The Magic of New Beginnings

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Renton Highlands Library: https://kcls.org/locations/renton-highlands/

Starting a new endeavor is magic!

Recently, we (SKCGS) were asked to open a Genealogy Help Desk at the Renton Highlands Library, pictured above. Two of our newer volunteers have been there on the second Thursday mornings beginning this September. I was privileged to be there last Thursday and help a brand new genealogy researcher get started. He walked in with a copy of GenHelp Desk flyer which he picked up at a local senior center. 

When I asked what his interests were, he said, his whole family. And I know that when starting something new, there are a lot of hard ways to do it. Please show me the best way. It is not often that I'm asked for advice! It was a pleasure to walk with him over to the KCLS computers, where he navigated to Ancestry.com, to create a new free tree. Ancestry really does make it easy to get started when some basic facts are known. Along the way, I explained that while he may get some "hints" to free record sets, if he decides on Ancestry as his online tree and research site, he'll need to pay for the privilege of other hints and databases; paying customers have access to millions of records. It is true that we have access to the free Ancestry Library Edition at KCLS and FamilySearch Centers, but one cannot directly add sources from there to your trees.

Once he had gotten both sets of grandparents into the little tree, we moved to FamilySearch.org, which is always free, and has billions of records. After setting up an account, he put himself and his parents in the tree, noticing that his parents,  both deceased, were already in the tree! as were their parents. I showed him how to see various tree views, and from a personal profile, see the sources associated with each of his ancestors—and who had done that work. Hints on the FamilySearch Family Tree are free, as are all the records on the site.

It was exciting for both of us to see it all took shape so quickly. I mentioned how long it used to take, and how almost magical it is now. 

I've changed my mind. It is not almost magical; it IS magic! The work we do changes us. Working with family history slowly embeds us into the larger history of the areas where our kin lived. As we learn more of the history of the counties, states, nations and times they lived, we begin to feel how history still reverberates. I'm so grateful that technology makes it easier than ever to begin this adventure.

In my early research of my husband's family, I asked my mother-in-law about the name of the town where she was born and raised, Brule, Nebraska. I knew of the Brule Sioux; she had never heard of that tribe, also known as the Kul Wicasa Oyate. What did that lack of awareness about the origins of the land where she was born, mean over time? 

The ecosystem of native peoples, plants and animals sustained the area and the entire inland plains of what became the United States. Part of our work is bringing hidden histories to light, both in a personal and a larger context. This is one of the reasons we research the FANs (Family, Friends, Associates, Neighbors), the laws of the time, and the natural, social and cultural history of the area before our ancestors moved there. How did the inhabitants live, support themselves, and how did that change over time?

What Was Their Experience?

As we dig into the records, sometimes we see direct effects of the larger history; those who were infected in epidemics, died in floods, earthquakes, pogroms, wars. Sometimes those effects are more muted, but it is always worth knowing about the land where your family lived. Were they close to a river that flooded? How about battles, crimes (gang wars, massacres) or other disasters? For instance, the 1918 flu pandemic was so widespread that even if your family members were spared, they probably lost friends and many acquaintances. It is always worth adding such events to the timelines we build for our families to remind us. Fortunately, the big online sites make it easy to add those events.

Every New Line is a New Beginning

We need not forget all that experience has taught us when we begin anew. Marriages into each line we're researching sometimes lead us into an unfamiliar family. That gives us the chance to meet new people, new localities, new histories. It just takes a bit of work.


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Share your story with us! send to m.strickland@skcgs.org


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Valorie Zimmerman



Comments

  1. maryOctober 14, 2024 at 1:13 PM

    This is a wonderful shared experience. At the Tacoma FamilySearch Center we have these experiences helping people too. We also have 8 different types of digitizing equipment that patrons can use with help totally free - digitizing slides, negatives, VHS, camcorder movies, books, photos and audio cassettes and reel to reel audio recordings. We would love people to set appointments for each machine during the 33 hours each week in which we are open. We can schedule individuals and groups and encourage volunteers who can digitize their own precious family memories while helping others. Mary Anderson Tacoma FamilySearch Center Coordinator msynergy007@gmail.com

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