Courtesy of Pixabay; Peggy & Marco, artists Chat was Great! Following our society November monthly genealogy Chat, I was left with an emotional high I had not felt in quite a while. And I have been thinking since then – what made me feel so good and how does it affect anything or everything genealogy-speaking? Working with Relatives After sifting thoughts and memories, I realized that the chat reminded me of how my Grand-Aunt Bessie Arminta McPherson Hill captivated me with our family stories and memories. I thought about some of my best genealogy times – when I met a Tennessee cousin who had gone to school with my Dad’s youngest brother on an email list where we researched virtually together for over 10 years until her death. We corresponded online with loads of cousins and other folks from East Tennessee families. It was a heady feeling. I thought of looking for lost graveyards with my cousin Terry on old Manhattan Project land in Tennessee, still under lock and key just 20 ye...

  Look around you, it's summer and flowers are blooming everywhere.  Some of those flowers have some fascinating stories. From Wyoming The other day I was preparing a presentation for Understanding Migration.  We, as genealogists, think of Migration as our ancestors, after arriving from their homeland in search of a new life, crossing the country from the East coast to areas across our country.  In my search I had found migrating animals and plants, not exactly what I was looking for; I was thinking more like wagon trains. Then a couple days later I was on a virtual meeting with members of the South King County Genealogy Society when we were asked to turn in stories of flowers for the Societies Blog. Of course, flowers , just read about plant migration in my research for the presentation.  “I have a Migrating Rose” Well, here’s the story.  We lived in Casper, Wyoming in 1961. My husband, Norv, worked for Supreme Bakers and delivered crackers and co...

Do you have a relative’s Dog Tags in your possession? Can you read the story they tell? Four U.S. Army Dog Tag types were issued during World War II. This set belonged to my father Alex Hacker. They were found in the house of his mother Maude Mayton Hacker in Harriman, TN after she died, by Cousin Sandra “Cookie” Giles Pride. Cookie gave them to me, Alex’s daughter Alexis. Originally this second iteration of WWII U.S. Army tags carried this information: The soldier’s name Soldier’s service/serial number Soldier’s emergency contact information, usually next of kin’s name Street Address  City and state 1941 Heralded New Medical Technology & a Dog Tag Update In November of 1941, tags began including medical information. The set shown above is of this time frame. November 1941 revision tags added space after the service number to include (a) the year of the wearer’s tetanus shot plus (b) their blood type. In 2021, it’s hard for us to appreciate how innovative the inclusion of medic...

Women's History Month | National Women's History Museum Recognition of w omen's contribution to history has grown from a week in 1980 to the entire month of March beginning in 1987.  For the next four weeks, this blog will feature stories and pictures of our society members' women ancestors and their historical experiences.  Some of the stories are short remembrances with pictures. Elizabeth Barrett Gunnell (1822-1907)  Smiles Amidst Tears   Created out of different journal entries  by Elizabeth Barrett Murray File (1893-1994) "When they moved from Virginia to Kentucky they left a set of glass goblets on the table as they had no room to take them. I always wished that I could have gone in and got them. "One time when they were short on food Grandma’s mother went to the mill to buy meal on credit and the miller wouldn’t let her have it. So she came home and threw herself across the bed and cried. I always wondered what the family did." A little background ...

Mystery gift from afa r It was an unexpected arrival – and as I strolled back from the mailbox I was full of anticipation at the surprise package from my father. Small, the size of a box full of checks, what on earth could this possibly contain – and why? It was between holidays – right after Thanksgiving and enough “before Christmas” not to be a Christmas gift. I smiled with delight. Packages from home and my parents were always fun. And in this case, somewhat mysterious, given the timing. In the house, I carefully cut through the layers of clear packing tape that encased the box. As I lifted the lid off, there was a note labelled in my father’s unmistakable handwriting: Care Package. Like any kid with a new toy, I laid the note aside (the adult kid did this very carefully) and then I just stared at the contents. I took another look. Jumbled together in the bottom of the box were not quite a dozen crumpled red and silver foil balls, some with narrow wire sticking from them and ...

  Image courtesy Clipartix.com General Meeting Saturday, September 19 (Virtual) 9:30 am Social time; 10 am General Membership Meeting .    Click or paste the link to join:     https://meet.google.com/qeq-hytd-jii?hs=122&authuser=0 or call: (‪US‬) ‪+1 510-939-0384‬ PIN: ‪268 689 236#‬     E lection of officers: Valorie Zimmerman has been nominated for the office of Vice President and agreed to serve if elected. Linda Blais has been nominated for the office of Secretary and agreed to serve if elected.  There will be an opportunity for additional nominations at the meeting.  Should there be additional candidates, members will be instructed how to vote by email during the meeting. Our Speaker: Mary Kircher Roddy     presents   Trails West: Crossing the Continent, 1840-1869 .   Image courtesy Clipartlook.com   Welcome New Members; Welcome New Faces! If you've participated in special interest and chat groups this ...