Healing the Rift of a Century A cousin reached out to me last week on FindAGrave.com , because I had posted pictures to her grandfather's memorial.  Find a Grave, database and images ( https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/38737708/rolland_stewart-wade : accessed August 23, 2024), memorial page for Rolland Stewart Wade (14 Jun 1898–3 Dec 1962), {{FindAGrave|38737708}}, citing Blue Mountain Memorial Gardens, College Place, Walla Walla County, Washington, USA; Maintained by Blue Mountain Memorial Gardens (contributor 47135041). She had never known her grandfather or anyone from his side of the family, for reasons her father had never wanted to discuss. But now that her parents have passed on, she felt that she was missing a piece of her history, and decided to go looking for some answers. Rolland Wade Her grandfather, Rolland Wade (1898-1962), was an older brother of my great-grandmother, Olive Wade Swenson, whom I was fortunate enough to know as a child. I told her what I knew of Roll...

Screen capture from Google Maps History In an exchange of emails this past week in both the main SKCGS group, and in the Washington-State-Genealogy group, many facts were revealed about the history of the I.O.O.F. Comet Lodge Cemetery, also known as the Old Burying Ground, the Georgetown Cemetery, the Graham Street Burying Ground and maybe more.  FindAGrave sums it up this way: "Since it was established in 1881, the Comet Lodge cemetery site has been whittled away to less than half its original 5 acres. Records are sketchy but it's safe to say that some 500 pioneers were buried here, atop unknown numbers of native Duwamish people. New burials ended in the 1930s. Since then, homes and streets were built on top of many of the plots as the neighborhood around the cemetery grew.  "Upkeep and ownership of the cemetery bounced between the city, civic groups, relatives of Comet Lodge residents, and nearby neighbors. For years, much of the property was allowed to deteriorate int...

Collaboration and Cousin Bait Do you use Find a Grave in your genealogy research? I do, all the time! Right along with Ancestry, Google, Wikitree and FamilySearch. It shares with the most useful sites the power of collaboration and "cousin bait," which is advertising your name and contact information on profiles of relatives you share with your cousins, some of whom are researchers looking for you.  If you use Find a Grave only to find out the name of the cemetery in which your relative or ancestor is buried, you are missing out on much of the power of the site. And I'm not just talking about the clues such as date and place of birth, death, names of parents, spouse(s) and children. Before moving on think about who the  someone is who added information to the memorial. If it is not you, you can add information! And you can click over to their profile to find out which cousin is your benefactor. To make corrections or additions to a memorial click Suggest Edits as below: ...

In October of 2020, a series of posts in the South King County Genealogical Society Groups mentioned the Ravensdale Cemetery.  Some photos were posted and it got my attention. It was clear that the old cemetery was sorely neglected. It had been vandalized in the 1950’s and stones had been encased by ground cover and other underbrush. I visited the cemetery for the first time, with my husband, on Saturday, 7 November 2020.  Its state was, to say the least, sad. There was evidence that people had been there. The paths were a bit trampled and burned down candles and an empty packet of cigarettes were sitting on the side of a broken and open sarcophagus. In spite of the fact that someone up to no good had recently been there, it was a peaceful place. Restoration? I was hooked.  Two days prior to my visit, I had made the suggestion to the group that restoring the cemetery might be a good project for SKCGS and I presented a hurriedly composed proposal to the Board. I was given...

  I am grateful for many things. In the genealogical research sector of my life, I am especially grateful to be the the recipient of so much wonderful (and much of it FREE) on-line research material! After only availing myself of all of that information for a long while, I began to feel the need to give back to the entities that had given me so much. I have scratched that itch in the past and tried a few different projects, all different, and all quite satisfying. Now that we are staying home more than ever, I have had more time to think about where I would like to contribute my time and talent. Since I can’t currently visit my favorite physical archives right now, maybe I can assist in beefing up some digital ones that would make an impact for myself, my society and my fellow genealogists, after all, what I contributed before was all pre-COVID19. It’s time for me to get going again. Part of SKCGS’s Mission Statement states that we should be “Locating, preserving, and indexing pu...

  Woodville Cemetery, Deerfield, Waushara, Wisconsin; photo courtesy Steve and Fay Bray, 2020 Inspiration Recently I wrote about Anna Wood Dyer, my great-great-grandmother and inspiration.  I told about receiving pictures of Isaac and Betsey Fuller Wood that confirmed their relationship to Anna and helped me find their parents. Isaac and his family settled in Deerfield, Waushara County, Wisconsin, in about 1855.  I've looked for records in all the usual places including Find A Grave where I found several Wood memorials in the Woodville Cemetery.  Unfortunately, not all the family is listed and at one time Find A Grave stated that there were some unnamed graves. I still need to find death dates for Isaac and Betsey and for Isaac's father, Billa. After writing the article about gggrandmother Anna, I went back to Find a Grave and learned that contributor Janet Marie #480008518, had posted a picture of a stone that was no longer legible and noted that it might be a doubl...

How often have you been at a library or archive and found something -- but didn't bring the right paperwork with the person in question in it? Of course if you brought and can use your laptop or tablet, you can possibly access your database or online tree(s).  There are phone apps! Some are getting really good. The major sites have them, and there are some standalone apps too - and browser plugins too. While traveling, these apps can be quite useful. Ancestry app Ancestry : two apps. First, for your tree:  https://www.ancestry.com/cs/ancestry-app  and AncestryDNA:   activate your test in the app!  https://www.ancestry.com/cs/dnaapp Ancestry also owns  FindaGrave , which has their own app. Photograph and upload grave photos right from your phone:   https://www.findagrave.com/mobileapp The very latest on the apps from Rootstech: https://www.rootstech.org/video/ancestry-on-the-go-ancestry-app-suite MyHeritage mobile app MyHe...