Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons Its March already and once again, Women's History Month.  In the past we have featured women we had never known, noted for their contribution to history and heroic deeds.  We also requested stories from you, our readers, and you came through with stories of your ancestors  ranging from Colonial times to the 20th century. This month let's approach women's history from another angle--research!  Dust off your favorite genealogical tools and get ready to do an exhaustive research of a woman in your family tree or a woman about whom you would like to know more, even though she is not part of your family.   Image courtesy of Kat, on Flickr Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth... from The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost Perhaps your choice will be the wife of your ancestor's sibling, perhaps an a...

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® ...

Back when SKCGS Special Interest Groups could still meet in person, I attended the DNA/Genetic Genealogy Group meeting in early February. The subject was using Ancestry tools such as Thru-Lines tool to “group” your DNA ancestors, and was led by our Publicity Chair Valorie Zimmerman. This tutorial only works if you have tested your DNA through Ancestry, and have a tree where you are linked to yourself on that tree. It’s best to have a subscription, so you can follow up on suspected common ancestors. The class was very hands-on and we were immediately getting signed in to Ancestry and clicking on our list of “DNA Matches” at the top of the page under the DNA tab. Other people you share DNA with and have tested with Ancestry will appear on your list. First on the list will be close relations, and you will most likely recognize the names and know them. From there you will get a longer list of DNA third and fourth, and fifth and sixth cousins. Note that this list seems to grow...

White River Valley Museum Our soggy Puget Sound weather may have you seeking a warm, dry indoor activity. If so, I recommend a visit to the White River Valley Museum. It is conveniently located adjacent to the Auburn Public Library. You might even combine a research trip to the genealogy section of the Library with a visit to the museum. This small museum features high-quality exhibits including one about the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe (the original settlers of this region), a replica of a 1915 Japanese farmhouse and an exhibit about downtown Auburn in the 1920s.  The museum also features an extensive oral history collection and over 13,000 photographs.[1]  Several historic newspapers of the area are available to search online, and the extensive library of books and newspapers is open to researchers.[2] Family Tree Maker User Group Back across the parking lot to the KCLS Library, the FamilyTree Maker Users Group will meet there Saturday, February 1, from 10:15 – 11:4...