The Blackwell's Kinfolk Family Tree highlights two prominent members. Arthur Ashe Jr.'s name is in gold, right. Family genealogist Thelma Short Doswell is highlighted in yellow, left .  Photo from Library of Congress, blog September 28, 2023 Have you checked out "our" library recently? By "our" library, I don't mean the library branch in your neighborhood, although it is definitely a place that should be very familiar to you. I mean the library that belongs to all of us--the Library of Congress.   At our fingertips we have the ability to  search millions of items in many formats and languages; to explore a growing treasury of digitized materials .  This is one of the most valuable resources available for enhancing our knowledge and understanding of the lives of our ancestors.  It's very easy to remember the URL--loc.gov.    Library of Congress Blogs | Blogs from the Library of Congress (loc.gov) And the collections and exhibits are constantly expa...

 In a recent email conversation with a new member, I was reminded of the wealth of information and assistance that is available to genealogists of all levels of experience; if we only knew where to look.  And, with the usual websites constantly adding new material, even the most veteran researcher may miss some information. Social media such as Facebook and Twitter help spread new discoveries as well respected leaders post information.  Blogs and newsletters are a great source as well.   This weekly newsletter arrives in my inbox every Saturday morning.  Among its regular features are updates from their favorite bloggers and "What's New at the Big 4", a review of Ancestry, My Heritage, FamilySearch and Find My Past.   This is just one example of what is available.   My Heritage Recently I received an email from the MyHeritage Knowledge Base suggesting a video I might watch, " How to Use the 4 Family Tree Views on MyHeritage".  Inter...

We may not be able to attend educational meetings for weeks or months because of the increasing number of new corona virus infections in King County and the state of Washington. So we need to find other ways to grow our skills and stay in touch with one another. Some of us learn best visually, some want to listen, and some to read. All of us learn by doing! It's important to take new information and put it to work, and choose what works for you. If you have not tried   Twitter  as a source of  genealogy news and resources, give it a whirl. You need not have an account to search for "genealogy" for instance.  Webinars/video, podcasts, blogs, genealogy groups, and forums educate, inform, and entertain. Webinars Webinars feature some of the best speakers available discussing your genealogy and family history interests.  Top of your list right now should be RootsTech free sessions:  https://www.rootstech.org/video-archive . Some 2019 videos are st...

Fish in all the DNA ponds We've heard this advice; do we use it? Most often it is given about DNA testing. No matter what company you choose to test with first, download your raw DNA results and then upload to all the sites which allow uploads that fit your research goals. If you have the funds, test at both Ancestry and 23andMe . Neither allow uploads, and they have the largest databases. If you are using DNA testing for genealogy research, your goal is the most matches possible, and "fishing in all the ponds" accomplishes that goal. You can download your results from either Ancestry or 23andMe or both, and upload to: FamiyTreeDNA  - the earliest DNA testing company, and most often used by researchers. The only choice for Y and mitochondrial testing. Upload is free. MyHeritage  - most used by Europeans and is the top choice by those who do not want law enforcement to have access to their DNA results and matches. Upload is free . LivingDNA  - the newc...

By Barbara Mattoon A couple of years ago I was looking for something to listen to while I decorated my Christmas tree.  Somehow, I had heard about Ezra Klein, so I figured out how to listen to one of his podcasts on my iPhone and I was hooked.  Since then, I have explored podcasts on many topics, but recently I have been partial to genealogy podcasts. Marketing guru Seth Godin says that podcasts are the new blogs.  (I listen to his podcast Akimbo, every week.) That could be, but I think there is still room for both forms of communication.  He also says that the backlist is as good as the current episode, and I totally agree with that.  With recently discovered podcasts, I frequently go back and listen to older episodes. “But”, you wail, “I don’t have TIME to listen to podcasts”.  Everyone’s needs and schedules are different, but I usually listen to an episode while I am preparing and eating my breakfast.  Less frequently, I listen while tra...