget planning.

Nominations remain open until the election at the annual meeting. Contact nominating-committee@skcgs.org to make additional nominations.

MaryLynn Strickland        



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