Two workers pruning street trees in London during World War I,  released by the Imperial War Museum on the  IWM Non Commercial Licence . I have been pruning lately; not outside, where as I write it is still cold, windy and a week ago, slushing.  At first, it was exciting to whack people right out of my Ancestry.com main DNA tree, because some ancient "ancestors" had no sources, and conflicting or nonsense "facts." Delete, delete, delete. But sometimes while falling asleep, I wondered if the name itself is a clue I should have left in the tree.  A recent interview with Roberta Estes * quotes her: "E very connection has the potential to be incorrect.  I’d much rather saw a branch off than continue to bark up the wrong tree. "   I find that statement reassuring.  When I resume researching the pruned line, I'll find evidence unavailable when I was a beginner. Back then, I blindly trusted other people's trees. I thought that they had done thei...

2025: What Happened, and a peek into 2026 “Father Time” by Linnaea Mallette: Public Domain license In south King County, Washington, 2025 began with most folks still recovering from a major storm, a "bomb cyclone." Unfortunately, winter storms were punishing at the end of the year as well, with near-record flooding in much of western Washington. However, our society  handled disaster as our ancestors did: with courage, creativity and by working together. We had nine amazing speakers this year and were active weekly in small groups. Volunteers staff monthly Genealogy Help desks in three local libraries, and SKCGS publishes a weekly blog.  2025 Speaker Series January:  Dr. Carol Gorman Friedel "The Invisible Man—Moving Through a Pre-1840 Burned County Brick Wall" February:  Michael Strauss “The Road to Independence: Revolutionary War Research” March:  Amber Oldenburg " Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense Registration Cards: The Largest...

  "Helping You Find & Tell Your Family Stories"; generated by Bing Image Creator July 21 July 2024  We often ask for volunteers; after all, South King County Genealogical Society is an all-volunteer organization. Perhaps we don't focus enough on how we can help YOU . Incorporated in 1984 as "educational in character and  devoted exclusively to furthering genealogical research and interest in family and local history [1], we are here for YOU.  How Can We Help YOU Find and Tell Your Family Stories? Education When asked to suggest what they wanted to present to readers, here are some of the responses from your Board members:  (Barbara Mattoon) " SKCGS offers educational opportunities for a variety of genealogical interests and experience levels." Small sample of our educational offerings. SKCGS.org for details Entry level classes  offered to the community through the King County Library System . The Family Tree Maker User group discusses features of the ...

Winona Hahn Laird, SKCGS Volunteer of the Year Winona Hahn Laird is our Volunteer of the Year 2023. The Washington State Genealogical Society asks each member society to select one volunteer or team to honor, and in 2023 Winona was chosen unanimously by the South King County Genealogical Society Board.  ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ How it Started Winona has been doing genealogy for over 60 years.  She started as a young girl in a church class. One of the projects was to get her mother, father, and grandparents to write a one-page story of their lives and they all wrote their stories.  Some years later, after Winona’s grandmother had passed, the family found reams of paper among her possessions which contained notes and stories she had written. Winona used this information to write and publish a book about her grandmother,  "Have You Ever Lived in a Mining Town;" see on Amazon or her website store . Winona has researched most of her family lines back to the 16th and 17th centurie...