What's New

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Have you been spoiled by good fortune? Consider Joining Our New Study Group!



Courtesy andreas_fischler; Creative Commons 2.0

Sometimes it is really easy to find records on the big genealogy sites, the hints make sense, and we begin to think that research is easy. So easy, that we may forget what to do when the ripe fruit isn't hanging easily in reach.

That's when a study group would come in handy,  to remind us of basic principles of research. Or for beginners on the family history journey to learn those habits and practices from the very best, right at the start.

Recent Example

I had given up with Seth Willis of Harrison County, Missouri, an ancestor of one of my McBee uncle's DNA matches, until I thought about what to focus on for the new Research Study Group, beginning Wednesday, 14 August. Seth was born early enough that there are no records of parentage, and his probable father's obituary does not mention him.

So I created a timeline of facts and sources to send to the group with what I know about Seth Willis. In the process I noticed a fact I had overlooked; his suspected father had a first marriage to his probable mother, with the date and place. This fact opened the logjam, since his mother was in my tree, along with her family. Timelines to organize facts can be powerful tool, as this example shows. A study group can remind us to take the research steps we may have neglected and take a fresh look at evidence we may already have uncovered.


Enhance Your Genealogy; Join Our New Research Study Group!

At each session, we'll discuss one of Elizabeth Shown Mills' ten steps from her webinar "Dissection & Analysis of Research Problems: 10 Steps to a Solution." This is not a free webinar; you will need a subscription to Legacy Family Tree Webinars to participate. 

Elizabeth Shown Mills

Elizabeth Shown Mills is genealogy’s pioneer in problem-solving methodology. She is the author and editor of books such as Professional Genealogy, Evidence Explained, and the EvidenceExplained.com website as well as many excellent webinars and peer-reviewed articles. All of her webinars are worth watching multiple times; her ten steps will organize the study group calendar.

South King County Genealogical Society

We would love to have you join SKCGS; it is not a requirement for this study group. Donations are gratefully welcomed. Membership | Donate

You need not have a single research project in mind, although that might fit for you. This is a study group, not a class. So, if you register, plan on doing your part, as we coach one another and demonstrate how we put the steps in action to answer our research questions. Watch the webinar as often as needed, and ask the group for feedback. 


Review One Another's Work

Send your work to the group at Research-Group@SKCGS.groups.io a week in advance to get feedback. Remember to join the group first! Share your Google Doc/Sheet and allow comments, or  just email and get comments that way. Study groups are collaborative; sharing work with your peers is important. See "Genealogists: Use your Google Drive!" https://skcgs.blogspot.com/2022/09/genealogists-use-your-google-drive.html.


Three Steps to Participate

1. Join the group: https://skcgs.groups.io/g/Research-Group

2. Register for Zoom meetings: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0lfuyorzotGt2O3pPVv1SnFyxNRVHHA6bi

3. Talk to the group


Also New:

Next Steps with Wikitree SIG

Once we've answered our research questions, we'll be ready to add our folks to Wikitree! Just in time, we have a new Wikitree User Group all ready to help you get acquainted with this powerful site. Join the group and start asking your questions. https://skcgs.groups.io/g/Wikitree-SIG


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Send your stories to m.strickland@skcgs.org


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Comments welcome!

What's your most challenging genealogy research problem? Tell us in the comments, and let's discuss how a study group approach might help!


Valorie Zimmerman

Thanks to Bob & Claude by Anthropic for suggestions which made this post better

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