Connecting people. Image courtesy of Dreamstime Doing Genealogy When we first start "doing genealogy" we're finding records, noting what we find, and trying to make sense of it all. As time goes on, we may turn into hobbyists, and begin using forms, consulting books, online repositories, and perhaps, building a tree on our computers, online, or both.  Eventually, it grows so much we don't know what we have, or where! This is where all those "genealogy do-over" or "filing Fridays" projects start. Both of those might be useful in your situation, but here is the ruling principle that can bring quality into your work and peace into your heart: genealogy projects using the Genealogical Proof Standard , the GPS . This principle is what professional genealogists use, but it is not for pros only. Fortunately, it's not a secret; it is the key to effective and efficient work for researchers all around the world.  Genealogical Proof Standard GPS Shapes a...

FamilySearch Family Tree logo: Wikimedia Commons Why Not? Many of us hesitate to use the FamilySearch Family Tree (FSFT) because we don't have complete control over the profiles of those who've died, nor to whom they are linked. These are valid points. However, if each user carefully links all the important sources to each profile and writes informative "reason statements" when adding them, the profiles are rarely changed. Instead, they are found by other relatives who can attach records and images you may not have access to, such as family photos, Bible records, etc.  The FSFT is different from sites where you can build your own tree, such as Ancestry.com or in software on your own computer or on paper.  World Tree + Records It is a "world tree," where the goal is to have one, and only one profile for each person ever born, linked together as families. Wikitree and Geni are the two other world family trees; together they are smaller than the FSFT, which is ...

 Odd title to this blog, I know! But I've been learning some things in our latest study group, where we are reading " Research Like A Pro " by Diana Elder and we're following the strategy (RLP). I can't say that some of it is not painful. For instance, while compiling a Locality Research Guide I wanted to follow those meaty links I was finding so much! However, that step comes after we finish the critical parts of those research guides, and get into the Research Planning step. Here are the Research Planning steps, restated in my own words: Research Like A Pro cover 1. State a clear objective, revised if necessary. 2. Summarize the important known facts 3. Clear, specific hypothesis (or multiple if necessary). 4. Identify the best sources to pursue to test your hypothesis/es. 5. Prioritize your research strategy. Of course each of us chose a research subject before we began meeting together, and began to refine a research objective, summarize the sources we alre...

6 generations of McBees, Willises and Smiths Don't Forget to Check GEDmatch While continuing to build the trees of my McBee DNA matches, I thought about two parts of GEDmatch that allow me to search for my mother's matches, even though she died years before autosomal testing was available. Both of the tools featured here are "Tier 1" tools, which means you need to pay for a month or more to use them.  GEDmatch - Free and Paid My mother's kit, LX517332, is a "Lazarus" kit which I created from the kits of my sister and myself, my father, me mom's brother, and all the cousins I could persuade to upload to GEDmatch. The reason my father's kit is part of the construction is that GEDmatch compares his data to that of my sister and me, and removes our matches to him, which leaves the DNA that we inherited from her. Even after my Tier 1 membership is over, I still have my mom's kit, along with my "super kit" which combines all of my autosom...

My longest standing brick wall has been DISSOLVED, thanks to lectures by Alexis Hacker Scholz on using probate and Carol Friedel using LucidChart for genealogy. I'm also advocating getting enough sleep and awakening slowly, and just thinking, before springing out of bed. 💤 That is where my inspiration arose, on my pillow.  If we've met and talked about genealogy, you have heard about my McBees and the mystery William McBee, known only as a name on his son Samuel B's death certificate. After Alexis' probate lecture, the gears were turning about how to look for probate files - but where to look? When I heard Carol thinking aloud, and saw her charting out a mystery DNA match, something clicked. The descendancies she was charting look like the Ancestry.com Thrulines®, so why not mine those and see if William's purported father, George Henry McBee and Martha 'Patsey' Willis, could be proven to be his parents? Not just by DNA matches, but by records. Thrulines® ...

 President's Report:  Where We've Been and Where We're Going 2021 is now in the rear-view window, and South King County Genealogical Society is looking forward to what we have planned for 2022.  You have seen what some of the teams are planning, last week: https://skcgs.blogspot.com/2022/01/2021-in-review.html .  Highlights of 2021-2022 as we fulfill our mission: furthering genealogical research and interest in family and local history . Communication and Social Media Groups.io We've grown! Although we're less chatty than we were last year, we now have 228 members at  https://skcgs.groups.io/g/Society . Blog: http://skcgs.org/blog.html Read all over the world! Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SKCGenealogy Washington State Genealogical Society Blog  https://wasgs.org/blog/ . If you aren't subscribed, you're missing out. We post at least monthly, and so do other societies and people. Keep up! Conference Keeper Most of our new attendees from outside of t...

[1] Exhaustive Research   When researching a difficult ancestor do you ever wonder “have I checked EVERY source that might contain information about this person”? “What could I be missing?” I have good news for you. There is a checklist for that! There are many. If one does not suit your style of research, try another one. A quick Google search brought up 1,750,000,000 results. That is a bit much to deal with. Good Sources for Checklists The Mid-Continent Public Library has a simple one-page list that I have used. [ 2 ] The National Institute for Genealogy offers a similar two-page checklist in a slightly different format. [3] Family Tree Magazine also has a one-page checklist that is quite comprehensive, including wolf-scalp bounties. [4] It does not include a space for the ancestor’s name, and is a PDF so you would have to scan and save it to the ancestor’s file. Roots of Kinship offers a complex Excel-based checklist that is incredibly comprehensive, and useful if you want ...