Photo by genibee,  CC BY-NC 2.0 Have you ever had an old memory surface at the oddest time? I was in the dental chair having an implant screwed into my jaw, and there was so much pressure! When they were doing something else, I said, this feels just like the first time I ever put on a girdle. I was giggling about it, and nudged the assistant, and said, you know what I'm talking about! She was giggling too, and then she said to the doctor, you do NOT know, but ask your wife! The silliest thing about it was that I was in seventh grade! Who needs a girdle ever, much less in seventh grade? It was not about the boys; they never looked at us then. And really, we all thought the other girls were noticing, but I think all of us just wanted to fit in. For the record, let me just say that while I can't recall the last time I squeezed myself into a girdle, I do not miss that pressure one bit! Why mention this weird old memory? Well, it paints a picture of adolescent life before pantyhos...

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...

Generated with AI (Microsoft Bing Image Creator) ∙ January 7, 2024 at 12:54 PM Jones Family Tree: Sanford Talbert Jones and Ethelyn Stephens At the end of 2023, I had a wonderful surprise and wrote about it here: Piggy-back . Antoinette has been generous, sharing family photos and history, which really led to breakthroughs in my son-in-law Jason's tree. Researching families outside of my "own" has been enriching, and I learned so much researching the family of  Ethelyn Stephens, Jason's great-grandmother. She married Sanford Talbert Jones the first, who was a laborer for the City of Los Angeles at the end of his life. To the right is a part of a photo of their son Sanford II (in the middle) in an old fire truck, from a great article about Black firefighters in Los Angeles. [1]  Sanford Talbert Jones II and Ruby Alexander Sanford carried on his father's experience in working for LA city. He  married Ruby Alexander who was born in Louisiana, possibly in New Orlea...

 I came across a useful feature of Wikitree yesterday; I was updating the Biography of my first cousin Pat, who died yesterday. Rest in peace, dear cousin. New DNA Clue Before I left her page I noticed a new name on the right, where DNA Connections are found. I've blurred the name of my new-found relative, but this is what I saw:  Search for a Match My first step was to search for him on 23andMe -- not found. Then, a one-to-one comparison on Gedmatch -- no shared segments. Nor with my sister, or another first cousin either.  How about with my uncle? Yes!  35.1 cM , quite a healthy segment for a third cousin. One to One Gedmatch comparison between my uncle and his Baysinger match Find Common Ancestors Next step: check the match's tree. His parents were private, but his grandfather's name was familiar, and in my own Ancestry.com tree. As I examined our two ancestral paths back to our common ancestor, an important aspect became clear: we share only a single ancestor, no...

This week the South King County Genealogical Society begins a new study group [1] , of the book Mastering Genealogical Proof , by Thomas W. Jones [2] . The first chapter, Genealogy's Standard of Proof , first considers What is Genealogy . I can't better Jones' measured prose, but here is why I do genealogy. Why? Solving Puzzles Doing the research is satisfying! When there is a gap in the timeline, finding the right record is like fitting in a puzzle piece! That bit of satisfaction keeps me at it, often far too late into the night. Especially when the family group or locality (or both) are unfamiliar, finding the records feels like getting to know that person and the time and place where they lived. The contrast in how the lives of some the folks in the family fall into a pattern, and those who bushwhack their own path, is often surprising.  Why? Putting Meat on the Bones So solving puzzles are fun, but genealogy is work, too. Aside from the little rewards, there is enormous...

 Collaboration is magic! Your own work, experience and inspiration combined with others who share an interest, create more than seems possible. See  The Magic of Collaboration (and Wikitree)  for more about that. But how to begin?  First, collaborate with relatives Pick up the phone! Set up an interview Write a letter Send images, information and questions, through the mail or email, or shared documents such as Google Drive Ask them to share images and questions too Invite them to your Ancestry or MyHeritage tree Share a timeline for your family Next, collaborate with DNA matches Start with the closest and largest matches, and put them into your tree Use the site tools to figure out who they are (shared matches, dots) Use the site messaging system; give them your email and some information • As you learn one site, upload to another, 1, 2, 3! • Sometimes you will need to build their trees for them; invite them to the tree • Keep sharing as you find more information • ...

  Larry Strobel with Jan Gammel in basket June 1949 Ralph Strobel and MaryLynn Gammel photobombing in window If you have been around me at SKCGS for very long, you have probably heard me tell about a member of my family who asks those innocent questions I should be able to answer at a moment's notice--my Cousin Larry. You also have heard me suggest that every genealogist needs a "Cousin Larry" because his questions often lead to challenging research and opportunities to learn lots of new stuff. The answer to Aunt Minnie's burial question took about three months with searches at the newly opened Washington State Digital Archives and assistance from a member of Eastern Washington Genealogical Society in Spokane and her persistent calls to the funeral home.  Great Aunt Minnie's cremains were still in the vault, after 48 1/2 years!  Final disposition of Great Aunt Minnie is a story for another day. Larry's question about a newly married couples' "honeymo...