Local Archives and Other Repositories After Saturday's inspiring panel discussion about how to find the majority of the genealogy and family history records which have been collected for research, we thought to consult our own repository: the  blog index  on our great website, skcgs.org .  Since the beginning, we have been visiting local area archives and museums and reporting back to you, our readers. Katie led us off with  Black Diamond, Washington  about the history of Black Diamond and the great Black Diamond Museum and Historical Society. More here  also her visit to the  New England Historical and Genealogical Society  in Boston. Cheri Sayer came to SKCGS from the Greater Kent Historical Societ y and she also visited the Highline Heritage Museum . Note: Highline Heritage has a new link .  Barbara Mattoon visited and wrote about the   Des Moines Museum ;  r ead on to see even more examples of local repositories. Nearly every c...

Research Workshop We had a full house at Friday's Research Workshop, which is what our superstar SKCGS Member Winona calls our Members-only monthly hours at the Kent FamilySearch Center.  CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 DEED by David Gurteen: "Research Workshop" Every person with whom I had time to talk, whether new to research or life-long genealogists, talked about the stories they have uncovered and their inner pressure to tell them. Some feel most comfortable telling them only to family members who are interested; others want to put those stories in our Auburn Library Vertical Files, and/or in the files at the White River Museum or other local archives.   Ideas which came up in our conversations included adding those memories, stories, photos and record images to profiles in the FamilySearch Family Tree, on Wikitree  profiles  and even in Ancestry, MyHeritage or other public (or private, but shared with family) trees. Not everyone is comfortable sharing their research onlin...

 Go There! Generated by BingImageCreator AI 'April 19, 2024 How times have changed in family history research! Traveling to your family's homeplace or writing letters to genealogy or historical societies, courthouses, local libraries and archives used to be the first step in beginning family history if there were no published books or periodicals we could consult.  Later, we had access to microfilm, which required traveling to where that microfilm was. Now, our first step is often to see what's online at Ancestry.com, other pay sites, and free sites such as FamilySearch.org . But as we know, no matter how fast these services add new databases, only a small percentage of records are or will ever be online.  Why Travel? Beyond records, though, why should we travel to gather our family history? Two reasons: everywhere is different, and only by going there can we experience that. Reading about the history, geology and social forces that shaped the community is one excellent w...

AI: Bing Image Creator Generated Changing realities force many of us to consider the future of our genealogical collections. Whether a change in health, a new location or even just downsizing, it can be useful to evaluate what we have now, with an eye to the future. What we can pass along? Plan Ahead First: if you have online trees, create a plan to grant access to interested fellow researchers, even distant cousins. Depending on the website, you may need to add a codicil to your will, or just tell the site whom your successor will be.  Ancestry.com: there are two considerations: your DNA test and your tree(s). It is wise to share your DNA results with a cousin or other relative; no need to wait. Or you can  Assign a Manager .  For overall accounts and trees, there is  Ancestry® Family Plan Memberships .  FamilySearch help file:  How to Connect to a Family Member’s Tree .  B ecause it is a shared tree, a person cannot pass along their FamilySearch acc...

  Giving Thanks Those Who Served Ted Cowan 1926-2016 As I write, it is Veteran's Day, and also my mother's birthday. If she were alive, she would be 95. I'm thankful for her time on Earth, and that of my father, who served as a medic in the Pacific, WWII. I recently placed this photo of him at as a young recruit in the Veterans Legacy Memorial . Search for your ancestor, friend or relative here:  vlm.cem.va.gov/search .  Those Who Gave Their All John Franklin Zimmerman Jr 1908-1943 Th e database does not cover those buried overseas, such as my husband's uncle Frank, killed in action in Italy, and buried in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery, Nettuno, Italy. He had worked in the Post Office in California during the war, and when killed was Staff Sergeant of the Combat Organization: 2nd Army Post Office. He was killed the 7th of October 1943 and was awarded the Purple Heart.  https://www.abmc.gov / <- Search for overseas burials. Military Service Members I'...

  I have found a new "favorite" place for researching--the Digital Public Library of America  Digital Public Library of America (dp.la) .  It isn't a new place, its charter was established in 2012, but it is new to me and I am enjoying the different ways to explore the information available. "The Digital Public Library of America amplifies the value of libraries and cultural organizations as Americans’ most trusted sources of shared knowledge. We do this by collaborating with partners to accelerate innovative tools and ideas that empower and equip libraries to make information more accessible. "We work with a national network of partners to: Make millions of materials from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions across the country available to all in a one-stop discovery experience. Provide a library-controlled marketplace and platform for libraries to purchase, organize, and deliver ebooks and other e-content to their patrons. Convene libr...

By Linda Blais At our June meeting, Mary Kathryn Kozy gave us some practical tips for preparing to take a genealogy research trip.  Listening to Mary brought back memories of the last research trip I took to North Carolina and Tennessee with my cousin who acted as my research assistant. It also brought up some "aha" or "oops" moments on a couple of things that didn't go quite as planned, even though I had spent months preparing my itinerary. Here are some basics about the trip. My goal was to visit as many historical sites, libraries, museums, courthouses and archives as I could in 10 days that were relevant to the life of Sarah Barton Murphy, who lived in North Carolina as a child between 1753 and 1760 and in Tennessee as an adult between 1781 and 1802.  She is not my ancestor, but I am in the process of writing a biography about her. Her claim to fame is that she founded the first Sunday school west of the Mississippi in 1805. The research I do for an anc...

By Valorie Zimmerman and MaryLynn Strickland While gathering contact information from Washington state genealogy societies, historical and heritage groups, and museums, a gem became obvious: The Jefferson County Historical Society , which has some fascinating places to visit also has a Research Center, which they say, “ .serves as both the primary research facility and the repository for the Society's archival collections. Staff and volunteers are on hand to assist researchers.” See their website for more information: http://jchsmuseum.org/Sites/ResearchCenter.html .  This group is also active on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jeffcountymuseum . Even more exciting: you can access part of their collection now, sitting at your computer! See https://cdm16785.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/ to search. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Here are a few more interesting societies.  We do not wish to overlook anybody but space does not allow ...