Sankofa bird; public domain image. "The “Sankofa” is a metaphorical symbol used by the Akan people of Ghana, generally depicted as a bird with its head turned backward taking an egg from its back. It expresses the importance of reaching back to knowledge gained in the past and bringing it into the present in order to make positive progress."  https://sankofa.org/about   Looking Back; Looking Forward Thoughtful week here. For many reasons, I've been looking back—and forward, and thinking deeply about both.  My term as president of the South King County Genealogical Society ends May 2025. If you are considering stepping up to ask the membership to entrust you with that responsibility, please contact me or another Board member for help to prepare you. Read about the duties of the President here .  Term Limits According to our Bylaws  Section 5.4.3: "No President or Vice President shall serve more than two consecutive terms in the same office." I want to choose how

Have you been spoiled by good fortune? Consider Joining Our New Study Group! Courtesy andreas_fischler; Creative Commons 2.0 Sometimes it is really easy to find records on the big genealogy sites, the hints make sense, and we begin to think that research is easy. So easy, that we may forget what to do when the ripe fruit isn't hanging easily in reach. That's when a study group would come in handy ,  to remind us of basic principles of research. Or for beginners on the family history journey to learn those habits and practices from the very best, right at the start. Recent Example I had given up with Seth Willis of Harrison County, Missouri, an ancestor of one of my McBee uncle's DNA matches, until I thought about what to focus on for the new Research Study Group, beginning Wednesday, 14 August . Seth was born early enough that there are no records of parentage, and his probable father's obituary does not mention him. So I created a timeline of facts and sources to se

  "Helping You Find & Tell Your Family Stories"; generated by Bing Image Creator July 21 July 2024  We often ask for volunteers; after all, South King County Genealogical Society is an all-volunteer organization. Perhaps we don't focus enough on how we can help YOU . Incorporated in 1984 as "educational in character and  devoted exclusively to furthering genealogical research and interest in family and local history [1], we are here for YOU.  How Can We Help YOU Find and Tell Your Family Stories? Education When asked to suggest what they wanted to present to readers, here are some of the responses from your Board members:  (Barbara Mattoon) " SKCGS offers educational opportunities for a variety of genealogical interests and experience levels." Small sample of our educational offerings. SKCGS.org for details Entry level classes  offered to the community through the King County Library System . The Family Tree Maker User group discusses features of the

Study Group, courtesy of OpenClipart   Desperation drove me to my first study group at university. A fellow student invited me, and the group swapped ideas about how to remember the masses of information we were given in an early-morning class. It really helped all of us, I think, and I was grateful.  South King County Genealogical Society incorporated as "educational in character and devoted exclusively to furthering genealogical research and interest in family and local history." We offer lots of choices, and discuss other educational opportunities here in the blog. See Barbara Mattoon's series on "Your Genealogy Education Plan, Parts One and Two , "  along with many other discussions of podcasts, seminars, videos, books, conferences.  Copyright 2016 Blaine T. Bettinger Debbie Parker Wayne When some of us found Blaine Bettinger and Debbie Parker Wayne's book Genetic Genealogy in Practice and began discussing it in our Genetic Genealogy/DNA group , the i

Finding Helpful Groups We humans naturally put people and things into groups. We group people into generations, such as "The Greatest Generation (those who won WWII)," Baby Boomers, Gen X, Y & Z. In some ways these groupings are useful, such as to companies who want to sell things to each group. But how can we find groups that are helpful for us?  An important factor about groups is their availability and topic. A group that meets in the morning may not be available to people who are employed from 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. Topics that are too narrow in scope will not attract very many people. Some groups cease meeting in the summer or around holiday time. If you are in such a group, perhaps you should take the opportunity to look for other groups. Check out ConferenceKeeper.org , for instance. Most of the readers of this blog are interested in genealogy and family history. And some pay dues to one or more genealogy societies, presumably because these groups offer adv

Courtesy of Brett Jordan, via Flikr WiredAlexandria, CC BY-SA 4.0 Have you ever heard that "if you really want to learn something, teach it to someone else"? I have, and have found it true.  Mothering taught me that, for sure!  I was lucky enough to attend the University of Washington for a year, and while there the most valuable concept I adopted was joining some study groups. This has lots of advantages, the biggest being that all participants want to be there, are pushing themselves to learn difficult concepts, ideas or skills, and are willing to both study and help others.  I've found our special interest groups and study groups inspirational for the same reason. People attend because they want to learn more about how to use DNA in their family history research, or how to use new website features or applications, how to write useful citations, how to research like the professionals do, and more! But most valuable of all, I see participants stepping up to demonstrate b

COLLABORATION 2023 will be the Year of Collaboration for me, as President of this society. Everything we do will serve to foster collaboration, as we share resources, encourage and even give helpful criticism of work products as we work together for our mutual goals. The South King County Genealogical Society was described as "primarily educational" in our  Articles of Incorporation . Our mission is to Stimulate interest in genealogy and aid individual members in compiling their family records Seek genealogical and historical knowledge Preserve and perpetuate the records of our ancestors Promote the preservation of public and private genealogical materials So, we meet! And we write, and talk and listen, and help one another. EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS AND RESOURCES We've had monthly meetings since our founding, although early records are sparse. Within a few years, we began amassing a lending library (now housed at Auburn KCLS  and the Kent FHC ), hosting special interest and u