The Journey

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 Our Journey

When you take the first step of a journey, you never know what's around the next corner, or where you will end up. For millennia, people have made pilgrimage a part of their life-plan. According to Books: A Living History by Lyons [1] Pilgrim's Progress, published in English in 1678, has been translated into over 200 languages and is still in print [2]. So this is a oft-used metaphor and we still take literal journeys which may be pilgrimages to the home places of our ancestors, or retracing their migrations. There is something profound and important about seeing those places now, and experiencing a bit of what those who came before saw and felt. I will never forget visiting the churches that my second-great-grandfather Cowan would have worshipped or traveling over the hills where he herded sheep as a boy. 

Some of our journeys are more based on education and practice than travel. Barbara Mattoon has written some wonderful posts about educational opportunities for those of us wanting more that what South King County Genealogical Society and other local groups can offer, such as conferences, institutes, college or university courses and even degree programs. See 

What do you want to learn, and how can you best do that? For those who can read and learn, books and journals are widely available, inexpensive when purchased used, and free from libraries. Some learn better in a class setting; there are abundant wonderful choices no matter where you are starting. 

Genealogical Proof Standard
In my own genealogy practice, the more I follow the GPS (Genealogical Proof Standard) the better the research is, and the more I learn from each hour of work. My first month of "52 Ancestors" has been eye-opening! Because I began with my parents and the grandparents I grew up knowing well, I thought the research reports would be easy! Little did I know how much I would learn, and how emotional each journey would be. 

My challenge to you is to plan your journey, then take your first step on the path you choose. Then tell us about it!

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1. Lyons, M. (2011). Books: A Living History. Getty Publications. 2. The Pilgrim's Progress


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Send your stories to m.strickland@skcgs.org


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Valorie Zimmerman


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