Before heading to the grocery store, I need to make a list, so I don't forget to pick up something we need, or worse, buy things we don't! I hate waste and overcrowding the 'fridge. It is even more important to plan both my schedule and my genealogy.  I learned how helpful this was some years ago, when we studied Research Like A Pro : A Genealogist’s Guide by  Diana Elder, AG with Nicole Dyer .  Thinking about my questions and goals before diving in, and carefully reviewing everything I know (or think I do) is critical to progress and eventual success. The GPS, Genealogical Proof Standard , was created to help us in our work, because building on a solid foundation helps us have confidence in our findings and enjoy the journey. I find planning more parts of my life helps me have more time for research too. I use Google calendar, but whatever tools you like will work, as long as you use them as a part of your daily routine.  So what's my latest plan? I just started on...

  Oroboros, free image courtesy of Magnific.com Oroboros, or: Haven't I been here before? The value and danger of digging into FAN club members who are part of an "allied family" and part of the pioneer generation of settlers, is finding the same names over and over. Sisters marry brothers, people marry spouses of their same surname or their mother's surname, and occasionally first or second cousins. I  became dizzy as the tree filled. I imagine the snake in the ancient symbol above is feeling woozy too. F amily, Friends,  A ssociates & N eighbors sometimes play all three roles in the early generations and rural locations. Lately, my first action when looking at a census record is to open the index and scan the neighbors, before looking at the person and their family in the image. When I've researched more deeply into their history, another look at the index reveals even more, as future spouses lurk nearby.  Moving back to an earlier generation reveals more ...

Image generated by Nanobnana 2 May 2026 If you have tested your DNA for genealogy, you are either excited by all the new information coming your way, or hopelessly bewildered—or somewhere in-between, like many of us. If you and close relatives have tested at least you can easily prove the beginning of your DNA tree, which is YOU and your biological relatives. This DNA tree may or may not be the same as the research that you have labored over for many years, hunting for official records, context and other evidence of the lives of your relatives and ancestors.  If you have been "doing genealogy" for a while you know the final step: writing it up . But how to do that with DNA evidence? How do you explain all those numbers so that they mean something, much less PROVE your tree? And how can I say it is "easy?"  I recently found the answer in Legacy Family Tree Webinars  by  Karen Stanbary, CG®, CGG® in a series called DNA in Action ; 2 of 6 which are available. I plan t...

Used with permission from Steven Young Caudill, photographer Will Rogers is reported to have said , " If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging ." Recently I found myself in a hole of my own making, and took that advice. My first step was a new custom Tree Tag for my Ancestry.com tree: SameNameConfusion to make the profiles easy to find. Previously I wrote about pruning , part of which has been using Ancestry.com's ProTools to find possible duplicate profiles. I've merged hundreds of such profiles without problems. This case seemed simple and obvious on the surface because I saw what I expected to see, rather than what was actually there.  I saw Jane and Eliza J and thought they were the same woman I saw Thomas J Booth and Jefferson Booth, and thought that they were the same man Because both families were in the 1900 census, I did not stop to notice that one family was in Missouri and the other in Iowa  The Jane with no surname had little information, so I merged...

Women's Month Vectors by Vecteezy Note: this post is excerpted from one published some years ago by MaryLynn. Enjoy, and send us your own stories this Women's History Month. Well-Behaved Women Seldom Make History  is the title of a book by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, written in 1976. Since that time the slogan has become bumper stickers, pins, placards, t-shirts, and many other memorabilia. It has become the cry of feminists and is a truism throughout history. When a woman, or group of women, affected society, it was usually by stepping outside the norm. I would like to share some quotes from the book and how they have fit in with some of our own ancestors or women in history whom we admire.  Follow this link to quotes and see if you are inspired about someone in your history. Quotes: “Some history-making is intentional; much of it is accidental. People make history when they scale a mountain, ignite a bomb, or refuse to move to the back of the bus. But they also make history by k...

Diamond_Mine_Disaster_Historical_Marker_Grundy I, courtesy WiikMediaCommons   Finding the Stories: Unusual Sources  Many, if not most, of us are interested in going beyond "genealogy" to "family history." More than just the names, dates, and places, we want to know the stories our ancestors could have told us. They may not be around anymore but there are lots of other sources for these stories. Sometimes you find what you're looking for where you least expect it! I knew that my paternal grandfather's family migrated from Belgium to Grundy County, Illinois, in the  1 880s to mine coal. Few people realize it, but the northern Illinois coalfields were some of the best coal in the country, strongly preferred by the railroads because it was much cleaner than Pennsylvania anthracite. However, the fields were comparatively small and pretty much were only able to supply Chicago and the railroads operating there. The city and village names in Grundy County reveal the...

2025: What Happened, and a peek into 2026 “Father Time” by Linnaea Mallette: Public Domain license In south King County, Washington, 2025 began with most folks still recovering from a major storm, a "bomb cyclone." Unfortunately, winter storms were punishing at the end of the year as well, with near-record flooding in much of western Washington. However, our society  handled disaster as our ancestors did: with courage, creativity and by working together. We had nine amazing speakers this year and were active weekly in small groups. Volunteers staff monthly Genealogy Help desks in three local libraries, and SKCGS publishes a weekly blog.  2025 Speaker Series January:  Dr. Carol Gorman Friedel "The Invisible Man—Moving Through a Pre-1840 Burned County Brick Wall" February:  Michael Strauss “The Road to Independence: Revolutionary War Research” March:  Amber Oldenburg " Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense Registration Cards: The Largest...

Mystery gift from afar It was an unexpected arrival – and as I strolled back from the mailbox I was full of anticipation at the surprise package from my father. Small, the size of a box full of checks, what on earth could this possibly contain – and why? It was between holidays – right after Thanksgiving and enough “before Christmas” not to be a Christmas gift. I smiled with delight. Packages from home and my parents were always fun. And in this case, somewhat mysterious, given the timing. In the house, I carefully cut through the layers of clear packing tape that encased the box. As I lifted the lid off, there was a note labelled in my father’s unmistakable handwriting: Care Package. Like any kid with a new toy, I laid the note aside (the adult kid did this very carefully) and then I just stared at the contents.    I took another look. Jumbled together in the bottom of the box were not quite a dozen crumpled red and silver foil balls, some with narrow wire sticking from...

James Wheeler: Free to use. Pitt Meadows, BC.  CanadaCrop Field Under Rainbow and Cloudy Skies at Daytime   Modern Blessing: Public Health   I am so thankful to live now, not 100 years ago. There are tiny figures next to the wife's name in the 1900 and 1910 US census, noting the number of children born and children living.  I feel relief when the numbers are the same; sadness when they are not.  Worse, we often never know the names of those who have died.  This past week I transcribed a long flowery obituary written by a grandchild of Kezia McGowan Husted, and this part touched me:  "Kizia McGowan was born in Wayne county, Ohio, February 18th 1830. Came to Illinois in 1845 and married Lyman Husted, 1847. To this union were born ten children of which four are living , namely: Mrs. Carrie Dudley, Mrs. Mary Cochran, William and James Husted. Six children preceded Grandma to heaven, when they were quite young... her angel children, whose names were: Ve...