Village, Generated with Bing ImageCreator AI 5 October 2024 What is the " basic unit of society "? It is often said to be the family. However, even in so-called Western societies, where families are often defined as a husband, wife and their children, about half the families I find in records do not meet the monogamy  standard. Often one of the partners has died or divorced, and there are other family members living with them—parents or other relatives of one or more of the partners, former neighbors or their children, "fictive kin," such as a close neighbor or relative of an in-law or former spouse. FAN Principle The more we follow the FAN principle [1] , and research all the people in and around the family, the more strongly we find that the basic unit is the village or neighborhood . While people do occasionally move somewhere new all by themselves, that is often impelled by personal danger of some sort, such as a crime or other threat. Mostly, people moved with...

  We are so proud and happy that one of our own is being honored for her many years of work - Helen Lewis.  2021 and 2022 President’s Awards for Outstanding Achievement Announced   – r eprinted with permission from Roxanne Lowe, who wrote most of this for the Washington State Genealogical Society Blog, https://wasgs.org/blog/ . WSGS President Kathleen Sizer is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2021 and 2022 Outstanding Achievement Award: 2021 — Helen McGreer Lewis, Renton, 1923 – 2017 2022 — Jill Morelli, Seattle Created in 2015, the President’s Award for Outstanding Achievement is designed to single out that rare individual, society or organization who has demonstrated exemplary service above and beyond expectations. The award is not given every year as it is based on merit and accomplishments, as you’ll see from reading about the recipients below. Helen Lewis Helen McGreer Lewis, 1923 – 2017 Helen Lewis’s final years of service to genealogy and family histo...